34. Sable
CHAPTER 34
sable
I balanced my to-go coffee cup in one hand and my purse in the other as I looked for my phone in my purse, making sure I hadn’t left it somewhere.
“Sable!”
The voice caught me by surprise. I looked up from my search. “Jack?”
I knew from the grapevine that since Molly left, Jack was a bit of a mess. He’d been drinking a lot, thankfully, not at the Wildflower, and his business was hurting.
He stumbled toward me from the sidewalk, looking worse for wear. His shirt was wrinkled, his hair was unkempt, and his eyes were glassy. Even from ten feet away, I could smell the alcohol on him.
“I have something to say to you, Sa…ble,” he slurred, waving an arm in the air like that would make his words more coherent.
“Jack, you’re drunk as a skunk. Go home.” I tried to sidestep him, but he blocked my path .
“You think you’re better than me now?” he sneered, his voice low and bitter. “You always thought you were better.”
“Hey, Jack, you need a ride somewhere, bud,” someone called out.
“Stay the fuck out of it. I’m talking to…my…wife.”
“Ex-wife,” someone else called out.
“Jack,” I said softly, trying to keep the situation from escalating. “You’re drunk. Go home.”
“Home?” he barked out a laugh. “I don’t even have a home. Molly’s gone. Took the kid and left me with nothing. And you’re laughing at me, aren’t you? You and that new man of yours.”
Had I loved this man? Seriously? What was wrong with me?
“Jack, I’m sorry about what happened with Molly and?—”
“You don’t get to pity me!” he snapped, stepping closer.
The guy who ran the auto store next to the coffee shop came up to me. I shook my head. I didn’t want the situation to deteriorate. He crossed his arms and stood still, his demeanor saying he wasn’t going anywhere. “You let me know if you need help.”
“She doesn’t need help,” Jack yelled. “She’s…my…wife.”
Christ on a crutch!
I shook my head and started to walk toward my car. Enough was fucking enough.
He wavered for a moment, and I thought maybe he’d listen. But then his face twisted, and before I could react, his fist flew.
The impact sent pain shooting through my cheek, and I went down hard, the coffee cup slipping from my hand and splattering across the pavement. The world spun as I landed on the sidewalk, my head throbbing, and my vision blurred.
“Sable!” Jack roared.
I blinked, trying to focus, and saw a pair of red-soled stilettos step into view.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Jack?” A female voice cried out. The voice was unmistakable. Cold. Sharp. Haughty.
Alexa?
I groaned, trying to sit up when I heard a loud thwack followed by Jack’s drunken yelp. I gasped as I took the scene in. “Did you just?—”
“Hit your sorry-ass ex with my Chanel bag?” Alexa interrupted, her tone as dry as the Aspen air. “Yes. Yes, I did. And I’ll do it again if you don’t stay down, Jack. You hear that, you lousy son of a bitch.”
I blinked up at her as she extended a perfectly manicured hand. Her blonde hair was styled in loose waves, her makeup flawless as ever, but her eyes were fierce.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice still sharp but softer around the edges.
“I—uh—yeah.” I let her help me to my feet. My cheek throbbed, and I could already feel it swelling. And obviously, this was an alternate universe because Heath’s ex-wife was helping me .
Jack groaned from the pavement, clutching his stomach. Alexa gave him a withering look before hooking her bag over her shoulder.
“Can you take care of him?” she ordered the auto store guy, who nodded, grinning.
“Sure. Come on, bud. Let’s see if you need to go to the ER. That bag may have concussed you.”
Alexa walked with me to the Wildflower, and I was suspicious as hell about her agenda.
Inside the Wildflower, Casey took one look at me and swore under her breath. “What the hell happened?” she barked, already pulling a chair out for me to sit.
Alexa hovered nearby, her arms crossed as Casey dabbed at my cheek with a napkin.
“You’re going to have a black eye.” Casey winced. “But I don’t think anything’s broken.”
“Great,” I muttered, flinching as she touched a tender spot. “Just what I need.”
Alexa sniffed, glancing around the Wildflower like she was inspecting it for flaws. “I don’t know if I like what you’ve done with the place.”
“And somehow, we’ll survive your criticism,” Casey shot back as she wrapped ice inside a towel and handed it to me.
I gave Alexa a flat look. “I…ah...thanks. But you can go now.”
She shrugged, unbothered. “I just saved you from your idiot ex. You could be a little more grateful.”
Casey snorted.
I sighed. “Thank you very much, Alexa. ”
She tilted her head, her expression unreadable. “My daughter thinks the world of you.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it, thinking about Juno made me happy. “I’m very fond of her as well.”
“I can see that.” She glowered at me, and I waited for her to say something about stealing her kid. “Juno lost respect for me.”
That confession caught me off guard.
“I hate that I’ve fallen in her eyes.”
I waited now for her to blame me.
“But it’s my fault, so I have to make amends.” She sounded like it was a long and tedious task that somehow had to get done.
I did not know what to say, so I decided to shut the hell up.
“I’m not saying this to make you feel sorry for me,” Alexa added quickly. “I’m talking to you because I’m trying to be better . For her. I want her to respect me again.”
Casey raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet, her attention mostly on my face, now cold because of the ice pack.
“And,” Alexa continued, her lips curving into a small, self-satisfied smile, “I figure knocking out your ex with my prized Chanel bag will earn me some goodwill.”
Despite myself, I laughed—a short, sharp sound that surprised even me.
Alexa’s smile widened, and she stood, brushing invisible lint off her designer coat. “Well, my work here is done. Don’t make me regret this, Sable.”
“Regret what?” I held the ice pack to my face .
“Saving your ass.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Now, you owe me —so pay up by saying something nice about me to my kid.”
With that, she turned on her heel and strutted out of the Wildflower, leaving me and Casey staring after her.
Casey let out a low whistle. “Well, that was something.”
I shook my head, cringing as the movement sent another throb of pain through my cheek. “I don’t even know what just happened.”
“You got rescued by Alexa Vikar.” Casey grinned. “With a designer handbag, no less.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, leaning back in the chair. “Of course, she made it about her.”
But even as I said it, I couldn’t help but smile because Alexa doing what she did felt like the portent of good things about to come my way.