The others seemed to ignore the hint when one put on some music from her phone. Two other guys began tossing cans of beer around, Dylan laughed, and his perfect night turned to shit.
“Saw your mom in town today, Sawyer,” Stacy said, disgusted. “Lookin for her next fix, I guess. Her hair was matted. She had the twitches and it looked like she hadn’t showered in a month. Don’t any of y’all wash?”
Sawyer looked mortified and it made Jagger growl but he was proud when she stood up for herself. “Every day. We’re nothing like her,” she said, talking about her mom. Sawyer was one of the strongest people he knew and Jagger was proud of her.
Stacy wasn’t finished. “I doubt it. Why the heck are you with this girl, anyway, Jag? She’s trash just like crack heads she calls parents. Might as well start calling her ‘sewer’ and Carley can be ‘maggot.’”
Suddenly, their unwanted company began chanting the word “sewer” and began laughing. He went after Dylan angrily for bringing them all here and in his moment of distraction, he hadn’t noticed that Sawyer went into the tent, grabbed the truck keys, and sped out of there like a bat out of hell.
He was fucked.
On the way home, a very distraught Sawyer had gotten arrested for grand theft auto. Dylan reported his truck stolen, knowing Sawyer was driving. She spent a night in jail and Jagger had whipped Dylan’s ass until he agreed to drop the charges. Shortly after she was released, she’d up and disappeared on him without a word.
***
The cab finally showed up to take him to his truck parked at Tipsy’s and he jumped in, sat back, and began thinking they weren’t seventeen anymore. Eight long years had come and gone and now that his mind was back to the present day, he threaded his fingers through his hair in frustration. He knew Sawyer thought he’d used her back then, had maybe put his friends up to it that night so long ago, but she was dead wrong and he was determined to prove it to her. The night they shared had been special. She’d given him a gift and he was determined to get that second chance.
But, first he needed a plan.
Chapter Three
Sawyer
“It’s about damn time,” Toby growled through the phone line and Sawyer’s heart ached. Dang, she missed him something fierce. He was like family, her big brother, or at least he would have been if he’d gotten the chance to marry Carley. Sawyer fought the longing and forced back the emotion coming forth just from hearing his voice again. A few weeks had gone by since she’d left and this had been the first opportunity to call him. She could say it was because she’d been so busy with the house and finding a commercial property for the new business, among other things, like distracting thoughts of Jagger. Damn him. Truthfully though, she’d been avoiding Toby to escape her feelings of despair. He made her think of Carley and she hated getting emotional.
“Miss me that much already, have you?” She teased, her voice cracked, and she hoped that he couldn’t hear the inner turmoil in her voice. He had enough of his own shit to get through.
“You know it. How you doing out there, baby girl?”
“I’m surviving.” Sawyer cleared her throat. “Good news is, I finally found the place for Mad Ink.” She decided to honor her sister’s memory by naming the tattoo parlor after them. Mad was just an abbreviation of their last name. It was time to take a stand and show this town what she was made of. She wasn’t the same Sawyer Maddox from all those years ago. She was a fighter. “It’s small but it’s right in the tourist district of downtown Kerrville. Good foot traffic.”
“That’s awesome. Mace is getting antsy again and looking for a change. I should send him your way for the extra help,” Toby said, talking of a mutual friend who worked for Toby at Blank Canvas. “The renovations just started up here, so it’ll be a while before we get back at it, anyway.”
“Hell yeah. Tell him to call me and we’ll figure it out. It’ll be nice to see a familiar face. Speaking of renovations, how’d it go with the production company?” Thanks to the infamous Ash Harris, lead singer of the rock band Love the Sinner, and Toby’s cousin, Blank Canvas had become a part of reality TV. Shortly after Ash showed off his new ink during an interview with MTV, they were known worldwide. The problem now was there wasn’t a shop to film in anymore. It had burned down the night Carley died and Toby had to rebuild.
