Page 30 of Fight for Me
Lexie’s eyes widened, a little puff of air escaping her lips. “Four? Wow. You definitely have some history then, huh?”
A knowing smile settled on Jake’s face as he turned the handle on the jack and lowered her car back to the asphalt.
“You could say that, yeah. Here, all I’m doing is the same steps in reverse,” he said, changing the topic abruptly. But Lexie didn’t want to learn any more about changing a tire. She wanted to know about Brooklyn. The girl Jake had known all his life. The girl who smiled and teased and challenged him. The girl who—
“Lex?”
Jake’s voice brought her mental avalanche to a sudden stop.
“Yeah?”
“Brooklyn is my cousin.”
Now it was her turn to struggle.
“Your cousin?”
“Yes, one of nine, remember?” Jake smirked as if he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. “She was here for a campus tour. She’ll be a freshman next year.”
“Oh.” Lexie took a long breath, one that suddenly felt easier, and tried not to show how relieved she was. After all, there was no reason she should care one way or the other.
But you do, a small voice sing-songed, and she quickly silenced it.
Jake used the tire iron to tighten the lug nuts, saying nothing as she watched. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat.
“So, how long have you been with Colt?” His voice was casual, but Lexie saw his shoulders tense as he asked.
She blew out a breath.
“I’m sorry about the way he treated you,” she said, avoiding the question. “Sometimes he can... Well, you saw how he was. He shouldn’t have been a jerk.”
Jake shrugged as he began gathering his tools into a pile. Then he leaned back on his heels and dusted his hands on his jeans.
“As long as he isn’t a jerk to you. That’s what matters,” he said, rising to his feet. He reached a hand down to help her up, and she took it, trying not to watch the way the muscles in his forearms bunched as he pulled her to her feet. It was fully dark now, and his face was unreadable in the harsh glare of his truck’s headlights.
“I’ll follow you home to make sure the spare doesn’t burst, but don’t get above forty-five miles an hour,” he warned, walking over to open her door. “And I can go with you to get a new tire tomorrow, if you want.”
Lexie wiped her hands on her jeans, then nodded as she slid behind the wheel, choosing not to analyze the lump that had formed in her throat. Jake thumped his fist on the roof of her car and started to turn away, but then stopped mid-step.
“And Lex?” he added.
She stopped breathing as she looked up at him and waited for his next words.
“You can always call me. For anything.”
Lexie watched him where he stood motionless, his face half in shadow, and nodded again, unable to answer. Her eyes jumped to the rearview mirror as he made his way back to his truck, and she tracked him while he climbed inside. When his lights flashed, she pulled slowly onto the roadway and headed toward her apartment.
And when her cell phone vibrated in the center console—Colt’s name lighting up the screen—for the first time ever, she ignored it.
Just show up.
That was Grandma Ruby’s big advice.
Show up. Be consistent. Be the better man.
Jake couldn’t see his knuckles, but he knew they were white against the steering wheel as he followed Lexie’s car down the dark road. Of all the things that might have happened, he’d never expected to catch her as she’d fallen to pieces like the world was ending.
But he’d do it again in a heartbeat.
