Marissa ushered Jax to the back to look at the door. “My brother
said it looked a little too intricate for a teenager to have drilled through the layers
of the door. But he also said the hole looked pretty old. I’ve been here less than
a year, so who knows how long the shop’s been vulnerable.”
Jax didn’t comment, just squatted before the door and ran his fingers across the repair
job. Finally he stood. “Looks good.” For a long moment he looked her over.
Marissa had to fight not to squirm under the scrutiny.
“I want to apologize.”
She frowned. “For?”
“The other night, calling you by your high school nickname.”
* * *
Jax had gone and done it again. The moment he’d brought up her nickname all the color
fled from her cheeks and the smile in her eyes fell flat. The first time he’d said
it, he hadn’t known why it’d warranted such an extreme response. Midweek, he’d run
into Otto Kendal and later gone out and had a beer after work. They’d played catch
up and gone over some of the people, Jax’d run into since moving back to town. When
he’d mentioned Marissa’s name Otto had laughed.
“She didn’t slug you for calling her that?”
Jax picked at the label on the bottle. “Why would she?”
“She hated that name.” Otto downed the rest of his beer and leaned back in his chair.
“How do you know?”
“Come on, Jax. She was fat, with braces and glasses. Some of the guys would walk behind
her mooing. They called her Moo-Moo Llewellyn and it finally just got shortened to
Lulu.”
Jax’s gut had twisted. Then he’d asked, “How do you remember that? She was grades
behind us.”
He shrugged. “I heard it a couple of times when she’d follow her dad around at work
up at the club.”
Jax had forgotten all about her father. Mr. Llewellyn had been employed at the club
for years. Marissa’d worked there eventually, too. After he’d moved to Austin, he’d
heard they’d both gotten fired, but he never knew why.
“Who knew she’d end up not half-bad,” Otto had commented.
Not half-bad? She was so much more than
not half-bad.
She was a beauty. Even back in school, while, yeah she might have been how Otto described
her, half the kids in school looked like that at one time or another. She’d been cute
if a little awkward at times. And he would never have classified her as fat. She’d
had burgeoning curves as a fifteen-year-old—that now, even under her jeans, a T-shirt
and an apron, he could tell had developed quite nicely. In school, she’d always had
a smile on her face and been ready to help out if someone needed it. He was surprised
he remembered so much about her. It wasn’t like he’d paid that much attention. But
in a school full of followers and hangers-on, she’d stood out by being neither.
After he’d left Otto that night, he’d felt like such an ass. He would never have used
her nickname if he’d known how or why it got started.
Marissa fidgeted with the edge of the little apron she had tied around her waist.
Jax had said what he needed to for his apologies. He didn’t want to watch her squirm
any more. He slapped his hat back on his head. “Have you given much thought to getting
a security system?”
“Thoughts, sure. All the time.”
“You might want to consider getting something installed. I can ask around for a recommendation.”
His cell phone vibrated on his hip, but he kept his gaze pinned to hers. “There have
been some other break-ins around town.”
Her dark eyebrows pulled down. “Other break-ins?” She took a step closer to him. “Where?
Who? What was taken?”
He named off a few of the local companies that had been burglarized over the past
few months. “It was in the paper.”
She shifted her gaze from his for a moment. “I’ve been working almost nonstop for
months on end. I…it’s easy to lose track of what’s going on around you.”
“The other shops lost
said it looked a little too intricate for a teenager to have drilled through the layers
of the door. But he also said the hole looked pretty old. I’ve been here less than
a year, so who knows how long the shop’s been vulnerable.”
Jax didn’t comment, just squatted before the door and ran his fingers across the repair
job. Finally he stood. “Looks good.” For a long moment he looked her over.
Marissa had to fight not to squirm under the scrutiny.
“I want to apologize.”
She frowned. “For?”
“The other night, calling you by your high school nickname.”
* * *
Jax had gone and done it again. The moment he’d brought up her nickname all the color
fled from her cheeks and the smile in her eyes fell flat. The first time he’d said
it, he hadn’t known why it’d warranted such an extreme response. Midweek, he’d run
into Otto Kendal and later gone out and had a beer after work. They’d played catch
up and gone over some of the people, Jax’d run into since moving back to town. When
he’d mentioned Marissa’s name Otto had laughed.
“She didn’t slug you for calling her that?”
Jax picked at the label on the bottle. “Why would she?”
“She hated that name.” Otto downed the rest of his beer and leaned back in his chair.
“How do you know?”
“Come on, Jax. She was fat, with braces and glasses. Some of the guys would walk behind
her mooing. They called her Moo-Moo Llewellyn and it finally just got shortened to
Lulu.”
Jax’s gut had twisted. Then he’d asked, “How do you remember that? She was grades
behind us.”
He shrugged. “I heard it a couple of times when she’d follow her dad around at work
up at the club.”
Jax had forgotten all about her father. Mr. Llewellyn had been employed at the club
for years. Marissa’d worked there eventually, too. After he’d moved to Austin, he’d
heard they’d both gotten fired, but he never knew why.
“Who knew she’d end up not half-bad,” Otto had commented.
Not half-bad? She was so much more than
not half-bad.
She was a beauty. Even back in school, while, yeah she might have been how Otto described
her, half the kids in school looked like that at one time or another. She’d been cute
if a little awkward at times. And he would never have classified her as fat. She’d
had burgeoning curves as a fifteen-year-old—that now, even under her jeans, a T-shirt
and an apron, he could tell had developed quite nicely. In school, she’d always had
a smile on her face and been ready to help out if someone needed it. He was surprised
he remembered so much about her. It wasn’t like he’d paid that much attention. But
in a school full of followers and hangers-on, she’d stood out by being neither.
After he’d left Otto that night, he’d felt like such an ass. He would never have used
her nickname if he’d known how or why it got started.
Marissa fidgeted with the edge of the little apron she had tied around her waist.
Jax had said what he needed to for his apologies. He didn’t want to watch her squirm
any more. He slapped his hat back on his head. “Have you given much thought to getting
a security system?”
“Thoughts, sure. All the time.”
“You might want to consider getting something installed. I can ask around for a recommendation.”
His cell phone vibrated on his hip, but he kept his gaze pinned to hers. “There have
been some other break-ins around town.”
Her dark eyebrows pulled down. “Other break-ins?” She took a step closer to him. “Where?
Who? What was taken?”
He named off a few of the local companies that had been burglarized over the past
few months. “It was in the paper.”
She shifted her gaze from his for a moment. “I’ve been working almost nonstop for
months on end. I…it’s easy to lose track of what’s going on around you.”
“The other shops lost
Similar Books