Toby sighed. “Better than expected, actually. They let me off the hook. Contract was up for renewal, anyway, and I’m done with that shit show for now.”
“I hear you. The reconstruction will be busy enough both personally and in business,” she agreed. “I’m swamped, too, getting my own empire fixed up.”
“I hope you practice what you preach, sweetheart, because we both know we’re fucked up.” Toby laughed bitterly. “Enough about this personal garbage. Tell me more about you and Mad Ink.”
“With pleasure, my brother from another mother.” She couldn’t agree more. They’d both deal with their grief in their own time and until then, there was so much to do. “I’ve got equipment ordered, the landlady is painting, the place has got a modern flare, and I’m stoked to get started already. Mace will be a bonus. I’ll send you pictures as soon as I can. On another note, the landlady is amazing. Her name is Becca, and she seems cool. They have this annual arts and crafts event that she’s hosting and she asked me if I’d be interested in contributing. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone here by showing off my insane art skills and promoting the business all at once. I’m planning on doing freehand portraits, but I’ll also have my portfolios on the table and business cards handy to give out.”
“It sounds like you’ve got it all put together,” he said. Sawyer could swear he was smiling when he told her this. “I’m proud of you, kid, and I know your sister would have been too.”
“Thanks, Tob. It means a lot coming from you.”
There was a knock on the door and she thanked God for small miracles because this conversation was getting too real. At the mere mention of her sister, she became choked up and would prefer to have her meltdown in private. “There’s someone at the door. Can you just hang on for a sec?”
“Sure,” he replied.
Sawyer set the phone down on a small table near the entrance of her childhood home and opened the door to discover yet another delivery guy. “Can I help you?”
“Package for Sawyer Maddox. Sign here, please.” The man handed her a clipboard and gave her a long white box after she passed it back. She took the parcel inside and grabbed the phone again.
She’d seen Jagger on her very first night in town and he’d been respectful enough of her wishes to keep his distance, but it still hadn’t stopped him from sending her gifts every day since. She suspected this was another one.
“Hey, Toby. Sorry about that.” She answered the phone again and cradled it on her shoulder. She sat on the couch and read the card as she listened to him reply.
Still thinking of you and hoping for that second chance to explain.
XO
Jag.
“Anyone important?”
Yes. “No,” she replied. “It’s sort of complicated. Do you remember that guy I told you about? The one I foolishly fell in love with when I was younger.”
“Yeah,” Toby growled. “Do I need to go down there and kick somebody’s ass?”
“I don’t think so.” She chuckled. “Anyway, I ran into him on my first night here and he’s been sending me gifts ever since. Wants a chance to explain some things to me, blah, blah, blah…”
“That who it was?” he asked.
“Delivery guy.” Sawyer bit her lip while she proceeded to open up the latest gift.
“What’s he been sending?”
“A fresh delivery from a bakery in town of pecan pie. One day I’d been at the shop to check out progress before the opening and had lunch delivered for me–pulled pork. Little things like that.” She pulled the ribbon loose and peeked inside the box. “Looks like the gift of the day is a dozen yellow roses.”
“Sounds like he’s hooked.” Toby snickered. “Try not to break his heart too badly.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. Her heartrate picked up speed and she just about melted on the spot. All these gestures were memories from when they were a couple, some of her favorites, and she hadn’t pieced it together until she saw the bouquet. Her butterflies were beginning to act up, as Carley had once put it, and she didn’t know if she could go down that road again. It would crush her worse this time if it went bad, which is why she’d stuck to the one-night hookups ever since. Word spread fast around small towns, so it wasn’t hard for him to figure out how to find her when he wanted to. The question was, did she want to be found? “He’s trouble with a capital T, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“No doubt.” Toby laughed. “Listen, I gotta go for now. I’m heading over to see Mamma Deuce and I’m meeting up with Carson. Be on the lookout for Mace’s call, will ya? And keep in touch, squirt.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “Love ya, Tob. Send Mamma D my love too.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Sawyer hung up the phone and sat up to smell the roses. She thought of Jagger all the time since running into him again. Not that she’d admit that out loud and these sweet gestures were beginning to wear her down. Maybe she’d agree to hear him out to get closure, but she needed to be on guard because he was dangerous for her heart. He’d been the only man she ever loved and if she wasn’t careful she could totally see herself coming undone.
