Page 89 of The Maxwell Brothers
"He really does, doesn't he?" Tyler asked in an amused tone. "Where is your girl, by the way?"
“She was with Reese around here somewhere.” I looked around, locating both of them next to the entrance of the restaurant. I instantly realized something seemed off. Reese had her shoulders slumped, and Lexi was patting her back.
Next to me, Tyler straightened up. Clearly, he realized the same thing.
"Know what's going on?" he asked me, voice tense.
"No. Let's go find out."
Lexi and Reese stopped talking abruptly when Tyler and I approached.
"What's wrong?" Tyler asked.
Reese looked from Lexi to me, then to him and said, "There's no point keeping it from you. I'm a basket case."
"I know. You look upset. That's why we came over," Tyler said.
"Malcolm is here. He kept bugging me about wanting to talk to me, and I kept blowing him off. I’m guessing it’s about the fact that the neighboring building also joined the lawsuit. Something neither you nor Declan shared with me.” She gave me a halfhearted glare.
I closed my eyes, feeling guilty as hell. Why did I never learn? Protecting them always backfired.
“Reese—”
“It doesn’t matter. I know you meant well. But I feel a bit stupid for giving him the address."
"You're not stupid," Tyler said in a strong voice.
"He won't make a scene knowing everyone is here. I'll meet him in the parking lot and talk to him so he won't bother everyone else."
"Alone?" I asked. "Hell no. We'll be there."
"Exactly," Tyler said. "Anything he wants to tell you, he can say in front of us too."
"You don’t need to come out. Stay here and enjoy the party," Reese said.
Lexi patted her shoulder again. "I don't think it's a bad idea if they come with you. It's good for him to see that you've got the support of your family. Just be firm with him, okay? Don't let him put you down again."
“Put you down again”?What the hell?Reese never told me that. It was the first time it dawned on me that perhaps she didn't tell me everything in detail. But clearly she trusted Lexi, who looked concerned for my cousin. This woman never ceased to surprise me.
"Okay. Okay. Maybe that makes more sense," Reese said. "I bet he won’t stay too long.”
"When is he coming?" I asked.
"He must be arriving right now." Reese’s voice was a bit high-pitched.
"Come on. Let's go out and see," Tyler said.
"Okay. But don't tell anyone else. I didn't want to ruin Travis's party. He's worked so hard for months, and now I want him to be happy on his big day instead of worrying about my bad choices."
Tyler and Reese headed toward the gate. I deliberately didn’t follow them, waiting until they were out of earshot to ask Lexi,"What's going on? I haven't seen Reese this out of sorts in a while."
"I think she's probably feeling overwhelmed and tired of fighting. And I think that, deep down, she might still care about him, and that makes everything even harder."
"That thing about him putting her down. What was that about? I've never heard of it until now."
Lexi shook her head. "That's not important right now. Just be with her, okay? Being with family will give her strength."
"I'll protect her from that moron."
