by Lucy Score
She was curled around him in the backseat of a limo. Where she got the idea that anyone would think her cold, confounded him.
“I picked the brightest, shiniest parts of you, of which there are many. Your loyalty, your confidence, your uncanny ability to keep your cool when things are crazy.”
“And people like characters like that?”
He nodded. “People relate to characters like that. You’re real. And those pieces of you make my characters real.”
She still didn’t look thrilled. “I guess maybe I’ll watch some of your movies and then decide whether your portrayal is accurate.”
“That’s very fair of you. Have I told you how absolutely beautiful you are tonight?”
“Nice dodge, but we’re not done chatting yet,” she said. “Didi made it sound like people here know of me. Why is that?”
Well, he wasn’t going to get a better lead in than that and if he didn’t tell her now he was a pathetic coward. “I’ve told our story before and it seemed to resonate with some people. In fact, that screenplay I turned in a few weeks ago? That’s us. That’s our story.”
Joey pulled back and sat up. “What do you mean ‘our story?’”
“All of it. Starting from when we were kids and moving on through high school and after.”
He could see the thoughts and questions rise, waited for her to pick one to start with.
“How does it end?” she asked.
He could hear the concern, the distrust, and he wanted to make it all go away. Jax cupped her face in his hands. “How do you want it to end?”
The car eased to the curb in front of the theater. The tinted glass divider slid down. “We’re here, sir,” the driver announced.
“Thanks, we’re about ready,” Jax told him. He didn’t like leaving the car and walking into the evening with this hanging over their heads.
“Joey?”
She shook her head. “Let’s talk about that later. Let’s get through this first before we wade into a history of us and what you deemed fit for the big screen.”
He dropped his hands and squeezed one of hers. “I understand that you’re not happy about it, but I’m really grateful that you’re here. We’ll talk about this later, I promise. Are you ready for this?” he asked.
She was peering out the window and frowning.
“That is a lot of people out there. Why are they all screaming?”
“Because they all want a piece of you…or at least the stars.”
“Well, that’s sad and creepy. And it makes me happy that we’re just the little people here.”
“Me, too, Jojo. Me, too.”
* * *
Aisha Leigh scooped them up just as they stepped off the end of the red carpet. Joey looked shell-shocked. For the date of a writer, she’d gotten a bit more attention than either of them expected.
“Well, well. Look who didn’t blow off the premiere,” Al said, leaning in and giving Jax a peck on the cheek. Her rust colored cocktail dress perfectly complimented her rich skin and dark, glossy hair.
“Beautiful as always, Al.”
His agent slid her neatly manicured hands down her hips. “Well, I’ve got to do something with all that money you make me, sugar. And you must be Joey,” she said stretching her arms out.
Joey offered her hand and shook firmly. “I think we spoke on the phone when Jax was avoiding you.”
Al smiled in appreciation. “We certainly did and now I know who to call next time I need this one to get things done.”
“That may have been a freak occurrence,” Joey warned. “So, is there a bar around here?”
“You poor thing,” Al said, looping her arm through Joey’s. “Let’s get you liquored up so you can forget about that red carpet experience.”
Al looked over her shoulder at Jax as they walked inside. Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows raised in approval. “Nice work,” she mouthed to him.
* * *
Jax sipped his beer and scanned the crowd while two studio execs talked around him about yet another project. Joey had been confiscated by half a dozen people at varying points in the evening. Al had introduced her to half of the executives at the party. And judging from their reactions to her, he knew it was a calculated move on Al’s part to boost the interest in his script. Didi had rescued Joey after the screening when he got cornered by a producer and two screenwriters.
He kept catching glimpses of Joey through the crowd, but hadn’t been able to get to her for the last forty-five minutes. Finally, the crowds shifted and he spotted her, back to him facing a crowd of enthusiastic men. He recognized a handful of actors in the mix and figured now was probably an excellent time to excuse himself from his conversation.
“Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a beautiful woman who needs rescued.”
He crossed the room and tapped her on one alabaster shoulder. She twirled around and her face lit up when she spotted him.
“Jax!”
Her face wasn’t the only thing lit. Joey was clearly enjoying a very pleasant buzz and her crowd of admirers was enjoying her enjoying it.
Joey Greer didn’t need rescued, she needed corralled.
He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her into him placing a very satisfying kiss squarely on her mouth. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hi, Ace. We were just talking about you.”
Jax raised an eyebrow. “You were, were you?”
“We all thought the movie was great,” Joey gushed.
“Good. Great. Come with me,” he said, leading her away.
Joey waved over her shoulder at her new friends and let Jax drag her off.
“Someone’s been hitting the champagne a little hard,” he teased her, pulling her into a secluded corner.
“I’m celebrating,” she told him with a goofy smile.
“And what exactly are you celebrating?”
“My brilliant boyfriend, of course,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Okay, there’s something more than champagne going on in there,” he said, brushing a loose curl over her shoulder.
“What are you doing in Blue Moon?” she asked, toying with the ends of his hair.
“Chasing you.”
