The Jaxon Effect

by KC Michaels

  “Now what can you tell me about the other young man?”

  “What young man?” Kate asked, reluctantly taking her eyes off Jaxon again.

  “Royce. He seems to have monopolized your sister’s attention all day.

  “I’m sure Kelsey is just being friendly. Royce doesn't know anyone here. She is just being hospitable.”

  Kelsey had denied it when Kate had suggested as much earlier. Kate definitely thought that there was something going on between the two but she didn’t want to give her mother any false hope in the event she was wrong. Kate could hear it in her mother’s voice that she hoped there was. Her mom kissed her on the cheek and wandered over to a group of people standing in front of the garden. Kate continued to watch her sister with Royce. Kelsey’s body language spoke volumes. She was attracted to him and for Kelsey’s sake she hoped Royce was far less complicated than Jaxon. But from the quiet air of mystery that surrounded him, she highly doubted it. Kelsey was in for a long bumpy ride if she decided to pursue things further with Royce. She could almost see the hand writing on the wall.

  Jaxon woke to the stream of sunlight peering through the east facing window. The window really needed a darkening shade he thought to himself. Kate was still snuggled into him fast asleep, reminding him of an angel. He lay there and watched her until she finally opened her beautiful green eyes.

  “Good morning baby,” he said softly, as he planted a big kiss on her forehead.

  “Good morning,” she whispered. “Have you been awake long?”

  “Maybe an hour.”

  “An hour? What were you doing for an hour?”

  “Watching you…thinking.”

  “Oh really?” she responded curiously with her creaky morning voice. “What were you thinking about?

  “I was thinking about how much I like this place and how much I like being here with you. Maybe we could come back for thanksgiving?”

  “Thanksgiving? That’s months away. If you aren’t careful I might start to believe that you might be thinking about sticking around longer than you had originally planned."

  Jaxon thought about that for a moment. “Are you really just figuring that out now Kate?”

  Kate was kind of surprised by his answer. Although she started to believe he was beginning to care about her she hadn’t thought he was willing to finally admit it.

  “No I always knew remember, I’m just surprised you finally decided to admit it.”

  “Yeah I know I guess I can be a little stubborn.”

  “A little?”

  “Okay a lot.” He smiled and per the usual she melted. “Okay don’t go getting that look in your eyes because our plane is leaving in a few hours and as much as I would love to stay in bed here with you a bit longer to take care of whatever you have on your mind you should probably spend some time with your family before we leave.

  Jaxon and Kate had spent the next couple of days after they had arrived home from Lively, getting to know one another better. Once the threat of impending doom in regards to their relationship didn’t seem to define them as much as it did before, they both seemed more relaxed. The week-end at her parents was a turning point for them and Kate had all but moved her things into Jaxon’s room.

  “Hey there you are,” Kate said to Jaxon who was hunched over some papers in his study.

  Jaxon popped his head up and met her with a smile. “Hey baby, you have been looking for me?”

  “Yes, this house is enormous. I wasn’t sure I would ever find you.”

  “You could have used the intercom.”

  “I know but, I wasn’t sure what you were doing and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  “You could never disturb me baby.”

  Kate melted. He could be so sweet.

  “So what is it that I can do for you?” he asked her with a glint in his eyes.

  “You can do that too … but later,” she teased. “For now I was wondering if you’re hungry. I could make us something to eat.”

  “How about we try Vincenzo’s again?”

  “I really don’t mind making us something.”

  “I would rather take you out.”

  “Is there something wrong with my cooking?”

  “No I love your cooking, but you have been cooking for me ever since we got back from your parent’s place. I want to take you out.”

  “Okay then. Give me a half hour to get ready.”

  Kate went up to her room to change into something more comfortable. Her and Jaxon had dinner at Vincenzo’s and this time she made sure she wore something a little less casual which happened to be her one and only black dress. She opened the closet and was surprised to find the closet was empty. On a hunch she slipped into Jaxon’s room where she found all of her belongings in his closet.

