Page 106 of Sweet on You
36
Lex
“Okay, I’m sorry, explain this to me again?”
I heard Ronnie’s voice carrying through the waiting room area of the county jail.
How had I missed her earlier when I was walking in? Maybe she was in the bathroom. She looked pale… a little sweaty. Maybe she was sick?
“So… I need to go to the post office and get a cashier’s check for the ten thousand dollars? Then bring it back here, and you give me a receipt to use to get reimbursed when Sarah comes in for her trial.”
“If,” the guard behind the plexi-glass corrected her. “Ifshe comes in for her trial. And yes, that’s correct. We can’t take personal checks. Too much risk of them bouncing or being fraudulent.”
“Right,” Ronnie exhaled. “Of course. I’ve seen enough cop shows. I should know that by now.”
“Ronnie,” I said, softly.
Her muscles visibly tightened and she spun to face me, breathlessly panting and glancing around. “Lex? I thought… I thought you weren’t coming until later with the Murphys.”
I shrugged, smiling. “Change of plans. They’re going to bring Olivia to see Sarah after lunch and keep her for the night. I think they missed not having her yesterday.”
Ronnie exhaled and rushed toward me, completely forgetting about the conversation she’d been in with the cop behind her. I caught her in my arms, tucking her against my body and kissing her hard.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean what I said yesterday.”
I looked down at her, tears filling my eyes. “Yes, you did,” I whispered. “And that’s okay. It occurred to me… you’ve never known me as anything other thanthisLex.” I gestured at myself. “The clean, sober small business owner who loves you.”
She looked up at me as a single tear dropped from her bottom lashes. “I’m still so sorry. I don’t want you thinking I don’t trust you because of your past.”
“I know that’s not the case.” I took a deep breath. “And I don’t fault the people who no longer trust me, like my parents. My grandmother. I made that bed and I have to lie in it. I just hope they can give me another chance someday.”
Ronnie nodded, pushing onto her toes and kissing me again. “That’s the chance I want to give Sarah. I just have to go to the post office and get a cashier’s check—”
I shook my head, cutting Ronnie off. “That is the nicest thing, Ronnie. But Sarah doesn’t want to be let out of jail.”
Ronnie rolled her eyes. “I know shesaysthat now, but that’s crazy. She’s just being stubborn.”
“She’s not just being stubborn. She made some really good points to me in there and she made them soberly. I think we should honor her wishes.”
Ronnie stood quietly for a moment before rolling her shoulders back and giving a single resolute nod. “Okay. But when she’s released after doing her time? We’ll be there for her.”
I chuckled, threading my fingers through hers and tugging her to the front door with a wave to the guards. “That’s a deal.” We walked silently toward the parking lot. “I know my life isn’t easy to fit into, Ronnie. But thank you for trying.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? I always thoughtI’dbe the difficult one in a relationship. It’s nice to meet someone who gives me a run for my money.”
I bumped her gently with my hip as we crossed the parking lot to her car. “Hey, who says you’renotthe difficult one?”
I paused, turning her to face me and taking her hands. “I need you to know something,” I said. “Sarah and I will never get back together. I’m not in love with her. I don’t know that I ever was in love with her. We were just… companions who shared a similar interest in heroin.”
Ronnie nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “I think… I think I know that now. But I’m still a little insecure. It might take me some time to feel that trust even though you don’t deserve to have to wait for it—”
I cupped her jaw. “Hey, that’s what supporting each other is. I will never stop trying to prove myself trustworthy to you.”
She blinked and a single tear slipped down her cheek. I caught it with the back of my knuckle. “I promise that, even if I lapse and feel insecure, I’ll never stop believing in you.”
“I’d like to stand here and promise I’ll never touch drugs or alcohol again… but the truth is, that’s a promise I’m not sure I can keep.”
She dropped her forehead to mine and nodded. “One day at a time, Lex. We’ll take this one day at a time and weather the storms together.”
