Honey

Could this day get any worse? Jacque stood in the doorway with a huge smile.

“Trouble in paradise?” she said, her eyes connecting with mine before landing on his.

When neither of us answered, she half turned and pointed out the door. “Is that—?”

“Nobody,” I said and then glared at Jake because we’d spoken the same word at the same time.

Jacque eyed us suspiciously. “He looks familiar, but—”

“Why are you here?” Jake asked brusquely.

She looked at him like the answer was obvious. “Your father.”

“What about him?” he asked.

Alarm bells started ringing in my head. Jamie had been out with Ed and the horses. With Jake and my raised voices, Ford should have appeared.

She filled us in. “He’s at my house, raising hell, muttering about card games and my dead husband. I tried calling you but got no answer.”

Her focus was solely on Jake.

“You just left him,” he spat.

Her eyes narrowed. “I was in fear of my life. One of my hands settled him down and I drove over here.”

“Fine,” he said. “I’m coming.”

“Apparently, your help isn’t enough. You need my land. I want you as my husband.”

He waved her off.

“Now is not the time.”

I felt like I was at the rodeo while the clown entertained the bull. Only I didn’t think Jacque understood how much of a spectacle she was making of herself. But if anger had horns, Jake’s was gratefully aimed at her and not me.

“I should go.”

I pivoted on my heels, but Jake’s hand snagged my arm.

“Please, could you stay and watch over Jamie until I get back?”

She was fine with Ed outside, but I couldn’t say no to a request like that. I gave him a brisk nod. He acknowledged mine with his own.

“I’ll follow you in my car,” he said to her, gesturing with his hand for her to exit the house.

The final look he cast me over his shoulder was too much for me. I glanced away.

The door closed only to open again and Axel stepped inside. He opened his arms and I stepped into him. He was warm and safe. When he stroked my back, I was grateful for his presence. Then he said, “Sorry, dollface.”

He hadn’t called me that since the one night we shared together. It was probably the thing that had endeared me to him in my drunken state. No one had ever mistaken me for a doll. They didn’t have a plus sized Barbie.

“You love him?”

His question hadn’t required an answer the way he’d said it. But I nodded, rubbing my tear-streaked cheek against his shirt.

“It’s clear he loves you.”

I wasn’t sure what to say about that. How could Jake love me with so little trust?

“He’s a jerk,” I said.

There was a rumble of laughter in his chest and I pulled back.

Axel was earnest when he said, “He’s protecting his territory. I can’t blame the guy. In his position, I would have been thumping my chest too.”

I rolled my eyes. “Over what? He didn’t give me a chance to explain.”

“You don’t know what the guy’s day’s been like.”

I glared at him.

“Don’t get pissed off at me. I’m just saying that something else could have been on his mind and then I stumble out of your bedroom. We guys are pretty simple. His reaction was instant and not thought through.”

I turned away from him.

“I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to grovel—” When I gave him a cold stare, he held up a palm. “—a lot of groveling. But don’t write him off. He’s a good guy.”

“How can you possibly know that? You saw him maybe thirty seconds.”

That was an exaggeration, but still.

“That’s all it takes for us guys to determine friend or foe. There wasn’t menace in his anger. There was a lot of heart. He was angry because of how deeply he feels about you. If a guy doesn’t give a shit about you, he won’t take time to make accusations. He’ll tell you where the door is.”

I couldn’t dispute his guy interpretations of things because Jamie walked in. Though she was back in her normal jeans and cowboy shirt, no one could mistake her for a boy. That haircut we’d gotten her had done wonders. She stopped when she saw us. I moved in her direction and she came running to meet me halfway.

“You’re back,” she exclaimed, her little arms clutching my sides.

Her smile was huge, but I don’t think she noticed she hadn’t stuttered. I took her hands, so I could kneel before her and give her a proper greeting. She laid her small head on my shoulder as I clung to her.

“I missed you.”

Her head lifted. “Who’s—” she took a breath, “—he?”

I got to my feet and moved so we both faced him. “That’s a friend of mine, Axel.” To him, I said, “Axel, this is Jamie, Jake’s daughter.”

If he was surprised he didn’t show it. We hadn’t spoken about Jake and his family on the ride over. I’d been a barrel of nerves and let him fill me in on the past few months of his life since we’d last spoken.

He came forward and bent to her. “My, such a pretty girl. I bet you get asked to marry all the time.” She giggled and shook her head. “Well then, will you marry me?”

Her laughter filled some of the cracks in my heart.

“I can’t get m-m-married. I’m—” she paused and Axel waited patiently. “—too young.”

He looked properly wounded. “Well, that’s too bad. Maybe twenty years from now.”

She shrugged, but her grin hadn’t dimmed. Axel certainly was a charmer.

Then she looked as though she were concentrating. When she spoke, I understood she’d been forming all the words in her mind before she spoke.

“Will you stay for dinner?”

His phone chimed and he held up a finger. He stood and went to the door to speak privately to his caller.

“Are you hungry?”

She nodded. “Okay, let’s go see what’s in the kitchen.”

I took her hand more for my comfort than any specific need. It wasn’t far from where we stood in the great room with everything open.

The refrigerator was bare. All the leftovers were gone. There wasn’t anything thawed I could cook. But there were a few options.

“How about grilled cheese sandwiches and soup?”

She gave me a vigorous nod.

When Axel got off the phone, he came over to the counter across from me and folded his arms to rest there.

“Can I borrow your car?” he asked.

I eyed him and he glanced at Jamie, who was too close not to overhear anything we said.

“Why?”

I bent down and reached for a skillet. When I sat up, he mouthed 911.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to explain more. Over the last few years, there were nights we spent hours on the phone. Axel didn’t sleep much. Something in his past created nightmares that made sleep difficult for him. During those talks, I heard all about the trouble he’d bail his brother out of. Usually it had to do with women and their boyfriends or husbands they’d completely forgotten to tell Diesel about. Then again, when a lead singer of one of the hottest bands in the world singles you out on stage, I think a lot of women develop amnesia.

“I hadn’t planned—” When he looked over at Jamie, who was watching us intensely, I stopped what I’d been about to say. “Fine. But I’ll call you.”

That was code for when I need you back, you better come.

He nodded and held out his hand to Jamie. “It was nice meeting you even though you broke my heart.” He winked at her after she took it. Cue in more giggles from her and then he was gone.

“He’s funny.”

Again, I said nothing about her easily spoken statement. Clearly, she’d been rattled earlier. Maybe what Axel said was true. What had happened while I was away? Had Jake really meant his statement about Tara and jail? I wanted answers but didn’t know how to ask. I wouldn’t quiz Jamie. She was calmer now and she was too young to be so worried about adult things. But asking Jake wouldn’t be easier considering we were both pissed at the other.

He’d kissed me, but it had felt desperate. We needed to talk and hopefully by the time he got back with Ford, we would both be in the mood to calmly listen to each other.

Jamie had just finished eating when Ford walked in muttering and Jake behind him. She leaped off the chair and ran to her father as if she hadn’t seen him for as long as she hadn’t seen me. What the hell was going on?