After finishing his sandwiches, he cleaned up his mess and grabbed bottled water before grabbing his cell phone and plopping down on the couch again. He dialed Lex's number again. When it went directly to voicemail, he tried again. It still went to voicemail.
It had only been a couple of days since he'd last talked to Lex and he really had no reason to suspect that anything was wrong, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was. Granted, he hadn't known Lex all that long, but he didn't think the man would be out of contact this long.
Tony thought they were building toward something. He knew they had a ways to go, but his feelings for the man were already strong. He liked pretty much everything about Lex, except for the fact that he lived so far away.
As much as Lex professed to love the city, Tony had no doubt he'd learn to love Cade Creek once he visited and got to know the place. He didn't know of any other place on earth where people were so free to be themselves.
Tony wouldn't live anywhere else.
He tried Lex's phone one more time—leaving a message asking Lex to call him—then headed off to bed. The only thing he could do at this point was get a good night's sleep then try again tomorrow.
* * * *
Tony clenched his jaw as he tossed his cell phone down on his desk. Lex still wasn't answering his phone. He was starting to wonder if the guy was just ignoring his calls, trying to give him the brush off.
That thought twisted his gut. He really liked Lex. He might even be falling in love with him. He'd like to think the man he was falling for had more honor than to ignore him simply because he wanted to break up.
He also wanted to believe that Lex wasn't trying to break up with him. He'd grown used hearing Lex's voice on the phone and cuddling with his sexy little body when they were together. He liked Lex's wicked sense of humor, his style, and even his squeamishness when it came to getting dirty. Lex was the whole package, and Tony wanted that package.
Maybe he needed to fly out there and figure out what was going on with Lex. It would be a whole lot harder for the man to break up with him face-to-face. At least, Tony hoped it would be. He wanted to make it as hard as possible for Lex to break up with him.
Tony booted up his computer then checked the flight times. The earliest flight he could catch to Washington, D.C. was tomorrow morning at eleven o'clock. That wasn't as soon as Tony would like, but it would give him time to fix the muffler on Patrick Fischer's truck. He really hated not coming through for his customers who entrusted their vehicles to him.
But first, he needed to make sure there was someone here to take over the shop while he was gone. With that thought in mind, Tony picked up the phone and called Brody. Considering the man sold the shop to him, he was pretty sure Brody knew one end of a wrench from the other.
"Hi, Brody," he said when the man answered the phone. "It's Tony."
"Hey, man, what's up?"
"Any chance you can come watch the shop for a couple of days?"
Surprise laced Brody's voice. "Again?"
Tony winced. "Yeah, I'm worried about Lex. He's not answering his phone or returning my messages, and that's just not like him."
"Didn't you say he was job hunting? Maybe he got a new job."
"I guess that's possible, but…"
"But, you won't stop worrying until you know for sure."
Tony chuckled. "Yeah."
"Okay, man, when do you need me?"
"My flight leaves at eleven tomorrow morning. I swear I'll just go there, check on Lex, then fly right back."
"Naw, take your time. I don't have anything pressing for the next couple of days. Just make sure you're home in time for services on Sunday."
"I will be," Tony said quickly. "Besides, the shop isn't open on Sundays."
Or Mondays. Tony had to have a couple of days off per week. When he bought the shop, it had been open six days a week. After just a couple of months of that, Tony learned that he needed that extra day to keep him from stressing out the rest of the week.
"I've still got the spare keys, so it should be no problem opening the shop in the morning. Are there any jobs I need to know about?"
"None at the moment. I'm finishing up Pat's muffler today. Unless someone comes in before closing, the bay is all clear at the moment." That wasn't good for his bank account, but it would make things a bit easier for Brody. "I really appreciate this, Brody."
"Don't worry about it. It gets me out of Neason's hair for a little while."
