Late one Monday afternoon, the Kentucky sun was beating down on us as if it had no care in the world for darkening our skin fifty shades. I kept refreshing the guys’ water as they were hard at work throughout the day. When I came out with a pitcher of ice water to fill up their glasses once more, I almost tripped over my feet upon seeing Jax.
There he was, shirtless and kneeling in the dirt as he was planting a rose bush. His body was rock hard, and his tan skin glistened in the sunlight. His white T-shirt was tucked into the back pocket of his Levi jeans, and I was officially back to my Joe-from-You stalking vibes.
Had his butt always been that magical and plump? Geez, all I wanted to do was walk over to him, place my two hands against his butt cheeks, and squeeze.
Look away, look away, look—
“Is that for us?” Connor’s voice said from behind me, making me jump out of my skin, and the pitcher of water in my hand went flying forward, crashing right into Jax’s body.
“Fuck!” he said, rising to his feet from the chill that engulfed him. He jumped in place, shaking off the water.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed, rushing over to him. “I got spooked, I’m so sorry,” I said, reaching for the first thing I could think of to dry him off: the T-shirt in his back pocket. And now I was rubbing my hands up and down Jax’s chest.
Up and down his abs.
His abs…
So. Many. Abs.
Is that a six-pack party going on there? Or did I just count eight? And why, oh why can’t I stop rubbing him down?
“Uh, I think we’re good, Kennedy.” Jax smirked.
“Good, good, yes, we’re good,” I muttered, still rubbing.
He laughed and placed his hands on my arms, halting my movements. “It’s okay, really.”
Oh, Jax, if only you knew how more than okay we are right now.
“Right, of course.” I stepped back, his shirt still in my hand. “Sorry, I was just…I lost my focus for a minute.”
Connor chuckled. “What were you staring at?” he teased.
My face heated and I was certain both of them could see the embarrassment rising high in my cheeks.
“Yeah,” Jax asked. “What caught your attention?”
All that junk in your trunk, sir.
I shook my head. “Oh, uh, a squirrel—chasing a cat,” I blurted out. What? “I mean, a cat chasing a squirrel.” They both arched an eyebrow in confusion. I waved my hands. “You know what? Doesn’t matter. Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. We are about to stop for the day anyway,” Jax said, running his hand through his dripping wet hair. The water droplets dripped, dripped, dripped right down his chest, chest, chest, and oh my gosh, did I watch those drops slide down every inch of him.
What is wrong with me? Had it been so long since I’d seen a shirtless man that I was now fixated on Jax’s chest?
Though, to be fair, not many men had chests like his.
“Okay, I’ll start loading stuff into the truck. Jax, in the meantime, why don’t you talk to Kennedy about that thing you and I spoke about the other day,” Connor mentioned.
Jax shot Connor the dirtiest look and hissed through his clenched teeth. “Now’s probably not the right time, Connor.”
“No time like the present, big guy,” Connor sang, walking past Jax and patting his shoulder before grabbing some of their supplies and heading toward the truck.
I raised an eyebrow. “Is everything okay?”
Jax cleared his throat and scrunched up his face before scratching at his chin. “Um, yeah. It’s just, uh, well, I…” He was stumbling over his words, and in an instant, I was reminded of the boy I used to know. “It’s just, um, Connor thinks you need friends.”
I stood straighter. “What?”
He waved his hands quickly. “No, not like you need friends. I mean, I know you could get friends if you wanted. And you might have them. You might have friends, I mean I could get people wanting to be that, you know, like your friend.” He turned away from me and ran his hands through his hair again, mumbling a Fuck under his breath. He turned back to me with a grimace on his face and narrowed eyes. “Do you want to be my friend maybe? Like, do you want to hang out sometimes? Maybe cross some crap off that list in that notebook you got? I mean, if you want to know this town, I’m the one to show you it. I know this place inside and out. I can show you the world…of Havenbarrow at least.”
I snickered. “Are you asking to be my Aladdin?”
