“I’ll get in touch with you tomorrow.”
“Fine.” And then he never wanted to see Billy again.
Chapter Ten
The next day, Julian made a trip to the bank and withdrew one thousand dollars.
Cash.
He headed home and managed to work for a few hours before Billy called, voice raspy, obviously hungover, to demand they meet so he could get his money. Twenty minutes later, he’d paid Billy one grand, reminding him they were through for good.
But seeing Billy again had brought up all sorts of feelings Julian didn’t want to have or experience ever again. Anxiety clawed at him, and though he didn’t desire a fix, he wanted to avoid feeling like he wanted one. As a preemptive measure, Julian called Nick, and they met at an AA meeting.
An hour later, Julian had his head on straight and Billy in his rearview mirror, hopefully never to be seen or heard from again.
One night soon, he planned on taking Alex for dinner and having a conversation about the kind of person her brother was and what kind of influence he could be… if she wasn’t careful and let him in should he decide to hang around. Hopefully without hurting her too badly.
“You okay?” Nick asked.
“Much better and I appreciate you coming out for an extra meeting this week.”
A light breeze settled around them. The street was otherwise quiet.
“My pleasure. You know, I worry about moving out of the city,” Nick said, stopping on the sidewalk so they could talk.
Julian shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. It’s not like I won’t know where or how to reach you. Besides, nights like this are rare.”
“Right. It’s not every day an old druggie friend shows up on your doorstep demanding money.”
“This is true.” He shoved his hands into his front pockets. “I paid him this morning while Alex was in school. He didn’t mention her at all.”
Given how Julian felt about his sister, the things he’d done to secure her future, the fact that Billy could walk away turned his stomach. At the same time, he was grateful and believed Alex would be safer without her brother in her life.
“Forget him. We both know she’s better off in the long run.”
“Right. Once the hurt and pain pass.”
“Let’s change the subject,” Nick suggested.
“Sounds good to me.”
“How about Kendall? Things are good?” Nick kicked at the ground beneath his feet. “I’m not one to gossip, but she seemed key to your happiness so I have to ask.”
Julian burst out laughing. “You’ll play matchmaker and try to set me up but you won’t gossip?”
Nick merely grinned.
“Everything is great.” Which meant he was nervous because nothing in his life stayed good for long.
He needed to see Kendall. Only she could calm his nerves. “I’ve got to go but thanks again,” he said to his friend.
It was late but he didn’t care. Inside him was a driving need to feel her soft body wrapped around his, to help calm the rapid beating of his heart and the fear that she might be taken away from him at any time.
The worry wasn’t rational but it was real, at least in his mind. Witnessing the after-effects of his sister’s injury, he’d taken drugs to numb the pain. His father had been long gone. Loss was real in his life, and Billy’s reminder of his past had churned things up inside him. Yes, the meeting had helped, but he knew getting lost in Kendall would help more.
A short time later, he was knocking on her door. One look at her beautiful face and the panic inside him settled.
She wore a long nightshirt, her nipples hard and evident beneath the soft cotton, her bare legs peeking out from beneath the short hem.