“I will never send you to check on my wife, Mayson.”
“You know she loves me.”
“Don’t remind me,” he jokes then mutters, “We’ll talk soon.”
“Talk to you soon,” I agree, hanging up and sitting back in my chair, raising my arms above my head, locking my fingers together and putting them behind my neck, closing my eyes and trying to figure out what I’m feeling right now.
Hope isn’t Ellie’s daughter. I don’t even know if I should confront her about this, or if I should just wait until she comes to me with the information.
“Jesus.” Shaking my head, I pull off my hat, toss it on top of my desk, and run my hand through my hair.
She’s a virgin? What the fuck is that about? And is it even true? She’s gorgeous, and I have a hard time believing she’s never had a relationship. I don’t even think I’ve ever had sex with a virgin.
“Fuck,” I growl, feeling myself get hard. Apparently my dick likes the idea of her still having her virginity.
Getting up, I grab my hat and go across the hall to the kitchen, finding Sage and one of my new guys, Evan, talking quietly. Noticing the look on Evan’s face, I ask, “What’s up?”
“I just asked Evan to check into this new guy June is dating,” Sage says, and I look back at Evan, feeling my brows pull downward when I notice the look in his eyes from moments ago is gone, now replaced with a blank expression.
“Why are we looking into June’s new man?” I ask.
My cousin is going to college in Alabama, and I know she’s planning on moving home as soon as she graduates. I haven’t heard anything about her having a boyfriend, but that doesn’t surprise me. The females in my family have a tendency to play their cards close to the chest, and they sure as hell don’t tell us about the men they are dating.
“I overheard Willow and Harmony talking about him and didn’t like the vibe I got.” Sage shrugs.
“You’re looking into him based on a vibe you got from an overheard conversation?”
“I can’t explain it, and Evan’s mom still lives in the area, so I asked him to check in on it the next time he was up there to visit.”
“Are you good with that?” I ask Evan.
“Yeah, it’s no trouble. I should be up there this weekend, so I’ll ask around while I’m there,” he says casually, but I notice a tic in his jaw that wasn’t present before.
“You know the girls hate it when we interfere,” I say, slipping my hat back on and putting my cell in my back pocket.
“Yeah, but they always get over it.” Sage smiles.
“Well, this one’s on you.” I move to the door. I had enough drama when I was dealing with July and Wes when they got together.
“I’m stepping out for a couple hours, but I’ll have my cell on me,” I tell them over my shoulder, getting two chin lifts before I close the door behind me.
Getting in my truck, I back out, first thinking about going home, but I know I can’t do that yet. I need to take some time to cool off. I don’t know if I should tell Ellie I know about Hope, or if I need to let her come to me. Feeling conflicted, I drive, and before I even realize where I’m going, I pull up in front of my parents’ house.
Staring at the house I grew up in, I feel my gut get tight as I’m bombarded by happy memories. Without thinking, I shut down the truck, get out, and head up the front walk, tapping twice before opening the door.
“Mom?” I call into the house as I walk through the living room.
“In here, honey,” she calls back, sticking her head out the laundry room door that’s off the kitchen. “Give me a minute. Did you have breakfast?” she asks, and I hear the washer start up.
“Yeah, I had a protein shake,” I tell her, watching her face scrunch up as she walks into the kitchen.
“I have no idea how you drink those things; they taste like dirt,” she says, making me smile.
“You eat dirt often, Mom?” I joke, taking a seat at the island across from her.
“No, but I’m sure that’s what it tastes like.” She smiles, but then her eyes search my face and her smile disappears. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” I sigh, pulling my hat off my head and setting it on the bar, and then I scrub my hands down my face. “Hope isn’t Ellie’s daughter,” I blurt, needing to get it off my chest.
“Yes, she is,” she replies immediately, frowning.
“She’s not. Hope is Ellie’s brother’s daughter. He and Hope’s mom died in a car accident when Hope was just weeks old, and Ellie was granted custody shortly after that when she was nineteen.”
I watch tears from in her eyes then slip silently down her cheeks as she studies me. “You’re not my blood, Jax,” she whispers softly, and I feel my throat close up. “I love you as if I gave birth to you, but you don’t have my blood pumping through your veins.”
She tilts her head back as more tears fall from her eyes.
“No one…no one could ever tell me you’re not my son. I love you with the same fierceness I love Ashlyn with. You’re my boy. This is where you belong to me,” she says, pointing at her heart.
Swallowing, I choke on the emotions that seem to be suffocating me as I look at the woman who raised me, the woman I have called mom since I can remember. Watching her eyes light with a fire for me has my vision going cloudy.
“Hope is Ellie’s daughter, honey,” she says quietly, and I blink until I can see clearly again. “You don’t have to give birth to a child to love it as your own.”
Nodding, I swallow again, get up from the stool I was sitting on, walk around the island, and then take my mom into my arms as she cries.
“She’s so strong, Jax, so strong, and beautiful, and she loves Hope with everything she has inside of her.” She leans back, placing her hand on my cheek. “Please, understand that before you go to her with what you found out. If she thinks you feel like Hope isn’t her daughter, it will really hurt her.” She shakes her head, closing her eyes, and I can hear the anguish in her voice as she says, “She’s was just a baby herself when she took on the responsibility of raising a child that she didn’t give birth to. That tells me everything I need to know about the kind of woman Ellie is, and I hope you understand the amazing woman you have sleeping under your roof right now.”
“I understand,” I say quietly, kissing her cheek then letting her go, moving back to the stool I was sitting on. “Should I let her tell me?” I ask quietly, still unsure of what to do with the information.
“Let her tell you, and know that when she does she’s trusting you. I don’t think she has really trusted anyone in a long time.”
“She trusts you,” I point out. Ellie is very picky with who she allows to watch Hope, and so far, that list only consists of me, my mom, and my dad. Even Ashlyn had to pass inspection before Ellie allowed her to take Hope with her to her house.
“I think a lot of people have taken advantage of her,” she says softly, grabbing my hands from across the counter. “I don’t know why she trusts me, but I love her like a daughter. I would jump in front of a bullet for her or Hope, the same way I would do for you or Ashlyn. I want to be someone she trusts, someone she can depend on. I don’t want her to feel like she’s alone, and that girl I met at the hospital was alone,” she confides, crying again, which causes my chest to hurt.
I know a lot of this sadness stems from her and my father’s past. She had my sister on her own for years, thinking my dad had abandoned her to be with my biological mother. She had no idea my dad was suffering just as badly as she was.
“I’m falling in love with her…her and Hope,” I admit, watching her eyes close.
“Then be there for her, and when she tells you her story, understand she’s believing that she’s safe with you, that her heart is safe with you.”
“Thanks, Mom. For everything, not just this.”
“I will always be here anytime you need me, honey.”