Page 5 of Purr For Me
Chapter Two
Lexie looked up when Sully sat down in the patio chair next to her.
He draped an arm along the back of her chair and smiled. “You okay, kid?”
Lexie chuckled and shook her head. Sully was the only person who could get away with calling her “kid.” In his mid-forties, he was the oldest person at Bad Boy Autos and was regarded as a surrogate big brother to the crew, the owners included.
“I’m fine.” Why ruin the night by sharing her problems?
She took a swig of cold beer and looked out over Sully’s huge pool. Crystalline water rippled and sloshed against the sides as several people swam and splashed around. Laughter and ’80s rock filled the air. The happy sounds should’ve lifted Lexie’s spirits, but they had the opposite effect.
“Bullshit. You oughta know by now I can tell when you’re lying, Lex.”
Lexie took another swallow of beer and sighed. “Yeah. It’s pretty damn annoying how perceptive you are. Sometimes I just want to keep my feelings to myself, okay?”
Years of being in foster care while her mother beat her addiction taught her it was often better to stay invisible. A problem shared was not a problem halved, because people used you. Used your vulnerabilities.
Sully grunted and propped an ankle on the opposite knee. “You do too much of that.”
“What are you? My therapist?”
Lifting a black eyebrow at her grouchy response, Sully said, “Maybe you need one. I know you’re trying to find Jason, and why is Kade so insistent about you working on his car?”
“It had crossed my mind too about why me to work on Kade’s car.” She had a brain. Kade was worried, and so he should be. What Jason had done was fraudulent. She’d never have taken out a mortgage on her cabin, but what Kade didn’t understand was proving that fact would cost her money—money she didn’t have. If she could just find Jason and get the money back, or what was left of it… she lived in naïve hope. Or at least get him to sign the divorce papers and get him out of her life.
While she was angry and heartbroken, she didn’t want to see Jason in prison. Addiction made people into strangers. Her mother had been an addict for most of Lexie’s childhood. All she’d needed was help. That one person who didn’t give up on her.
Perhaps that’s why Lexie stayed with Jason for so long. She thought she could help him.
As her mother had said, “you can’t help an addict unless they want to be helped.” Jason obviously didn’t think he’d hit rock bottom yet.
Only he had, and now she had a decision to make. Turn him in or find him, get the money back if there was any, and somehow make him see that rehab was his salvation.
Grinding her teeth together, Lexie tried to bring her anger under control.
Sully was trying to be a good friend, but Lexie was like a wounded animal. She just wanted to be left alone in her misery to lick her wounds. “I can handle Kade.”
“I’m sure you can. And you made it clear how pissed you are at Tom. I’m gonna start calling you the Ice Queen. You froze him out but good.”
“Damn straight. He deserves it. Tom knows I don’t want a damn thing to do with the Colters.” Lexie’s hand tightened around the neck of the bottle. “I know Tom thinks he’s helping me. He thinks I’ll let Kade give me the money if I’m around him enough.”
“Well, Kade would you know that.” Sully gave her shoulder a squeeze. “It’s just business. Colter has a lot of influence. His magazine could really do a number on the firm. Turning him down twice before—well, Marcus and Tom don’t need their reputations battered.”
“I don’t think Kade would do that to Tom. I grudgingly admit he’s not as bad as Jason. What I can’t understand is, why Kade wants me working on his car?”
“Yes, you do.”
She swallowed. “Kade’s is looking out for his brother. Tom wants me to forgive Jason so I can move on. I’m not sure I can do that. Tom’s expecting too much from me.”
“Honey, it’s not like that. Kade requested you for this job, and the customer is always right. Besides, Italian motors are your thing.”
“Fine, but I won’t let him sway me where Jason is concerned.”
“I think he already knows that. Just get the job done and Kade will be out of your hair,” Sully told her. “Although, I heard Kade offered to cover Jason’s debts. A smart girl like you should think about taking him up on his offer.”
“Right. Then I’d owe another Colter. It’s not Kade’s job to clean up his little brother’s messes. I don’t feel right taking money from Kade. It would make me beholden to him, and I want the Colters out of my life.” Lexie sighed again, wishing Sully would drop the topic of the Colters. “I need to get drunk and get laid.” She tossed Sully a wicked smile. “Want to volunteer for the job?”
Sully threw his head back and erupted in laughter. It echoed off his house, and Lexie couldn’t resist laughing with him. At least the topic was dropped.
