Page 3 of The Love Fix (The Sunrise Cove #8)

Heath hadn’t been born with patience. Nope, it’d come to him slowly, painfully, over time. So waiting for Lexi to come back

into the living room? Simple enough. Keeping Ashley calm? Not nearly as easy. “You’re wearing out the floor. It’s going to

be okay, you know.”

She stopped pacing the length of the living room and whirled to face him, her hands clenched together in front of her. “You

don’t know that.”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

She raised a brow. “Several times.”

“Name one.”

“When you told me I could come out of the closet and not lose any friends.”

His expression darkened. “The people who didn’t stand by you were never your friends.”

Ashley dipped her head in acknowledgment of that. “Okay, how about when I wanted to backpack through Europe for a year instead

of going straight to college and you said I absolutely should. That was one big fat fib.”

He shrugged. “More like reverse psychology. And you’re welcome. You got your educator credentials in three years, and you love teaching.”

“I do,” she admitted. “But this, with Lexi. Not telling her the truth of why I asked her to come until now? I don’t see how

it’s going to be okay.”

“That was a choice you made,” he reminded her gently, always gently with Ashley, whom he considered a baby sister, one who hadn’t quite found her way back to herself after getting hurt

in her last relationship.

Ashley sighed. “I should’ve told her everything from the start. So please tell me how it’s going to be okay.”

He smiled. “Because you always make everything okay.”

“You’re going to stay and help me explain?”

“Whatever you need.” And he meant that. Daisy had given Heath stability when he’d had none, strength when he couldn’t find

his own, and the safety net of the family you make. So hell yes, by extension, he’d always help Ashley however he could.

Because as he knew all too well, everyone made mistakes. He was counting on that very fact to be the bridge between the sisters.

They heard footsteps coming down the hall. Mayhem, who’d been sleeping on Heath’s feet, sat up, tail thumping in excitement

at meeting someone new. Since this often involved a nosy nose to the crotch, Heath grabbed him by the harness.

When Ashley sucked in a nervous breath, he murmured, “Just be you,” as Mayhem excitedly danced in place.

Lexi stopped in the doorway. The sisters, not being blood related, looked nothing alike. Ashley barely came up to his shoulder,

all soft, warm curves, usually dressed to match her free spirit and the wild red waves that hung down her back.

Lexi had at least six inches on her, her straight honey-brown hair hitting her shoulders, perfectly matching honey-brown eyes that gentled when they landed on her sister but turned chilly for him.

Not a surprise. He’d earned that chilliness.

“Who’s the cutie pie?” Lexi asked of the massive yellow Lab Heath held back from licking her to death.

He slid her a smile. “I knew you thought I was cute.”

Lexi gave an impressive eye roll, and he laughed. “This is Mayhem. Officially, he belongs to Grandpa Gus, but he’s mostly

my problem.”

“Is he friendly?”

“Psychotically so.”

She dropped to her knees, holding out her hands. Stunned by the melting Ice Queen, Heath let go of Mayhem. “Be good.”

“I’ll try, but no promises,” Lexi said, making him laugh. How had he forgotten that beneath her tough exterior lived a warm,

sexy, funny-as-hell soul?

Mayhem wiggle-butted his way across the room, throwing himself down onto the floor at Lexi’s knees, going toes up for a belly

rub.

“Aw, look at you,” Lexi said on an easy laugh that Heath hadn’t heard since they’d been kids. “Who’s a good boy?”

There hadn’t been a single day in Mayhem’s life when he’d been a good boy, but Lexi sat on the floor so the eighty-five-pound

dog could climb into her lap and told him, “ Such a good boy.”

Mayhem gave her a lick from chin to forehead, then farted audibly. It was an impressive one too, lasting a good five seconds,

startling the dog into craning his neck and staring at his own hind end.

Lexi snorted and waved a hand in the air, fanning it away.

The young girl Heath had once known was a bratty, know-it-all, angry, undersize half-pint.

Now she was anything but.

No, scratch that. She was possibly still angry.

But the rest? Gone. In that little kid’s place, a beautiful, albeit quietly contained, woman had come down that airport escalator

like she’d owned it.

It wasn’t often he couldn’t get a bead on someone. He’d made a career out of reading people. It was what had made him so effective

as an attorney. At least until living in the fast lane had turned him into someone he hated so much that he’d left it all

in his rearview.

But he couldn’t get a bead on this Lexi at all.

Lexi rose to her feet, which took some effort, given that Mayhem had put all his weight on her. The dog now stood at her side,

staring up at her adoringly, tongue lolling.

“We need to talk,” Ashley said.

