The Last Second Chance: A Small Town Love Story (Blue Moon Book 3) (3 page)

“Yeah, did you get to see his meat stick?” Gia jumped in.

Joey’s jaw dropped. “Married to Beckett for five seconds and look what happens,” she said, ignoring the fact that she’d asked Gia that very question about Beckett early on in their relationship. “You used to be so polite and reserved. Now you’re shoving your nose in places it doesn’t belong.”

“I’m a Mooner now,” Gia reminded her. “Nosiness is a town ordinance here.”

“Joey, quit stalling,” Summer ordered.

“I should have kept my big mouth shut,” Joey lamented.

“You mean, of course, when you kissed Jax? Did you use too much tongue?” Gia teased.

“These questions and this hangover are making me hate you two. I need to make some new friends.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. After you spill you can start auditioning new BFFs.” Summer waved away her threat.

Joey let out a tortured sigh. “Fine. I lured him outside and I kissed him. Happy now?”

“Yes!” Gia crowed.

“Nope.”

Joey glared at Summer.

“You are shockingly light on details,” her friend said. “When you say lured…”

Joey reluctantly recited a high-level overview of the kiss.

“Wow,” Gia said, fanning herself when Joey had finished. “Did your underwear melt off at that point?”

“Almost. But it would have unmelted immediately after he got done turning me down.”

“He turned you down?” Gia and Summer shouted the question together and Joey wondered if there was a surgery for reinserting eyeballs after they catapulted out of their sockets.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Summer said it fast, holding up a finger.

“Jackson Pierce turned
you
,” Gia waved a hand in front of Joey’s face and chest, “down?”

“Yep.”

“That son of a bitch,” Summer muttered, rubbing her rounded belly.

“Thank you!” Joey jumped out of her chair and started to pace. “
Exactly!
He just waltzes out of my life after promising me a future and then he has the nerve to show up here and lay one on me like I should be happy about it?” She was in full-on rant mode now.

“And then he gets in my face for six months.
Six months!
Hinting and flirting and looking at me like he wants to take a bite out of me. And
then
when I offer him a night of no-strings fun, he’s all Mr. Thanks But No Thanks?”

“I believe what I actually said was that I’d take a rain check.”

Joey froze mid-pace. Judging from the expressions on Summer and Gia’s faces, the amused tone from the door belonged to Mr. Thanks But No Thanks himself. She whirled around. Sure enough, Jax was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, enjoying the show. He shoved away from the door and crossed to her.

“You were drunk,” he said when they were toe-to-toe. “Phoebe Pierce didn’t raise boys who would take advantage of that. And April Greer didn’t raise girls who would threaten to go get what they wanted from someone else when they didn’t get their way.” Those gray eyes were anything but icy now.

Joey crossed her arms and set her jaw to ward off the shame. Summer and Gia whistled innocently and avoided eye contact.

“Let me make one thing clear,” Jax said, slipping a hand behind her neck. His voice dropped to a low, commanding whisper. “When it does happen. When I’m touching you. I want you to be completely present, stone sober. Because there’s nothing that’s going to come between us. And there will be no regrets.”

She fought him, but Jax used the hand gripping her neck to drag her in for a hard kiss on the mouth.

He pulled back and grinned. She stomped on his foot. “Stop doing that!”

He released her and turned his attention to her friends. Jax threw an arm around Gia’s shoulders. “Welcome to the family, sis.”

Gia grinned up at him, totally falling for his Pierce charm. Joey rolled her eyes.
Amateur.

“And as for you,” Jax said, pointing at Summer. “I know what you’re up to.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Summer asked innocently.

“You’re freaked out about this launch, worrying about how it’s gonna go and what it’s gonna mean. So you kick Carter out so he doesn’t worry about you worrying and then you try to drag your friends in here as distractions.”

Summer’s pretty face was working its way into a frown.

“Don’t even try it,” Jax warned. “You didn’t fool Carter either. He’s just legally required to tip-toe around you.”

Gia snickered.

“Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at the site traffic so I can report back to my brother before he paces a trench in our nice new floors at the brewery.”

Summer sighed. “The page wasn’t loading.”

