Page 41 of I Hate You More

“Wait… Are you serious? You want to help me?”

“God knows you need it,” Caleb said. “No offense, but from the way you treat that poor woman, you’d think she was single-handedly trying to run your dog show into the ground.”

“Sheissingle-handedly trying to run my dog show into the ground.”

“She’ll do it, too, if you’re not careful.” Caleb laughed and rubbed his hands together. “Now. What have you done so far to get on her good side? No, don’t answer that. It’ll only depress me. So far, all I’ve seen you do is scowl.”

Despite his better judgment, Spencer found himself being pulled further into the living room—and into this conversation. “I thought you were planning on asking her out for yourself?”

Caleb shrugged an indifferent shoulder. When he spoke, however, it was with a sincerity that Spencer had rarely heard from him. “She’s already told me eight times that I’m not her type. I think she might mean it. But ifyoulike her—”

Spencer allowed himself to say the words out loud for the first time. “I do like her.”

The spreading grin started to return to Caleb’s face. Spencer didn’t trust it, but not for the reasons he’d have expected a few minutes ago. That wasn’t the grin of a brother who planned on swooping in and sabotaging his relationship with Ruby. That was the grin of a brother who planned on doing his utmost to facilitate it.

“Then let’s get to work—starting with whatever is happening with your shirt. Do you alwayshaveto button it up to the top?”

Spencer ignored this slight. As much as he relished this unprecedented show of support and camaraderie, he couldn’t help but feel there was a lot more to be said between them. “Caleb, about your parole and about us sharing the house—”

“You mean, about the fact that you’re standing on my side again?”

Spencer glanced down with a start. Sure enough, he’d once again made his way over the duct-tape line and into enemy territory. And he couldn’t even blame someone else for luring him over this time. He’d walked on his own two feet.

“Goddammit. Not again!”

Caleb laughed. “You must be getting soft in your old age. What’ll it be this time? More push-ups? We’re up to a hundred and forty now. I’m not sure you can make it.”

Spencer thought of the challenge issued him less than an hour ago in this exact spot and shook his head. After the agony of feeling his own weight in his hand, of watching Ruby watch him as he stroked himself, push-ups seemed like child’s play.

“Oh, I can make it,” he vowed as he started to loosen his shirt cuffs and get in position. “I could probably even do it with one hand behind my back.”

Chapter 11

“Sit.”

At the sound of Spencer’s low, stern voice, Wheezy sat.

So did Ruby.

So did Julio, Xavier, and Max.

“Roll over,” the voice said. This time, the three small boys were the first to respond. Of all the commands on the recording,roll overwas their favorite. It usually ended up with them halfway across the backyard in a pile that was composed of equal parts giggling and brotherly wrangling.

This time was no exception. As soon as Wheezy had maneuvered himself into rolling position, Eva’s kids were already squirming their way through the grass.

“Ruby, you’re not rolling!” cried the oldest of the boys. Julio, who was six years old and the self-designated spokesman of the lot, took after his mother in the best of ways. Ruby didn’t think he’d stopped chattering since she’d arrived. “You hafta do it or Wheezy will get mad.”

This comment wasn’t as ridiculous as it sounded. Ruby had thought it a stroke of genius to bring Wheezy to spend the weekend at Eva and Maury’s house. Two full days of dog training and a built-in distraction for the boys seemed like the perfect plan. Unfortunately, she hadn’t accounted for just how fixated small children could get. When they’d heard that Ruby was training Wheezy to be a show dog, they wholeheartedly jumped on the plan. When they’d realized that Wheezy preferred to have company while he followed commands, they’d taken to sitting and shaking and rolling over with an obedience that would have done a military school proud.

When they’d realized that Wheezy would get personally offended if Ruby didn’talsoparticipate, well, this was the result. She’d been rolling all over the yard for hours.

“I can’t, you guys. I’m old. My bones can’t take much more of this.”

“Ru-by!”

“Ruby!”

“Roooo!”