by Lucy Score
With a sigh, she hung up.
They burst through the door in a bubble of energy.
Summer flopped down in a chair while Gia made a beeline for the coffee.
“Okay, tell us everything,” Summer demanded.
“Well, the feed price went up ten percent, but I was able to talk Chuck down to five—”
“Look who has a sense of humor when she gets laid,” Gia teased.
“Don’t you two have a magazine to run or something?”
“All business is officially on hold until you spill,” Summer said, tilting her head.
“Yeah, we could keep you in here for days so you might as well start talking,” Gia said airily.
“Jax and I had sex. What more is there to say about it?”
“It must have been really disappointing otherwise she’d want to share at least an orgasm count,” Gia speculated.
“I think you’re right. It was probably awful and they’re never going to do it again,” Summer agreed.
“So did his genitalia shrink since high school or did you just forget how Tab A fits into Slot B?” Gia asked.
“There’s something incredibly wrong with you two,” Joey said, shaking her head. “It wasn’t awful. It was great. Really great. So great it hurts to sit on a horse today.”
Gia squealed.
“I’m just going to start holding up fingers and you tell me when to stop when I hit the correct number of orgasms,” Summer told Joey.
“Okay, so what does this all mean? Are you together? Was it just a one-time thing?” Gia demanded.
Joey was momentarily grateful that Jax had forced her to put a label on it. “It means we are casually seeing each other. Keyword casually so don’t either of you get any bridal magazine ideas.”
Gia clapped her hands together. “I’m so happy for you two! It’s like Christmas all over again.”
“Yeah, if Santa doled out orgasms,” Summer cracked. “Which, by the way, did you forget we’re playing how many O faces?” She wiggled her fingers.
Joey kicked back in her chair. “I didn’t forget. You just didn’t hit the magic number yet.”
They whistled their approval.
“Those Pierces know how to deliver,” Summer said proudly. “So how do you feel?”
Sore. Happy. Satisfied. Scared shitless. Guilty. The list went on and on. “Fine.”
Gia rolled her eyes. “Fine? That’s the answer Evan gives me when I ask him about his day at school and he got detention for a food fight and an incomplete because Diesel ate his Civil War diorama.”
“Oddly specific,” Joey commented. She looked through the dusty glass to make sure Jax wasn’t lurking. “Is it normal to feel a little conflicted? Maybe a lot conflicted?” She let her breath out in a whoosh.
Gia and Summer exchanged a glance and remained eerily quiet.
“I’m just…confused? I guess?” Joey frowned. “I told him in no uncertain terms that I’m not looking for a relationship. I even made sure to tell him before we had sex.”
“Uh-huh,” Summer said.
“And so then we have sex, with the knowledge that I have no intention of pursuing a future with him.”
“And then?” Gia asked.
“And then after—and maybe a little bit during—sex he tells me he loves me.”
“Oh, boy. That’s sneaky,” Gia said with approval.
Summer grinned, and shifted in her seat. “Okay, I seriously have to pee so I’m going to make this quick. It sounds like you both were clear with your intentions and now it’s just a battle of the wills to see who wins.”
“You make it sound like we’re going to war.”
Gia snickered. “You’re going to the mattresses!”
“Oh, because now we’re in the mafia, obviously.” Joey rolled her eyes.
“On that note, pee break.” Summer pushed herself out of the chair.
Joey waited until Summer left the office. “She looks tired.”
“She’s working too much,” Gia agreed. “Did Carter say anything to you?”
“About convincing her to take a honeybaby?”
“I think you mean a babymoon,” Gia corrected.
“Yeah, that.”
“What’s the likelihood of her letting us pry her away from her computer, shove her in a car, and send her away from work for a long weekend?”
“A hundred million to one. Lucky for her, I’ve got the one,” Joey said smugly.
“Really? I’m intrigued.” Gia leaned forward.
“Care to make a wager?”
Gia pursed her lips. “I’m game. What do you have in mind?”