“Well, try it again,” Jax ordered, leaving no room for discussion.

“I see all Pierce men inherited the bossy pants gene,” Gia said, from the safety of the sidelines.

Joey smirked. That was certainly true. The funny thing was, the brothers didn’t get it from their father. The brothers’ unwavering loyalty, their love of land and family, that was John’s influence. But their tenacity and hard-headedness was all Phoebe.

Summer punched a few keys and quiet descended on the room.

“It’s loading,” she murmured, squinting at the screen.

Joey flopped back down in the chair and tapped her fingers on her knees. She didn’t make time for things like stats and technology. The traffic she worried about was the four-legged kind as it trotted around the indoor riding ring. But she knew this launch was important to Summer and that made it important to her.

Summer’s eyebrows skyrocketed up.

“Well?” Joey demanded, leaning forward.

A sound like a beach ball deflating emanated from behind the monitors.

Gia’s fingers dug into Joey’s arm.

“Twenty-three thousand.”

“What?” Gia’s voice was an octave higher than usual.

Summer was frozen halfway out of her chair. “Twenty-three thousand visitors.”

“What?” Gia was shrieking now.

“If you get any louder, I’m going to lose an ear drum,” Joey warned her.

“Twenty-three thousand visitors and its only eleven!” Summer was all the way out of her chair now and yelling. She came around the desk and there was more yelling and grabbing and some jumping.

“Are you allowed to bounce? Won’t the babies fall out?” Joey asked, grabbing Summer’s shoulder to keep her grounded. Carter and Beckett burst in. “What the hell, Jax?” Carter yelled over the noise and made a grab for Summer. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Summer threw herself into her husband’s arms. “Twenty-three thousand, Carter!”

“Don’t let her start jumping again,” Joey warned him.

Beckett, wearing sweatpants and a big, fat smile, pulled Gia in to him. He tucked her head under his chin and held tight. It was such an intimate moment that Joey had to look away.

Carter was still searching the room for a threat. “Twenty-three thousand what, honey?” He brushed her hair back from her face.

“That’s how many people have been to the site so far today. We were hoping for maybe fifteen thousand all day.”

“Holy shit!”

There was more jumping and yelling and even Joey bounced a little in her riding boots. She snuck a glance at Jax and found him watching her. Summer grabbed for Joey and Gia, pulling them in for a hug before dragging the brothers in.

“We’re really doing this, guys.”

Carter dropped a sweet kiss on the top of her head and closed his eyes in the bliss of pride and love.

C
old and a little cranky
, Joey dragged her boots off and left them on the porch. She pushed her front door open and dropped down in front of the fireplace in the living room. With the push of a button, the gas fire wooshed to life. She leaned in, determined to absorb every degree of heat the flames threw off.

January in Blue Moon meant long, frigid days. The barn and indoor riding ring were warm enough, but she’d spent the last hour and a half fixing fences in the northern pasture. The winter wind had meticulously picked apart her defensive thermal layers until her ass was officially frozen.

She glanced up at the clock on the mantel. If she wanted to make it to the brewery’s grand opening tonight, she was going to have to drag her frozen ass away from this very cozy fire and into a hot shower upstairs. At least she was a few days removed from her New Year’s Eve hangover, so the thought of a beer didn’t make her want to vomit.

She’d begged off from the Pierce family dinner celebrating Summer’s magazine launch, but she knew there’d be no missing the brewery opening. The Pierces were meeting at 4:30 for a private toast. She was going to have to choose between washing her hair and shaving her legs. She was just trying to talk herself into prying her ass off the floor when her cellphone rang.

Mom.

The familiar wave of guilt, as comfortable as an old pair of shoes settled over her. She heaved a heavy sigh. Joey had been busy or ignored the last two calls and if she dodged again, she’d have her parents showing up on her doorstep in a panic.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Well thank God.” Her mother’s voice filled with relief. “Your father and I were getting worried.”

“Everything’s fine. I’m fine,” Joey said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her tone. Ever since the accident, they’d been overly protective, easily concerned. Thank God for her sister’s kids. Otherwise April and Forrest Greer never would have moved away from Blue Moon. When she’d waved off that moving van two years ago, it was the first deep breath she’d been able to take in Blue Moon since before the accident.

