Scarred (Damaged Souls) (4 page)

“I don’t normally show people my paintings, especially if they’re not done, but I guess I can make an exception.”
Lexi said, pulling Dom’s attention from her astonishment over Lexi’s body.

Lexi
stepped out of the way to reveal a partially done painting. Dom’s mouth fell open in amazement. Her eyes focused on the dark figure with his wolf-like dog next to him, the man’s eyes looked alive and intense even through the painting.

“Wow,
Lexi! This is amazing.” Dom said with wonder. “You’re really talented.”

“Oh, thanks Dom. I
just do it for therapy.” Lexi said shyly.

“What?! You should do this professionally! Have you ever thought abou
t having an art exhibit, to get your artwork seen?” Dom asked incredulous.

“Uh, no. This is the first one I’ve done in years. I don’t even know where my first drawings and paintings are now.”
Lexi said honestly.

“Well, if you
can create enough work to have a show, I’ll set it up for you. I know a ton of people in the art world, those who sell it and those who buy it. Trust me I’ve sold enough homes to the elite to know. The wealthy people around here would love to get their hands on artwork from a new up and coming artist and pay a pretty penny too.” Dom said with excitement.

“I’m not so sure about that. It would be like standing naked in front of a crowd.”
Lexi cringed inwardly.

“Just think about it, okay?” Dom persisted.

“Okay. So let’s sit and look through these magazines. I need ideas.” Lexi said, changing the subject.

They sat down at the rickety folding card table and started to go through the numerous magazines Dom had brought. When one saw something she liked, she showed the other and they each expressed their thoughts and opinions on
it. After a couple of hours they decided that Lexi’s tastes in home décor settled somewhat on eclectic/cottage/vintage with a hint of modern here and there. And together they did the math and decided on the appropriate budget for everything she wanted and needed.

Dom had also brought along with her an empty hot pink three-ring binder and several clear plastic three-hole inserts to put the pages from the various magazines they cut out for
Lexi to put her ideas in. And once they were done, Dom wrote ‘Lexi’s Home Décor Ideas’ on the front of the binder.

“Well, I think
that does it. You should now be prepared to meet with the contractors with some great ideas that they can start from.” Dom said satisfied with the progress they had made.

“I think so. Thank you so much for the help, I would’ve been lost without the tips and names for all the things I like that I had no idea what they were called.”
Lexi smiled brightly at Dom, shocking the realtor at how the smile lit up her face.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying this
Lexi, but you’re a gorgeous woman and I know several eligible bachelors in the area that would die over you.” Dom proposed hesitantly.

“I…I don’t know about that. I’m not really in the mood to date anyone right now.”
Lexi stammered.

“Well, I just thought I’d put it out there for whenever you’re ready.” Dom smiled at the self-conscious woman. “Alright, I better head home. My fiancé is probably pissed that I’ve been gone so long.”
Dom said as she got up from the table.

“Oh. Congratulations on your engagement.”
Lexi said politely, standing up as well.

“Oh sweetie, that’s old news. We’ve been engaged forever it seems. We can’t decide on a date or where it’ll be. He’s from the north like you, and we can’t find a happy medium for both our families.
We both have big families that like to meddle in our business. In a minute we’ll be eloping in Vegas.” Dom shook her head in frustration. “I hope you don’t have a big family like that.”

“I don’t have any family.”
Lexi said quietly.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to…here I am talking about my stupid family and…well, anyway I’m sorry.” Dom stumbled over her words awkwardly.

“It’s okay. No worries.” Lexi smiled at Dom, reassuring her.

“Okay. Do you mind if I call you later in the week to see how everything went with the meetings with the contractors?” Dom asked.

“Of course I don’t mind. I might call you first. I’ll probably be so excited I’ll need to tell someone.” Lexi agreed.

“Alright, I’ll talk to you soon then.” Dom said, as she wrapped
Lexi in an unexpected hug.

