by Allie Able
I grab my cell phone out of my purse and dial my brother. It rings twice before he picks up.
“Hey, Sis.” I can hear the smile in his voice.
“They are two idiot men fighting in my front yard. I need you to come break it up and deal with them or so help me God I am shoving my stilettos up their asses!”
Hell of an opening line, Lexie.
“What?” It sounds like he wants to laugh, but I hear his keys jingling in the background signaling that he is on the way. “I'm not kidding, Nick! If I had a baseball bat, I would be swinging right now! One of these fuckers just hit me in the face!”
“What?” he growls. “Go inside, lock the door, and do not come out. I'll be there in five minutes.”
He hangs up before I can say anything else. I huff as I lower my phone and look over at the two idiots still hashing it out on my front lawn. Well, screw that.
I toss my phone back in my purse and go around the side of my house. I'm still bare footed, so I tiptoe to avoid any stickers, but I can still feel them going into my feet. Zack is going to be spending his week, spraying my lawn after this.
I grab my water hose, turn the water on full blast and walk back around to the front yard. They are still rolling around.
What in the actual fuck?
I see Nick's truck coming down the street as I point the high-powered water hose at the idiots and squeeze, blasting them with ice-cold water.
Hey, it works for dogs, right?
Nick's truck squeals to a stop in front of my house. He jumps out and runs up my driveway as we both watch the two grown men scramble apart and try to escape the water.
“I told you to stay inside,” he says in anger, but I see his lips twitching.
“Have I ever listened?”
He shakes his head as he takes the water hose from me and tosses it on the ground. He takes a step towards the guys.
“Which one of you fuckers hit my sister?”
“Oh for fucks sake!” I scream and stomp my foot. “Stop it. All of you.”
They all look at me like I'm the crazy one and that just pisses me off more.
“Jared, get the fuck off of my property before I press charges. I will be filing a restraining order on your crazy ass tomorrow and here's a tip for the road… get help, you psycho mother fucker. Zack, I am so pissed at you. Go home, but come back tomorrow and remove the stickers from my yard and I will think about talking to you again sometime in the not so near future. I got them all in my feet because of you and it hurts! Nick, where in the fuck is Katie?”
No one says anything for a long minute. I'm breathing hard and my fists are clenched at my sides.
God, I'm mad!
Finally, Nick clears his throat. “She's at home with Abby.”
“Can you please go watch that sweet little girl and send Katie over here with two bottles of her best wine? Tell her that she owes me.” Without another word, I turn on my heels and walk towards my front door.
“Lexie –”
I spin around to face Zack and hold my hand up. “I do not want to hear another word from you tonight unless is it to tell me you will be here bright and early to get all of the fucking stickers out of my yard. My face hurts, I'm tired, I'm pissed off, and I have about a hundred pointy things stabbing me on the bottom of my foot.”
His lips twitch, which causes mine to narrow.
“Angel—,”
“Nope. I'm done for tonight.” I look over at Jared and notice that he looks like he got his ass kicked.
Good.
“I'm not kidding, Jared. Get the fuck off of my lawn and don't ever come back. Next time your ass will meet my stilettos and I was not fucking around about that restraining order.”
I walk inside and slam my front door.
How did such a great night turn out so damn horrible?
I don't have to wait too long before Katie is knocking on my front door.
Freshly showered, I open the door and let Katie inside. She looks at me holding ice to my face and winces. Damn, it hurts. He caught me right under my eye. I can only imagine how wonderful that will look tomorrow.
I see that Zack's truck is still parked outside and I glare in his direction. He might as well go home.
“I brought my favorite red and my favorite white. Which do you want?” Katie asks, holding both of them up in the air.
I grab the bottle of red and we make our way to the kitchen.
“You know he's not going to leave tonight, right?” She sits down on a stool at my kitchen island.
“I don't give a shit what he does,” I say, uncorking the bottles, and filling our glasses. She rolls her eyes at me.
“Yes you do. Why are you mad at him anyways?”
I take a long drink and consider her words. Why am I so mad at him?
“Because he acted like a buffoon in my front yard. I told him that Jared was only trying to piss him off, but did he listen? No he didn't.”
She eyes me speculatively and sips her wine. “Okay, tell me what all happened.”
So, that's what I do. I go over everything that happened, skipping over the hot beach sex, of course.
When I'm finished, all of the wine is almost gone and she is giving me the stink eye.
“I still don't know why you are so mad at him. Your ex shows up, says all of that shit about you, and you expect him to do nothing? That's not how these men work. Trust me, I've been dating your brother long enough to know. He wouldn't have even given him a warning. Let that man come inside and sleep. He's not going to leave that driveway tonight. He's worried about you, as he should be.”
“Hmmm…” I look at her and take another drink of my wine.
“What was that?' she asks, with a raised eyebrow.
“I said ‘okay’,” I huff.
“Good for you.” She pats my hand and stands up.
“You're such an asshole,” I say under my breath.
