“Hey, kid,” I whispered, putting my hands to him and gently taking him from Rush’s hold.
He instantly latched onto my hair, grunted as he used it to pull himself up, and I ignored the pain in my scalp when he landed a sloppy wet kiss on my lips.
He came away with my raspberry lipstick around his mouth, bobbled in my arms with excitement and screeched his victory.
I started laughing.
Totally a flirt.
“Take a load off,” Shy invited. “And if he gets too much, hand him to whoever or put him down. He’s motoring now and he hasn’t found his quota of trouble today so we’ll need to give him his shot.”
I grinned at Shy, moved to the chesterfield and sat in it with Playboy in my lap, using a thumb to swipe my lipstick from his mouth, something he turned his head this way and that to avoid, clearly liking that mark of triumph.
The minute I got my ass to the seat, though, Playboy immediately showed everyone a healthy dose of the lace of my pale pink bra by yanking down my neckline.
I burst out laughing.
He started giggling with me.
I straightened my top then put him up to my face.
“You’re a little bugger, aren’t you?”
He dove in for another kiss.
I kept laughing.
“That’s it,” Tack growled, pulling him out of my arms and tucking him, belly down, at his hip.
I was disappointed Tack grabbed him until I saw Playboy reach out his arms like he was flying.
Too cute.
Okay, this family rocked.
My purse rang.
I looked up at Rush, who’d planted his ass on the arm of the chesterfield by me, and I shrugged the thin strap of my purse off my shoulder.
“Here, Rebel,” Tabby said, offering me the beer.
I turned her way, took it on a, “Thanks,” then opened my little bag enough to see that my phone said Diesel was calling.
“Gotta take that?” Rush asked quietly.
I looked up at him and shook my head, tucking my purse by my thigh in the arm of the couch.
D would leave a message.
“So, you’re a videographer?” Tabby asked.
She was in a club chair, Shy sitting on the arm.
Tyra also was in a club chair.
Tack was standing, keeping an eye on a “motoring” Playboy.
Good father.
Good grandfather.
I looked to Tabby, thinking it was sweet she went around my foray into porn.
“Kind of. I’d like to be a filmmaker,” I told her before taking a sip of beer.
“What’s the difference?” Tyra asked.
“Now, I do some weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries. Other events. Not my favorite, but it pays the bills.” Or did. “I also do videos for local bands. Some stuff for companies. Vloggers. I get to be more creative with those so those are better. But I’d like to make films. I have a script, I think it’s good. I just need to get organized. Find some funding. Maybe do a teaser trailer and—”
“You have a script?” Rush asked.
I looked up at him. “Yeah.”
“What’s the script?” he inquired.
I shrugged and muttered, “Just something I put together. Before I get serious, I’ll need a real screenwriter to take a look at it. It’s rough. It needs cleaning up.”
“Baby, you wrote a movie?”
I sat in the chesterfield and stared up at him.
Diesel.
Mad.
Molly.
Diane (when she was alive).
Amy.
Paul.
Essence.
Maybe a little bit from some other friends.
I would get it from all of them.
Easy.
But I’d never had the kind (or amount) of pride I saw in his face aimed at me.
It felt really good.
And he hadn’t even read the thing.
My parents and Gunner never looked at me like that. Not even when I won an award in high school that had my teacher telling me I should try to get into UCLA film school, sending in the video I made of our cheerleading squad and how hard they worked to get to state with my application.
“It’s rough, Rush,” I whispered.
“You finish it?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Most folks don’t type that first letter, Rebel. You finished it. That’s fuckin’ cool,” he replied.
“What’s it about?” Tyra queried.
I tore myself away from basking in the glow of Rush’s handsome, admiring face and looked to his stepmom.
“It’s about a band. Kinda like The Commitments, except set in Denver. They’re a rock band with a female lead. Very Blue Moon Gypsies, except the lead falls in love with one of the guitar players. It’s a romance with heavy elements of women in rock and the music