Page 65 of Waiting for Redemption

“Because, I can’t imagine two people I would rather spend my life with than the two of you. I know I was gone a long time and that this might be a little confusing to you. But would it be okay with you if I married your mom, and stuck around for a while?” I smirk at him, and his smile lights up the entire room.

“Hell yeah!” I stifle a laugh as Ruby’s mouth pops open.

“Hendrix Ranes!” Ruby scolds, making his hands fly up to his mouth.

“Sorry sorry sorry.” His muffled apology comes out as she gives him a disapproving look. “I mean,heckyeah.” I’m still trying to hold my laugh in when Ruby sends Hendrix to get ready for dinner.

“You’re back for five minutes and he’s already talking like you,” she teases. I glance down and smile when I notice she hasn’t let go of my hand yet.

“I’m sure you’ve said far worse than that,” I argue playfully, squeezing her hand in mine. Though I wish I hadn’t brought attention to it, because she immediately lets go.

“Absolutely not. I have the mouth of an angel.” She tosses her hair behind her shoulder, and for a moment it feels like old times. When we would be cracking jokes together around the bar—usually at Marco’s expense—with the mood light and a smile on her face.

I missed this. I missedus. But when she mentions her mouth, my attention immediately fails to focus on anything else, and her lips have me reminiscing. I run my thumb along her bottom lip, catching her off guard as her eyes snap up to mine.

“Maybe so, but I happen to recall how downright sinful you taste.” She lets out a small gasp as my tongue swipes along my bottom lip and a grin spreads across my face. We both pull away when we hear footsteps approaching.

“Can Tank and Maverick go Trick-or-treating with us after dinner?” Hendrix asks, skipping into the living room. I look over at Ruby whose eyes are wide with regret.

“Oh, shoot. Buddy, I forgot to get you a costume,” she admits, barely glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.

“Maybe I can wear my Spidey costume from last year?” He perks up, making Ruby laugh regrettably.

“Umm. No chance that’s gonna fit you again unless you’re going as Spidey turned Hulk.” Hendrix’s face drops slightly, and I can see the way Ruby is beating herself up over this. She’s not the one to forgetanythingwhen it comes to Hendrix, especially not Halloween. This custody shit must be taking up more room in her brain than I realized.

“Maybe I can help.” I give Hendrix an optimistic smile, making his face light up instantly. “May I?” Ruby gives me a curious stare but finally nods and I take Hendrix with me to grab a small duffle bag I keep in my truck before we head to his room to DIY a costume.

“Okay, Mom, you ready?” Hendrix calls, hiding us behind the wall that leads to his bedroom so she can’t see us yet.

“I don’t know,am I?” she sings out. Hendrix jumps out from behind the wall in the camouflage pants he’s been wearing since I got here, a black long-sleeve shirt I found in his closet, and combat boots—complete with war paint and a Nerf gun. Then I follow behind wearing my uniform pants, boots, and a black T-shirt—and a little bit of war paint at his request.

“We’rebattle boys!” Hendrix yells, making me choke on a laugh.

“Sure, we’ll go with that,” I agree, squeezing Hendrix’s shoulder. Ruby’s hand comes up to her lips, hiding a smile as she looks at us.

“You boys look incredible.” When she looks at me I can see the gratitude in her eyes, I give her a wink and call Maverick over to stand by us.

“Let’s go get some candy then.” I clap my hands together.

“We’re still eating first, right?” Ruby asks, grabbing her keys from the counter.

“Of course, Honey. You ought to know I’m gonna take care of you first.” I give her a wink, not missing the way she pulls her bottom lip in with her teeth as I walk past her.

After swinging through a drive-thru for some food, we stop at one of the most festive neighborhoods in the city to trick or treat. I thought Hendrix was being a little over-zealous when he took the pillowcase off his bed to use as a bag, but he filled the damn thing up more than halfway before we called it a night. Ruby has been talking about her feet hurting since we reached the end of the first road and though I take Maverick on runs regularly, I’m pretty sure he’s been giving me the death glare since about the 20th house.

“Thank you for tonight, Tank. I really owe you for the way you came through for him. I can’t believe I forgot his costume.” She shakes her head, chastising herself as she leans against the frame of her front door. Hendrix is already in the house doing inventory of his candy, and Maverick took it upon himself to jump into my truck to lie down once we got back.

“Hush, woman. You owe me nothing.” I smirk at her. “It was a lot of fun actually. I can’t remember the last time I smiled that much.” She looks up at me, the light from the front porch illuminating her brown eyes in a way that could have me lost in them for hours.

“Yeah, I’ve missed that smile,” she says quietly, almost as if the thought wasn’t supposed to be vocalized.

“I’ve missed yours too.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, fighting every cell in my body that’s begging to kiss her. “Goodnight, Honey.”

“Goodnight.” She smiles, watching from her doorstep until I’m out of the driveway.

* * *

While Trick-or-treating the other night, Ruby and I were able to vaguely discuss when the wedding would need to happen—given the statement I made to her ex at the soccer fields—our backstory in case it comes up, and how we should tell the people closest to us. The conversation ended when we got back in the car to head home, but we did make a plan to tell our friends today when we all meet at the bar for weekly drinks—something I’ve missed tremendously over the last six months. I haven’t missed drinking as much as I’ve missed being with everyone in one place.

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