“I know you love me.” She winks, as she walks to my front door. Leaning in, she kisses my cheek right over where I'm already starting to bruise. “I'm glad you're okay and I'm so happy that Zack was with you,” she whispers.
“Me too,” I admit.
I wave to her as she walks down my driveway, gets in her car and pulls away.
I look over at Zack's truck and see that he is still looking in my direction. I sigh and shake my head as I make my way down the driveway. I might as well let him inside.
Chapter Sixteen
Zack
I WATCH AS LEXIE WALKS towards my truck. I can tell that she is still pissed off at me and I mentally prepare for her to tell me to leave again.
That's not going to happen.
She had a man sitting on her porch when we got home. What if I hadn’t have been with her? How far would that asshole have taken it? I don't feel bad for beating his ass either; he deserved it. I wasn't going to just stand there and let him talk to her like that. I did what I thought was right and I'm not going to apologize for it. I'm just sorry that Lexie got hurt in the scuffle.
She opens the passenger side door and climbs in.
“What are you doing?” she asks, looking over at me.
“I'm just making sure you’re safe. I'm not leaving tonight, so don't even ask me to. That asshole could come back.”
She sighs and shakes her head. “Jared isn't going to come back. He's not that stupid.”
Reaching my hand out, I cup her cheek gently. “Did you put ice on it?” I whisper.
She nods her head. “Yes.”
“I'm so sorry that you go hurt.”
“Me too.” She runs her finger over my busted lip. “Come on inside and lets get you cleaned up.”
She drops her hand away from me and opens her door. I nod my head even though she can't see me and follow up the driveway. Looking over at the water hose that still lies on the ground, I have to suppress a laugh. Only Lexie.
I lock the front door behind us before following her down the hallway to her room and I watch as sh
e leans down and starts taking stuff out of her medicine cabinet. She sets everything on the bathroom counter and then turns the shower on.
“Take your clothes off.”
I smirk and quirk my eyebrow at her. “I love it when you ask me to do that.”
She narrows her eyes at me and places her hands on her hips. “Don't push it. I'm still mad, but I also want to make sure you're okay.”
“I'm fine, Angel,” I reassure her as I pull my shirt over my head.
That little fucker did get in a few shots. My ribs hurt a bit and my face feels sore, but it's nothing serious. I bend over to remove my socks and shoes and when I look back up, Lexie is standing naked in front of me. All I can do is stare.
Is she going to take a shower with me and expect me not to do anything?
I start unbuttoning my pants, dropping both them and my boxers to the floor. My cock is already hard from just looking at her body.
“That's not happening,” she says, staring at my hardness.
“There's not much I can do about it with you standing naked in front of me, Lex,” I chuckle.
She rolls her eyes and steps into the enclosed shower. I follow behind her wondering what in the world she's doing.
We silently stare at each other for a moment with the steam of the shower billowing around us.
“Angel,” I whisper and reach for her, right as the first tear rolls down her cheek.
“I was so scared, Zack,” she admits in a low voice.
“What were you scared of, baby? I would never let anything happen to you.”
I pull her to my chest and soothingly stroke her hair.
“I know that. I didn't like seeing you get hit like that. It really freaked me out.”
“I'm fine. Just a few cuts and bruises.”
“But what if he’d have had a gun or something? I am now realizing how freaking insane he is.”
Her whole body shakes. I don't think I have ever seen Lexie so scared.
“He didn't and I'm fine.” I kiss the top of her head and hold her tighter against me.
“I'm a strong woman, Zack, but right now I just need you to hold me and tell me everything is okay.”
“I know how strong you are, Angel, but you don't have to be. I'm here and I can be strong enough for the both of us. You're safe with me. I promise. If you ever get scared, you can just hold me a little tighter because I'm not going anywhere.”
Her arms around my waist do get tighter and I don't know how long we stand like this.
I can feel her wet tears on my chest and it makes me want to kick Jared's ass all over again. Eventually she pulls back and kisses my neck. I take that as a sign that she's okay for right now. I grab the shampoo and wash her hair even though I know she did it earlier. Once I'm done washing her from her head to her toes, she grabs the soap and returns the favor.
When we get out we dry off and she takes care of each cut on my face and hands. I tell her she doesn’t have to do that, but she just shakes her head. Afterwards, we crawl into bed and I hold her naked body tightly against mine. Both of us are wide-awake, but neither of us say anything.
I think about what might have happened if I hadn’t been there, and I hold her a little tighter. I would kill for this woman, without a second thought. I already know this about myself. I have been protecting Lexie for years, making sure nothing bad ever happens to her. There have been many instances where situations might have gotten bad, if I hadn’t have been right behind her daring anyone to fuck with her.
I called Connor while I was in my truck. I told him to make that guy disappear. I don't care how he does it; I won’t let it lay heavy on my conscious. Maybe that makes me crazy. I don't know. What I do know though, is that I will protect Lexie forever, no matter what, and I don't see a restraining order stopping Jared from coming back.
Connor agreed all to quickly, and I know down deep in my gut that we will never see Jared again. I don't know what that guy is into and I really don't want to know.