She’d spent every day since the hospital trying to distance herself from the pain and the pity. Sure, in the ensuing years, she’d had friends—well, acquaintances—and there had been other men, carefully selected so as not to puncture her shiny new armor. But she’d spent her time in college and since building a private, independent life. She made the decisions, and she was responsible for the outcomes. It was a quiet existence, but that’s how she wanted it.

“How was Beckett’s wedding?” Her mother was asking, but she plowed on ahead without giving Joey the chance to answer. “Your father was so disappointed you couldn’t spend New Year’s Day with us.”

“Tell him I’m sorry I missed the festivities,” Joey said, rolling with the guilt trip. Her mother always played the “your father” card. That relationship had been strained years ago when Joey accepted Carter’s job offer. They had never quite recovered. In Forrest’s hardheaded mind, his daughter working for Jax’s family was Joey choosing the Pierces over her own blood. He’d spent every interaction since trying to convince her to move on.

“How is Dad?” Joey asked.

“Oh, you know your father,” her mom said airily. “Are you seeing anyone?”

Joey leaned over the island and put her forehead in her hand. “No, Mom.”

“I just wanted to check. Jax has been back for a while now. And I didn’t know if you two—”

“I’m not seeing Jax. I’m not seeing anyone, Mom. I don’t have much time for a social life these days.”

“Those Pierces work you too hard. They take advantage of your work ethic,” a deep voice bellowed from the background.

“Hi, Dad,” Joey said, cursing her parents’ use of speakerphone.

“Oh, Forrest. Don’t start picking,” her mother sighed.

“All I’m saying is you could have your pick of jobs if you’d be willing to leave Blue Moon. Hugh’s son works for the place that owns the horse that came in second in the Preakness last year. What was his name?”

“Joel?”

“No, not the son. The horse.”

“Sunday Squall.”

“That’s the one.”

April ignored their conversation and plowed ahead with her own. “So listen, sweetie, since you missed Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day with us …”

Phone calls with her parents were like a lopsided tennis match and she knew her mom was going to serve up an ace here. Joey silently willed her mother to get to the point.

“We were hoping you could come out Sunday for Isaac’s birthday.”

The last thing Joey wanted to do on her one day off was drive an hour one-way to watch her two-year-old nephew pick his nose and smash his face in a fire truck cake that tasted like paste.

“Uh-huh,” Joey said, her tone noncommittal.

“If you’re busy,” her mom continued, “we’ll just have to bring the party to you. Rosemarie would be devastated if you missed Isaac’s birthday.”

Joey and her sister exchanged the equivalent of one email a month and made small talk at family gatherings. The only devastation if Joey didn’t attend the birthday party would be on the part of her parents. It wasn’t that they didn’t get along. It was that they had absolutely nothing in common. Rosemarie was up to her eyeballs in diapers and repainting her kitchen. Joey was buried in vet appointments and researching a new horse trailer.

“I guess I can make it,” Joey said, mentally kissing her quiet day of trashy novel reading and baking good-bye.

“Good,” her father said gruffly. “Family first, I always say.”

And the Pierces weren’t family. Joey got his message loud and clear.

By the time she hung up, she had just enough time to rinse off and head up to the brewery. But still she couldn’t force herself away from the fireplace. The more she thought about it, the less enthusiastic she felt about going up for the pre-party party.

It was a family thing. And, as often as Joey let herself get sucked into Pierce family gatherings, maybe it was important to start remembering that she wasn’t one of them.

W
hen Joey didn’t show
up to the brewery with the rest of the family, Jax started to worry. He’d even held off on the toast, just in case she was running late. When he texted her to see where the hell she was, her response took him from worried to pissed.

D
idn’t
she realize that all of this was for her? She should be here, holding a glass with the rest of the family. But Joey couldn’t be bothered to show up for it.

She should be here, nervous and excited like everyone else. He glared out the window in the direction of her house, the dozens of cars that were lining up in the parking lot meant nothing without that cherry red pick-up.

