Las Vegas Sidewinders: Drake (Book 2) by Kat Mizera

think
spending Christmas alone will be healthy for you.”
    “I have to work, so
I’ll be on a shift with other people, and Liv might fly in. If I had the damn
life insurance money I could pay for it, but right now, I’m just keeping my
head above water.”
    “Erin, dear, forgive
me—you know I love you—but why are you so broke? You’re a Captain, so you must
make a decent salary. Clay is paying for your father’s care and we put a decent
chunk down on your townhouse. Where is your money going?”
    “I’ve seen dozens of
doctors that are not military—they don’t pay for most of the cosmetic stuff.
Plus Clay kept everything in the house. I had to charge all the appliances, a
bed, a couch, dishes…”
    “Goodness, he kept
everything?” Jan seemed confused. “But he told us he gave you that stuff.
That’s why he bought all new things. I went shopping with him.”
    “He lied.” Erin sighed.
“Jan, I’m sorry. I’m not going to play games and try to make you like me more
than your son, but he’s not a nice guy. He’s mean, he lies, and he manipulates
people. It’s part of why he’s a good lawyer. Unfortunately, he’s not a very
nice man. That’s why Shay left me his money and his dog tags. He realized that
something was off with Clay—he was actually going to talk to you about it when
we got back. He thought Clay may have some sort of bipolar disorder or
something.”
    There was silence for a
few moments and finally Jan coughed lightly. “Actually, he did mention it to me
before he died, and Clay was diagnosed last year. That’s partly why he backed
down during the divorce—I threatened to tell his bosses that he was unstable.
It was the only way I could protect you and I knew Shay would have wanted me
to.”
    “I’m sorry you’re in
the middle, but I’ll be okay. I appreciate your support, and I miss you.”
    “What about dinner next
weekend?” Jan asked. “We’ll go somewhere nice and catch up. I can’t wait to see
the results of the last surgery.”
    “That would be nice.”
They made arrangements and ended the call. She texted Kate next.
    What’s up?
    Are you working?
    Of course.
    So I’m in Vegas working
with my client on the hockey team here. I saw Drake at a charity event—with a
woman!
    What?!
    He told me they were
just friends, but I thought you should know. You need to work harder at this,
girlfriend—or you’re going to lose him.
    Ugh. Gotta get back to
work—thanks.
    Erin walked back to her
desk feeling depressed. It had only been two weeks and he was already dating
other women? They talked and texted every day, but he hadn’t said anything
about a date or a charity event. Feeling annoyed, she hit the speed dial for
his number on her phone.
    “Hi!” He answered on
the first ring. “I texted you a little while ago.”
    “Because you knew Kate
would tell me about the woman you were with?”
    He paused. “No, because
I wanted to talk to you. I told her, and I’ll tell you, Lisa and I are just
friends. We’ve known each other since high school. She just happens to live in
Vegas now, and once in a while, when I need a date to keep the gold diggers
away, she goes with me to a function. We have never slept together, nor are we
dating. I’ll give you her phone number and you can ask her yourself.”
    Erin sighed, feeling
foolish. “I’m sorry. But you had to know Kate would tell me, especially if
she’s pretty. Is she pretty?”
    “Not as pretty as you.”
    “That’s not what I
asked.”
    He sighed too. “Yes,
she’s very attractive. Green-eyed redhead with big tits and great legs. She’s
also been divorced twice and has sworn off men. However, she does enjoy hanging
out with me on occasion, and like I said, we’ve known each other since we were
14. I wasn’t interested in her then, and I’m not now.”
    “Okay.” Erin spoke
quietly. She had to trust him, didn’t she?
    “So, are we going to
have a conversation or are you still going to doubt me?” He