Mack is barkin' like crazy, and it takes me a moment to realize he's not barkin' at us anymore.
"Colton," says a voice from the opposite side of the room.
I turn to see Ruby Sue standin' there. She's eyein' the both of us with a pissed off look on her face.
Shit.
Our playful mood instantly vanishes, and Penny busies herself with attemptin' to wipe off the batter with a bunch of paper towels.
"Ruby Sue," I say, nervously rubbin' the back of my neck with my hand. "What are you doin' here?"
"Can I have a word with you, Colton?" She eyes Penny for a second before turnin' back to me. "Outside?" she adds.
"Sure," I say with a nod. And then I follow her out onto the porch. Mack decides to stay in the kitchen with Penny.Traitor.
Ruby's red lips are pursed as she looks up at me. "Care to explain what's going on?" she asks, motionin' towards the kitchen with her matchin' red fingernails.
"Oh, that's Penny. She…she works for us at the bar now."
"Yeah, I already knew that. But what is she doinghere?"
I clear my throat, stallin'. I don't know why I feel so damn guilty. And the weird thing is I don't know who I'm feelin' more guilt over --- Penny or Ruby Sue. "Well, Penny's bakin' some things for us to sell, and Buddy had the brilliant idea that she should bake in my kitchen instead of her tiny apartment above the bar."
"She lives above the bar too?" Ruby Sue asks with a cringe.
I stare at her and tilt my head. I don't understand why she's so upset. "Nothing's goin' on between us, Ruby Sue." Why does that feel like an outright lie leaving my lips?
She doesn't seem convinced. "Really?"
I nod.
A satisfied smile forms on her ruby lips. "Okay. If you say so." Then she adds after a few moments, "I trust you, Colt." She fiddles with the frayin' strands on the bottom of her daisy dukes. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday party last night. I've been thinking all day of ways I can make it up to you," she says with a wink.
While I used to think it was hot when she said and did that, it suddenly turns me right the fuck off. It's almost like my brain has been rewired to only get hot over the thought of Penny. "You don't have to make it up to me, Ruby Sue. It wasn't a big deal."
"Not a big deal? You celebrated your birthday for the first time in the three years we've been together. Sounds like it was kind of a big deal." She waves her hand towards the bar as she says, "Buddy didn't tell me about the party until last minute, and I already had a client booked for a four-hour tattoo session."
"It was a surprise party. Hell, I didn't even know about it until I walked in the bar." How Buddy and Penny were able to pull it off still baffles me. They were so quiet about the whole damn thing. In fact, everyone was. I haven't celebrated my birthday since the accident. I didn't even want to celebrate last night, but the look on Penny's face when she yelled surprise changed my mind. She looked so happy, and damn it if that's not my Kryptonite when it comes to her. I want her to be happy twenty-four seven…even though recently it hasn't seemed that way on my end. I can't stop screwin' up when it comes to her. And now that Ruby Sue is here, I hope that I'm not screwin' everything up once again.
Foldin' my arms across my chest, I say, "But anyway, like I just said, not a big deal that you missed it."
I'm expectin' her to leave after our conversation; but instead, she moves to the screen door and swings it open. "Well, I'm going to go introduce myself to Penny since you don't seem like you're fixin' to."
I stay on the porch, afraid to follow her inside. Why do I feel like my two worlds are suddenly about to collide?
Fuck, I mutter to myself. Looks like I'll have a lot more apologizin' to do very soon.
* * * * *
PENNY
RUBY SUE IS pure perfection. She's wearing daisy dukes and a black tank top and looks like she just stepped out of a '50s pin-up model magazine. Her crystal green eyes are lined with thick black eyeliner that's perfectly winged at the corners. Her left arm is covered in colorful flower tattoos, and she's totally rocking her entire look like a pro. She's like a real-lifeRockabilly Barbie.
I suddenly feel like a complete moron standing there with very little makeup on and looking like an absolute wreck covered in flour, batter and God knows what else.
The only thing that made me feel better was that when she came back inside, Mack growled at her. Well, until I told him to go outside, that is. And he listened to me immediately. Hell, he should listen to me. I was the one who trained him, after all.
After Mack is out the door, Ruby Sue seems to instantly relax. How could she not love Mack? And why does Mack not like her? I thought Mack liked everyone who wasn't a complete stranger. Maybe he's not the only one that should have their hackles raised.
