Chapter 28
(Just a warning: there’s some lawyer stuff in here that I pretty much just made up. I don’t claim to know that much about the law, so I just wrote what common sense told me. I could be wrong, so don’t kill me :-)
Liz came out of the kitchen to find Lucky tying an apron around his waist. She sighed and walked up to him. “Lucky, don’t you have anything better to do? You’ve been working here all week!”
“Hey, I’m just trying to be nice,” he said defensively. “If you want to try to run this place by yourself, with only one arm, be my guest. And to answer your question, I’m on vacation, so no, I don’t have anything better to do. Besides, the tips are good.”
Liz laughed. “The tips? Give me a break, you’re like some multi-millionaire rock star! You should be giving those tips to me!”
“First of all, I’m nothing anywhere close to a multi-millionaire, and second of all, why would I give my hard-earned tips to you?”
“Oh, come on, I deserve some kind of compensation for putting up with you all day!”
Lucky rolled his eyes and went back into the kitchen to grab something to eat before the diner opened. Liz gathered up some silverware and began to set the tables.
Business was rather slow that day, so Lucky and Liz spent most of it trying to avoid one another as much as possible. About halfway through lunch, Liz stormed out of the kitchen after arguing with him for ten minutes about the “proper” way to build a hamburger: she said the tomato went on top, but he swore it was the lettuce.
“Hey, sounds like there’s a war going on back there, you guys okay?”
“Carly!” Liz shouted happily, rushing around the counter to give her a one-armed hug. “I didn’t know you were getting released already.”
“Yeah, they let me go this morning. I think they got sick of my constant complaining.”
Liz laughed. “Let me guess: the food sucked, the bed was lumpy, the hospital gown was ugly, and there were no cute orderlies in your wing?”
Carly chuckled and nodded. “Pretty much. You know me too well. Hey,” she said, growing serious. “Are we okay? I mean, after that stuff with Jason?”
Liz nodded. “Yeah, we’re fine. I think it was all for the best anyway. Jason’s a great guy and all, but I never want to have to take a bullet for anyone again!”
“I can understand that. I guess that’s the difference between you and me. Sure, I didn’t exactly enjoy the whole experience, but I knew from the start that was a possibility, and I got involved with them anyway.”
“So, are you back with Jason now?” Liz asked hesitantly.
Carly studied her for a moment, trying to figure out if she really wanted to hear the answer or not. “Kind of. I left Sonny, and we’re just sort of taking things slow for now. You know, doing the opposite of what happened when we first met.”
Liz chuckled, knowing the story. “Well, I hope things work out this time. You deserve to be happy.”
“Thanks, Liz, that means a lot to me,” Carly said sincerely, reaching out to hug her again. Both women hissed in pain and pulled apart quickly, then laughed. “Let’s try that again when we’re healed, okay?”
“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea,” Liz said, turning to see Lucky come out of the kitchen. They stared at one another for a moment before continuing with what they were doing. Carly watched the whole thing in amusement. Liz and her cousin? She had thought something had seemed weird between them at the Bachelor Auction, and now this. The electricity between the two of them was almost audible, it was so strong. She decided it would now be her mission to get them together, no matter what she had to do.
~*~
“Alexis Davis.”
“Hey, it’s Sonny,” he said quietly into the phone.
“Sonny? What’s wrong?” Alexis asked, not sure why he would be calling her.
“Nothing, really. It’s just that after that shooting outside of Luke’s, the police have been sniffing around again. I could use some legal advice. Do you have some time this afternoon?”
She glanced down at her planner, which had already been open in her lap. “Sure, how does two sound?”
“Sounds good. See you then.” Sonny hung up and sighed. Normally, he never called a lawyer until he was being handcuffed and booked, but for some reason that day, he had the strongest urge to talk to Alexis, and that seemed like the best way to get her to come over.
A few hours later, Johnny opened the door. “Ms. Davis,” he announced.
Sonny nodded. “Send her in.” Alexis walked briskly into the room and set her briefcase down on a chair.
“Okay, I’m here. What’s the problem?”
He motioned for her to sit on the couch, then sat next to her, turning slightly to face her. “Okay, now, off the record, it’s obvious that this shooting was Moreno, and that Carly and Liz were targeted because of their relationships to Jason and myself. Now, since none of that is able to be proven, the cops don’t have any reason to be bugging me, right?”
“Well, you and Jason both had air-tight alibis at that time, so no, there shouldn’t be any reason. Then again, this is Mac and Taggert we’re talking about, and that’s never stopped them before. But, unless Carly or Liz press charges, there’s nothing they can legally do,” she explained. Sonny nodded, relieved to hear it. Alexis studied him for a moment, noticing that he seemed more distant than usual. “How’s Carly doing?”
Sonny looked up, surprised by the sudden question. “Um, she’s okay. I think they let her out today.”
“Wait, what do you mean you think they let her out? Shouldn’t you know those things?”
He shook his head. “Not since she left me. She’s going back to Jason. I should have seen it coming, though. Especially since that auction. I guess I was just in denial.”
Alexis smiled sympathetically at him. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
Sonny looked up at her, meeting her warm brown eyes. Their gazes locked, and they sat there, motionless, just staring at one another. After a minute or so of silence, he quickly licked his lips and whispered, “I’m fine.”
“That’s good,” she said hoarsely, unable to tear her eyes away from his. He slowly lifted his hand and gently caressed her hair. He leaned forward, their eyes never leaving one another, and before either of them knew it, they were kissing.
~*~
After Carly left, the diner was pretty much empty, so Liz decided to do some cleaning While she straightened up, Lucky was back in the kitchen, putting away the lunch stuff and getting ready for dinner.
Once he was done, he went back out into the dining room, and was surprised to find Liz standing on the counter.
“You better hope the Health Inspector doesn’t walk in!” he said, folding his arms across his chest as he watched her mess with one of the ceiling tiles.
“Don’t worry, they came last month. It’ll be a while before they’re back,” she answered.
“What are you doing up there anyway? You could break your arm, and in your condition, you can’t afford to lose another one!”
Liz turned around and glared at him. “Okay, enough with the one-armed jokes. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not laughing at them!”
“Yeah, but I am,” he said, walking closer to the counter. “Really, what in the world are you doing?”
“I’m fixing that tile. It was crooked. I think there used to be some decorations hanging from it from a while ago, and when they were taken down, no one ever bothered to straighten the tile. It’s been driving me crazy for months.”
“So you decided to fix it now, when you’re still healing from a serious shoulder injury?” he asked.
She sighed and moved to step down. “Fine, so it’s not the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s not like anything happened. I got up here fine, I fixed the tile, and now I’m going to get down just as well.” She put one foot on a stool and started to step off the counter, when the stool suddenly started to spin. She screamed, and Lucky rushed over to catch her as she toppled off the counter.
“Ow!” she hissed, having bumped her shoulder against him during the fall. She looked up at him, her face red, embarrassed from making a fool out of herself. Lucky just smiled down at her, his grip tightening on her as she shifted slightly in his arms. “Thanks,” she whispered.
“No problem,” he whispered back. Neither of them realized that their heads were getting closer and closer, that their lips were slowly gravitating to one another, until the bell over the door jingled, startling them out of their trances.
“Let me guess, more groupies?” Luke asked with a laugh.
