Sidewalk Flower (24 page)

“I’ll do my best.
 
What time?
 
Wait, what day is it?” she asked, her internal calendar still on
vacation.

A smile curled itself up in his
lips.
 
“Distracted are we?”

She gave up the wall and stood tall and
in his face.
 
He really didn’t want to go
there with her.
 

He
hmph’ed,
glanced at the clock and then enlightened her.
  
“Well, looks like it just turned Thursday.
 
The party is in two days, two o’clock,
my
house.”

Crap.
 
Only forty-eight hours to embalm her veins with enough ice to endure
Vangie. But, she’d do anything for Maryella, just like Jaxon.
 

Anyhow, she knew how it would play
out.
 
She’d get there, stay for maybe
thirty minutes, at which time Vangie would flip her lid about something that in
her mind would be earth shattering and Trista would quietly make her exit.

“Okay, Saturday, two o’clock, I’ll be
there. Don’t tell Maryella though.
 
I
wouldn’t want her to be disappointed if things—fall through.”

He nodded.
 

She followed Jaxon out to his car.
 
Time to say goodbye.
 
Her tummy ached.
 
Two whole days.
 
Maybe Vangie’d lighten up when she saw Trista
at the party with Lucky.
 
It might be the
only chance she’d have for drama-free time with Jaxon and Maryella.
 
It could work.
  

At the Saab, Lucky stood by the passenger
door, a grin coming alive as soon as she locked eyes with him.
 
He then pulled in his bottom lip and glanced
down to Jaxon in the driver seat.
 

Yep, I know,
it’s time for you to go.
 
She
strolled up to him and with the pad of her index finger, smoothed out that
small patch of hair he liked to leave unshaved.
 
It jutted out just so, as always.
 
What did he have to be nervous about?
 
He was a guy.
 
Vangie would
probably be all over him.
 
Aach!

Jaxon’s foot tested the gas pedal, making
the engine hum.
 
She’d better let Lucky
get in, sit down and hold on tight.

“Hey, don’t worry.
 
He shouldn’t kill you.”

“That doesn’t sound good, Trista.
 
You do realize that, right?”

“Just kidding.
 
Good luck at your meeting tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”
 
He looked down at her, focusing on her lips.
  

In that moment, she’d have offered him
the floor space in her office and her spare sleeping bag.
 
But that wasn’t going to happen tonight.
 
Instead, she accepted a quick peck on the
cheek before he lowered himself into Jaxon’s Saab.
 

She leaned down far enough to look Jaxon
in the eyes.
 
“I’ll see you on Saturday
then, at two.
 
Be nice.”

Jaxon nodded after rolling his eyes and
then the two men lurched backward and then forward.
 
The Saab was a blur.
 
“Good luck, boys,” she called quietly after
them, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes.
 

Back inside, she found her buddy at the
front desk.
 
“Ben, you’re free to go
shower and eat something besides ramen noodles.”
 

“Your eyes are red, Tris.
 
Were you crying?”

“Pshaw, no.
 
Not hardly.
 
Go on, get out of here before I change my mind and beg you to
stay.”
 
She left Ben quickly to head back
to her office.
 
Once there, she wiped
again at her eyes.

Chapter
Fifteen

Jaxon had a beautiful home, a gorgeous
little girl and a woman who could melt the steel of the Eiffel Tower.
 

Vangie Agosto was stunning and
surprisingly charming.
 
Lucky couldn’t
help but home in on the way her red lips worked around her mouth’s natural pout
to let her words out.
 
That first night,
she’d greeted him and Jaxon at the door.
 
She had soft brown hair styled like the women in the classic movies he’d
seen, but she wore a sheer black robe that covered a silky, floor-length night
gown, something he’d surely never seen in person.
 
She’d smiled at him and then purred to Jaxon
that she’d be in their room, waiting.
 

At breakfast the next morning, he’d eaten
Froot Loops with Maryella who’d been curious about his accent and wanted to
know all about Tennessee.
 
He’d had to
remind himself that his sweet little girl cousin was only five years old.
 
And smart and pretty.
 
She’d be a heartbreaker sooner than Jaxon
knew it, just like Trista.
 

He’d expected a lot worse from this
home.
 
By Trista’s account, Vangie should
have been green-skinned with jealousy.
 
All in all, things weren’t that bad.
 
He’d gone to sleep last night looking forward to the party now that it
seemed Trista had nothing to worry about.

Just now, he finished up another round of
cereal with Maryella, promised he’d tell her all about the special horses they
had where he was from, then followed a very tired looking Jaxon out to his
car.
 

“Shit, it’s early.”
 
Jaxon rolled his neck then chugged the rest
of a bottle of water from his car’s side door.
 
“Let’s go.”
    

“All right.”
 
He appreciated Jaxon’s help but wondered what
kind of impression the two of them would make at this meeting if one of them
was cursing and dressed for a night in the club.
 
“It’s fine with me if you want to sleep in
the car while I go in,” he offered.
 
But
Jaxon insisted on going.
 

“Hello, gentlemen.”
 
