Page 74 of All My Love

“I know,” he draws out. “And?”

I swallow, staring at a piece of asphalt that jumps up in the road as a car passes by. “Her bedroom walls are covered in photos of me.”

Deuce just stares at me, and I stare back, adding, “You’re in some. So is Ev, and Bear. They’re mostly me, but yeah… the entire room is…”

“A shrine,” Deuce supplies, falling back, letting the truck chair absorb his shock.

I scrub my hands down my face. “Yeah. And… she told me she’s in love with me.”

“Whoa,” Deuce says, blowing out a long breath. His knee starts bouncing as he stares at me. “And her PIN code is your birthday.”

I nod. “I asked her about that. I asked if that was a coincidence.”

He snorts. “If she’s got a shrine–”

“I know, I know. But… here’s where I’m all fucked up,” I admit, letting my head fall against the side window, staring at Deuce. “If I were watching a movie, and there was this gorgeous young woman stalking some man, and she was all obsessed and shit. I mean, slashing tires and all that, I’d be like, that man is a fool to stay with her.”

Deuce’s lips curl.

“Stop.”

He smiles even harder and I let out the world’s heaviest sigh.

“You’re into it, aren’t you?” he questions, socking me in the thigh.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “I know I shouldn’t but… I don’t know, man,” I say, reopening my eyes, sifting a hand through my hair. “I’ve always liked Dolly. And after what happened with Bear and the creek… I don't know. I’ve been looking at her so differently. Seeing her not as the fifteen-year-old she was when I moved in but… as the woman she is now.”

Deuce shrugs. “So what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know, man…” I sigh. “It feels like if anything ever goes wrong, I’d look back and hate myself for seeing the signs but blowing past them anyway.”

We sit in silence a few minutes before I start the truck, but Deuce reaches over and kills it, twisting the key back.

“Listen, normally, I’d agree with you, okay? I’ve met a lot of unhinged women working in my industry. When I was working at the Ink Time in Calabasas, it was wild. Some of those women worshiped Trace. Waited by his car. Called his parents’ house. Friend-requested his real friends on social media. Snuck into barber shops to steal his hair and shit.” He shakes his head. “That ain’t Dolly. I mean, she may want your hair clippings and dirty underwear, I don’t know, but she’s not the same as them, so she can’t be graded on those standards. Okay? She loves Bear. She’s got substance, and she loves all of us, too. That’s not fake, and that ain’t about getting to you. That’s real.”

“I know,” I say easily. “She said she’d give her life for him, or for me,” I admit.

“I believe her,” Deuce replies. “Look, you’ve got trust issues. I get it. But guess what? Trusting someone comes with the territory. You wanna be with someone who loves you inside and out? Who loves your kid and your entire life? You’re going to have to risk getting hurt no matter who you risk it for.”

I nod, starting up the truck so I don’t piss off my sister and add to my day’s complexities. “She invited me to her barn when I get back. She was crying. She’s… upset.”

“How’d you leave things?” he asks as I pull into a parking spot not far from where we were, Bear and Ev emerging from the shop as soon as I put the truck into park.

“I told her I need to process. I told her it was all too much,” I admit, hating the words more the second time than the first. “She cried,” I tell him, which causes him to audibly wince in reaction.

Everly climbs into the back seat, squeezing Deuce’s shoulders over the top. “Hello, husband,” she enunciates.

“Hello, Daddy,” Bear emulates, squeezing my shoulders, too.

We drive home chatting about the wedding, and how beautiful everything looked, how well it went, and how happy Everly was with it. Deuce shoots me glances across the cab the whole drive, and when we get home, the door to Dolly’s barn is cracked.

“Ev, can you take Bear inside for a few minutes?” I ask. She clutches my seat and Deuce’s, her head moving between us.

“Sure. C’mon, hon,” she says to Deuce, who attempts to climb out. I grab his forearm and look at my sister.

“Can I borrow him for another minute?”

She smiles. “He’s the best, isn’t he?”

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