“If I win, you make sure to tell everyone who listens that Jax and I are just casually seeing each other.”
“And if I win?”
“I’ll watch the kids for a night while you and Beckett do whatever married Pierces do, which, from what I hear about Summer and Carter, is have sex on the kitchen island.”
“Beckett shared that little tidbit with me. Did you hear about Jax walking in on Phoebe and my dad?”
They were still laughing when Summer shuffled back into the room. “Kids better be worth it. I’m starting to worry that my bladder will never recover and my feet won’t unswell to a pre-pregnancy shoe size.”
“They are,” Gia said over the rim of her coffee mug. “Mostly. Like sixty percent of the time.”
“Oh goodie. A majority.”
“I’m actually glad you stopped by, even if it was to stick your nose in my business,” Joey began, shooting Gia a look. “What’s going on with Carter?”
“What do you mean?” Summer looked immediately concerned.
“I noticed he’s looking a little…I don’t know, run down lately?” Joey said.
“I thought so, too, the last time he stopped by the house,” Gia said, catching the drift. “Is he under the weather?” she asked Summer.
Summer frowned and shook her head. “No. He’s as healthy as a California vegan.”
“Maybe he’s just working too much,” Joey said.
“He’s probably just got a lot on his mind what with the farm and the brewery and the twins,” Gia mused.
“I’ve been getting work emails from him in the middle of the night,” Joey improvised.
“The other week he mentioned something about going away for the weekend,” Summer confessed. “But I told him it wasn’t a good time with the magazine and everything.” She chewed on her lip.
“You’re probably right,” Gia said. “You’ve got a lot on your plate and you probably wouldn’t even be able to relax.”
“Well, I do need to vet a substitute editor for when I’m on maternity leave,” Summer sighed.
“Like a short-term dry run. That’s not a horrible idea.” Joey tried to keep the gloat out of her voice. “And maybe you could use the vacation to confess to Carter that you already know the sex of the babies.”
Summer stuck her tongue out at Joey. “Funny. It’s very important to Carter that we’re surprised. So we are going to be surprised. This is my way of proving how much I love him.”
“By doing something completely against your nature?” Joey asked.
“Exactly,” Summer nodded.
Joey rolled her eyes. Love made normally smart people do very stupid things. At least by casually seeing Jax, she’d be able to keep her wits about her.
Summer was busy rolling with the idea of a weekend away. “I suppose it could work. I could afford to take a few days off. If we work ahead with the editorial calendar and have the content scheduled out.”
“I don’t think it would be a problem,” Gia nodded.
Joey slapped her palm on the top of her desk. “You should surprise him!”
“What?”
“Yeah! Plan the trip, book it, and then tell him about it. Jax and I can cover the farm. He won’t have an excuse not to go.”
“Yeah,” Summer nodded. “Yeah! I can do this. I can surprise my husband with a getaway and use the time to work o
ut the kinks with a new editor. I’m gonna do it!” She pulled out her phone and started swiping furiously through screens. “Now, where should we go?”
Joey shot Gia her cockiest grin. Behind Summer’s chair, Gia bowed in unworthiness.
* * *
It was early afternoon before Jax was able to catch back up with Joey. She had a self-satisfied smile on her face as she loosened the girth on Tucker’s saddle.
“I like seeing you smile,” he told her, stepping in with the dual purpose to help and to be closer to her.
Joey snorted. “You like seeing a lot more than my smile.”
“You speak the truth.” Jax pulled the saddle and blanket off of the big bay and placed it on the bench that Waffles was wriggling under to investigate one of the barn cats. He sent the dog into a spiral of delight with a good belly scratch.
“What could possibly put you in such a good mood today?” he asked with a devilish grin.
“Keep your happy wand in your pants, Ace. I just orchestrated some high level mental espionage that I’m feeling really good about.”
“Care to elaborate?”
Joey unclipped Tucker’s lead from the eyehook on the wall. “I may have convinced Summer to take a long weekend trip with Carter. I also may have made it her idea.”
