Until Jax(79)

“I didn’t even love myself,” I hear her say before she walks back into the house without a second glance, closing the door behind her.

Pulling my hands out of my pockets, I walk back to my truck and get inside, where I stare at her house for a long time. I didn’t expect her to invite me in for cookies, but I thought she would at least give me something but then maybe she just did.

Putting my truck in reverse, I pull out of her driveway then look at her house in the rearview mirror. Ellie was right; I was lucky as fuck to have the parents I have. There has never been a day I haven’t known they love me, and I promise myself right then that Hope and any other kids Ellie and I have will feel the same way. They will never have to guess or wonder when it comes to my love for them.

*

“It’s your turn,” I tell Ellie, rolling to my back and covering my eyes with my arm when I hear whimpering and barking coming from Hope’s room down the hall.

“You wanted puppies,” she mumbles, and I pull my arm off my eyes to glare at her as she pulls the covers up over her head.

“The puppies want to go outside, and I’m hungwy!” Hope yells a minute later.

“Three years,” Ellie mutters from under the blanket, making me smile and shake my head, knowing she’s referring to how long her birth control implant is good for.

It’s been two weeks since we found Yury, and in that time, he confessed to the murders of three women, one of them being Vanessa Commerce, the woman who had gone missing months ago. Even though her family was mourning her loss, they were relieved to have closure and to know her murderer was off the streets and behind bars where he can’t hurt anyone else. Avalee had also been in touch with Harlen. She explained she was doing okay then asked for July and Ellie’s numbers after she found out they had also gone through a similar situation, though not as severe as what she endured. Ellie and July had both talked to her a few times and had plans to meet up once Avalee felt a little stronger.#p#分页标题#e#

“Do you want me to go?” Ellie asks, peeking out from under the covers, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“No, baby, sleep,” I say, pressing a kiss to her forehead and slipping out of bed, I walk down the hall to Hope’s room, where I find her trying to unhook the latch on the dog pen while Chip and Pancake jump up on the door, trying to get to her.

“Good, you’re here.” She sighs then points to the puppies. “They want out.”

“I see that,” I confirm, laughing as I open the gate, allowing both puppies to rush out of the crate and circle her feet, which sends her into a fit of giggles.

“Let’s get them downstairs before they have an accident,” I tell her, picking both wiggling puppies up and carrying them downstairs, hearing her follow me out the back door of the kitchen, where I stand shirtless in the cold, vowing to have a fence put up and a doggie door put in soon so that I won’t have to do this shit forever.

Opening the back door, Hope yells, “Good morning!” to Ellie, who is standing in the kitchen, wearing my shirt as she runs past her to the living room, followed by both puppies barking at her feet as I close the door behind me.

“Three years, huh?” I say, and she gives me a knowing smile then places her hand to my abs and leans up, kissing my jaw, pressing her tits against me, making me want to lift her to the counter and tell her good morning in a completely different way. Fisting my hand in her hair, I tip her head back and dip my mouth closer to hers.

“Daddy Ax, Chocolate Chip is eating the couch!” Hope yells, breaking the moment and making me groan.

“Definitely three years,” Ellie says, letting out a breath against my mouth and dropping back down to her feet.

“Three years,” I mutter, kissing her once before leaving the kitchen and heading to the living room, where I find Chip eating the edge of the couch. Luckily it’s leather, so the damage is minimal.

Going upstairs after making a phone call, I stop and frown as I watch Ellie hang up clothes in the closet of the room she chose when she first came to stay with me…a room she hasn’t slept in for weeks.

“What are you doing?”

Jumping, she turns to look at me then holds up a shirt on a hanger. “Putting away my laundry.”

“Why the fuck are you putting it away in here?” I frown, looking at the closet and seeing it’s full of her clothes.

“Um…”

“What the fuck, Ellie?”

“I—” she starts, but I hold up my hand, walk over to the pile of laundry on the bed, and pick it up, carrying it down the hall, where I toss it on the bed then turn to face her.