“Something like that.” He swayed nervously in his shoes, and even when he was shirtless, his dorky side was coming out loud and clear. “I don’t have a magic carpet, though. Just a beat-up pickup truck.”
I bit my bottom lip and glanced to my left, where Joy was smiling to herself as she wrote away in her notebook. I was almost certain she was listening in and that smile on her face was for Jax’s shyness.
He rubbed at the back of his neck, and his hair fell over his face a little, making him look that much more rigid and handsome. “If you aren’t interested, it’s not a big deal. Yeah, no, it’s a stupid idea. Sorry I even asked. Look, let me get out of your—”
“Can we start with Marshmallow at the coffee shop?” I cut in, making the nervous guy stop fidgeting.
“The coffee shop?”
“Yeah. I want to meet the coffee shop cat. Plus, I’ve heard they have a great chai latte.”
“Right. Yeah, okay.” The light that touched Jax’s eyes made my own heart light up. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Okay. Cool. Maybe I can pick you up tomorrow morning? Unless you’re busy, because if you’re busy—”
“Nine AM works.”
He grimaced. “I normally have coffee with Joy at nine…”
“Oh hush, boy. Go see the coffee shop cat. I’ll be here any other day,” Joy yelled, waving his comment off and making it clear that she was eavesdropping on our conversation.
I smiled. “So, see you at nine?”
“Yeah,” Jax agreed. His lips curved up, and I felt lucky to witness it. Jax didn’t smile very often, so when he did, it felt like the sweetest dessert. He began to back up toward his truck, where Connor was waiting. “Cool. Awesome. It’s a date.” He paused, wiggled his nose, and cringed. “I mean, not like a date-date, but like a friend-date. You know like—”
“Aaand okay, this has been cringeworthy enough for all of us, so I’m going to pull this guy away. Have a good night, Kennedy. Jax will see you in the morning,” Connor said, dragging his boss away. I snickered as he scolded Jax. “Dude! I told you to play it cool, and that was the complete opposite of cool! Could you be any more awkward?”
Jax told Connor to shut the hell up, making me laugh to myself.
Connor didn’t know it, but seeing awkward Jax made me a million times happier than I’d been in a while. For the first time in a long time, things felt…normal.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Joy said after the guys drove off. “He really needs a friend.”
If only she knew how much I needed one, too.
* * *
“I’m going to be honest, you might be a little underwhelmed by Marshmallow. The guy can be a bit of an asshole,” Jax explained as we drove into town. I tried my best not to show my anxiety about being in a vehicle, but I was losing the battle. Thankfully, we arrived within ten minutes.
I gave him a tight smile. “I don’t see myself ever being disappointed by a famous small-town cat. Besides, I kind of have a thing for the assholes of this town,” I joked as he pulled up and parked on the curb in front of the coffee shop.
He smiled a little, and my heart did a flip.
“I like when you smile,” I said, unbuckling my seat belt. “It reminds me of younger Jax.”
“Your smiles kind of make me want to smile more,” he confessed, hopping out of the car.
We walked into the coffee shop, and I ordered my drink, which Jax refused to let me pay for. “You can get mine next time,” he offered.
My heart skipped a b
eat at the idea of a next time with him. He had no idea how many more next times I wanted with him.
We sat down at a table, and I kept looking around for Marshmallow as I sipped at what might’ve been the best chai tea latte I’d ever had in my life. That cup alone was enough to keep me in Havenbarrow. And the banana loaf? Oh my gosh, it melted in my mouth.
“This is probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” I moaned, licking the crumbs off my fingers.
Jax snickered. “Don’t let Gary from the café hear you say that. He and the owner here have been going back and forth for decades about who makes the best banana loaves.”
“Okay, but I’m just saying. I could eat fifty slices of this and not get tired of it. Honestly, I’ve probably eaten more carbs in the past few weeks of being in Havenbarrow than I have in my whole life due to people bringing me sweets. I swear, I’m almost certain they are trying to make me gain the small-town fifteen or something.”