“Why would you give all this up? Everyone knows you here. Everyone freaking loves you here. They all want a piece of you. Also, there’s no snow.”
He laughed then. “Well, the weather is certainly a plus to west coast living, but there’s no Joey here. Believe me, I looked. Everyone knows me at home. I’m liked there too and I think I’m pretty good at brewing beer.”
“You’ll give up all of this so you can brew beer and sleep in my bed?”
“It’s a nice bed. And I’m still going to write, and maybe I’ll still do some producing on occasion. But my heart belongs with you.”
“That is a very sweet, romantic thing to say.”
“I’m a sweet, romantic guy,” Jax agreed. “So what do you think of your first Hollywood premiere?”
She leaned in close as if to whisper, but her voice was still loud. “Well, I like Al. She loves you in like a family way. Like if anyone here tried to screw you out of something I could see her showing up at their house with a chainsaw and a smile.”
Jax nodded. It was a very accurate assessment of his Al. “How about the rest of the evening?”
“This is like an alternate universe. Why is everything a question out here and why is the traffic so bad? Did I tell you I met a model named, get this, Kale. She was a six-foot-tall Indian woman named Kale. Kale, Jax.”
He laughed and pulled her closer. “What do you say we get out of here and get some food in you?”
“Can we have burgers?” Her brown eyes looked at him with the hope and anticipation of a puppy.
He took her for burgers and fries, which they enjoyed in an orange vinyl booth under fluorescent lights still wearing their evening finery. They dissected the film together and Joey gave him the colorful highlights of all the
people she met, including Kale.
She showed him the picture Didi had taken of them in the hotel suite.
“Wait, this is in Blue Moon’s Facebook group,” Jax said, peering at her phone’s screen.
“Oh, yeah. I figured we might as well control the spin on this,” she said with a dainty shrug.
Jax grinned. Someone was getting more and more comfortable with the idea of being his girl again.
“Listen,” Joey said, gesturing with a fistful of fries. She was mostly sober now, but the red meat and soda kept her from reverting too far into her shell. “I’ve been thinking about something.”
He prayed it wasn’t the screenplay. If only she knew how conflicted he was to share their story. On one hand, it deserved to be told. On the other, there were things long buried that perhaps should stay that way for the good of many. He’d been compelled to write it and with the ending he’d had in mind for them all along. Now, whether reality would mirror the big screen remained to be seen. He couldn’t begin to anticipate Joey’s reaction beyond the initial pissed off phase. How many relationships would the truth damage?
He needed more time. Needed to find the right way to tell her why he left all those years ago. And why it would all be okay.
“That awards ceremony for the guild thing,” she continued, taking a bite of fry.
“What about it?” Selfish relief coursed through him. He didn’t have to ruin tonight with a run at the truth.
“I think you should take your mom.”
“My mom? Really?”
Joey gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Jax, you would be her hero. A fancy dress, a weekend away. Famous people.”
“It would definitely shut up Frieda Blevins about her niece’s selfie,” Jax mused.
“Or you could do everyone a favor and take Frieda so she has something else to talk about besides duck face.”
“I like that you look out for my mom,” Jax said, trapping her feet between his under the table. “She told me what you did while everyone was at my dad’s funeral.”
Joey became very interested in her burger and didn’t respond.
“You’ve always been there for my family, even when I wasn’t.”
Joey swallowed hard. “Don’t be an idiot. You were there when they needed you and you’re there now. I mean not now now because obviously we’re in L.A. So if something horrible happens while we’re gone it’s totally your fault for not being there. But other than right now.”
“God you’re cute when you drink.”
“You’re cute like all the time,” Joey said through another bite of burger. “I really love you.”
His heart stuttered in his chest. Someday he hoped to have the words to tell Joey just what it meant to him to hear her say it.
“You realize you’ve only said those words when I’m inside you or you’re drunk, right?”
Joey shrugged. “Eh, baby steps. I’m going to read your screenplay, by the way.”
27
It was good to be home. Especially when home came with a woman who officially loved him, an adoring dog, and a brewery that—mercifully—hadn’t burned down while they were gone. The closing on his L.A. house had gone without a hitch and Joey had agreed to wait for a fresh draft of the script to read, buying him a little extra time.
In the meantime, Joey and the girls had enjoyed following the mentions of Joey’s dress on social media after the event. And Brigid was feeling the aftereffects of the free viral advertising with publicists literally knocking on her door.
Life was looking good enough to Jax that he paid a visit to Wilson Abramovich, Blue Moon’s jeweler and the only discrete member of the Beautification Committee. After swearing the man to secrecy and squirreling away the velvet jewelry box in his dresser at Carter’s, Jax turned his attention to finding the right moment to start pressing Joey on the future he’d waited his whole life for.
Jax spent every night with Joey and she quietly made space for him in drawers, in the closet, and shelves in the bathroom. He found he could write better in her house, tucked away in the spare room, than anywhere else. For Valentine’s Day, he’d kept it low-key and bought her every movie he’d ever written. She made him his favorite dinner for Valentine’s Day, pot roast and mashed potatoes, and together they watched movies into the late night.
