Jackson Read online

  Megan

  Since I hung up with Abby, my mind has been working double-time. Could it have all been a mistake? Could Emily been pulling one over on me?

  As soon as I start to have my doubts, I realize that I know what I saw. She was half naked in his house… in his T-shirt. No matter what really happened, I know I don’t want to be with a man that allows his ex access to his home.

  I spend the rest of the day and half the next hiking through the woods and enjoying the scenery. On my drive back into town, I feel a little bit better than I did when I left. But I still have the soft ache in my chest.

  Pulling onto my street, the first thing I see is Jackson’s truck in my driveway. I want to turn around. I don’t know if I can deal with this now, but I get myself together. I’m not going to run from him. I might as well get this over with. It’s bound to happen and I’d rather it be here than at the shop.

  I get out of the car and he’s sitting on my front porch. He stands when I get out, but he doesn’t come any closer. I take a minute to look at him. He has a few days’ worth of stubble covering his face. He looks worn out and the light in his eyes is dim, but he still looks good. Damn, he still looks good.

  “Hey, Megan,” he says huskily.

  “Hey. What are you doing here?” I ask him, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice.

  “I had to see you. Just give me five minutes. If you still want me to leave in five minutes, I won’t bother you again.” He’s talking softly with his hands down to his sides. It’s almost like he’s afraid he’ll spook me and I’ll run again.

  “How did you know I was almost home?” I ask him as I walk up the steps.

  “I’ve been here since dawn. Abby said you would be home today,” he tells me.

  I stop with my hand on the doorknob and look up at him. That was almost ten hours ago. “Have you been sitting on my porch for ten hours?”

  “Yes, except for when I helped Miss Mason next door carry her groceries in and she let me use her restroom. She’s a nice woman. She likes you,” he tells me as he follows me in the door.

  I look around my small house and wonder what he thinks about it. To me, everything is so cozy. Wait, why do I care what he thinks?

  I sit down on the couch and look at him. He hasn’t taken his gaze off me.

  “Sit down. Let’s get this over with.” I point to the chair across the room from me.

  He sits down and looks at me for a minute.

  “Megan, you’ve known me how long? Do you really think I would ever do anything to hurt you?”

  I answer him without hesitating. “No, I don’t think you would ever hurt me on purpose.”

  He’s shaking his head. “No, honey, I would never hurt you… for any reason.”

  I take a deep breath and try to hold it together.

  “What do you want, Jackson?”

  He moves around to the seat next to me and I sit back in mine, trying to put some distance between us. He’s sitting on the edge with his arms on his knees, looking at me. “When I got home the other day, Emily was on my porch. She wanted to get back together. I told her no and that I would never be with her ever again.”

  I know that Abby probably already told him, but I’m going to say it anyway. “I was there. Emily was in your house. She answered the door in her underwear and your T-shirt. She told me you were in the shower and you… you were getting back together.”

  He puts his hand on my knee and I can’t look away from it. “She lied to you. I wasn’t there. I didn’t get there until you had already left. The only thing I can figure is that she still had a key to my house. Or hell, she used the one under the pot. I don’t know. But since then, I’ve changed the locks at my house and the only spare key I have is this one.” And he sets it down on the coffee table.

  I look between him and the key and back again.

  “Jackson…the key wasn’t under the pot,” I tell him.

  “Well, that’s how she got in,” he explains.

  There it is again. Hope flaring in my chest. And again, I do what I can to dampen it down. “Jackson… I just think this is probably good this happened. I mean, you need time…”

  He gets down on his knees in front of me. He’s caged me in and I can feel the sweet heat of him against my body and we aren’t even touching.

  “I don’t need time. I need you. The other day I didn’t tell you this because you were already skittish, but I’m telling you now. I want you, Megan. Not just for today, not just for tonight… I want you for always. I want to go to sleep with you in my arms and wake up the same damn way. I want you. That’s all I want.” His hands move from the arms of the chair and now they’re rubbing up and down my legs.

  Stunned, I stare back at him, and he must see it in my face, because I can’t help but soften toward him.

  “I love you. I feel like I’ve loved you forever. Please, don’t give up on us. If you need time, that’s fine. But just don’t give up on us,” he pleads with me, right before his lips touch mine.

  Epilogue

  Jackson

  I wish I could say it was smooth sailing after that. But it took some time. After a few kisses and me begging to stay with her, she finally let me stay in her bed that night. I was fully clothed and nothing but a few chaste kisses happened, but I was able to sleep with her in my arms. I definitely call that a win.

  It’s been the same way every night since then. It’s taking her a while to process everything. I wonder if a part of her doesn’t trust me. But I’m fine with it. I’m happy to prove my love to her. I try my best to be patient with her. If the roles were reversed I would probably be destroyed, so I can’t blame her for needing time.

  A few weeks go by and I come home from work to take a shower before I go over to her house. When I pull in the driveway, Megan’s car is there.

  I smile broadly and take the steps to my house two at a time. I use the key to unlock the door, and as soon as I walk inside, I call out, “Honey, I’m home.”

  “I’m in here,” she hollers from the bedroom.

  I stride to the doorway and stop. My eyes about pop out of my head. Megan is lying on the bed with a black nightie on and her long blond hair high in a knot on the top of her head. She’s beautiful.

  When I don’t move any closer to her, she sits up. “I thought… I thought… well, I can get dressed.”

  “No!” I holler. I start pulling off my boots and stripping off my clothes. “Stay right there, honey. You just made all my dreams come true.”

  I lie down and cover my body with hers. Kissing her, I pull back when she tries to talk into my mouth. “What is it?” I ask her.

  “Before we did this, I just wanted to tell you too. I love you, Jax.” She smiles and then pushes me backwards before straddling me. I pull her face down to mine, kissing her and then I show her just how much I love her too.

  Join the Hope Ford Readers Group on Facebook!

  A place to talk about Hope Ford’s books!

  Find Hope Ford at:

  Facebook: authorhopeford

  Instagram: authorhopeford

  Website: AuthorHopeFord.com

  Check out Hope Ford’s other titles at:

  Amazon

  Sign up for Hope Ford’s Newsletter!