***
Jagger
It was as hot as Hades in here. Jagger turned off the welding torch, flipped his mask up, and tore off his gloves before checking out his work. He was filthy, sweating something fierce, and probably smelled to high heaven, yet he had never felt better. There was always a high after finishing a project, especially one as good as this. A specially designed horse trailer he planned to drop off to a client tomorrow afternoon. One more job down and it was on to the next. It was a gift. An art created with his own hands. And he loved every moment of it.
Jagger smiled with satisfaction and decided to clean himself up just a bit, maybe get something to eat before he painted the ranch’s insignia on the side of it as a personal touch for his client. He left his work space and walked home, loving how close it was. He’d bought a couple of acres of land on the family ranch and started Hale’s Customs right out of one of the old barns. He’d built a five-bedroom, three-bathroom, luxury home right beside it that looked more like a large log cabin. The entire structure was mostly made of wood and stone. It had taken months to fix it up to his liking, but it all worked out in the end way better than he could have hoped. He was proud of it.
Once inside, he tore off his drenched shirt. He sighed and headed straight for the kitchen. He washed his hands and grabbed a cloth to clean off some of the sweat and grime on his body too. There was no sense in taking a shower until his work was done, he thought. He tossed aside the rag, grabbed the fixings to make himself a sandwich, and took a cold bottle of water from the fridge. It only took a minute or two to make lunch and as he stood in front of the island in the middle of the room he took a big bite. Now that he wasn’t busy, he thought of Sawyer again. The woman had been a major source of his thoughts for the past eight years, probably even longer, and now that she was back…well, he couldn’t let her go. Not again. Not until she at least heard him out. He wondered if she’d gotten the roses he’d sent yet.
Jagger smiled, thinking of her reaction and prayed she'd give him a shot. Come hell or high water, the woman would hear what he had to say…eventually, because he hadn’t thought of a plan B if this idea of his didn’t pan out.
***
Sawyer
Sawyer googled him and pigs were surely about to fly. Mr. Jagger Hale of Hale’s Customs had done good for himself and it made her happy to know it. If someone had mentioned a month ago that she’d be intentionally looking him up, she’d have told them they were out of their damn minds. But there she was, driving down a country road to see the man.
Was she crazy? Probably.
Curious? Most definitely. And she had acted on an impulse.
Once she’d finished her phone call with Toby, she’d felt too melancholy and needed an escape. The Jagger she once knew was incredible at distractions and she desperately needed a break from the pain of losing the only family she had left.
She was all alone in the world.
After putting all but one of the roses in a vase, she’d gotten the information she’d needed from her phone and entered it into her GPS, hoping she wouldn’t be interrupting anything too important.
About ten minutes later, she stood in front of a beautifully refurbished barn listening to loud country music coming from the inside. Sawyer leaned against the door and admired the shirtless, sexy cowboy busy at work. His dark hair was tousled as if he’d run his fingers through it several times. His tanned skin glistened, oily and slick, and a few drops of sweat ran from his temples down to his pecks going lower across his washboard abs. Sawyer licked her lips. Taking advantage of the opportunity to ogle him without being caught, her gaze continued south. Thick thighs, a fine ass, and a very nice bulge was encased in blue jeans that molded him to perfection.
Sweet Lord!
She fanned herself and gripped the rose in her hand tighter as she walked inside to make her presence known. “Knock, knock.” It hadn’t taken long for him to notice her. His eyes widened and he pulled the white mask down that was covering his mouth and nose, tossed it aside, and he smiled. Her heart swelled and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
Jagger turned off the music.
