Derby sets the helmets on the table, rolls his shoulders like he is about to fight a man, then lowers himself to the floor to fix the fort.
The sight does something to me I’m not prepared for. Derby on his knees in the living room, still in his cut, still smelling like wind, bourbon and motorcycle, adjusting blankets and pillows under the serious supervision of my five-year-old.
His big hands look ridiculous handling dinosaur sheets. His tattoos move under his sleeves. Of the ones I can see, there’s an engine, a skull of the King’s logo, a snake wrapped around a buck. Manly tattoos. Outlaw spelled out down his forearm in bold old letters. His face is stern, as if fort engineering is a sacred responsibility. But my eyes are on his rear end.
Not bad at all.
August kneels beside him, giving instructions.
“No, Blue Rex goes on top.”
“If Blue Rex goes on top before the roof is stable, he dies in a preventable accident.”
“He’s a dinosaur. He’s already dead.”
Derby pauses.
Then looks at me. “He’s got me there.”
I laugh.
I can’t help it.
The sound comes out lighter than I feel.
Sophie hears it and turns toward the kitchen, but not before I see her smile.
Lottie’s voice comes from the kitchen. “We heard Cornbread called her Panty Lady in front of God and customers.”
I freeze.
Derby’s head snaps up. “I’m killing him.”
Brittany appears beside Lottie, holding a dish towel. “Cornbread already called. Said Amelia took it like a champ and that Derby looked like a dog somebody told to share his bone.”
Derby rises halfway. “He said what?”
Lottie leans around the doorway. “Also said y’all danced.”
I want the floor to open.
Derby points at both women. “Out.”
“We were already leaving,” Lottie says, absolutely lying.
Brittany grins at me. “You look pretty, honey.”
I blink.
It’s so simple. So casual. So free of measurement or accusation that I don’t know how to answer.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
Lottie’s expression softens, but she ruins it on purpose by adding, “That lipstick is powerful. Derby came back looking confused in his pants.”
Derby stands fully. “Didn’t take y’all for ones to be catching print.”
I sputter a laugh at his call back.