He turned away from the windows, a dark cloud hanging over the festivities. He had work to do, but talking some sense into Joey would be at the top of his list.

By the time she waltzed in at six, Jax had moved beyond pissed to fucking irate. The woman was born to make him insane. She came in the door behind Dr. Delvecchio and Mrs. Nordemann. Her hair was long and loose. Jeans that went on for days hugged her slim curves. Knee-high boots in a gray suede matched her soft, off-the-shoulder sweater. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, her lips glossy.

Jax was starting to realize that no matter how long he knew her, he would always get this kick-start to his heart every time she walked in a room.

Her gaze found his in a silent connection thick with tension.

Jax ducked his head and dumped another batch of glasses into the rotating washer behind the bar. It was two-deep at the bar. Carter was helping get the food out while Mr. Mayor double-teamed the host stand with Phoebe. Summer and Gia flitted from table to table.

It was a family affair. The entire town—since recovered from their wedding hangovers—had turned out to help them celebrate. And it still wasn’t enough. Not without her.

“Fuck it,” Jax muttered. He stormed out from around the bar and grabbed her by the arm.

“What the hell, Jax?”

“Come with me.”

She started to wrestle out of his grip. It was yet another thing he loved about Joey, she wasn’t afraid of causing a scene. And neither was he. He dragged her down the stairs, past the kitchen, and into the taproom.

“What is your problem?” she demanded, wrenching free.

“My problem is you. Where the hell were you? You were supposed to be here early.”

“That was a family thing.”

“You’re family.”

“No, I’m not! And if I were, that would make what we did in high school illegal,” she shot back.

“I wanted you here,” Jax said, pacing now. Why couldn’t she see it?

“Oh for fuck’s sake. Why didn’t you just say so? I’m not family, Jax. I’m not going to show up for every freaking Pierce occasion.”

“You damn well should have showed up for this,” he said, his voice grim.

“Why?”

“Because it’s for you,” he exploded. “It’s all for you. I came back for you.”

Well, that shut her up.
She was gaping at him like a fish on the line before she let out a noise somewhere between a screech and a growl. “You drive me insane!” She threw her hands up in the air.

“Right back at ya, Jojo.”

She crossed her arms and kicked at a keg. “Why do you want to be with me?”

Jax stopped and stared at her. “Why?” he laughed. “You seriously don’t know?”

Joey just stared at him.

“Joey, I love you. There hasn’t been a time in my life when I haven’t loved you.”

She was staring at him, her expression unreadable.

“Say something,” he said quietly.

“I don’t think we know what love is,” she said finally.

“How can you even say that?” He shoved his hands through his hair.

“You hurt me, Jax.”

He stared at the floor, shoved his hands in his pockets. The guilt clawed at him. “I know I did. I was reckless and careless and you got hurt. I can still see you in that car.”

“In the car?” I’m not talking about the accident, you idiot. I’m talking about you leaving.”

“I almost killed you!” His voice echoed off the metal of the kegs.

“Oh, sweet Jesus. A deer almost killed me.
You
almost destroyed me when you left without a word.”

“The accident—”

“Was an accident,” she said, enunciating each word like he was an annoying toddler. “You leaving was on purpose. And I don’t know how to forgive that.”

“You have to.” She did. There was no way around it. Joey had to forgive him so she might as well accept it.

“Maybe it would go a little better if you’d at least, oh I don’t know,
apologize
?”

Jax cringed. “I don’t know how,” he said the words quietly. “How do I say I’m sorry for something that big? You almost died because of me.”

“Are you not listening?” Joey threw her hands up as if she was appealing to a higher power. “You don’t owe me an apology for the accident. You owe me an apology for abandoning me. How am I supposed to move past that if you won’t tell me why you did it?”

“Because I hurt you!” he shouted.

“I’m about to hurt you,” she yelled back. “Get it through your thick, stupid skull. Until you can make me understand why you felt like you had to disappear without a word, or a call, or an email for eight years, there is no chance for us. Now, I’m going back upstairs to have a beer.”

She stormed out, the slim heels of her boots clicking on the concrete floor.

She was right and Jax knew it. But he also knew the answers would only push her further away.