  Kate appeared in Jaxon’s office wearing the little black dress she had worn that first night she saw him at his club. Jaxon looked up when he heard her approach. He smiled with appreciation.

  “God you look beautiful. I am sort of wishing now we were staying home.”

  Kate blushed from the compliment. “I noticed my clothes have been moved to your room do you know anything about that?”

  “I had Jason move them. Is it a problem?”

  “I guess not I was just a little surprised when I found my closet empty.”

  “I should have told you. I’m sorry it slipped my mind. Grayson will be here soon and I wanted him to stay in that room so I can keep an eye on him. Elise is worried that he might be doing drugs.”

  “Do you think she could be right?”

  “I hope not but to be honest I don’t know him well enough to say for sure.”

  Kate wasn’t surprised to hear that Jaxon didn’t know his son that well. Jaxon was not an easy person to get to know. Things were good between them but she still wished her would open up to her more.

  “Kate what’s wrong?

  “You’re very closed off and you can keep your son as close as you like but it won’t change anything between you if you don’t learn to let people in.”

  Jaxon stiffened.

  “Look I’m not looking for an argument so please don’t go on the defensive with me. If you don’t want to let me in that’s fine. I have accepted that but you need to do right by Grayson.”

  Jaxon sat back in his office chair and let out a harsh breath, resigning to that fact he owed Kate some kind of explanation as to why he was so closed off. “My brother and I were in and out of foster homes until we were eighteen; we were then old enough to be on our own. We never stayed in one place for long mostly because my brother was always getting into fights in school. Teenagers can be cruel and it didn’t take long for them to figure out he was different. I’m sure you can guess what I mean.”

  Kate nodded. She knew exactly what he was talking about.

  “I was somewhat of a loner myself and with the exception of my brother I didn’t have any friends. The fact that we changed schools every couple of months didn’t help matters. After we graduated from high school we went our separate ways for a while. We had a little bit of money in a trust fund that was set up by friends and neighbours for us when our parents died. Jason took his money and moved to Florida. I used mine to pay for college. While I was in college I dated a girl, her name was Cassie Winter.” Kate remembered that name. That was the woman Jaxon helped send to jail.

  “Since I never had a girlfriend before she was always the one to set the tone of the relationship. One day she brought me to a strip club owned by her uncle Bruno.” The other person he helped send to jail Kate realized but remained quiet and waited for him to continue.

  “That day he told me if I was interested he could give me a job working in the front of the house collecting cover charge. Since my trust funds were close to being depleted I accepted the job. The first couple of months were great. But then Cassie and I started fighting all the time. It was like she was always looking for reasons to start an argument. It was the worst possible time for me. I wa
s bombarded with work at school and Bruno was adding more shifts. I told him I could only work weekends but he said he really needed me to do some extra time but it was only going to be temporary. It went on for about a month. I was exhausted from work and school and stressed over the constant arguing with Cassie. Something had to give because I was having a mental meltdown.

  Kate rubbed his back. “It sounds terrible.”

  “Yeah well I haven’t gotten to the good part yet.” he added. “The part where I found out our relationship was a lie. It was a Friday. I was still going to college at this point. I went to the club after class to pick up my pay cheque. Bruno was finally giving me some time off. I was going to take Cassie out for a nice dinner. I went into his office and he told me to have a seat, so I did. He said he really appreciated the extra hours I put in and he wanted to give me a little bonus. I thought that meant he added some money to my paycheque but instead he handed me a little brown bag. It was filled with pills. He told me they would relax me.”

  “That bastard,” Kate blurt unable to control her emotion. She knew exactly where this was going.

  “Yeah, needless to say I took them and before I knew what was happening I was addicted to them. I went back to him to ask for more. He told me the first ones were free but it was going to cost me if I wanted more. I paid him. He made good on his promise to cut back my shifts which in hindsight was his way of making sure I was broke.”

