Page 20 of Ruin
She squeezes my hand. “Thank you. I’ll text you later and let you know what I decide. I’ve got to plan a lesson for third graders on planetary alignment, so I better get moving.”
“Sounds good, babe! Love you!”
“Love you, too!”
For a moment, the salon is quiet, and I’m left with my thoughts for the first time in… months. Life has been one whirlwind after another. The sex club, getting arrested, explaining my life to Outlaw, the wedding, moving into Ruin’s place, the pregnancy. All good things, but all very overwhelming. Truthfully, I could use a long bath and a hideaway for the weekend.
The bell above the door rings. It’s my brother Outlaw. He’s a big guy with dark hair and a permanent scowl.
“How are you feeling?” He sits in my chair and buckles his own apron. I guess it’s time for a haircut, though he has his own hairdresser wife.
“Good. Tired, but good. What about you?”
“Same. Where’s my ex-best friend?”
I slap him on the shoulder. “Stop! You love him.”
“I tolerate him.”
“Well, that man you ‘tolerate’ should be walking in any second. He’s bringing me pie from the diner. It’s all I’m thinking about.”
“What kind?”
“Banana cream with the chocolate shavings on top. Have you had it recently?”
The bell rings again, interrupting Outlaw’s response. Ruin doesn’t notice him right away.
“Hey, Peach! Brought your pie. I had them put extra chocolate on the top for you.” He sets the pink box on the counter and glances up. “Oh, Outlaw. What’s up?”
There’s definitely a new tone between the two of them since this all happened, though I can’t figure out why. After we were released, Outlaw and Ruin had a ‘heart to heart’ as Ruin likes to call it out on the ranch when we got back home. They came back a little roughed up, but neither of them had anything broken, so I guess that’s something.
Thankfully, I know my brother best. He’s happy for us, even if it has to come out of his mouth as passive aggressiveness.
“Not much,” Outlaw responds as I switch on the buzzer and shave the sides of his hair down. “You excited for the baby?”
Ruin nods and crosses his thick arms over one another. I love watching him stand like that. He looks so big and masculine. “Yeah. We’re really excited. Got the furniture put together last weekend and I think we’re set on baby stuff. Right, Peach?”
I nod. “Yup. Except for a few small things, we’ve got everything we need.”
Outlaw stands the second the buzzer turns off and whips the apron away from his chest as though it’s choking him. Having lived with the man for all my life, I know how impatient he can be. “Thanks for the cut, kid. I’m gonna head out to the store myself. Gotta grab a few things for dinner tonight.” He shakes Ruin’s hand as he walks by.
“Wait, Outlaw.” I follow him into the street. “I wanted to say… thank you.”
“For what?”
“You know… for not being an ass. Before all this, you were weird that Ruin and I were even friends. I know this isn’t easy for you, and you could’ve made this hard for us a million times over, but you haven’t. I wanted to thank you at the wedding, but everything was happening so fast.”
He kisses my forehead and pulls me in against his chest. “I love you, kid. Take your meds, be good, and stop getting arrested. I can work with anything else. If you’d have told me this six months ago, I’d have killed him. But since then, I’ve made some decisions in love not everyone would understand, so who am I to judge you? I know Ruin will take care of you and the baby. That’s what matters to me.”
I feel bad for not expecting more from Outlaw. For so long, I thought he’d be against me when he’s always been in my corner. I should’ve assumed he would be this time too.
“Gotta run. I’ll catch you later, okay?”
I nod and turn back toward the shop where the big, sexy, bad boy of my dreams is waiting for me with pie. Pie with extra chocolate shavings.
“What was that about? Everything okay?” Ruin pulls me against his chest.
I drag in his scent. The scent that’s uniquely him. “Yeah. I just wanted to thank him for being cool, ya know?”