“Get the hell out of my house now!” I turn and see mom, Carson and Olivia standing at the door, when the hell did they get here? Mom looks so mad right now.
“Damn it! I missed all the excitement today! The town is buzzing with excitement, and it’s all about them.” Livie says with a mischievous smile. “Seems the perfect family ain't so perfect! Hell, sleeping with your brother… That’s just sick.”
“Liv, leave it. Jax doesn’t need this.” Carson says gently. Since when is Carson gentle especially to Livie and when did he start calling her Liv?
“She’s not my sister; dad was misled, seems the Mayor wasn’t the only married man mom was seeing.” Jaxon tells them and turns to the Ashwood’s, “It’s time for you to leave, you have a lot of sucking up to do, your reputation is in tatters.” Jaxon smirks as they start to rush out the door.
“Why do I always miss the good things?” Livie complains as she throws herself onto the sofa dramatically.
“So, want to catch me up on what happened here?” Mom demands and I’m too tired to talk about it, so I waddle over to Livie and get off my feet.
Dad and Jaxon recant everything that happened and just hearing it is unbelievable and I was here to witness it first-hand. It takes twenty minutes to retell the story and I’m hungry, dad and I never got our meal. I get up from the sofa slowly and I know that it’s not going to be much longer until I’m going to need a forklift to help me up. I make my way into the kitchen as mom, Carson and Livie ask dad and Jaxon questions.
I make us a sandwich and I probably should have asked if anyone else wants one, but oh well, they can make their own. I hear footsteps behind me, and I turn to see my dad with a big smile on his face, “I thought I smelled food, you’re a woman after my own heart.” I laugh, and his voice gets louder as he says, “You’ve always been my favorite.”
“Dad, stop saying that. You’ll give Carson a complex.” I know I shouldn’t find it funny, but I do, he always gives poor Carson a hard time.
“Dad, why do you hate me?” Carson shouts from the living room as I pass dad his sandwich.
“I don’t hate you, I just don’t like you. There’s a big difference.” Dad winks at me as he takes a bite of his sandwich, I shake my head as I waddle into the living room.
“Mom!” Carson screams like a little bitch! Damn, no wonder why dad prefers me, I take my seat next to Livie and she snatches half my sandwich.
“Carson, don’t shout. I’m right here honey. Your dad doesn’t mean it, he’s just messing with you. Isn’t that right Forrester?” Mom tries to calm Carson, but it doesn’t work as he’s such a baby.
“Uh-uh.” Dad responds, and I cross my legs as I start to laugh otherwise I may just pee myself.
“Why does dad like you better?” God, he’s like a broken record!
“Because I’m not annoying nor am I a little bitch.” I say as politely as I can. Dad, Jaxon, Livie, and my mom all laugh, and I swear it looks as though Carson’s going to cry.
“Fuck you! I’m not a little bitch. Anyway, now that Sabrina’s out of the way, things can go back to normal and you and Jaxon can live in marital bliss.” Carson can be so stupid at times.
“I swear that boy was at the back of the queue when they were handing out brains,” Dad mutters under his breath but loud enough for Livie and me to hear him.
“Um Carson honey, marital bliss is when people are married.” Mom informs him, and the clueless idiot just stares at her.
I turn to Livie when she asks, “Would you want to get married? You’ve never actually mentioned it before.” She’s right; it’s not something that I’ve ever given much thought too.
“If it was to the right man I would. I see no reason not too; if I love them and they love me, I would go for it.”
I hear a gasp from Livie and see that her eyes are wide and fixated on something behind me. I turn and see Jaxon down on one knee.
Holy shit, is this really happening? I think I’m going to cry!
Chapter Twenty-One
Jaxon
While Brianne went to the kitchen to make herself a snack, I decided that it was the perfect time to ask her father for her hand in marriage. After all the shit that happened today, I was nervous that he would tell me to fuck off, but he surprised me by being overjoyed about my plans with his daughter. Sure, it was after a few threats about taking care of his princess, but I got my first yes.