“Knowing the women in this town, I wouldn’t put it past them.”
“Well, as long as I don’t own a scale and I have a pair of yoga pants that fit, I’m A-OK with packing on the weight,” I joked as I leaned forward and stole a piece of Jax’s banana loaf. “Now, where’s this cat?”
“Probably sleeping or pissing on someone’s foot,” Jax said, glancing around. “I kid you not, three years ago that little fucker walked up to me as I was getting my coffee and peed on my shoe—like a psychopath.”
I tried my best to hold in my chuckle, but I couldn’t help it. The idea of a cat pissing on Jax killed me. “What did you do to him to make him mad?”
He sat back, baffled by my question. “What did I do? Are you joking? I was just getting coffee!”
“Maybe he was upset that you were in his territory. You know, only one asshole per coffee shop and all.”
“He’s like that to everyone.” Jax shrugged. “He’s Mr. Personality around these parts.”
I smirked at the nickname. He didn’t have a clue that that was what I’d been calling him for a solid week when I arrived in town. I’d keep that secret close to my chest.
Just then, a big, plump white cat came out from around back and yawned as he stretched his legs.
“Oh. My. Gosh!” I squealed, leaping up from my seat. He was the cutest thing I’d ever seen in my whole life. “Hi there, friend.” I beamed as I approached him.
“Uh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jax said, backing his chair farther away from the approaching feline.
I grinned his way. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little pussy cat.”
“Trust me, I’m not afraid of pussy,” he said, and his suggestive words sent a pool of heat to my core. “But I am terrified of that beast.”
I rolled my eyes and sat down on the coffee shop floor in front of Marshmallow. I held my arms out in front of me. “Come get some loving,” I ordered.
“Sun, wait—” Before Jax could finish his sentence, Marshmallow was in my lap, purring away. He rolled over for belly rubs, and it looked to me as if he was having the time of his life. “Holy crap,” Jax muttered. “He likes you.”
“I’m a likable person.”
He smiled but didn’t say anything else. He sat back in amusement as Marshmallow and me became the best of friends.
“Maybe I read that guy wrong,” he commented, standing up and walking in our direction. As he grew closer, Marshmallow hissed and hurried away. “Fuck you too, Marsh,” Jax replied, flipping him off.
I laughed and picked myself up off the ground. “Some people and cats just don’t connect I guess.”
“It’s not shocking that he liked you. You are hard not to like,” Jax said, sipping at his drink. I sat back in my chair and stared at him, and while I stared at him, everyone—and I mean everyone—was staring at us.
“Is it just me, or are we being watched?” I asked, biting my bottom lip.
“Yeah. This town has a way of being pretty invasive in other people’s lives. Normally, I just do this,” he said as he held up both his middle fingers. A few customers gasped at his gesture, calling him a jerk.
I laughed. “First the cat and now the people.”
“I’m an equal opportunist with my hatred. I hate everything and everyone with the same amount of annoyance.”
“Even me?” I joked.
His eyes grew somber for a split second, and the small smile on his lips began to fade. “I could never hate you, Kennedy. Trust me, a long time ago, I tried.”
His words rocked me sideways as I narrowed my eyes. “Wait, what? Why would you try to hate me?”
He shook his head and cleared his throat. “Doesn’t matter, it was a long time ago.”
I reached across the table and placed my hand on his. “No, Jax. It does matter—to me at least. Why would you try to hate me?”
Before he could reply, a voice cut us off. “Seriously, Jax?”
I looked up to see a beautiful woman standing in front of us. She had wavy brown locks of hair and deep brown eyes that matched. She was wearing nursing scrubs, and the sadness in her features pained me, even though I didn’t know who she was.
“Amanda,” Jax said, his voice stern.
She didn’t say anything, but her eyes fell to my hand resting on Jax’s and then she looked back at him.
He reluctantly pulled his hand away from mine. “Listen, Amanda—”
Slap.
It took me aback watching her hand make contact with his cheek. Jax was also stunned based on the way he shook his head in shock.
