Page 6 of The Love Fix (The Sunrise Cove #8)

Two and a half hours later on the dot, Lexi pulled over a few houses down from the address listed on the envelope. She and

Ashley stared at the small cabin in silence.

“Since you got to drive, I get to hand over the envelope,” Ashley said.

“I drove the truck because—”

“Betty.”

Lexi drew a deep breath for patience that didn’t come. “I drove Betty because your driving makes me carsick.”

Ashley gasped, affronted. If she’d been an old lady, she’d have been clutching her pearls. “My driving’s perfect.”

“Tell that to all of Betty’s dents.”

“Hey, she’s bigger than a battleship.” Ash patted the dashboard. “Not that size matters. Even old as you are, you’re beautiful.”

“First of all, I love old things.” Most of the time she loved them more than people. “Also, beautiful’s a stretch. And I stand

by my decision to be our designated driver.”

“You’re as bad as Heath.”

Lexi’s mouth dropped open. It was her turn to clutch the metaphorical pearls. “You take that back. I’m nothing like Heath.”

Ashley laughed. “Are you kidding? You’re both stubborn, like to be the best at everything, and—”

“You two are close.”

“Very.” Ashley’s amusement faded. “He’s been like a brother to me.”

Lexi already knew this. Every phone call was all “Heath this” and “Heath that,” and... and damn. She was jealous. Not of

their relationship, but of their ability to have relationships in the first place.

Ash was watching her think too hard, and put a teasing tone in her voice when she said, “You’re also both I-told-you-so people—”

“I am so not an I-told-you-so person!”

Clearly pleased at the response she’d elicited, Ashley laughed. “Okay. How about this. Every time you find yourself about

to roll your eyes or tell someone they’re wrong, you make a little check mark in your head. At the end of the day, tally it

all up—and then we’ll finish this conversation.”

Lexi had to catch herself from rolling her eyes. “Fine.” She paused. Worried. “Wait. Do you and Heath ever talk about me?”

“No, and that’s on purpose because I know you’re a private person. I think I’ve mentioned your job a few times, but that’s

about it.”

The job that wasn’t even a thing anymore. In the six months since she’d lost it, all she’d been able to do was pick up small,

short-term jobs here and there, and just thinking about it and the state of her bank account nearly brought on a panic attack.

“I know you and Heath have your issues, even if neither of you will talk about whatever happened. But I think being here will be good for you.”

“How so?”

“You isolate yourself in your work. And I get it, you study objects, piece together their histories. Which is lovely, but

objects can’t talk to you or keep you company. Imagine how much more interesting people might be than things, Lexi. Imagine

if you actually dug deeper into personal connections.”

“You want me to connect with Heath? Not going to happen.”

“Why?”

“Because...”

Ashley raised her brows, waiting.

Lexi blew out a breath. How to say that she’d always wanted to connect with him, that he’d been the one to back off. “Look,

clearly you want me to know something. Just say it.”

“That would be cheating. All I’m saying is just get to know him—”

“I know him.”

“As who he is now,” Ashley said. “And you sound awfully defensive. It’s a lot of energy to put behind someone you claim you

don’t want to connect to.”

“The entirety of my energy toward him is indifference.”

“Uh-huh. Is that what all the kids are calling it these days?”

Lexi had to laugh. “Hey, of the two of us, you’re the kid. You tell me. Come on.” She undid her seat belt. “Let’s get this over with.”

They knocked on the front door, and it was answered by a fifty-something woman in jeans, a plaid jacket over a sweatshirt,

hoodie up, holding an ax.

Lexi and Ashley both took a huge step back.

The woman studied them. “Are you the people who come around and want to talk about the Lord and Savior?”

“No, ma’am,” Ashley said. “Are you an ax murderer?”

“Nope.”

“Are you Margo Schutz?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Who’s asking?”

“I’m Ashley Fontaine.” She smiled sweetly. “Daisy Fontaine’s daughter. And this is Lexi, my sister. We were hoping we could

talk to you.”

“Daisy’s girls? Well, if that don’t beat all.” Margo stepped back for them to enter, and to Lexi’s horror, Ashley did just

that.

“Get back out here,” Lexi whispered. The woman was holding a damn ax, and looked as if she knew how to wield it too. “ What are you doing? ”

“What Mom asked of us.” Ashley smiled at Margo. “We’ve got something for you. Is there somewhere we could sit for a moment?”

“You’re the teacher who’s also an artist.”

Lexi turned to look at Ashley. “You’re an artist?”

Ashley lifted a shoulder. “I dabble.”

