Page 57 of Rugged and Filthy

Rylee scooted behind the blond-haired little boy and the resemblance was uncanny. Her eyes opened wide as she stared at me. I sensed she was fueling the anger, ready to spew off.

The pup I’d seen before was also right behind the two of them, her tail wagging almost uncontrollably. When the dog pushed her way toward me, I had a feeling Rylee wanted nothing more than to yank the pup away, chastising the furball for not chomping down on my leg.

“Come here, Xena.” She grabbed at the dog’s collar, but the pup was having none of it, wiggling like a little monster.

“Mama. He brought pizza!” Aiden said. I liked the name. It suited the freckle-faced boy.

The glare she issued continued. Her jaw was clenched from her disdain for having an intruder like me standing on her doorstep.

“I brought it for you,” I said as I struggled to hold out the box.

“What’s dat stuff?” he asked, pointing to the wine.

“I brought this for your mother. Is that okay?” While he thought I was asking him, I glanced up at Rylee who folded her arms.

“Truce?” I asked, giving her my best sheepish look, which I’d been told I wasn’t good at.

The Mexican standoff went on for another few seconds as Xena continued curling up around my legs.

“We should talk, Rylee. Just let me in.”

“Only if you promise to be nice.”

I gritted my teeth, my usual reaction to her forming a not so nice rebuttal. I was still surprised by the kind of reaction my mind and my body had around her. The yin and yang of the situation was making me crazy. I forced myself to nod.

“Fine,” she said. “But you better hold your tongue. Aiden, honey. Why don’t you go wash up for dinner? My friend brought a special treat.”

“Who is he, Mama? He looks like Superman.”

“Sadly, he’s not Superman, little bug. But he’s a nice guy I work with. Now, scoot.”

Aiden wrinkled his nose but finally ran away, his little fists clenched. I was clueless about what to say. Xena hesitated before bounding off after the little boy, the two obviously inseparable.

She took the box from me, giving me a hard onceover as I was certain I’d done to her on a couple of occasions. “Why are you here?”

“Because we need to talk.”

“We don’t have anything to talk about.” She placed the pizza on the counter, closing the door behind me.

“Yeah, we do.” The two of us couldn’t have been more uncomfortable. I also wasn’t used to feeling this awkward around anyone. For a guy who was take charge about everything, I was at a complete loss with her. “That’s your little boy.”

Okay, so maybe my statement was stupid and I half laughed as I scratched my head.

“Yeah, he’s my pride and joy,” she quipped before softening. “Now you know my big secret. Are you happy?”

“Look. Can we cut the anger just for a little while? I obviously didn’t come here to fight with you. He looks just like you.”

“He looks like his father. Why did you come here? To gloat? To make fun of me?”

I walked further into the small kitchen, immediately realizing they didn’t have much. The appliances were old, the Formica on the counters peeling, yet it had a homey feel. As if a lovely family lived here. “I can be an asshole, Rylee, but I’m not insensitive to how special it is to have a child in your life. And maybe how much of a burden it places on you. I’m sorry you think that way about me. I rub people the wrong way.”

“Yeah, you do.” Her snapping words were followed by Rylee closing her eyes. “But so can I. I’m just doing my best for my little boy and it’s been tough.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea about Aiden.”

“Yeah, well, I try to keep him away from the hired help.” She immediately frowned as soon as she issued the words. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for, but this is my home. Correction. This is my father’s home. Not even mine.” For all the bravado the woman had shown, her eyes were suddenly misted over. It was obvious the girl had lived a tough life, which had thickened the armor surrounding her.

“You and Aiden live here?”

---