Page 15

Chapter Fifteen

Griffin's Beach Lex

C olt sits next to Brock on the folding seats right outside the cabin, and Lex can't help glancing at him as she stands next to Grayson at the altar. She's never been a best man before, and it feels strange standing up in the wedding wearing a black dress, but it's what she was told to do.

“I now pronounce you, Mister and Missus Grayson Tate,” Dean “Gunner” Owens says. “You may kiss the bride.”

Lex claps as Grayson dips Ashley and kisses her passionately. Felicity Short stands next to her sister-in-law, but her eyes don't meet Lex. The two of them haven't spoken a word to each other since Lex left Griffin's Beach. She struggles to look at Felicity, a woman she once considered one of her best female friends, after she'd been on the “let's leave the Drifters men” team when everyone panicked about the Savage Slashers. Especially when Felicity didn't seem to find any issue with leaving Ky, taking the kids, and never seeing him again.

The Short family has been her surrogate family since Lex was a child. Diesel was the father hers could never be, stepping in where she needed a father figure. Something Lex will never forget. The moment Felicity joined the bandwagon to leave Ky and Diesel behind, Lex and she almost came to blows. The woman who's been an old lady longer than Lex wanted to take the coward's way out, and that never sits well with her.

“You look gorgeous,” Colt says as she walks down the aisle next to Felicity, the two women as far apart as possible. “Hottest best man I've ever seen.”

“Best woman,” Grayson corrects him with a smirk. “Thanks for being here, Lex.”

“Oh, yes, Lex just gets all the praise for gracing us with her presence,” Felicity says with a roll of her eyes as she walks away.

Ky walks up and narrows his eyes at Lex. She sees the big brother she always wished she had. “Are you ever going to tell me why you two aren't friends anymore?”

“You'll have to ask your wife.”

Ashley hurries over and hugs her tightly. “Thank you for coming!”

“Like I'd miss this for the world. You know, it's kind of because of me that this even happened, so...” she says and laughs.

Considering Grayson was a police officer when he and Ashley first got together, their relationship was more than a little taboo. Lex fought for them, and she won out, but even Lex never thought Diesel and Ky would let the two get married . Then again, when he took a bullet for Ashley, not letting them get married would have been a total dick move.

No one from Grayson's family showed up, and it's obvious they disagree with his choice of wife. Ever since they were little, it was very clear which family was on which side. The Tates were on the side of good while anyone associated with the Drifters was on the side of bad. Terrible, terrible evil. On the plus side, they got the small wedding they wanted. The only people in attendance outside of Ashley's family are Lex and Colt, Jennings and Tess, Psycho and Lacey, and Brock and Summer. Everyone important to both of them.

“Lex!” Lacey exclaims and hurries over to wrap her in a large hug.

The redhead, who normally looks like she's skin and bones, has gained some weight, and she glows. “Lacey, babe, you're looking amazing.”

“I don't know what happened, but maybe my metabolism finally slowed down. I have curves. And boobs!”

If Lex didn't know any better, she'd think Lacey was pregnant. Never in a million years will she ever ask, considering how many miscarriages the poor woman has suffered due to trauma growing up. The last one Lex knew about pushed Lacey over the edge until she hit her breaking point. To this day, that situation in the bathroom is still one of the scariest moments of Lex's life.

“Yeah, you do!” she says and smiles. “Psycho.”

“Female Psycho. How ya doin', babe?” he asks as he hugs her.

“I’m good,” she says and means it. It's also one of the first times in a long time she hasn't lied and said she was fine when she was anything but.

Brock and Summer take their turns hugging her, and Ky and Diesel lift her into bear hugs while Felicity glares from the corner of the dance floor.

“You look radiant,” Diesel says. “I hate to say it, but Summerville seems to look good on you. Just like Black Valley looks good on Lacey.”

“It's been a nice change,” she says, her hand tightening around Colt's. “And there's not a lot of pressure to, like, solve life's problems and all that like I did here.”

Both men laugh, and Colt kisses her temple. “She's just not quite comfortable enough yet. That'll change, I'm sure. At least, she will if she stops mothering some of the men. This woman and her strays.”

“Like who?” Jennings asks. “Who's our little Lex befriended now?”

“Well, she's basically Bodie's mom.”

Lex rolls her eyes. “That boy needed a mother, though. And it's so cute how close he is to Noah. They're best friends, and Bodie still comes to hang out with him even though he's moved in with Jolie.”

“Don't forget about Venom,” Colt says. “The newest little Psycho.”

Everyone around them seems to want to hear this, and Lex just rolls her eyes. “He's a good guy.”

“Of course, he is. To you,” Jennings says. “That guy's off his fucking rocker.”

“But he and Lex became friends. Lex got into it with Chance, and Venom was right next to me, ready to beat his ass for getting in Lex's face. I can't say I hate having him on our side,” Colt says.

