Page 141 of Hollywood

A car pulled up, headlights flashing over our little group before cutting off. Flynn got out and crossed the yard. “Hey, guys.”

“Flynn!” Knight called, abandoning the grill. “What the hell, man? It’s been too long since you showed your face around here.”

“Sorry.” He chuckled and gave Knight a solid clap on the back that made him stumble a step. Knight wasn’t a little guy, but Flynn was a giant. He’d been part of Redemption Road last year, but he’d graduated, so we didn’t see him quite as often anymore. “Bailey’s working on something for school and apparently I was distracting him.”

Knight grinned. “Well, his loss is our gain. It’s good to see you. You’re just in time for dinner. Food’s done.”

“I’ll grab the plates inside,” Aiden volunteered.

For the next few minutes, we filled our plates with steak kabobs—Knight had layered steak, onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms on sticks. We’d brought some chicken nuggets for Ruby to eat, since we never knew if she’d want what was on offer. The steak might be okay, but she’d want nothing to do with the peppers.

Hollywood took her inside to heat up her food.

I settled with a plate balanced on my lap, and Ghost took a seat next to me. “That fence repair go okay?”

“Yeah. It was easy enough. Thanks for letting me steal some of your work.”

“No problem,” he said. “Hopefully you won’t need much more of it.”

“Well, I’m hoping I can pick up some extra shifts at the greenhouse if my boss won’t give me an advance. I’ll talk to him when I go in tonight, but it’ll take a while to earn five hundred bucks.”

Ghost grunted, turning his attention to his food. Okay. I guess that chat was over.

Hollywood returned a few minutes later with Ruby’s small plastic container of food, and I handed him the plate I’d been keeping for him.

“Thanks, babe.”

“No problem.” I tugged Ruby’s pigtail. “You hungry, Roo?”

“I’m a hungry Roo!” she exclaimed with a giggle.

“Here.” Hollywood handed her a chicken nugget.

She took a huge bite, making growly noises while she ate. Even Ghost laughed at that, and the man rarely cracked a smile.

“You think she’ll grow out of that?” Hollywood asked. “I’d hate to tell Carrie I’ve turned her adorable little girl into a beast.”

“She’s an adorable beast who likes to express herself,” Aiden said. “That’s a good thing.”

The conversation continued, light and easy, while we ate. After we’d set our plates aside and cracked open another beer, the mood shifted.

“I have to take off soon,” I said. “I’d like to get to work early so I can talk to my boss.”

“Before you go, there’s something we need to give you.”

Knight nodded toward Ghost.

Ghost stood and drew an envelope from his back pocket. He thrust it at me. “Here.”

I opened it to see a stack of bills: twenties and tens, a few fifties. I counted through it. “There’s over three hundred dollars in here.”

“Three-fifty,” Ghost said gruffly. “It’s all we could manage in a hurry.”

“We all pitched in,” Joyride said.

I hadn’t told the other guys about the rent problem. Only Ghost.

I guess that explained why Ghost had clammed up when I mentioned picking up extra shifts at work.