“No such luck,” he muttered on his way to the kitchen.
Rodie broke away from Rubi, where she was hugging him in the living area, and ran to Wes, jumping on his hind legs in excitement. Wes lifted his bad hand out of the way and petted Rodie with the other. “Hey, boy. ”
“Lex,” Rubi said, “Can you check his hand, see if he needs to go to the hospital?”
Jax strolled in and pressed his forearms to the kitchen granite. He frowned at Wes’s hand. “Doesn’t look too bad. Can you still drive that stunt tomorrow before your plane leaves?”
“No,” Rubi said.
At the same time Wes returned, “Of course. ”
And they scowled at each other.
“Do you have a ride to the airport?” Jax asked.
Wes glanced at Rubi. She’d said she would take him, but now…
“Contestants to your corners,” Lexi said. “Wes, this way. ”
Wes moved down the length of the expansive granite counter and rich cherry cabinets. Lexi pulled a cardboard box from an upper cabinet and rummaged through the medical contents on the counter. “Rinse your hand off. What did you hit?”
He lifted the handle on the tap, waited until the water was warm, and gritted his teeth before he stuck his hand under the stream. “A mirror. ”
“Next time, save that for the stunts,” Jax said, “where mirrors aren’t mirrors. ”
Once the blood cleared from his skin, he found at least two deep cuts along his knuckles. “Shit. ”
Lexi came up beside him. Inspected his hand. “Up to you. I’ve got skin glue and Steri strips. I can patch you up in ten minutes, or you can go spend four hours in the ER. ”
“Glue and tape, please. ”
Rubi pushed to her feet. “I’m going to head home, then. ”
Wes covered Lexi’s hands. “Just leave this junk out. I’ll do it when I get back. ”
“You don’t need to walk me home,” Rubi said.
“Don’t argue. ” Wes dried his hand on a paper towel, leaving blood splotches on the crisp white surface. “My mother would bean me if I didn’t walk my girl home. ”
He expected her to bitch about the “my girl” slip, but she just rolled her eyes and started for the door leading to the upper deck and the stairs to the beach. Wes caught up with her as soon as she touched the patio and rested a hand on her shoulder. He pulled her into him and wrapped her close. Sighing, he lowered his mouth to her neck and kissed her.
“In my world,” he said, his voice low and soft, “an argument doesn’t end anything. An argument is just that, an argument. We’ve had them before. We’ll have them again. ” She didn’t respond, but she didn’t pull away either. “Stay, Rubi. Let me hold you tonight. ”
“I don’t understand you. ” Her head relaxed against his shoulder, and her body softened. “I don’t understand me with you. ”
“Give it time. ”
“Do you understand us?”
He closed his eyes, tightened his hold, and absorbed the feel of her against him. Yes, his body understood. Yes, his heart understood. But his mind…and all that had happened tonight—seeing the interaction between her and a father she’d grown up hating, hearing her beliefs about money, about how Wes should view money—he ended up offering, “I understand this. ”
She pulled out of his grasp on a sigh of disappointment and started toward the beach. “You’re right. I need time to work it all out. ”
He didn’t like the sound of that. That sounded a lot like the old We need some time apart.
“I think we need time to work it out together. ” They walked down to the wet sand, and Wes tossed the Frisbee ahead of them for Rodie. More than ever, he wanted her to see how a real family worked. How people could argue and still love each other. How people who loved each other acted. And he asked again, “Why don’t you come to Missouri with me?”
She laughed, the sound a mixture of what-the-fuck and no-way-in-hell. “Not. ”