Until Jax(10)

“Okay.” She swallows, and I notice a pinkness to her cheeks that wasn’t there before as she stops at her bedroom door.

“I’m right down the hall if you need me. Do you remember the code for the house?”

“Zero-four-zero-three,” she says, nodding.

“Good girl.” I smile, reaching up and running my finger down her cheek, watching her eyes slide half closed from my touch. “Mom and Dad will be here in the morning.”

“Oh.”

“Mom said she would take you to the salon if you want to go.”

“I do.” Her face brightens.

“I had a feeling you would want to.” I smile as she yawns again. “Get some sleep.”

“Goodnight, Jax,” she says quietly, walking into her room.

“Night, Ellie,” I murmur, watching her door close before heading down the hall to my room. The minute I’m inside, I kick off my boots and take off my jeans and tee then go into the bathroom. Something inside of me settles into place…something I didn’t even know I had been looking for all along.

I knew about the ‘Boom’; every man in my family knew about it from the time they were little. Most of us chalked it up to some old wives tale, but that doesn’t mean I hadn’t been hoping it would happen to me one day. I grew up watching the way the men in my family were with their wives, knew the strength of their relationships and the bonds they shared, how rare it actually was to have something run so deep, something that nothing could ever come between.

I know I now have that under my roof; I just need to convince Ellie of the same thing. I need to show her our future could be beautiful if she’d give it a chance. With that thought, I go to bed hoping that one day Ellie will be climbing into bed next to me while our kids sleep down the hall.





Chapter 2
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Ellie


Opening my eyes, I close them again when I realize I haven’t been dreaming. I’m really at Jax’s house in Tennessee. Sitting up and putting my feet on the floor, I stretch before standing. I don’t want Hope to wake up Jax, and my daughter—though I love her more than anything in this world—is loud. I don’t think she has ever gotten the concept of her inside voice. Opening my door and looking down the hall towards Jax’s room, I see his door is open, but he’s not awake. At least, I don’t think so.

His chest is rising and falling steadily. His arm muscles are flexed, one over his head, the other draped across his bare abdomen. All I can see is beautiful golden skin over muscle…lots and lots of muscle. Pulling my eyes from him and tiptoeing down the hall, I make it to Hope’s room and go inside, shutting the door.

Seeing Hope asleep in her bed on her tummy with her hand pressed under her cheek, I walk to the only other piece of furniture in the room, an old rocking chair, and sit down. My life with Hope hasn’t always been easy, but we’ve always been happy. I have always made sure she has what she needs, and a little extra when I could afford it, but last night, when we pulled up in front of Jax’s house and she whispered to him that he lived in a castle, I knew I needed to do more. She deserves to live in a house, not a trailer park where drugs are dealt right outside her bedroom window. She deserves a backyard and a good school, with friends who are good kids. I’m not sure what is going to happen with us living in Tennessee, but I vow I will work harder to give Hope a life completely different than the one I had growing up.

“Mama?”

“Hey, Angel.” I smile, opening my arms to her as she walks sleepily toward me. “Did you sleep okay?” I ask, tucking her head under my chin and wrapping my arms around her, rocking her gently.

“Like a pwincess.” She smiles, tipping her head back to look at me. “I’m hungwy.”

I know Jax said to make ourselves at home, but I still feel awkward using his stuff when he isn’t around. It feels personal…way too personal. “Can I have pancakes?”

Crap. I’m not gonna starve my daughter, so I need to pull my big girl panties up and get over whatever reservations I have with being in Jax’s house, especially since this is our home for the time being, too.

“You have to be very quiet until we get downstairs. Can you do that?”

“Like a mouse,” she whispers, making me smile.

“Okay, little mouse, let’s go,” I tell her, standing up and taking her hand in mine.

“Jax is sweepin’,” she loudly whispers when we step into the hall.

“Remember, quiet as a mouse,” I say, and her nose scrunches up and down a few times like a mouse would do, and I grin.