Michelle Major - A Brevia Beginning

A round of cheers went up and the men came over to shake Scott’s hand. They moved toward a table, but he pointed to the other side of the room. “You’re going to have a better view over there, fellows.”

He’d moved them from her section to Misty’s, but only smiled as Lexi glared at him.

She spilled one glass the entire night, a huge improvement from her first shift. She didn’t have the natural gift of gab that Misty did, flirting and making small talk with the customers. But Lexi did her best to keep up, making sure she got every order right and moving as quickly as her legs could carry her.

She was getting used to the noise and the smell of the bar, the customers who got more boisterous as the night wore on. Lexi didn’t have a lot of experience with boisterous. Her father’s idea of out of control was playing opera music instead of something mellower during dinner. Even in college, Lexi had stayed away from bars, worried there was something in her, some sort of predisposition for addiction, like her biological mother had had.

Her dad had told her in great detail about how she would have to overcome the deficiencies in her gene pool throughout her life. He’d made her believe that if she got too close to the wild life that had killed her mother, she might end up down that same dark path. She had only a few snippets of memory of her birth mom. The scent of her musky perfume and being left alone in their small apartment for long periods of time. But she was curious about “the other side of life,” as her dad called it.

Being in Riley’s Bar, serving customers, was a revelation to Lexi. She didn’t really have a desire to drink, but the energy from the people around her made her feel more alive than she ever had.

Scott took a shot with another customer. She didn’t know how much he’d had tonight and it wasn’t any of her business. He didn’t seem wasted, although he hadn’t last night, either. She still knew he was trouble. He tempted her to be different than the person she’d worked so hard to become. The way he made her feel could be dangerous to her very soul. She wanted an adventure, but how far was she willing to go to get a real one?

The bar emptied soon after the football game was over, which she figured was normal. She took off her apron and hung it in the back hall, counting the money from the front pocket. She’d made twenty dollars in tips. Not a lot, but the cash meant more to her than any paycheck she’d ever received from her father’s firm.

“You did better tonight.”

She turned to see Jon Riley in the doorway that led to the unused kitchen. “I practiced carrying drinks around all day,” she said with a grin.

“It worked.” He returned her smile. “You’re not a natural but you’ll get there.”

“My mom was a waitress her whole life,” Lexi said, then wondered why she’d shared that.

“There’s worse ways to make a living.”

She thought about her father and the underhanded legal deals he’d gotten into the habit of arranging to keep his firm on top. Maybe that was a type of addiction in its own right. She’d never made a connection between her adoptive father and her biological mother, and the thought made her skin crawl the tiniest bit.

“She was an alcoholic,” Lexi blurted. “Lost custody of me when I was six. Working in bars killed her.”

Jon shook his head. “The booze killed her. You’re not like that.”

“How do you know?” Lexi asked, suddenly needing reassurance from this virtual stranger.

“I’ve been down that road,” he said simply. “I can recognize a person battling demons. Sometimes it’s easier to drown yourself than work on what’s really wrong.”

She heard Misty’s laughter ring out from the front of the bar, followed by the deep tone of Scott’s voice.

Jon jerked his head toward the sound. “That boy has a war waging inside him. He’s got a good heart but he’s going to have to do some digging to find it again.”

“Can someone like him be helped?”

The man shrugged. “Maybe. But they’ve got to want it. And you’ve got to risk that if they don’t, you’re gonna be real hurt trying for ’em.”

She thought again about her mother, wondered what her demons had been and if anyone had tried to help her.

The door to the front of the bar swung open and Misty’s head popped through. “Scott poured an extra glass of wine. Want to join me for a drink?”

Lexi turned her head. “I think...” She paused and glanced back over her shoulder. Jon had disappeared into the kitchen again. “I’m going to head home now.”

Misty shrugged. “Your call. Nice work tonight. Scott thinks you’re too slow but I could see you busting your hump the whole time.”

Lexi felt color rise to her cheeks. Scott thought she was too slow. She’d been worrying about how to help him, and he’d been talking trash about her. She swallowed against the embarrassment rising in her throat. “Have a good night, Misty,” she said. Grabbing her purse from the hook, she headed for the back door.

She wrapped her arms around herself against the cool night air. Fall temperatures were dipping, even here in the South. She hurried to her car, and once back in her apartment, slipped off her shoes. Her feet ached, her shoulders were sore. Most of her body hurt from using muscles she’d never dealt with before. She wore heels as an attorney but never spent hours standing.

Even though it was late, she ran a bath and slipped into the warm water, letting it soak away some of her aches and pains. She liked to be clean. That was one thing she did remember from the time before Robert Preston had adopted her. She’d spent a lot of time dirty.

The bathtub in Julia’s apartment might not be large or fancy like the deep soaker she’d left behind, but it did the trick. By the time she put on her soft cotton pajamas, she felt relaxed again.

She’d padded to the kitchen for a glass of water before bed when she heard the soft knock on the door. This time she didn’t worry that it might be her father. From the way her stomach dipped, she knew who was waiting on the other side.

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