Chapter 25

It’s amazing what money can do. When you don’t have it, you need it. You find yourself hoping to win the lottery, even if it’s five grand or something. I watched all the construction guys wandering around the property. Rebel had already bought the house back, helped the people move their belongings, and had the house moved to connect with his own. The couple thought he was nuts and balked when he offered to pay more than the house was worth. In the end, they took a smaller offer and thanked him repeatedly. A Hummer pulled up on my right and I grinned as Deo jumped from the vehicle. He’d gotten his life back, quit the force, and would begin working for Axel the following month. He strode toward me, still full of the confidence he always had.

“Princess.” He kissed my head.

“Asshole.”

“So, I’m putting in wiring today and all that fun shit. Why are you dressed like a Dutch mountain man?”

“I’m going hiking with my dad.”

“Ahh, Jasper Jamison. I can’t tell you how happy I am for you, Duchess.”

Another car pulled up and Deo gasped. I glanced around him and noticed Paul exiting Buster’s truck.

“Oh, fuck me. That man is spank bank material,” he groaned.

“No.” I faced him and pulled his face back to mine. “No and no.”

“Why?” Deo pouted.

“Because that’s Paul Vincent and he’s…well let’s just say he’s not ready for someone like you.”

“What does that mean?” Deo arched a brow at me.

“I know how you operate, Deo. Love them and leave them has always been your motto.”

Deo glanced back over at Paul and then back at me. “But —”

“No. End of discussion. Besides, the guy he’s with will fuck you up.”

“Is that his boyfriend?”

“No, it’s his bodyguard.”

“I’d love to guard that body. Holy hell! Look at his ink.” Deo wiped his mouth. “Damn, he’s just fucking succulent.”

“Succulent?” I laughed.

“Jax.” Paul walked over to us and glanced from me to Deo. “This is?”

“Deo Calvalari. We went to school together.”

“Nice to meet you.” Paul put out his hand and Deo gripped it, shaking it up and down slowly.

“You as well.”

“Jax, your father is here,” Buster interrupted. “Paul?”

“Yep.” Paul backed away and grinned. “Nice to meet you, Deo.”

“Oh no, the pleasure was all mine.”

Buster shot me a look and I shrugged. Maybe the bodyguard needed some competition for once. No matter what Buster said, I knew somewhere deep down he felt for Paul. He was just too afraid to admit it.

“Well, I’ll just go electrocute myself now.” Deo began walking toward the house.

“Have fun with that!” I called after him.

“Hey, kiddo!” Jasper came to my side and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “What was all that?”

“Deo the sexpot meets Paul and brings out the green-eyed monster in Buster.”

“Sounds like a made-for-TV movie — or a Jerry Springer show.”

“Ready to hit the trail?” I asked.

“Yep.”

I took my dad out to the camping site; I knew he’d appreciate the view once we actually got to it. We walked for a few miles before he began to speak.

“I’m proud of you, Jax.”

“You are?” I stopped walking.

He turned to face me with a smile.

“After everything you went through, you found the strength to leave that asshole and start a whole new life. Do you know how hard that is?”

I stared out across the valley. “He was going to kill me, Dad. I saw the signs too late, but I got out.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to think about him.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up, I just wanted you to know. I sat in your hospital room every day praying to God to give me the chance to get to know you. I know I screwed up. Hell, I did all kinds of drugs and fucked anything that moved.”

“Eww.” I wrinkled my nose.

He merely smiled and carried on.

“But I truly loved your mom. She was and is my one and only. You were the best thing to ever happen to me and I screwed it all up. I tried to find you both, I really did, but then shit got skewed and I ended up with HIV. Boy, did that open my eyes to what I was doing wrong in my life.” He walked over to me and took me in his arms. “I want to spend the rest of my life making up for the time I should have been a father to you.”

“You’re here now.” I hugged him back. “I’m so glad you are. There were so many questions I had as a kid and Mom wouldn’t answer them. Where did I get the gift of music? I could hear a song and know exactly how to play it.”

