Page 138 of Hollywood

“Me too,” I added.

Dylan lingered on the edge of the living room, but Chastity flapped her hand at him. “Go pick up your room. If you want to play with Uncle Tex, that floor better be free of dirty clothes.”

He huffed. “It’s not that bad. Robbie made most of the mess.”

“Then get him to help. And make the bed too.”

“ButMom…”

Chastity just gave him a look.

His shoulders sagged. “Fine.”

He turned and trudged down the hall, muttering under his breath.

Chastity dropped into her favorite glider rocking chair. “So, what brings you to Hayworth? Dad isn’t dragging you into more landscaping work, is he?”

“Nothing like that.” I swiped my damp hands on my jeans. “I, uh, actually just wanted to talk to you about something.”

She gave the floor a little push with her foot to keep her chair rocking. “Oh? What’s up?”

“I had a big fight with Dad last night. He hasn’t, uh, said anything about that, has he?”

Her forehead creased with a frown. “No. I mean, I knew he wasn’t happy you quit to be in Riverton. Was this fight about that?”

“Um, not entirely.”

I launched into the story about covering Dad’s purchase atthe greenhouse and his refusal to pay me back, followed by him showing up and suggesting I steal some supplies for him. I was stalling, but it wasn’t the easiest news to just spit out.

At least, not when I wasn’t in the middle of a fight. With Dad, those words had practically leaped off my tongue. Now, they seemed to be lodged in my throat.

“I can’t believe him!” Chastity exclaimed. “You could go back to prison if you were caught. That is so far over the line.” She shook her head. “I wish I could loan you some money to cover what he owes, but things are tight. If they weren’t, I’d be out of here by now. I hate this town. Everywhere I go, I bump into one of Luke’s family members or friends.”

“Are they bothering you?”

“No. Not really. They’re just unfriendly. Which is logical, but I can’t avoid them, you know? Small towns are great until you’re on the wrong side of them.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “You should move to Riverton. We could help you. Right, Holls?”

“Uh, yeah. We’ve got a lot of friends there.”

His gaze met mine, questioning. Right. I wasn’t here to tell Chastity about my money problems or offer to help move her closer. She might notwantto be closer to me once she knew the truth.

But Hollywood wasn’t going to say the words for me. If I chose to leave without coming out, he’d let that happen. Clearly, my dad hadn’t told her. Might never tell her if he wanted to deny it had happened. I could probably hide out in the closet a little longer.

But that wasn’t fair to Hollywood. And I really didn’t want to go on wondering if my sister really loved me—or just the version of me she thought she knew. It was time to rip off theBand-Aid.

“There was something I said to Dad last night. Something that made him really angry.”

Chastity tilted her head. “About time you gave him a piece of your mind.”

I licked my lips. “Um, yeah, it was more than that. I…sort of told him I have a boyfriend.”

She slapped her feet onto the floor, her rocking chair stilling. Her gaze flicked over to Hollywood. “You two are together.”

“Uh.” Hollywood glanced at me.

I reached for his hand, gripping it tight. “Yes. We’re together.”