  “Why did he do that?” Kate asked but she answered her own question before he had a chance to. “He was setting you up?”

  “Oh yeah he was. Since I’d been spending everything I was earning and then some on those pills, I went to him and asked for more shifts. He told me the only thing he could offer me was a job as a dancer. I had watched those guys perform night after night and I saw the kind of money they were bringing in so I agreed. What I didn’t know was everything they made they gave back to him to support their habits.”

  “Jesus Jaxon, that’s criminal.”

  “The day that I found Pete, I witnessed a supplier drop off an experimental street drug to Bruno. Apparently it was cheap to make which afforded huge profits. He offered Bruno a thousand dollars a pop for anyone he convinced to be a guinea pig and test the merchandise. When I questioned him about it he assured me that he wouldn’t give it to any of our guys. Like an idiot I believed him.”

  Kate covered her mouth in horror because she realized what happened and things began to make sense. He blamed himself for Pete’s death. “He gave that drug to Pete?”

  “Yeah he did. I found the vile on the floor next to his body. I went to Bruno’s office to have it out with the guy. Let him know that Pete was dead and that I knew why. I knocked and he didn’t answer but I knew he was in there. I called his name several times before I got angry enough to break the door down. That was when I found him and Cassie together. In the biblical sense.

  “Oh my God! He was having sex with his niece?”

  “Nope she wasn’t his niece. It was all a lie. I was set up from the beginning. Bruno needed some fresh meat at the club so they put a plan in motion. Cassie was the recruiter. They had planned the whole thing—the drugs and the dancing.”

  Kate was speechless, Jaxon had been through hell. No wonder he had relationship and trust issues. She had tears in her eyes.

  “You blame yourself for what happened to Pete and you adopted his son.”

  “Something like that,” he replied. “Anyway I wanted you to know.”

  “What happened to Pete was not your fault.”

  He didn’t respond which of course spoke volumes to Kate. Rome wasn’t built in a day so she’d let it go for now. She stood up from her chair and hugged him. “I am so sorry that happened to you. I would never betray you like Cassie did Jaxon. I really do love you.”

  “I know,” he said.

  She noted that he didn’t tell her he loved her back. It was going to take more time but now that she understood so much more she didn’t let it bother her.

  ***

  CHAPTER 25

  It was an important day for Jaxon because it was the day Grayson was arriving. Kate was looking forward to meeting him but yet she was also nervous. She worried that Grayson wouldn’t like her. She expressed her concern to Jaxon but he brushed it aside. He believed she had nothing to worry about. She agreed to appease him but secretly she still worried.

  Kate was just putting the finishing touches on a cake she had made to celebrate Grayson’s arrival when she heard voices in the foyer. She quickly removed the apron she was wearing and proceeded to the foyer where Jaxon was standing with Grayson and his mother.

  “Hi, you must be Grayson,” Kate said holding a hand out to him. “I'm Kate. I have been looking forward to meeting you. Your dad has told me so many great things about you.”

  Grayson shrugged keeping his hands in his pockets. This was exactly what Kate was afraid of. He wasn’t thrilled that his father had a girlfriend. She figured it was a normal reaction and she would likely have to work really hard at getting him to trust her.

  “Grayson,” Elise scolded. “Where are your manners?”

  “It's fine,” Kate said. “I'm sure we will have lots of time to get acquainted. Kate faced Grayson “I baked a cake and it’s in the kitchen. I thought we could celebrate your arrival.”

  Jaxon's eyes almost popped out of his head. “You baked a cake?”

  Kate didn’t answer him. Was it really that surprising that she knew how to bake?

  “And you must be Elise. It's good to finally meet you. Both of you,” Kate added focusing on Grayson again, who was still refusing to acknowledge her. Elise smiled and shook Kate’s hand.

  “I should get going,” Elise said. “Jason has all of my contact info if you need me.”

