Jaxson (16 page)

“I’m Amie,” she says, batting her eyelashes.
Shit
. This is going to go over fucking badly. If there is this much anger between Lynnie and Tate, I know for sure that there is no way that these two will ever make it past one date.
 

Lyndley comes walking towards me and wraps her arms around my waist. I feel her intake of breath and I know she doesn’t like this at all.
 

“Please make sure he doesn’t hurt her,” she whispers against my skin. I feel her breath dance over my skin and my mind flits back to last night. Her naked body pressing against mine. Fuck. I need to stop thinking about a naked Lynnie.

I have to slightly adjust myself, before leaning down to kiss her nose. “I promise.” I give her a reassuring smile and she doesn’t give me one back. “I’m almost done. Can you please get me some plates?” I run my hand down her side and she looks up at me. “You staying, Tate?”

“Only if this beautiful girl is,” he utters with a hopeful grin. Amie giggles and nods. I shake my head at him and go back to finishing the food. Lyndley grabs the plates and sets them down on the counter a little harder than normal. I see that Amie and Tate have made their way to the table and now whispering and flirting.
 

Once I finish plating everything, I hand two of them to Lyndley and tell her to go play nicely. She gives me the stink eye before grabbing the plates and making her way to the table. I watch as she sets one in front of Amie and keeps the other for herself. Walking over with the other two plates, I hand one to Tate and set mine in front of me.
 

Lyndley spends a lot of time trying to steer the conversation to random topics, but they keep talking to each other and getting to know each other better, which I can tell is starting to piss her off. Grabbing her hand under the table, I squeeze it and ask, “Babe, you want to do a date night tonight? The four of us can go out.”

Before she can answer me, Amie all but yells in excitement. “Ohh, that sounds like so much fun!”
 

I wait for her response and see her give Tate a dirty look while saying, “Sure.” He smirks at her and I can see the anger written all over her face. She may not ever like the idea of them together, but we can’t get in between them. If it’s going to happen, they will make it happen. Whether we like it or not.

Leaning into whisper in her ear, I tell her, “Love, I need to you to be nice. He’s my best friend.” She sighs loudly and goes back to eating her food. Once everyone is done, Lyndley grabs all the plates and silverware and starts to wash them in the sink. Getting out of my chair, I wrap my arms around her waist, pushing her against the sink. “Stop pouting, baby. You can’t tell them who they can and can’t date.”
 

She turns the water off and sets down the dish she was just rinsing. “But I don’t want her to date someone who says mean things to me about something he doesn’t even know about.”
 

Spinning her around, I look her in the eye before I say anything. “What? What did he say to you?” she shrinks back a bit and looks down at the ground before answering me.
 

“It’s not important. Let me finish the dishes. Go to work so you can be done early.” I can feel my jaw tick with the pressure I’m putting on my teeth and grinding down to keep from saying something I regret to her. Instead of even trying to get her to tell me, I release her and make my way towards the room.
 

After I pull on my socks, boots and tee shirt, I brush my teeth and find a baseball cap and pull it on backwards. All I can fucking do is think about what Lynnie said. Tate is going to hear it from me when I get him alone. I don’t even know what he said and I’m still furious as all hell.
 

Sitting on the bed, I try to calm down enough to go out there and talk to her, but I can’t. I’m too fucking pissed that she wouldn’t have told me that Tate was saying shit to her. She knows how I fucking feel about her and she knows that I wouldn’t let Tate say a damn word to her if I knew why they hated each other that much.
 

I hear her footsteps as she makes her way to the room and I don’t even bother to look up. “Jax, I’m sorry. I just don’t want you guys to be on the outs because of me.”
 

I still don't look up at her. I’m still too mad. “Lynds, we need to communicate if we ever want this to work. I won’t let you keep things from me again. What did he tell you?”

When I finally look up at her, I know she can see the anger and hurt written all over my face. She comes and takes a seat next to me on the bed, as I wait for her to say something. I can’t be the only one fighting for us. If she loved me as much as she says, she would be fighting too.
 

“The day I started working at the diner, Tate was waiting for you. Before you got there, I was walking by his table when he grabbed me by the arm, stopping me.” She pauses and I want to get up and go find Tate, but I don’t. Instead I just wait for her to continue her story. “Tate told me to leave you alone and that you never got over me. He didn’t want me to sink my claws into you again. Apparently, I’m just back to hurt you, playing the pity card. He said the only reason I can keep you is because of my story about Gracilyn.”

“Shit! Why didn’t you tell me, Lynnie?!” Why the fuck wouldn’t she have told me this? Did she believe what he said? “I would have dealt with him then and there. You don’t deserve his shit. He doesn’t know anything about what happened, so he needs to keep his fucking mouth shut.” I’m fuming mad, I want to go find him and beat the fuck out of him for even saying anything to her.
 