Lexi nodded, eyeing Ashley on a chair, then Heath on the couch, not making a move toward either of them. “What is it?”

“It’s about Mom.”

Lexi’s eyes shifted to the urn. “Okay. What about her?”

“We didn’t have a service or celebration of life.” Ashley swallowed hard. “She always said she didn’t want that because no

one would come, and she asked us to honor that wish.”

Lexi nodded. “The attorney told us last year after she passed.”

“She’d burned a lot of bridges with the gambling,” Ashley went on. “Borrowing from friends, not paying anyone back, but at

the same time, kept gambling...”

“Do you think I don’t know all this? It’s why we... didn’t see each other much.”

Ashley shifted anxiously on her feet. “She felt really bad about it, about all of it.”

Lexi shrugged. “Speculation.”

“She did.” Heath sensed the heavy weight of Lexi’s annoyance at his interruption in what she clearly felt was none of his

business. “She was sick about it, actually.”

Lexi opened her mouth, probably to blast him, but Ashley stood. “She won the lotto. Shortly before she died.”

Lexi stilled. “She did? How much?”

“I don’t know, just that she won big.”

“No.” Lexi shook her head. “That can’t be. You’re the executor, you know better than anyone that the only assets she had were

this house and the truck.”

Ashley swallowed hard and sent a quick glance to Heath. “Actually, I passed on the responsibilities of being executor. Mom

had made a provision in the will that I could do so if I wanted. I was so overwhelmed, and not sure I could do the job justice,

so I passed it to Heath.”

Lexi’s brows raised, but she said nothing.

“Apparently, there was something the attorney held back at Mom’s request,” Ashley said. “A separate provision, which was left

out initially, not to be known until one year after her passing. I don’t know why, and I just found out last week. That’s

why I called you to come out here. She split her lotto winnings into six parts, each going to someone she wanted to pay back

for one reason or another. We were left six sealed envelopes to deliver, one at a time, once a week, until it’s done.”

“We?”

“You and me.”

Lexi shook her head. “I can’t just stay here for six weeks. I’ve got a life to get back to.”

Something about that last sentence rang untrue, but Heath didn’t know this version of Lexi enough to even guess at what she might really be thinking.

Ashley stared down at her tightly clasped hands. “I know you only took a week’s leave, but I’m hoping you might be willing

to extend it.”

“You should’ve told me this before I got here. But... you didn’t, because...” She studied her sister. “Because you wanted

to make sure I couldn’t say no.”

“Correct,” Ashley whispered.

Lexi gave a shocked shake of her head, as if she couldn’t believe this. Mayhem, feeling the tension, whined, and Lexi reached

down, setting a reassuring hand on top of his head. “I can’t just ask work for more time. Nor can I afford to fly back and

forth every week for the next six weeks to do something that Daisy didn’t even have the decency to give us a heads-up over.”

“Actually,” Ashley said, “I think Mom meant for you to stay here the whole time. As for why we weren’t told when she died,

I’m guessing she wanted to wait the year so that our grief would be dulled enough that we’d agree to do this.”

“You mean me, so that I’d agree to do this,” Lexi said. “It’s an unfair request.”

“For what it’s worth, I agree.” Heath stood and met Lexi’s angry gaze. “It is unfair. But make it she did. So now, I suppose, you’ve got a choice. To do as she’s asked, or to turn tail and run.”

Lexi’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I don’t run.”

“So then you’re in.”

“I didn’t say that.”

He nodded. “Well, then, if you’re on the fence, here’s something to sweeten the pot. Whatever’s left from her winnings after you two deliver the envelopes is to be divided equally between both of you.”

“How much?”

With that poker face, she’d be a most worthy opponent in court, not that he intended to ever set another foot in a courtroom.

“That’s not to be disclosed until it’s time.”

Lexi studied him for a beat. “Are the envelope recipients all local?”

“No, there are a few that will require a road trip.”

She appeared to think about that. “Why can’t we mail them?”

“That’s not how Daisy wanted it done. She didn’t want any of the recipients getting advance warning. If they’re not home when

delivery is attempted, we’ll figure something else out.”

“And you care why? What’s in this for you?”

“I made a promise,” he said.

She didn’t look impressed. “So? My mom was the master of breaking promises.”

“Not to me, she wasn’t.”

Her eyes chilled. Hooded. “Well, good for you.”

“Lexi,” Ashley said softly. “It’s Mom you’re mad at, not him.”

Heath gave a low laugh. “Oh, she’s mad at me too, trust me.”

“For what?” Ashley wanted to know.

“For one thing, I was an asshole kid.”

Lexi shrugged. “So was I.”

He held her gaze. “I liked you as a kid.”