  “Come on Gray,” Jaxon said, “Let's check out this cake.”

  Grayson gave his mom a hug and followed Jaxon into the kitchen.

  Kate could have sworn she heard a hint of pride in Jaxon’s voice when he mentioned the cake. As if she found a cure for a terminal illness rather than bake a cake.

  “Are you coming Kate?”

  “Yes of course. You and Grayson start without me. I’m just going to speak with Elise for minute. By the way, I think there is some Blueberry ice cream in the freezer. I had my sister bring it when she was here to visit.”

  Jaxon reappeared through the kitchen doorway. He sauntered over and planted a big fat kiss on her mouth.

  “You are way too good to me woman,” he declared, gifting her with a sexy grin before he went back to join his son in the kitchen. Kate brought her hand to her mouth. She was caught by surprise by his open affections in front of Elise.

  Elise cocked her head to the side in disbelief. “I have never known him to be well… he is normally so much more reserved.”

  Kate shrugged indifferently. She agreed with Elise but something kept her from saying as much. She wasn’t quite sure what Elise’s game was with Jaxon yet.

  “He really does love Grayson you know. He has been talking about him all week, waiting for this day to come.”

  “Of course he does! He's his son.” Elise said defensively.

  “I know the truth Elise. Jaxon told me about the circumstances surrounding the adoption.”

  “Oh.” She seemed to be surprised that Kate new that information. “I suppose you think I am a gold digger for what I did.”

  “Why did you do it?” Kate asked not denying Elise’s assumption. The thought had crossed her mind.

  “Look, after Pete died I was alone. I didn’t want to go to my family because I was embarrassed. They never liked Pete and my parents stopped speaking to me when I married him. None of my friends were any better off than I was financially so I didn’t have any place to turn for help. Bruno told me that if I left town and didn’t go to the police, he would help me out financially. I left town and moved to Boston. It wasn’t long before Bruno reneged on his offer and stopped sending the money.”

  Kate was s
urprised to hear that part. Jaxon had never told her why Elise had left town.

  “Grayson was a newborn when I lost the apartment we lived in. I couldn’t afford the rent and had to find a cheaper place to live. We were living in a rat infested building in the slums when Jaxon found us. By that time Grayson was three.”

  Kate could tell that re-living this was difficult for Elise. She could sense that Elise was on the verge of tears but she didn’t stop her. She wanted to know so she let the woman continue.

  “At first I wanted nothing to do with Jaxon. The Jaxon I knew was irresponsible, like Pete. So when he showed up at my door I didn’t even let him explain why he was there. I sent him away and I thought that would be the last I saw of him. But the next week he came back. He handed me a prepaid lease for a new apartment in a better part of town. He gave us food, new clothing and toys for Grayson. It was really hard to believe he was doing all of that for us. I asked him why he wanted to help us but he would never answer me. One day he showed up at my door and said he wanted to adopt Grayson. I thought he was joking at first. Then he handed me legal papers he had his lawyer prepare. My first reaction was to say no. But then I thought about Grayson and the fact that his eyes would light up every time Jaxon came to visit. How could I not give that to my son? Every boy deserves a father. I still don’t really know why he did what he did for us. But I will forever be in his debt.”

  Kate pondered what to say next. Under the same circumstances she may have made the same decision as Elise. “I understand why you did what you did but can you honestly tell me you really don’t know why Jaxon helped you out?” It was hard to believe, after all of these years, Elise hadn’t figured it out.

  “I have had suspicions,” she replied.

  “Do you agree with him?” Kate asked wondering if that was why the subject was always left alone. “Do you agree that Jaxon is to blame for Pete’s death?”

  “What? No! I don’t blame him for what Pete did. Pete put that shit in his body himself. That wasn't Jaxon's fault. I can't even blame Bruno, as much as I hate that bastard. Pete chose drugs over his family. I can't blame anyone but Pete.”