Before I get up, she runs her fingers along my jaw, “Please, just let it go. I don’t want you to fight with him.” Leaning into her touch, I calm down a little, but it’s not enough to keep from telling Tate exactly how I feel about him even thinking about talking shit to Lynnie.
 

“He will still hear about it from me. He has no right to say that to you, baby. He needs to mind his own business and stay out of ours. I love you. Be ready by seven, and wear something sexy. I love you.” I run my fingers through her hair and kiss her deeply.
 

“Love you, too,” she moans into my mouth. Getting up and off the bed, I make my way towards the kitchen and tell Tate that we have work to do.

Walking outside, I wait for Tate to catch up before I say anything to him. He has no right disrespecting my girl because he doesn’t agree with my decisions. I have been waiting years to get her back and there is nothing that will keep me from getting her to stay with me this time. I will move heaven and hell to ensure I don’t lose her again.
 

When we get out by the barn, I turn to look at him and he has a stupid grin on his face. “We need to talk.” I state. I catch him by surprise. He seems to be smitten by Amie already.
 

“Talk about what?” he asks. He knows exactly what I’m pissed about and since Lynnie told me about the incident at the diner, my anger has only gotten worse. He’s done nothing but tell me that I needed to move on since I told him about Gracilyn. When she first came to town, he was all about me getting her back, but now he wants me to kick her to the curb over something that neither of us would have been able to control. Am I still mad about her not telling me the truth, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to punish her for it.
 

I still love her and that will always be the number one thing. She’s the love of my life and the wife that I’ve missed for ten damn years. “What the fuck is your problem?” I ask. He cocks his head and looks at me like I’m fucking crazy.
 

“What the hell are you talking about?” His voice is low and I take a step closer to him.
 

“You seriously have balls talking shit to her. She told me about the shit you said at the diner. At first I thought you guys just didn’t like each other and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why except that you’re my best friend and were angry for me. You had no fucking right to say a damn thing to her.”
 

He stands there just staring at me. I can see the way his jaw ticks with anger even though he hasn’t said a word. “You’re a fucking idiot. You let that bitch come back into your life like she didn’t choose New York over you. She had your kid and never told you. What kind of woman does that to the man she loves?” His voice is bitter and I have a feel that I know what his problem is.
 

“She isn’t Nyssa. She didn’t abort our child. Our child died during childbirth.” Before I can continue, I take a right hook to the jaw. Before I can stop myself, I throw a punch at him, clocking him in his jaw. He charges at me and we both go to the ground. He gets one punch in before I roll us over and punch him three times. He grabs my wrist and holds it against his body as he hits me in the stomach.
 

He easily rolls and I push him off of me. “Don’t fucking say shit about Nyssa.” he huffs out. I sit up and wipe at my cheek. One of his punches landed on my cheek and I can feel it starting to swell.
 

“Lynnie is nothing like her. She wouldn’t have taken my choice from me. We talked about it. She told me that after Gracilyn was born she was going to come home and tell me, but by then she had already lost her.” I hear him grunt out and when I look up, I can see the ranch hands watching us. Wiping my cheek again, I wipe the blood off on my jeans.
 

“You’re my brother Tate and I hate that you’re pissed at me over this shit, but it has to stop. She’s going to be part of my life whether you like it or not. She’s it for me man and I’d rather have you by my side than at my throat about it. She’s still the same girl we knew in high school, just grown up and a little broken.” He wipes at his lip before he says anything.
 

“She broke your heart. I was the one here pulling your ass out of the depression you fell into when she left. I was the one who picked up the pieces when you were pissed off at your parents for making you stay. I was the one right by your damn side at the funeral.”
 

Closing my eyes, I think back to my pop’s funeral, and I can’t help but feel the heartache all over again. The pain of watching them lower his casket into the ground. “Yeah she wasn’t there, but she had no idea he died. I could have reached out to her and asked her to come home, but I didn’t. It wasn’t my place anymore.” He lowers his head and looks to the ground. We both don’t say anything and I know that he is finally seeing where I’m coming from.
 

“Nyssa called last night.” His voice chokes and I look over at him.
 

“You okay man?” I ask. He shakes his head no and I put my arms on my knees.
 

“She calls every damn year on that day. She calls to cry on my shoulder, telling me the mistakes she made and how she wished I would forgive her.” One night we got drunk after my pop’s funeral and he told me his secret, the one that he had been living with for a while. He was heartbroken and angry when she called to cry on his shoulder the first few times. Now he’s just pissed and I feel for him. If I was in the same situation, I wouldn’t even answer the phone.
 

“What I said to Lynnie was wrong, but she took away your choice too and I’m not okay with it. You deserved to be by her side through her pregnancy. There is nothing that will ever change my mind on that, but I love you like my brother and would do anything for you, including backing off. I won’t say shit. Just don’t let her break you again. I can’t sit back and watch that happen for a second time.”

I just nod my head. I don’t know what to say to that. I love her enough to let her go if that’s what she chooses when the time comes, but it will probably destroy me next time.