Page 16 of Purr For Me
Chapter Five
“So, I hear Kade asked you out.”
Lexie looked up from studying the drawing she’d been working on and almost choked on the sip she’d just taken.
Sully smiled and sat down across from her at a table in the break room. “I think you should go.”
Lexie slapped her pencil down on her sketch pad and folded her arms over her chest. “I will kill that little nark. Apparently, Zip can’t keep his lips zipped.”
Sully’s grin irritated Lexie even more. “Actually, it wasn’t Zip—this time. I overheard it myself. It wasn’t like Kade was being secretive about it. Anyone walking by would’ve heard it, which a few of us were.”
Lexie rolled her eyes and groaned. “Does the whole garage know?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, joy. Color me thrilled.” Sarcasm laced Lexie’s statement.
“We also know you turned him down.”
Lexie fixed him with a glare. “You know what amazes me? That a group of supposedly big, tough he-men are just as interested in gossip and meddling in people’s business as women. This is why I’m not friends with many women. I hate drama. Looks like I’m working in the wrong place to avoid that. Doesn’t seem like there’s much testosterone around here.”
Sully barely raised an eyebrow over her insult. “Why d'you turn him down? You need to have some fun.”
“I have plenty of fun,” Lexie said, knowing she was going to hell for lying. “Besides, I’m going out with Pace for dinner on Thursday night.” She was. And for once, she was looking forward to some male company.
Sully let out a short bark of laughter. “Really? That’s great.”
Lexie swore. “Nowthatwill be all around the mechanic’s bay too.”
Sully winked at her. “No, it won’t. Cross my heart… Did Kade have any further news on Jason’s whereabouts?”
“He’s not in Michigan.” She shook her head. “I just want this over with. I feel like my life is on hold. A divorce is painful, but it’s also closure.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Sully replied. “After my divorce, I just wanted to move on and forget all the crap that happened. Thing is, unless you have the mentality of a frozen shark, you can’t do that. I tried, but it doesn’t work. I learned that to get through terrible times, you must deal with the pain until it doesn’t hurt as much.”
Lexie folded her arms over her stomach. “I’ve been hurting for so long, Sully. I just want to find Jason, get my finances sorted, and get on with my life. Kade is simply a means to an end. Both of us want the same thing—to find Jason. If not for Jason, we’d have nothing in common.”
“You could be right. But he can find Jason without you, you can finish his car without his help, so why is he hanging around?”
Lexie chewed her bottom lip and realized she’d been thinking the same thing. “I think he’s worried I’ll report Jason to the police.”
“Police? What for?”
Sully was all fatherly concern, and she loved him for it. “Don’t worry. It’s just he… Never mind.”
“I’m beginning to hate this guy.”
She hugged Sully. “Don’t. You of all people know what addiction can do to a person.”
“You really know how to bring a guy down to earth,” Sully responded. “But, yeah. Doesn’t mean I have to be a fan of Jason’s.”
Lexie said, “I’m not exactly a fan either, but I’m still his wife until he signs those bloody papers, and I want to help him if I can.”
Rising, Sully sighed. “Someone needs to, but remember, you can’t help him if he doesn’t want help. Don’t waste your life on a lost cause. Be there if he needs you, but move on if he doesn’t.”
Lexie’s mind whirled as Sully left the break room. She hadn’t thought past getting the money back from Jason. What would she do when she found him? Did she have it in her to help Jason again, like Nick, her mother’s last boyfriend, had helped her mother? She’d tried so hard, but Jason had kicked her around like an old football you took out of the closet now and then to play with.
She returned her attention to her drawing, but a small voice inside kept whispering it was time to let Jason go. No matter what happened, she was done. Let Kade look out for his brother.