My hands start sweating and shaking as I pull out the little black jewelry box that has been burning a hole in my jeans pocket for the past few hours. Olivia’s eyes go wide when I go down on one knee. Proposing right here and now was a spur of the moment decision, this is not the way I wanted to do it but fuck it; this is happening.
My heart rate skyrockets the moment Bri turns to look my way, the shock of seeing me kneeling in front of her brings tears in her beautiful green eyes, and I’m struck speechless as she stares deep into my eyes that must reflect nothing but nerves. Shit, what the hell was I going to say? Mother freaking hell this is not the time for my brain to mouth function to short circuit.
“Well, cat cut your tongue or something? Say something, you big nerdy doofus. You can’t just kneel and stare it doesn’t work like that!” Liv says, and I can hear the excitement and impatience in her voice.
“I… Brianne Bentley can I be your wife!” I blurt out before my eyes widen. “Shit, no that’s not the way it’s supposed to go!” I mutter under my breath. Dammit, why the hell does my tongue feel so heavy?
Brianne smiles down at me while the rest of the room burst into a fit of laughter at my expense. Fucking shit, I need to try again.
“Speak from your heart son,” Mr B tells me in between his laughter.
Right, from the heart. I can do this!
“Bri,” I start. “You may not know this or believe it but I… I have loved you since we were kids.” I take a deep breath as I look up into her eyes. “Finding out that you were blessing me with twins may have been a shock, but it also made me the happiest man alive. There is no one in this world except you, that I would want a family with.” The tears shining in her eyes start to fall down her cheeks. “I’m not doing this because I have to. I’m not doing this because I got you pregnant. Bri, I’m doing this because I can’t imagine my life without you or our kids. I can’t imagine not waking up next to you for the rest of my life and most of all I can’t imagine a life where I can only love you from afar.” Her tears are now on full flow and I open the black box containing a gold, heart shaped diamond ring. “So, with this, I give you my heart and soul,” I remove the ring from the box and gently take her left hand in mine. “Brianne, will you give me your heart too and be my wife?” My question is met with dead silence and I start to panic.
“Oh my God Jax!” Brianne finally says through a soft sob. Shit, that wasn’t a yes.
“Well, answer him!” Liv says practically jumping up and down from excitement. The excitement I wish could be Brianne’s.
“Dear God Bat Girl, answer him already before the poor man bursts a vein and passes out from not breathing, and Liv starts chanting or some shit like that,” Carson says, making me realize that I have been holding my breath.
“I…” Brianne sniffs, bringing the panic rushing back. “I’d love nothing more than to be your wife Jax, so yes, yes and yes!” I finally let go of the breath I’ve been holding and grin as I slip the ring on her finger.
Catcalls and whistles fill the room when I jump to my feet and give Bri an awkward hug before locking my lips with hers. This day has just gone from fucked up to the best day of my life.
“Oh, my fucking God you’re getting married!” Olivia squeals, jumping on the spot in excitement when Bri and I finally break our kiss. “Come here, let me see that ring!” She rushes toward us and pulls Brianne out of my hold. She gasps when she sees the ring up close. “Oh my God, the devil spawn’s daddy got some taste!” She squeals again. Swear, she’s so happy it’s almost lik
e she is the one that just got engaged.
“I swear Livie, call my babies devils one more time. I dare you,” Brianne threatens but the face splitting smile on her face tells me that she knows it’s just an empty threat.
“What, you’ve seen them move! It’s not…”
“Congratulations you two,” Mr B says bringing my attention to him and making me miss whatever it was Liv was going to say. He claps me on the shoulder before pulling me in for a hug. “Son, you have been part of this family for a long time, I’m proud to finally call you son in law, although you are more than just that,” Mr Bentley’s words almost bring tears to my eyes because I’ve wanted nothing more than to have a loving and respected family like his to accept me and love me. I guess my daddy issues run deeper than I ever realized.
