Page 12 of Purr For Me
Chapter Four
Thunder crashed overhead, and lightning flashes flickered outside the windows of the bay doors as Lexie installed brakes on Kade’s car. She loved storms and relished the way the thunder reverberated through her body.
Finished with the front passenger side, Lexie moved over to the driver’s side and started removing the old brake assembly.
Tom came over and looked at the car’s undercarriage. “I’m glad you warned Kade that this will be an extensive job. Good thing Zip is a wiz with welding and metalworking. Fixing that rusted floor is gonna be a bitch.”
“I know, but he loves fixing stuff like that,” Lexie said. “He was a lucky find for you guys, and it was lucky for him you did.”
Tom smiled as his gaze traveled to where Zip was putting new custom hubcaps on a Ferrari. “He’s a good guy, and he needed the help.”
Lexie’s heart went out to Zip. “Yeah. Losing his parents and having to raise his brother hasn’t been easy.”
“No, it hasn’t been, but he’s doing a good job. Eddie’s a real handful.”
Lexie nudged Tom. “You should talk.”
Grinning, Tom said, “You were just as bad as me, according to you.”
Fond memories of all the hell she and her friends had raised as teenagers made Lexie chuckle. “True. Anyway, it will take a lot of work to get this thing in shape, but it’ll be worth it in the end.”
“I know that look.”
“What look?”
“The one that says you’re enjoying the hell out of a job. Does that mean you’re not pissed at me anymore?”
Lexie’s anger at Tom crumbled when he gave her a half-smile. “No, I’m not mad anymore. I’ll be professional and do a great job.”
Tom pulled her into a sideways hug. “I never doubted it. You know I’d never hurt you on purpose. I know this is hard, but maybe it’ll be good for you, too.”
Lexie’s forehead creased as she looked up at him. “How do you figure? I’m trying to move forward, and every time Kade comes around, it just brings it all back. He’s Jason’s brother, Tommy.”
Tom turned her to him and squeezed her arm. “I know, but you shouldn’t hate the guy because he’s Jason’s brother. You’re transferring your anger onto Kade, and that’s really not fair. Maybe if you gave Kade a break, it would help you get past some of your bitterness.”
Ignoring the stab of pain to her heart, Lexie said, “Look at you playing therapist. That’s not really your style.”
Tom laughed. “You can thank Kendra for that. Don’t tell anyone, but she’s sort of sanded down a few of my rough edges.”
The love in Tom’s eyes as he spoke of his wife twisted a shard of jealousy into Lexie’s gut. She was thrilled that her friends had found happiness together, but it hurt to know she’d failed with Jason.
She forced a smile and patted Tom’s chest. “Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me. Now, I’d better get back to work before my boss gets on my case.”
Tom gave her arms a last squeeze and released her. “That’s right. Quit slacking.”
Lexie gave him a playful shove and resumed her work. As she did, she thought about what Tom had said and admitted he was right. Kade had always been nice to her.
Setting the ruined brake assembly to the side, Lexie knew that punishing Kade for Jason’s transgressions was wrong.
Kade had shared the news about Jason being in Michigan with no prompting. She bit her lip. Trust had to be earned, and shit, she’d had her trust trampled by his brother. But she would reserve judgement and trust him for now.
Then she patted the worn tire hanging over her head. “Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll get you shining and purring in no time.”
* * *
Pulling up to Bad Boy Autos, Kade turned off the ignition and sat there for a few moments. All day his thoughts had been split between Lexie, his car, and the huge story he was working on. While he’d finished up a different article that morning, now Kade swung by to check on Lexie’s progress with his car, and to talk to her bosses about the Erickson racing family.
They ran in the same circles, so they may have heard something about them that might be pertinent to his story.