Jax took the lead rope from her. “You’re so sexy when you’re manipulative.”
Joey tossed her braid over her shoulder and followed along as Jax led Tucker back to his stall, her hands shoved into the pockets of her down vest. “I am, aren’t I?”
“How did it go with your parents?” he asked.
Joey shrugged. “Mom wasn’t surprised. And she’s going to be the one to break it to Dad. So it was better than I expected.”
With Tucker happily munching on a scoop of grain in his stall, Jax hung the lead on a hook outside the stall and secured the door. “Did you have lunch yet?”
“Not yet.” Her voice was suddenly husky and it went straight to his groin. “Where are Carter and Colby?”
“Over at the barn.”
“So we have the place to ourselves? Interesting.” Joey said, sidling a little closer. She ran a finger down his flannel-covered chest.
It was one finger touching shirt, and it was enough to have Jax grabbing her and attacking her mouth. He walked them backwards until the wood of the wall bit into her back.
“Let’s go to your house,” he muttered, his mouth continuing its assault.
“Too far,” Joey breathed. Her fingers threaded through his hair and fisted.
“Tack room?”
“Tack room.”
Joey shoved the door closed behind them and Jax immediately pounced, shoving her against the wall. A tangle of bridles came crashing down on her. She fought her way away from the wall and backed Jax up against the sink cabinet. He shoved her winter vest off of her shoulders and sent his long, nimble fingers dancing under her sweater.
“God, you are so sexy when you’re dressed for work.”
“You have the weirdest fetishes,” Joey teased, sliding her hand lower to cup him through his jeans. She felt him hard and throbbing against her palm. “Wow, you really do like breeches and boots.”
“I like anything you’re wearing, anything that I can take off.” He pulled her against him and shifted his hips to grind into her.
Their tongues and breath tangled and Joey hooked one leg over his hip. The friction was magic and she wanted more of it. Jax picked her up and spun her around so she sat on the edge of the counter.
He pulled her legs high on his waist, grinding his hard-on against the exact spot that Joey needed the pressure. She unbuttoned his flannel and dipped her hands inside, stroking hard muscle, hot flesh.
She felt dizzy with need. Arousal pooled between her thighs, begging him for more. He slid her sweater up revealing a serviceable sports bra. And when he flicked his thumbs over the nipples straining beneath the fabric, Joey thought she was going to come right then and there.
Until she heard her name being called from the other side of the door.
“Chuck,” she gasped.
“My name’s Jax.”
“No, Chuck!” she hissed, pushing against Jax’s chest.
“Fine. You can call me Chuck.”
This time when Chuck called her name, Jax heard it too. “Oh, that Chuck.”
“Damnit!” Joey jumped off the counter and tried to straighten her sweater. “Do I look like I was just about to have sex?”
“Oh, yeah,” Jax said with an appreciative grin.
“Stop it!”
“Stop what?”
“Stop looking at me that way or I’m sending you out there.”
Jax looked down pointedly at his raging erection. “Yeah, cause that would be good business.”
Joey made herself as presentable as she could before reaching for the doorknob. She paused and glanced back at Jax. His hair was messed up, his shirt was unbuttoned, and he had a cocky grin fixed on his face.
“Rain check?”
Joey grinned despite herself. “Yeah.”
20
It was a small, inconvenient twist of fate that had Carter and Summer booking a long weekend at Niagara Falls the same frigid week that Beckett and Gia headed to Belize on their honeymoon.
The inconvenience lay in the weather forecast. It also happened to be the same timeframe that the meteorologists started making noise about the first blizzard of the year.
Carter had immediately balked about leaving. He didn’t want to dump blizzard management and cleanup on Jax and Joey, but Jax knew his brother was also painfully aware that it was imperative to pry Summer away from her magazine for a few days for a pre-twin invasion break. The morning of the storm, Jax, Joey, and Colby had staged an intervention and practically packed the couple’s bags themselves while promising to call if they couldn’t handle things on their own.