“Holy shit man, we are officially going to be brothers. How fucking epic is that!?” Carson pulls me in for a bear hug, and I laugh as I hug him back.
“Can you imagine what Sabrina and Loretta are going to say? I can’t fucking wait to see the looks on their faces when they hear and see that beauty on your finger!” Olivia says gleefully.
“No, I just want those two to stay away from Brianne and me, we don’t need that kind of negativity in our lives.” I say, making my way back to my woman.
“I second that!” Bri smiles up and me as she wraps her arms around my waist.
“Never mind the wicked witches of Cali, after what happened today at Patty’s people will start to see what kind of people they are and just like us, they will be happy for the two you.” Carson says.
I don’t really give a shit what the rest of the town thinks of me and Brianne and it doesn’t matter what all happened earlier today, this day has turned out to be the best as I have gained a fiancé, the woman I’ve always wanted. Whoever has a problem with me being with the woman I love can seriously go fuck themselves. That includes Loretta and Sabrina.
After making hot love to Bri last night in celebration of our new status, she spent hours convincing me to do something I didn’t really want to do. So, a day later I’m standing in front of a hotel room door debating if I should knock or turn around and head back to the office.
I lift my hand to knock but immediately put it down again. This is a bad idea, I need to get the hell out of here. Just as I turn to leave, the door opens behind me and I freeze in my step.
“Jaxon?” Ben, my no-good father says sounding confused. Well you are not alone there, I myself am confused as to what the hell it is I’m doing here.
“Da- Ben,” I quickly correct myself as I turn to look at him. “You on your way?” I ask when I notice the duffle bag hanging from his shoulder.
“Yeah, I was just about to head back to San Francisco, but I’m glad you came by.” He says.
“Yeah well, I’m not sure what the hell it is I’m doing here,” I tell him honestly. If it wasn’t for Brianne, I really wouldn’t be here.
“Come on in; I have some time before I have to leave.” He gestures with his hand for me to go inside. I hesitate for a split second but start walking past him and into the small hotel room.
“Have a seat, would you like something to drink? I don’t have any alcohol in here, but there is juice and water,” he sounds nervous.
“No thanks, Brianne wants me to hear you out so now I’m here,” I say, getting right to the point. I’d rather get this over and done with sooner rather than later.
“I always liked that girl.” He says under his breath. “Right,” He clears his throat before speaking again. “First thing is first, I really am sorry for the way I treated you Jaxon it was heartless and wrong, and I know that now.” He may sound sincere, but I don’t think I’m buying this shit.
“Why did you do it?” I finally ask the one question that has been eating up at me since I was eleven. I could never understand what changed my father, what made him hate me and ma as much as he did. I couldn’t understand how a father and husband could just get abusive overnight.
He drops his head and sighs. “Your mother and I have always had problems, things I’d rather not discuss with you.” He looks at me before sighing again. “Remember when you were eleven and fell out of your treehouse and broke your leg?” What the hell does that have to do with the price of oil?
“Yeah, what about it?” I ask.
“Well a branch gave you a massive scratch on your leg on the way down, and you lost a lot of blood,”
“Yeah, I remember all that, I don’t get what that’s got to do with why you became a first-class jackass,” I’m starting to get annoyed.
“When we got the hospital, the doctors told us that you needed some blood and I jumped at the chance to give you some of mine,” he shakes his head at the memory. “They took my blood but then when they came back, they said that my blood type doesn’t match yours. I thought the motherfuckers were crazy, I mean how can a father’s blood not match his son’s?” He gives a humorless laugh. “So that night I told your mother about what happened, and she confirmed that you were in fact not my son,”
“I had known that your mother was having an affair with Henry and heard rumors that there was someone else too but never in a million years did I think that you were not mine. I felt betrayed and so I lost it. I went out for a drink that turned into twenty and when I saw your mother when I got home it just happened…. I hit her.” I’m speechless and don’t know what to say to that.