Jasper pulled back and caressed my cheek. “You are so talented, even more so than me. Your voice has such range. I know you said you don’t want anything to do with the limelight —”

“I don’t, Dad, I really don’t. I love my life the way it is. I finally have the one man I’ve wanted since the moment he was introduced to me. The funny thing is, I didn’t think of Rebel as my type.”

“No?” Jasper’s eyes widened. “What was your type?”

“Deo.” I cracked up. “Clean cut and in a suit. But Rebel just took my breath away.”

“He’s a good man. I’m happy you found love.”

“I’m happy you got yours back.”

“Me too, kiddo. So how about we spend a lot of time together? I have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Can’t wait.”

We continued along the trail, just chatting away about menial stuff and then my father gasped. The sun was starting to set, which brought out all the colors of the red rock below.

“Oh, wow,” he whispered. “This is…there are no words. Makes you truly appreciate being alive.”

“Doesn’t it? The first time Rebel brought me up here to camp I couldn’t get over how beautiful it was.”

He wrapped an arm around me and we watched the sun make its final descent. I’d never forget it for the rest of my life. We walked back the way we came and I jumped into his car. He fired up the engine and glanced over at me.

“Food?”

“You read my mind.”

By the time we got back to the house it was almost nine. I said bye to my dad, promising to see him the next day. Rebel was at the kitchen table as I walked in, his hair spilling over his shoulder. I stopped and stared at him. He glanced my way and a grin broke out.

“Hey, did you and Jasper have fun?”

I walked over to him and he leaned back as I straddled him in the chair. I leaned in, kissing his eyes, nose, and then lips. He wrapped his arms around me and stood up. I wrapped my arms around him as he walked us to the bedroom. He set me down gently and I pulled his hair away from his face.

“Are we going to have sex?” I grinned.

“Nope.” Rebel threw off his pants and climbed into bed, pulling back the blankets inviting me in.

“No?”

“I want to show you something.” He propped the pillows up and grabbed the remote off the table. The TV came on and my eyes widened at a much younger — and naked — Rebel running away from whoever was recording him.

“Rebel Stryker!” A female voice bellowed. “Get your naked butt into that tub!”

“Just like his Grandpa.”

The camera panned around and I saw a much younger Auggie. He took the camera and then I saw Rebel’s grandmother. She was breathtaking. Long black hair cascaded down her back and her eyes were a fierce blue. She chased Rebel down the hall and finally nabbed him. I covered a chuckle as she dropped him into the tub. The next scene had Rebel a bit older, maybe twelve. He was ballroom dancing with his grandmother.

“Rebel, show your grandma what you learned!”

I watched as Rebel sat at the piano bench and cracked his fingers. He closed his eyes and began to play.

“Oh wow,” I whispered. “You can play Rachmaninoff, too?”

“I don’t anymore, not since she passed,” Rebel admitted.

“Look how cute you are.”

Auggie came to the piano and handed off the video recorder to Rebel. He then joined his wife dancing.

“She was so full of life,” Rebel murmured.

“She will always be right here.” I patted his heart. “You are a lot like her.”

“Thank you, Jax.” Rebel kissed me.

“Is there more?”

“You want to keep watching?”

“Oh, yeah.”

We watched for hours and I got to see Rebel grow up right before my eyes. When the last DVD ejected, Rebel sat on the floor and I moved to sit next to him.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I haven’t watched those in years. I didn’t want to feel the pain all over again.”

“But you can also feel the joy, Rebel. She may be gone, but you’ll always have her right here.” I picked up the DVD. “You smiled and laughed while watching this. Sometimes the memories can be good. She will always be with you.”

Rebel turned to me and caressed my cheek. “Have I told you how lucky I am to have you?”

“Not in the last hour.” I leaned in and our lips met.

Rebel pushed me gently to my back and hovered above me. I loved it when he did that. His hair would tickle my face and I could breathe him in. His lips moved smoothly over mine, his tongue teasing me. I sighed in bliss. I would never get tired of kissing Rebel Stryker. We broke from the kiss and Rebel got up, extending his hand to me. We crawled back into bed and I rolled into his side.

“Hey, Jax?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for watching those with me.”

“It was my pleasure.”