A secretary chimed and graciously asked them
to have a seat.
 
“I’ll let Mr. Danson
know you’ve arrived.”

He was wearing the only suit he owned and
had been thankful for the iron Jaxon had loaned him last night.
 
He’d gone over the gray slacks and black
shirt so many times, he was surprised he hadn’t lifted the color out and left
burn marks in its place.
 
Back home, they
did their business in jeans, which he would love to be wearing right now.
 
But this was important.
 
He tugged at the inner seam of his pant leg,
hoping to loosen the pinch in his crotch.
 

Jaxon whispered into Lucky’s ear behind
the back of his leather-banded hand. “Hey, this guy, Danson, he’s pretty
straight up.
 
No punches pulled.
 
He’s gonna tell you like it is so just listen
to what he has to say.”
 

The secretary busied herself by arranging
a fresh vase of flowers when the intercom lit up and she summoned them from
their seats.

“
Okay gentlemen, the
office is
the first one on the left.
 
Mr. Danson is ready for you.”

They thanked her and headed down the
hall.
 
Lord, please let this go my way
.
 
It wasn’t just about helping his family anymore.
 

Jaxon shifted into reverse and checked
that the area behind him was clear.
 
“Shit mate, I didn’t see that coming.”

“Me neither,” he said as he lifted his
eyebrows and raked a hand through his neatly slicked back hair.
 

“Well, at least he saved you some
hassle.
 
Hey, I’m sorry it didn’t go your
way, Lucky.”

“It’s okay.
 
I’ll figure something out.”
 
He’d have to come up with that other way,
quick.
 
The thought of going home empty
handed had never occurred to him.
 

“Funny little Cuzzy, but I actually
believe you.”

Little did Jaxon know that Lucky’s plans
now involved having Trista with him, wherever he
was.
 
If the money and opportunity didn’t happen in
California, he’d make things work back home.
 
Maybe Jaxon had sensed that when Mr. Danson had considered backing Lucky
if he could find one more investor.
 
Jaxon hadn’t said anything and Lucky wouldn’t put a grown man on the
spot.
 
He wouldn’t lie; he was surprised
his cousin hadn’t offered to help him out.
 
But who could blame a guy for not wanting to give up his fortune?
 
And his best friend?
 
Lucky could care less about the money, but
Trista?
 
No way would he put himself in a
situation where losing her was a possibility.
 
Apparently to Jaxon, having him around meant exactly that.
 

It might be seventy degrees out, maybe,
as they barreled their way south on Interstate 5.
 
That is until they hit the lunchtime
traffic.
 
Apparently Jaxon figured this
was as good a time as any for a talk.

“So, what’s going on with you and
Trissy?”

They were grown men and they were
family.
 
He shouldn’t have to hide
anything from his cousin.
 
“What do you
want to know, exactly?”

“How much is there to know, exactly?”
Jaxon asked.
 
“Lucky?
 
How much?”

“Look, I understand that you’re
protective of her.
 
But I’d never hurt
Trista if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Jaxon huffed out a breath.
 
“So you’re in pretty deep.”

“I care about her very much, if that’s
what you’re asking.”
 
He didn’t feel the
need to give Jaxon a play by play.
 
His
cousin had said enough, the implication was understood.
 
Jaxon had Trista’s back and would plant his
foot in Lucky’s ass if he so much as made her cry.
 
He got it.
 

“She’s special, Lucky…and doesn’t need to
be hurt by anyone else.”
 
Jaxon frowned
then turned his attention to the sea of cars ahead of them.
   

Hurt her
?
 
The thought warped through his mind as Jaxon
drove on in silence for a while.
 
He
would never do that.
 
He’d never laid a
malicious hand to any woman and never would.
 
He’d carefully sidestepped Trista’s awkward offers, unsure of the reason
for why she’d acted that way and then held her through the painful night in
Oklahoma.
 

Maybe Jaxon didn’t want him making any
promises to Trista he couldn’t keep.
 
The
two were best friends.
 
What if Jaxon
knew Trista would never agree to leave California?
 
And feared her being forced
into a long distance relationship.
 
Maybe Jaxon had a point.

“So what’s your plan now, mate?”

His turn to blow out a
forceful breath.
“I was really hoping today’s would have worked
out.
 
Damn, it would have been
nice.”
   

“You gonna head back to Tennessee?” Jaxon
asked, still staring straight ahead.

It quickly dawned on Lucky that this was
one of those moments in life where a man had to be a man and do what was right
for someone else.

“I think I have to.
 
Regroup and come up with some other
plan.”
 
Win the lottery
.

Jaxon scratched at the back of his
head.
 
“You know we go out on the road in
less than two weeks.”

“Yeah, Trista mentioned that.”

“So, you thought about taking some time
off and maybe catching a show or two?”

It was an invitation, for sure, but he’d
never pictured himself as a traveling fan.
 
Besides, there was work to be done back home.
 
He couldn’t just follow the band around.
 
And anyway, he’d be out of spending cash
soon.
 
There was no way in hell he’d live
off anyone else’s earnings.
 
He had to go
home.