Lexi
stiffly patted Dom on the back, not accustomed to a lot of physical affection, since her mom died. She associated her past relationships with men with pain and her aunt always gave her plenty of space after she would recoil at her touches when she first moved in with her. And even her best friend Bianca respected her space, knowing that she didn’t like physical contact. But people in the south were definitely more affectionate, so she figured she’d just have to get used to it.

Lexi
walked Dom to the door and after locking it she made her way back to the porch and continued working on her painting. She spent hours painting, unconsciously bypassing lunch, the world forgotten. It wasn’t until her stomach groaned loudly in complaint that she looked up realizing that the sun was about to go down and she hadn’t eaten anything all day in her need to get the painting done.

Stepping back from the painting
, Lexi tried to look at it objectively. She knew instantly that it was the best one she’d ever done and she attributed it to the inspiration she got from the man and his dog.

She had painted
the background in vivid colors. There were bright green trees and vibrant flowers and the rich colors of people in a blur of activity, making it bright and happy. The man himself and the dog were dark mysterious sorrowful figures in the forefront of all the happy commotion behind and around them, frozen in the middle of all the hustle and bustle.

Lexi
’s heart filled with pride at her work. There weren’t a lot of things she was proud of in her life, but her talent at art was the one thing she could take satisfaction in. It healed her, pulled her from the darkness and she was good at it.

She blew out a cleansing breath and then went in the downstairs bathroom to clean the paint off of her hands, arms and face, freshening up to fix dinner and turn in for the night.

Chapter 4

“Can We Talk”

Lexi woke up Monday morning and headed straight to the bathroom to get ready for the first half of her meetings with the contractors that specialized in renovations. She washed her hair and blew it out and did one curving French braid from the front to the side and pulled her hair back into a giant Afro puff on the crown of her head.

For her outfit, she decided on a combination of professional mixed with her laid back style.
She pulled on her high-waisted wide leg tan linen pants that fit right beneath her breasts. She paired it with a voluminous white sleeveless blouse that was shorter in the front and hung long in the back, that showcased her waist but somewhat camouflaged her large behind. As an afterthought she threw on a long tarnished gold vintage necklace with a big colorful medallion, dangly earrings and ornate flat strappy sandals.

Satisfied with her overall look,
Lexi hurried down the stairs grabbing her purse, binder and keys before stepping outside into the damp morning heat. She locked the door and headed to her car. She drove towards town and seriously considered buying a bike with a big basket in front, since she was only a couple of miles away. She figured it’d be a great way to pleasantly get exercise, while coming into to town to do some shopping. She put it in the back of her mind to keep an eye out for a bike shop when she was in town.

Pulling up outside of a row of historic storefronts,
Lexi put the car in park in front of the window that read Innovative Renovations stenciled on the large window. In the window sat nicely framed before and after photos of the different renovations the company had done. Lexi was impressed if not slightly intimidated by the fancy estates showcased in the window.

She walked through the door and a bell jingled signaling her arrival.
She looked around the overdone fancy furnishings and more boastful photos. A short middle-aged man with slicked back dark hair and silver temples walked out front. As short as he was he still found a way to look down his nose at her, when he was nearly as short as she was.

“Can I help you?” He said curiously.

“Hi. I’m Alexis Bolden. Dominique Preston referred you to me.” Lexi said softly.

“Oh, yes. Hello, Ms. Bolden. My name is Harris Vaughn. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The little man said, though it seemed like
he’d rather spend time with lepers than meeting with her. “Come, have a seat and we can talk about what you want.” He pointed to two gaudy chairs and an equally awful table.

“Thank you.”
Lexi said, forcing a smile.

“So I see you’ve brought some ideas. If you don’t mind?” He asked holding out his hand for the binder.

He quickly flipped through the pages, his face not giving much away.

“So I drove past the house Friday evening on my way home. There is a lot of work to be done. What is your budget, Ms. Bolden?” He asked with a sniff.

You don’t waste any time, do you?

“
Two-hundred thousand.” Lexi said without hesitation.

“Hmm…well that just won’t do. I couldn’t possibly work with that kind of budget. That house should be torn down and built from scratch in my opinion. And you’d need way more than two-hundred grand for that.” He replied snidely.