How did she not know this? Because you don’t connect, because you let your relationship with her be superficial only, because you’re an emotional coward...

“Your mom gave me one of your paintings for my birthday right before she died.” Margo’s smile faded. “She was always doing

that, giving her friends little gifts. It’s hanging in my den.”

“Oh, I’d love to see it,” Ashley said warmly.

“Sure! Follow me.”

“Seriously,” Lexi muttered beneath her breath, catching her sister’s hand. “Have you not seen a single horror movie?”

Margo turned back with a knowing look. “Your mom told me all about you too Lexi.”

Lexi froze, feeling like she was ten all over again. Ten, and a troubled, tumultuous, messy handful.

Margo smiled at whatever look was on Lexi’s face, but her voice was kind. “She was so proud of you when you got that fancy

degree.”

Ironic, since the reason Lexi almost didn’t go to college at all had been Daisy’s fault.

“And then, when you landed your dream job... She was over the moon.”

A job that she’d lost due to her own stupidity in trusting the wrong person... Maybe the apple really never fell far from

the tree. She’d worked so hard to lose the pandemonium in her life, but she’d failed, like she had at so many other things.

Her mom’s life had always been crazy chaos, and it was that, that single trait Lexi had somehow taken on as her own, that

she hated more than anything.

Margo’s warm gaze encompassed both Lexi and Ashley as she put a hand to her chest—only one since she still held the ax in

the other. “She was so proud of you both that she could’ve just burst.”

Lexi thought about the pictures hanging on the walls at Daisy’s house. Her mom had kept up with her more than she’d ever imagined,

with her dad in cahoots, clearly. He’d worked a lot, and Lexi had been young, not to mention an introverted kid who hadn’t

opened up easily. Or at all. She figured he’d been frustrated by her, but maybe she’d been wrong. Either way, she had no idea

how to reconcile the parents she’d known with the things she’d learned in the past two days.

Margo led them to a small den and pointed proudly to a painting, an aerial view of a wave spilling onto sand, the stunning blue of the water, the white chop of the sea-foam, the graininess of the sand making Lexi feel like she stood there, right there, smelling the ocean air.

Her mouth fell open. “How did you make it so... three D?”

“A spatula and sponge,” Ashley said.

“I can’t take my eyes off it.”

Margo smiled. “Me either.”

Lexi could feel the emotion that had gone into the painting, and the longer she stood there, the more her stone heart melted.

“It’s... amazing. You’re amazing.”

Ashley beamed. “Thank you.” She turned to Margo. “And thank you for letting me visit my work. I miss them when they’re gone.” And then she gently took the envelope from Lexi’s fingers and

handed it over to the ax murderer.

Margo looked down at her name. “This is your mom’s handwriting.”

Ashley smiled and nodded.

“Please, sit,” Margo said, and sank to the couch, staring a moment longer at the envelope before opening it, surprising Lexi

when she read it out loud.

Dear Margo,

Hello, darling! I know you don’t want a thank-you, but you’ll have to bear with me. I need you to know that your friendship

meant everything to me. As did your kindness and generosity. I know you didn’t expect to get paid back for those things, but...

tough.

You know that we met during a time in my life where I lived by the motto “go big or go home.” You also know I went big, and lost. I wanted to go home but didn’t even have bus money.

And then this big rig pulled up alongside of me where I stood in the icy rain, in front of an off-the-beaten-path casino, and you hopped out and offered me a ride.

We talked about our kids and how you wanted them to be the first in your family to go to college, only you had no idea how to pay for it.

So I’m hoping this covers everything they might need when the time comes. Thank you, my friend.

Love,

Daisy

So not an ax murderer, then. Margo was a truck driver. One who was currently clearly trying and failing to swallow back tears.

Finally, she peered into the envelope and pulled out a check. With a gasp, she dropped it like it was a hot potato.

Lexi bent down and picked it up, then had to school herself not to react. There were a lot of zeroes. She flipped it around

so Ashley could see.

Her sister gasped.

“Yeah,” Margo said, stunned.

Lexi leaned into Ashley. “How much did you say Daisy won?”

“I don’t know. She never told me. But damn. Good for her. And good for Margo.”

Lexi didn’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but there was something in her gut that she didn’t like.

Jealousy? No, that didn’t quite fit. She honestly didn’t begrudge Margo a damn thing.

So what, then? Unbidden came the memory she’d buried deep, of that time when she’d gone to pay her first quarter college tuition, only to discover that the trust her maternal grandma had set up for her had been emptied—by the only other person who had access to that account.

Daisy.