I hear Lexie's breathing even out indicating that she is asleep. I kiss the top of her head and look down at her bruised face.
“I'm so sorry, Angel. I love you.”
Leaning my lips down, I gently kiss her cheek, promising myself that this is the one and only time she will ever feel pain.
The next morning I'm making a pot of coffee when Lexie wanders into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” I smile, as I pull her into a hug.
“Good morning.” She lays a little kiss on my chest, before looking up at me.
“What are you plans today?”
Her face is still a little swollen, but it's not as bruised as I thought it would be. I run my finger gently down her cheek.
“How are you feeling?” I whisper.
“I'm okay,” she replies quietly.
I nod my head and kiss her forehead before I turn to the coffee pot and start pouring both of us a cup.
“Did you want to go file that restraining order today?” I know that Jared won't be bothering her anymore, but she doesn't, and I think that maybe it would give her peace of mind.
I hand her the cup and she nods her head.
“Yeah. Parker just opened up a new law practice in town. I'm going to go see him after work. I would go this morning, but it's still just me and Jenna at the bakery today. I’m already late. I can't leave her alone.”
“Grant's brother? That Parker?” I ask.
“Yeah. He just passed his boards a few months ago,” she smiles.
“Alright. Is it okay if I come with you?”
“Of course.”
“I'll pick you up at the bakery around six o'clock tonight. Does that sound good?”
She smiles and nods her head.
We just drink a little bit more of our coffee, before she goes to get ready for work.
With it being Sunday, I'm off work all day, so I have plans to go visit my mom.
Lady has been staying with me at Lexie's house, so I clip her on her leash and we leave at the same time Lexie does.
I run home and shower before driving the short distance to my mom's house. My aunt Korean's car is in the driveway and I smile: she was my dad's only sister and she really helped my mom when he died. That's actually how we ended up in Cape Isle.
I walk up the steps and don't bother knocking before I walk inside.
“Hey,” I call as I move through the living room and towards the kitchen, the aroma of lunch being cooked drifting through the air.
Korean is standing at the stove and my mom is sitting down at the island. I go to her first and kiss her cheek.
“Hey, mom,” I smile.
She cups my cheek and gives me a weak smile in return. “Hello my handsome son.”
I narrow my eyes and study her. She looks like she doesn't feel good.
“Are you okay? You look like you're sick.”
She waves a hand dismissing my concerns. “I'm fine. Just a little tired.”
I see Korean shoot her a look and I have to wonder what all that is about.
“Are you getting enough rest?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Zack. I'm fine. What I want to know is why my son is showing up looking like he got his ass kicked.”
I chuckle and shake my head. I still don't believe her, but decide to let it go for now.
Instead of answering her, I walk over to Korean and give her a kiss on the cheek too.
“It smells delicious in here. Is mom making you do all of the cooking today?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “Not all of it. I saved the potatoes for you,” she says with a wink.
“How kind of you.”
“But first, sit down and tell us why your face looks like that.”
I sigh, but do as she says. I know better than to cross these two women.
“Lexie's ex-boyfriend showed up at her house last night and let's just say that what he said did not go over well with me.”
They both stare at me with their eyebro
ws raised in question.
I run my hand through my hair and shake my head. “I'm not going to repeat what he said. It was crude and uncalled for. He has been practically stalking Lexie for a while now.”
“So, you used your face to fight him?” Mom asks.
I laugh. “No, he may have been a little quicker than he looked.”
“And how did Lexie respond to all of this?” Korean asks.
Oh, they are just going to love this.
“She called her brother and then squirted us with the water hose.”
They both blink at me for a long second, before dissolving into giggles, and I give them a moment to calm down. Finally my mom looks over at me as she wipes her eyes.
“Oh, God, I love that girl.”
My mouth pulls into a soft smile. “Me too,” I say quietly.
Her hand covers mine and she gives it a few pats. “I know you do. I watched you two together all throughout your childhood. You two were meant to be together and I'm so happy that you both finally realized that, before it was too late.”
I nod my head in acknowledgment and look back over at Korean, who is studying us with a sad smile on her face.
“Are those potatoes ready for me, yet?”
She snaps out of whatever spell she was under and nods her head. “Yep. Get to it.”
I chuckle and lean over to kiss my mom's cheek again, before standing and making my way to the kitchen sink.
We eat a late lunch and I hang out with Mom and Korean all afternoon. She has a few things that need to be fixed around the house, and after I finish up, it's almost time to collect Lexie. I tell them ‘goodbye’ and head to the bakery.
I walk in right as they are about to lock the door.
I'm smiling and so caught up in thoughts of seeing Lexie that I don't even notice the little whirlwind that is coming at me.
“What in the fuck where you thinking? She could have been seriously hurt.” Jenna screams.
My wide eyes find Lexie's and she just sighs. “Oh for fucks sake.”
Chapter Seventeen
Lexie
SHE PICKS TODAY TO BECOME protective over me. I mentally sigh and roll my eyes. Zack's are wide and almost a little fearful, which is just hilarious.