“Well then you’re not that good of a contractor, are you?” Lexi said it before she could stop herself, feeling overprotective of her new home.

She stood up while his mouth flapped open and closed like a fish
out of water.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Vaughn.”
Lexi said, before he could recover from the insult, and then walked out the door.

What was Dom thinking, setting up
an appointment with that arrogant little turd?!

Now she had over forty-five minutes to kill before the next meeting
, since the first had turned out to be such a flop and over in a matter of minutes. So she stopped at a cute little café and bought a bagel and iced-coffee to take with her on her walk across the park, on the other side was where the next contractor was located. So Lexi figured it would be nice to take a leisurely stroll through the park and maybe sit and sip her coffee and eat her bagel.

She rounded the corner to take the path through the park when she saw him.

~~~

Sloan felt like a permanent fixture at the park. He had liked to come and sit a couple times a week, enjoying people watching. But since
he had seen her he found himself walking towards the park every day in the hopes of seeing her again.

Sunday he had sat there all day waiting to catch a glimpse of her and by evening his heart sank with disappointment, knowing that she wasn’t coming. But as if he conjured her out of a dream, she walked around the corner and his heart stuttered, and then started pounding a mile a minute.

Sloan had seen plenty of women since he had been back from Afghanistan. Pretty girls, drop-dead gorgeous women of all different colors, shapes and sizes, but something about this petite chocolate bohemian stunner made him sit up and pay attention every time. And now was no different.

The outfit she wore today made him nearly want to hang out his tongue and pant like Tank
sitting next to him. The pants hugged her smaller waist, making the sumptuous span of her hips more obvious no matter how she tried to cover them with the flowing shirt in the back. And the front of the shirt that hung just a few inches over her breasts, moved with every step she took, making a man pray that a strong breeze would blow to lift the material to get a peek at the luscious mounds underneath.

Sloan would give anything to be the man he used to be, just so he could have the confidence to approach her the way he really wanted to.
His scruffy appearance now, he knew made him look older than his actual thirty-five years. His long black oily hair hung down past his shoulders, blending with his long beard that had started to become peppered with gray from stress. His old worn and dingy jeans, black t-shirt and black military style jacket could all use a good run through a washer and dryer. Living outside and sleeping under the stars made it difficult to stay very clean, no matter how often he bathed and rinsed his clothes in the ocean or whatever passing stream, lake or river he came across in the privacy of night.

“We should really stop meeting like this.” Sloan said as she stopped in front of him, Tank jumping up to greet her.

“Hello.” She said, still not making full eye contact.

“At this point we should probably introduce ourselves properly. My name is Sloan and this beast is Tank.” Sloan said with a smile.

“Nice to meet you, Sloan. And you too, Tank.” She said bending over to awkwardly pet Tank with her hands a little full. “I’m Lexi.”

“Is
Lexi short for something?” Sloan asked curiously, happy to finally know her name.

“Alexis.”
Lexi answered.

“Nice. I think I’ll call you Alexis, it suits you better.”
It’s sexy, just like you,
Sloan thought to himself.

“So…I was going to sit and have a little bite to eat. Would you…um…like the other half of my bagel? I probably won’t eat all of it.
” Lexi said hesitantly, not wanting to offend him again.

“That would be nice, thank you.” Sloan said trying not to let his pride
get in the way of spending a little more time with her. “Is it okay if I sit with you?”

“Oh, okay. Sure.”
Lexi said, surprised that he wanted to sit with her.

“Here, let’s sit on a bench. You look too lovely to sit in the grass.” Sloan sugg
ested, sneaking in a compliment as he stood up.

“Okay. Thank you.”
Lexi said shyly, looking at the ground with a blush.

As Sloan unfolded from the ground,
Lexi realized that he stood over a foot taller than her short four-foot-eleven stature. And for a homeless guy who should look emaciated, he leaned more towards buff from what she could see under his grungy clothes.
Hmm…I wonder why I never noticed that before. Oh yeah, those eyes. They’re kind of distracting.

Logically she felt like she should be frightened of his scary appearance. The dark
tattered clothing, long hair and beard that covered most of his face and the sinister scar that ran down his forehead and cheek should have paralyzed her with fear. But instead she felt more comfortable around him than any man she had encountered in a long time.

“So what brings you to Savannah? I can tell you’re not from around here. You sound like you’re from the north and you don’
t dress like the fancy little southern belles around here.” Sloan began once they sat on one of the numerous benches in the park.

“Change”, was all she said.

Her one word reply made it perfectly clear to Sloan that she wasn’t talking or sharing. It was a signal to back off. He recognized the trait in himself, so he respected her wishes and remained quiet while they ate their bagels.

Lexi
was grateful that Sloan took the hint and stopped asking her questions. She watched as he ripped the bagel in half and gave the other half to Tank. That gesture alone gave her a little insight into the mysterious man. It’s hard to believe that someone is a bad person if they are willing to share something they’re in dire need of.

“So…what are you up to today, if you don’t mind me asking?” Sloan asked, figuring it was a safe topic.

“I need some work done on my house, so I’m just meeting with some people today and tomorrow that may be able to help.” Lexi answered with a full sentence this time.

Sloan would’ve offered to help, since he did have an extensive background in home construction, but he figured she wouldn’t want some bum working on her house.

“Is this your first house?” Sloan asked, trying to get as much information out of her as he could get.

“Yes.”

“Nice. Well, congratulations on your new home. That has to be exciting.” Sloan said, happily.

“Thank you. It is, and a little overwhelming too. The first meeting didn’t go so well, so we’ll see.”
Lexi sighed.

“I’m sure everything will be fine,
Alexis. You’ll find someone with the right fit, I’m sure.” Sloan said, desperately wanting to be that person professionally and personally.

“Well…I better get going to my next appointment.”
Lexi said, getting up from the bench and dusting off her pants.

“Okay, see ya around Alexis. And good luck.” Sloan said sincerely.

“Thanks, Sloan. See ya. Bye, Tank.” Lexi said as she scratched Tank once more and waved goodbye to Sloan.