In this exact moment, life was perfect.
Even when they were arguing, as they were now over pasture groups, it felt good. It felt right. It felt like home.
“You can’t put Cyrano out there with Tucker and Romeo. It’s a meltdown waiting to happen,” Joey said, moving away from Cyrano and poking Jax in the shoulder.
Jax took advantage of her proximity and dipped his fingers into the neck of her thermal shirt and tugged her into him.
“I’m not making out with you, Ace. I’m arguing with you.”
Jax was undeterred. He boxed her in against Lolly’s stall and let his mouth take what it wanted. She pretended to put up a fuss, but in seconds Joey was opening for him, surrendering. It got him straight in the chest every time she gave up her desire for control and gave in to her desire for him.
He wouldn’t do her wrong this time. He promised himself he’d spend the rest of his life making all her dreams come true.
She threaded her fingers through his hair, swiping the gray wool cap off his head.
“Get your hands off her!”
Jax turned, putting himself between Joey and the threat. Forrest Greer, larger than life, stormed down the stable aisle toward them, a freight train without brakes.
“Uh, hi, Dad.” Joey said, guiltily jumping away from Jax. “I thought you weren’t coming until next weekend.”
Jax hauled Joey back into his side.
Joey’s mother, April, hurried in behind her husband.
“Uh, Mom?” Joey’s voice was a squeak.
April stood at the end of the aisle, nervously twisting her hands. “It didn’t go as well as I hoped, sweetie.”
Forrest slapped a crumpled newspaper against the wall in front of Joey. It was The Monthly Moon. And there above the fold was a picture of Joey and Jax in their movie premiere finery.
“So you’re back with this one, are you?” Forrest demanded, his tone fanning the flames that sprang to life inside Jax. This wasn’t going to happen again. He wouldn’t let it.
Jax tucked Joey behind his back and stood toe-to-toe with the man who had changed the course of his future with one threat.
“I’m going to ask you to lower your voice,” Jax said calmly.
“I’ll speak when and how I want, especially when it comes to my daughter.”
“Your daughter is an adult and what makes you think that showing up at her work and causing a scene is the best way to approach her?”
Forrest went a deeper shade of red.
“I told you to stay away from her.”
“And I did. For eight years. I’m back. I’ve earned my way back.”
“You’ve earned nothing.”
Cyrano’s nerves got the best of him and he tried to rear up in the crossties.
“Enough!” Joey’s voice cut through the fog of battle that had settled between them. “I want all three of you to walk out that front door right now.”
“I’m your father. You can’t throw us out,” Forrest began.
“You’re scaring my horses. Go outside, don’t say a damn word, and wait for me to put Cyrano back in his stall,” Joey said, her jaw set like granite. “All of you. Now!”
Jax led the way, stalking out the front door while April dragged Forrest with her and murmured her apologies. Anger kept him warm against the bracing breeze.
Jax waited until Forrest and April walked past him and took his position just outside the door. No one was getting to Joey without going through him first, not even her own father.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing with my daughter?” Forrest spat out, pacing three steps out and back. Forrest Greer was built like a brawler. Anger snap
ped off of him like electricity through downed wires.
“I plan to marry her.” Jax’s announcement was emphasized by a puff of breath that nearly made the words visible.
“The hell you will,” he growled. “You’re not good enough for her. You never were. I meant it then and it still stands now.”
“No argument here. No one is good enough for her,” Jax agreed. He kept his hands at his sides in case push came to shove. “But I make her happy. If she chooses me, you have to find a way to deal with it.”
“You almost killed her. You think I’m going to stand by and let it happen again?”
“It was an accident. You know I would never hurt her on purpose.”
April wrung her hands. “Forrest, you need to let this go.”
“I made you leave once. I can make you do it again.”
“What the hell did you do?” Joey’s voice snapped out. She was standing in the doorway of the stable.
“I made sure he never had the opportunity to hurt you again!”
Forrest may not have sensed the fact that he was pouring gasoline on a bonfire, but Jax sure did. He took a step toward Joey but she held up her hand, stopping him in his tracks. He didn’t want her to hear it this way. Wished she didn’t have to hear it at all.
“You were laying there in a hospital bed that he put you in.” Forrest pointed accusingly at Jax. “You wouldn’t have left him. You would have forgiven him like a lovesick teenager. I couldn’t lose you. He had to go.”
“Is there a problem here?” Carter and Beckett strolled around the side of the stables coming from the direction of the brewery. His brothers looked wary…and ready for a fight. They came to a stop on either side of him, closing ranks.
“This is a family matter,” Forrest told them.
“Joey is family,” the Pierce brothers said as one.
“What did you do?” Joey asked again, her voice was deceptively calm.
“I did what any good father would do. I told him if he didn’t leave town that night, I would file a lawsuit. I’d take their farm.” Forrest nodded as if daring anyone to argue with him.
“And what about Joey?” Jax prompted. It was time to get it all out in the open. Ripping off the bandage and prodding at a wound that had never properly healed.