“Got your gift.” Sawyer held up the single flower she’d brought and sniffed it. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“Had to get your attention somehow.” He shrugged. “Still have to talk.”
“I know.” She sighed. “And I suppose we will. What ya working on over here?” She’d decided to give him a chance once she realized how persistent he’d become to gain her attention, but she needed to take it slow before they got into anything heavy. The past was hard for her to relive. She was better than that now. She was no longer the trash they all thought she was.
“Just finishing up with the trailer,” he said.
“It looks amazing, Jag. Double Deuce?”
Jagger nodded. He’d gotten the brand from the sign as you entered the Wyatt ranch. His work was his own form of art and he liked to add a few personal touches for each individual customer. It was large uppercase letters of double D meshed together with a small letter W at the bottom. He’d been able to spruce it up by giving it a 3D effect.
“Wow, so you’re like, a jack of all trades, huh?” Sawyer smiled and nudged his arm with her shoulder. From what little she’d read about his business, she knew he was a welder, but when she’d arrived, she’d seen him painting this on the side. It was impressive.
“Sort of.” He grinned back. “Enough about me. I’m more interested in you right now.”
“Really?” She stepped closer, so close she could smell him, and nearly groaned. There was that magnetic pull again that she remembered. Fate was such a fickle little bitch.
“It’s good to see you.” He nodded and reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.
“You know, I’m on the phone with Toby catching up and talking about Carley, and then there’s someone at my door with a note and these gorgeous flowers. It got me thinking about the other sweet gestures from you and you succeeded in gaining my attention again. It was perfect timing too.” She took a step away from him, so she could pace while she continued. “Lord knows I love Carley with all of my heart, but there’s so much going on, I can’t think about her right now. It hurts too much. Do you know what it’s like to lose everything important to you?”
“Who’s Toby?” Jagger asked. It made her laugh so hard.
“Out of everything I just said, your main concern is who Toby is?” She giggled. “You’re priceless, Ja
g. I can’t remember a time when I’ve laughed this hard. It’s been so long.”
She needed a minute.
“I’m confused. One, I most definitely would like to know who this Toby is? It may be none of my business but there you have it. Second, what the heck happened between you and your sister to make you hurt like that? And three, I do know what it’s like to feel like you’ve lost the best thing in your life. It’s how I felt when I lost you.” Jagger stepped closer and reached for her hand. “I never knew about Dylan’s plans to ruin our night, and I’m sorry for everything that happened afterward too. I kicked his ass when I found out you’d been arrested until he agreed to drop the charges, but when I went to find you, you were already gone. I loved you, Sawyer, and then you just up and disappeared on me without a word.”
Wow!
Sawyer held her breath and let it all out in one loud exhale. “Toby was engaged to Carley. He’s like a brother to me and taught me everything I know about tattooing. And, my sister…” She choked up and looked away, so she could compose herself. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “If what you say is true, then I’m sorry, Jag. I guess I just thought you were too good to be true. I had low self-esteem and not the best upbringing. My own parents didn’t even care and when the people who were supposed to be your friends started calling me names and talked about my parents, I felt like the trash they all deemed me to be. Figured you used me that night. So, when the charges were mysteriously dropped, we ran to start over because it hurt too much to stay.”
He tugged her close again to give her a hug and when she looked up at him, he looked anguished, so she acted on instinct and kissed him with everything she had. Enough talking for now. It was time for that escape, Sawyer style.
Their chemistry was off the charts. She wanted to climb on him and lick him from head to toe like a big ol’ lollipop. There was no going slow. It’d been way too long. The second their lips touched, it was like an inferno ignited between them. She was burning up. The kiss was hungry, a mixture of tongue and teeth, fast-paced, and she was craving him to be as close as possible. Her fingers tangled into his hair and she whimpered when he pulled away.
Chasing Butterflies (Bad Girls Book 1) Page 3