“Here's the thing. He scares people. You know... like someone else here used to. I don't understand how people want to basically condemn him for being 'evil' while he's the one they all turn to when they need something gruesome done that no one else can do. So, yeah, we're friends. Which Colt put money on, I think, and won,” Lex says and laughs. “But seriously, that guy's good shit.”

Jennings just shakes his head. “You do look different.”

“I feel good,” she says, and she waits for the anger to kick in. The frustration and pain, but nothing comes.

“Can I hug you?”

Holding her arms out, she lets him take her into his, and she feels a twinge of longing. She misses her Griffin's Beach family. As much as she likes Summerville, and she's made friends there, they just don't have the same connection as the people she grew up with.

“How is everyone?” she asks, pulling back from Jennings. “Has Melanie killed Autumn yet?”

“They avoid each other like the plague. Thank God,” Tess says.

Summer pales, but Lex gives her a reassuring smile. Brock's wife may have been on the side of the women who wanted out, but Lex knows it was more out of fear for her and her daughter. She quickly changed her mind, and Lex can't blame her. Not like she can with Felicity who's held down Ky through prison sentences.

“That's probably safest,” she says with a laugh. The music starts, and Lex watches Ashley dance with Diesel on the dance floor. She turns to Colt. “I'll be right back.”

She feels Colt watching her as she walks away, and she knows he wrestles with whether or not he should follow. But since big boots don't hurry after her, she knows the option to give her space won out, and she goes to the car to find her phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, VP,” she says.

“Lex! How are you?”

Smiling, she watches the small wedding reception. “I'm good. How are you?”

“Oh, the same as usual. But your mom's been redecorating the house. I think we have to move soon if she keeps buying shit.”

She laughs. “But you love it.”

“If it means she's staying, she can do whatever the hell she wants to. I spent so much time pushing my feelings aside that I forgot how much better I feel having her around.”

“I kinda like her, too. We should probably keep her.”

VP laughs, and in her mind, she can see him tilting his head back as he does it. “I'll let her know you said that. How's Summerville treating you?”

“It's good,” she says. “It's different.”

“Is it what you hoped for?”

Licking her lips, she watches everyone else slowly move to the dancefloor while Jennings masks spastic movements, causing laughter from everyone. “It's what I needed.”

“I'm glad, kid. Pick up any strays out there?”

“You know me,” she says and laughs. “I miss you, Dad.”

Not calling him VP for the first time, at least not sarcastically, feels strange. Good, but strange.

“Oh, God, baby, I miss you, too. I hate that you had to leave.”

Nodding, she pauses a moment. “Me, too.”

“But you're doing good?”

“I am,” she assures him. “For the first time in a long time, my response isn't forced or made up to make everyone else feel better. I'm not quite where I'd like to be, but I'm a hell of a lot closer than I've been in a long time.”

VP pauses. “I'm sorry for being part of the reason you felt you had to leave.”

“It's okay, I think. I talked to Jennings here at the wedding, and I'm not holding resentment. There was no anger when I saw him, which feels strange, you know? Good, but strange. I hugged him, and I realized that I kind of miss home a little bit.”

“It's okay to miss home, baby.”

“And when I saw Diesel dancing with Ashley, I had this overwhelming need to call you. To hear your voice. I think that means I'm healing,” she says and laughs, wiping an unexpected tear from her eye.

“You deserve that, Lex. You deserve so much more than we've given you, especially considering how much we expected from you. What we did was the furthest thing from fair, and I'm so sorry for that. Since you've left, a few of us have been forced to have the hard conversations to look at the mistakes we've made. I think we're also doing our own form of healing out here.”

A chuckle escapes her. “Does that mean I'm not banned and can come home if I ever want to?”

“Never!” he jokes. “You'll always be welcomed back with open arms, Lex. You and Colt can come back if and when you're ready.”

It's a good feeling knowing they didn't change their minds and decide they hate her now. “I should probably get going, but I wanted to call and tell you things are good. And I hope you're good, too.”

“I love you, kid. No matter how shitty of a father I've been, I hope you know I've always loved you.”

He always loved her, and she never doubted that. But his guilt and loyalty to Zane always seemed to win out over his love for her. “I know.”

“Have fun at the wedding. Shake your tailfeather, or whatever it is the kids say these days.”

“I don't think that's a thing anymore, but I'm also too old to know what the kids are saying these days. When did that happen?”

“It sneaks up on you, doesn't it?” he says with a laugh. “I know it did me. Hope I get to see you soon.”

“I love you. Give Mom my love, too.”

They hang up, and Lex walks up to the rest of the group, not quite sure what the elder Drifters are doing.

“Who'd you call?” Colt asks as she appears next to him, both of them never taking their eyes from Diesel and Jennings.

“My dad.”

His arm wraps around her. “Really?”

“Yeah, I kind of needed to hear his voice. What the hell is this?” she asks, staring at the two men who look as though they're pushing imaginary shopping carts in a circle and filling them up from invisible items on shelves only they can see.

“No idea. As far as I can tell, no one's had a drink of alcohol, either,” Colt says. “It’s like a car accident. You just can't quite look away.”

“But you really, really want to.”