“Later I started resenting you and…”
“That’s when you started to beat the shit out of me too,” I harshly finish his sentence.
“I know what I did was wrong, I was weak and didn’t know how to process the betrayal.” A tear falls down his cheek. “Finding out that you were not my son was harsh, but I handled it badly and I’m so sorry that I put you through that. I now realize that I don’t care whose blood runs in your veins, you are my son and I love you, I always have!” He says, choking on a sob.
“You beat the crap out of me and Loretta because I wasn’t your kid?” I’m not sure if I’m pissed off or just disappointed that, that’s his reason for putting me through what he did.
“I know it wasn’t right son, I see it now and I’m so fucking sorry!” I stand and start walking toward the door. I think I have heard enough.
“Jaxon… son… I really am sorry, you were innocent and didn’t deserve what I did to you.”
“I get that you are sorry Ben, I get that you were hurt and felt betrayed by Loretta, really I do but you are right I didn’t deserve what you did to me and I don’t think I can ever forgive you.” With that I walk through the door and shut it behind me.
Coming here was a mistake. I seriously wish I never came. Knowing the reason why my father treated me the way he did feels worse than when I didn’t know. I make my way back to my truck and climb in.
“Aaaah!” I scream out of nowhere as I start punching the steering wheel in frustration. Why the hell did I come here? I think I now hate my father, or whatever the fuck he is to me even more than before.
When my temper tantrum finally ceases, I’m breathing hard and I feel like something inside of my chest is being ripped out. And just like that, for the first time since I was a child, I burst into tears.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Brianne
It’s been two weeks since Jaxon proposed and I’m so happy, I really do love Jaxon and being with him has made me realize that he is all I want. Well him and our family, I’m thirty weeks and today is the day that Jaxon finally gets to see them along with us finding out their genders. Livie tried to persuade us to do a gender reveal party but we both didn’t want that, we’ve waited long enough and we’re anxious to find out what we’re having.
Jaxon hasn’t spoken about his dad, he never came back to my house that night, but Carson went to Jaxon’s house to make sure he was okay. Whatever was said, I don’t know but Carson told me that Jaxon didn’t want to talk about it and that he never wants to see Ben again. I feel
bad as I was the one who pushed Jaxon into seeing Ben, I honestly thought that he had changed and wanted to be Jaxon’s dad. So, from now on, when it comes to Jaxon’s parents I’m staying out of it.
Livie and I are so busy with work now that everyone knows that Mayor Ashwood is a dirty rat bag who cheats on poor Sophia although she’s a bitch, she doesn’t deserve the humiliation she received that day. Finding out that your best friend and your husband have been having an affair for over a decade has got to hurt. Although how she didn’t know is beyond me especially as Loretta wasn’t the only woman he was cheating with. Mayor Ashwood must have some supply of Viagra, I wonder if he has shares in the company?
There has been talk that Mayor Ashwood would resign along with calls for him to stand down, but mom and dad believe the Ashwood’s love the power that being the Mayor and the Mayor’s family gives them that they won’t give it up. Livie is the worst, anyone who comes into the salon and wants gossip Livie gives them the full lowdown of what happened. Nobody has said that the Pastor is Jaxon’s father and we’ve agreed that until Jaxon is ready to talk to him it’s going to stay that way. Pastor Jacob Lonnergan is actually a really nice man, and if the town found out that he cheated on Mary-Sue there will be even more uproar than there is with the Ashwood’s.
I haven’t seen Sabrina since we found out that she’s a liar and a self-centered bitch, I’m not complaining that I haven’t seen her I just hope it stays that way. I’m glad that it’s over and done with and we can finally be happy without any interference. Jaxon thinks that it isn’t over, Livie agrees with him, she doesn’t believe that Loretta or Sabrina have finished with us yet and the worst is yet to come. I honestly think they’re overreacting, they’ve been found out that they both have lied and vandalized our property they can’t be stupid enough to do anything else.
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