“Screw you, Jax,” she said as her eyes filled with emotions. “You told me you weren’t seeing anyone.”
“I’m not,” he said.
My hands flew to my chest. “Oh, no. We aren’t—he and I—” I stuttered, unsure why I felt so nervous. Is that what she thinks? That Jax and I are seeing one another? “We aren’t seeing each other. We are just friends.”
She eyed me up and down as she crossed her arms. “Yeah right, new girl. Everybody knows Jax doesn’t have friends. He doesn’t know how to be a friend, the same way he didn’t know how to be a boyfriend.”
“Now wait a minute,” I started, but Jax held a hand up.
“It’s okay, Kennedy. She’s right.”
No, she wasn’t.
I stayed quiet out of respect for Jax, but inside my blood was starting to boil. I couldn’t believe how nasty this woman was being just because she saw Jax and me out with one another. It was clear they used to be in a relationship, but it was over and done with. For her to belittle him—to slap him—was completely uncalled for.
“Good luck,” she told me, pushing her purse strap up her shoulder. “Don’t be surprised when you try to open him up and you’re hit with a cement block. He’s the definition of emotionally unavailable.”
She turned to him and huffed loudly. “I should’ve known you’d turn out to be just like your father, you heartless prick.” She walked off, leaving a heaviness floating around us.
I saw the invisible knife that she’d shoved deeply into Jax’s chest. His body cringed from the painfulness of her words before he looked up at me. He seemed completely deflated as his lips parted. “I think we should head out.”
“Yeah, okay.” I grabbed my purse, and we walked back to his truck. As we drove, I didn’t close my eyes once. I couldn’t stop staring at Jax, wondering what was going through his mind. I wanted to ask, but I also didn’t want to come off as needy. His knuckles were pale white as he gripped the steering wheel in front of him and his mouth twitched every now and again.
As he pulled up to my house, he turned the truck off and looked my way. “Sorry about all that.”
“You did nothing wrong.”
“Yeah, all right. Well, I guess I’ll talk to you—”
“Do you want to keep hanging out?” I offered. “I know that was a lot back there, and I could tell she got under your skin, but we can still hang out. It’s early, it’s Saturday, and the weather is nice. We can sit
in my parents’ convertible and just talk, or not talk—whatever you want to do.”
He flicked his nose with his thumb. “I feel like I want to be alone for a while, Kennedy.”
“Yeah, of course. I get you wanting to be alone—truly, I do…but just be alone with me.”
He hesitated for a moment, so I figured I could make the pot even sweeter.
“I have a bottle of my father’s favorite whiskey that we can finish off, and believe me when I say my father only drank the good stuff.”
He snickered. “It’s only eleven in the morning.”
“Oh. Right. Well, I also have my mother’s favorite coffee beans, so we can drink the coffee this morning and tap into the whiskey tonight.”
“You want to spend the whole day with me?” he asked, surprised.
“The whole day, and the whole night.”
We did exactly that, too. We headed inside and drank numerous coffee beverages. I did most of the talking, which mimicked much of what our childhood was like, and Jax listened with ease. I told him more stories about my parents and Daisy and more stories about my past, and whenever I’d laugh out loud, he’d smile and look at me as if I were the sun.
We talked about our careers, and he told me how he’d planned to buy every book I’ve published so far.
He told me about his father’s land and how he planned to make the property everything his mother dreamed of once it was passed down to him. “She was never able to achieve her dreams. I want to see them through for her,” he said.
I could tell it was hard for him to talk about his mother, but I was glad he was speaking about her. If I’d learned anything over the past few weeks, it was that talking about your loved ones kept them alive, and I needed that. I was certain Jax needed that, too.
When we broke out the whiskey that night, we headed out to my parents’ convertible to drink underneath the stars and the moon.
My favorite thing about sitting beside Jax was that even when it was quiet, when the conversations faded and we were left with nothing but the silence, the stillness felt healing. Being quiet with him was one of my favorite things about the moments we shared that day.
Southern Storms Page 17