Beckett and Gia had also half-heartedly volunteered to reschedule their honeymoon to be on hand for the incoming snowpocalypse, but their offer was brushed aside. Phoebe and Franklin would be taking Mr. Snuffles and staying at Beckett’s with the kids and pets to keep their routine as close to normal as possible.
It was amusing—and a little insulting—to Jax that Carter was worried he couldn’t handle the farm for a few days without him. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t dealt with a hundred times before while growing up here.
He’d always loved snowstorms, even if they meant extra work. Except for a few trips to Tahoe, he hadn’t seen snow since his move. Despite the extra responsibility a heavy snowfall incurred, he still felt like a little kid staring out the classroom window waiting for the first flakes.
Jax—keeping the latest forecast numbers for the storm to himself—tossed Carter and Summer’s bags in the truck himself and waved them off from the front porch with Valentina and Meatball at his side. Colby ambled out of the barn after Carter’s truck disappeared down the drive.
“We are screwed if this storm is as bad as they’re calling for tonight,” he said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket and grinning.
“Yep,” Jax agreed. “Guess we’d better make a plan?”
“Let’s go see Joey,” Colby said.
“We’ll take the Jeep. It’s too cold to walk.”
Carter had thoughtfully attached the plow to the front of his Jeep, putting Jax and his team a little ahead in their blizzard countdown preparations. When the dogs followed them to the garage, Jax shrugged and let them clamor into the back. Well, Valentina’s long legs clamored. Meatball sat on the ground and barked until Colby picked him up and shoved him in next to his sister.
They pulled up in front of the stables where Jax spotted Joey in the paddock on a pretty little quarter horse. Meatball gave a little woof and squirted through the door as soon as Jax opened it.
Joey swung down off the horse’s back and headed their way.
“Geez! I thought you were Carter coming to say he changed his mind about leaving,” Joey sighed in relie
f, her breath coming out in a cloud.
“Nope. We just waved them off with lies that the snow wouldn’t be that bad and that we’ve got everything under control,” Jax assured her, watching as Valentina loped over to sniff Waffles’ ass. Meatball barreled over and the three dogs took off around the stables.
“If they come back covered in horse shit, you’re in charge of bath time,” Joey warned him.
He threw a salute. “Aye, aye.”
She cracked a smile and that was all the invitation he needed to drop a fast kiss on her mouth before she could pull back. They’d spent a few more very satisfying nights together at her house since last week, but Joey still refused to be as affectionate in public as she was when they were alone.
Colby looked away, whistling.
Joey shot Jax a disapproving look, which had absolutely no effect on him. She was going to get used to being his girl one way or another. And Jax knew from experience that Joey responded well to trial by fire.
“You two realize that we’re fucked this entire weekend, right? The latest forecast says thirty-two inches starting after midnight tonight,” she said, leading the horse toward the barn.
“I heard thirty-five and starting at ten,” Colby said as they followed her into the stables.
“Go grab some coffee and I’ll be back in a minute,” Joey said, leading the horse into the stables ahead of them.
Jax led the way to the office and got busy pouring coffees. Colby made himself at home in one of the rickety visitors chairs.
“So I started a list,” Joey said, bustling into the room and flopping down in the chair behind her desk.
“Let’s have it,” Jax said, handing her a mug.
“Snow removal is going to be the priority, obviously. But since we have some advance warning, I want to get all the horses lunged and exercised since they won’t be seeing the pastures anytime soon.”
“We’re going to need some help with that,” Colby predicted.
“I think I’ll call in some favors with the students. If I can get four or five of them in here before lunch, we should be in good shape.”
“Problem solved. What’s next?” Jax asked, comfortable letting her take the lead.
“You and Carter already stocked the straw for bedding so we’re good there. But we need to double check the furnace in the stable and the barn and I think it would be a good idea to add some extra insulation to the pipes to make sure nothing freezes. I don’t want to be hauling water to the horses from the house.”