~~~

Once again, Lexi left another contractor in disappointment. The last two meetings were no better than the first. In the second meeting, the moment the contractor heard what her budget was he got so excited he took her vision to the extreme, wanting to tear down walls and add an addition to the house and dig a pool and God knew what else. And the third and final meeting the owner of the construction company ideas were the complete opposite of hers. He wanted to make the house into some new-aged modern fortress.

Walking back towards the center of town where her car was parked,
Lexi’s eyes lit up when she saw a locally-owned bike shop. Purchasing a bike was the perfect solution to her morose mood. And about an hour later, she emerged from the shop with a brand new beach cruiser.

It was a lime green, white and tan beauty. It had a tan and white comfy seat with swirling green details. The frames on the wheels were green and the fat tires were white-walled. There were old-fashioned wood details on the bike and it had an adorable wicker basket and a flat rack on the back that she could tie things t
oo if she needed to carry home what couldn’t fit in the basket. She also added a bell and two lights for the front and back.

Deciding that now was as perfect a time as ever to give it a test run,
Lexi gingerly got on, riding a bike for the first time in years and took off towards the park. The bike rode smoothly because of the big tires. A huge smile spread across her face as the warm afternoon breeze blew by her. She quickly approached two dark figures that were in the distance.

Recognizing Sloan and Tank,
Lexi gently applied the brakes, slowing until she came to a stop in front of them.

“Ah, someone got a new toy while she was out and about.” Sloan said smiling at her.

“Yeah, I was hoping to find a nice bike to ride into town, since it’s not that far from me.” Lexi said, unable to stop the smile that had spread across her lips since she’d got on the bike.

“Well, she is definitely a beauty, like her owner.” Sloan said, sneaking in another compliment that she was apparently and shockingly not used to, if her blush was any indication. “Here, let me help you get it in your car.” He offered thoughtfully
, standing up to walk with her.