Lady Luck (Colorado Mountain #3)(137)



“You coming home right after work?” I asked, just to confirm.

“What do you think?” he asked back but it was confirmation.

“Then I’m okay,” I answered.

“Good,” he whispered then still soft he said, “Now, mama, Fuller is gonna dick with you. Team Walker is in the home stretch. Stay sharp.”

“I’ll stay sharp, honey,” I whispered back.

“That’s my Lex,” he muttered. “See you soon.”

“Right. Love you, Ty.”

“Down to my bones, mama, right back at you.”

Suddenly, I was perfectly calm.

“Later,” he finished.

“Later, baby.”

Then he was gone. I put my phone down on the counter, saw the tees and smiled to myself. Then I jumped and whirled when I heard a knock at the door.

Standing outside was a supremely well-dressed black man. He was also supremely handsome, bald head, thick, black, well-trimmed goatee, bedroom eyes. Tall, not as tall as Ty but a lot taller than me. Great body.

I stared at him thinking that Ty’s parole officer was hot.

I moved to the door, searching behind him but seeing no company. I opened it and finally really looked at him to see he looked surprised.

“Hi,” I greeted and he stared at me so I asked, “Can I help you?”

“Are you Lexie?” he asked back.

“Uh… yes.” I played the game but found it weird when I confirmed my name that he smiled, big, broad and white. “Sorry, have we met?”

“I’m Samuel Sterling.”

Cool name.

I smiled. “Hello, Samuel Sterling.”

His smile got bigger and he noted, “You’re back.”

Well, that was interesting. It seemed Ty shared with his parole officer.

“Uh, yeah. Just over a week now. Would you, um… like to come in?” I invited, stepping aside so he could do so.

He didn’t move. He simply studied me. Then he remarked, “You have no clue who I am.”

“Uh –” I started, wondering, if I did say I had a clue who he was, if that would expose Dewey’s visit when he spoke again.

“Own a jet, Lexie,” he informed me quietly.

Oh my God!

I blinked. Then it was my turn to study him and it hit me that parole officers probably didn’t wear two hundred dollar, shiny, killer polo necked shirts nor did they have custom-made Italian loafers.

He smiled again, took three steps into the house and I turned with him as he did and shut the door behind me. Then I kept staring at him as his eyes did a sweep of the place and landed on the tees. Then they came back to me and his smile was huge.

Then he spoke. “I was close to town on business. Thought I’d stop by, see how Ty was seeing as how Ty was the last time I saw him was not good.” He dipped his head to the tees and commented, “I suspect he’s doing much better.”

“He is,” I whispered.

“Good,” he whispered back.

“Uh… thank you for, um… doing that favor for Ty and I. But back then I was just,” I threw out a hand, “well –”

“You don’t know me so you owe me no explanations, Lexie, I’m just glad you’re back.”

I grinned at him. “So am I.”

He grinned back then his eyes cut to the door behind me and his body went alert.

I turned around to see Deke at the glass. Deke didn’t knock. Deke opened the door and I jumped out of the way.

“He is?” he asked, jerking his head at Samuel Sterling.

“A friend of Ty’s,” I answered.

“What kind?” he shot back.

“The good kind,” I replied.

He sliced his eyes to Samuel Sterling then back to me. “Keys. Now.”

I still had my keys in my hand, I held them out to him, he took them and then he was gone.

I looked to Samuel Sterling who had his eyebrows raised and I shared, “We, um… have a bit of, uh… situation.”

His eyebrows lowered but his look turned sharp before he asked, “Can I help?”

“If you have time, you can stay for a drink and if the afternoon progresses like I think it will and I give any indication I might be losing my temper and on the verge of what my husband calls ‘throwing sass’, you can wrestle me out of the room no matter how much I fight you.”

He held my eyes. Then he said quietly, “So it’s that kind of situation.”

I sighed. Then I said, “We have that kind of situation every once in awhile. But we think we’re in the home stretch.” My eyes slid to the side and I muttered, “I hope.”

“Team Walker never admits defeat,” Samuel Sterling said and my eyes shot back to him.

“What?”

He moved to the counter and touched a tee. Then he looked back at me.

“Never admit defeat, Lexie. No matter the situation. And no matter what resources you have to call upon to do it.”

Then he dipped his chin without losing contact with my eyes and I could swear he was volunteering for duty.

I smiled at him. He smiled back.

I heard the garage door start to crank open and I whispered, “Deke’s back with my car.”

And he was. The garage door cranked down, Deke came up the stairs, looked at me, looked at Samuel then grunted, “Beer.”

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