Page 72 of Call it Reckless

I winked at the young girl, who was beaming from ear to ear. “Alrighty then. Let’s go find you some coveralls. By the time your dad returns, we’ll have you rotating tires and changing oil.”

Reid rolled his eyes. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” he muttered, making us both laugh.

* * *

The music was blaringfrom my speakers, and Lexi danced around the kitchen while I made grilled cheese and soup. It was great, but I figured now was not a good time to experiment with cooking.

“I love your house, Bristol.”

“Thanks.”

I’d texted Reid earlier to see how things were going and to let him know we’d moved on to my home, but I hadn’t heard back from him. I hoped everything was all right. He’d seemed pretty serious when he left the garage earlier.

I ladled the chicken noodle soup into some bowls and cut the sandwiches into triangles and set it on the table. Lexi and I ate while she told me about school.

“Math is my favorite subject,” she told me. “I’m good at it, and sometimes, the teacher asks me to help other kids in my class. I don’t mind, but I hate when she wants me to help Lucas.”

“Why’s that?”

“He’s a jerk.”

“Some boys are,” I answered carefully. “What makes him a jerk?”

She took another bite of her grilled cheese and chewed slowly. I couldn’t help but notice the slight slump in her shoulders that wasn’t there earlier.

“He went to Miss Pettigrew’s school, too. He says proper ladies don’t do boy things like fish or work on cars. His mom is the one who wanted to eat with Daddy at the cotillion. His twin sister was the girl getting her hair done.”

“Ah, I see. You don’t believe him, do you?”

“No. Not after meeting you.”

But I heard the doubt in her voice.

“What did your dad say?”

Her little shoulders slumped even more. “I didn’t tell him. There must be a reason he stopped doing all the fun things with me like camping and hiking. He doesn’t want to build a soapbox car with me. And it’s not that I don’t like dressing up. I kind of do. But I also liked when we did those things, too.”

“I guess he’s busy with work.”

She shook her head. “Sometimes. But I think that he thinks the same as Lucas. I think he thinks I should be more like my mom, who didn’t like those things.”

I struggled to think of what to say to her.

“I think it’s possible to be both. You can like to do outdoorsy activities and also like to dress up and have fun doing social things. But what I think is most important is the kind of person you are. That’s probably what your dad wants. From everything I’ve heard about your mom, she was wonderful because of the way she treated others, not because of the things she enjoyed doing—or not doing. I know I haven’t known you that long, but I think you’re incredible, Lexi. You’re fun to be around, smart, interesting, and best of all, you’re well-rounded.”

“What’s that mean?” she asked with wide, innocent eyes that were taking in everything I said.

“It means you know how to relate to a lot of different things, not just things taught at charm school or things your dad likes to do, but all of it.”

She beamed. “And now, I like to learn about cars and racing.”

“Exactly.”

“Maybe now that my dad likes you so much, we can do those things together.”

“I’d love that, honey.”

She beamed. “Me, too.”

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