RIVAL: An Enemies to Lovers Why Choose Country Romance

Chapter 48

My shoulders fall, completely giving up that I’ll have anyone respect my request to be left alone at this point.

Jaxon clambers quickly to his feet, holding up his hands in supplication. “I know you don’t want me here, but I am here for a reason. Would you just give me a minute to hear me out? Then you can do all the yelling or screaming you want. Not that you’re a yeller, but if you wanted to, I’ll stand here and take every bit of it.”

“Jaxon.” I sigh, exhausted from seeing Mason so early this morning. “You can tell me why you’re here, then I need some time to myself. I have a lot of work to do in there.” I gesture toward the house and he nods once in agreement.

“Actually, that’s why I’m here. You know I have a construction company, but I’m not sure if you know we also do restoration work. One of things we do is clean up after events like house fires, hoarding situations, things like that. I have a whole team of guys who I want to bring over for the next few days to take care of his stuff. They’ll do a deep clean to remove all the tar, sanitize every inch of that place.”

He takes a deep breath and glances at my stomach. “I can’t bear the thought of you exhausting yourself cleaning up his shit.”

Shifting side to side, I look toward the house, then at him. “I can’t afford that, Jaxon. I appreciate the offer, but I—”

“You’re not paying a penny for it.”

Not everyone is all bad or all good, even the worst people have good qualities.

My most recent lesson rings through my head as I study the man I thought was my friend as I try to decide if this is a trick. I want to think he’s playing games with me, but his face is so earnest, I can’t convince myself he’s being anything but truthful.

I can’t help asking, “What do you want in return?”

Stung, his face falls. “Oh sweetheart, I’m not asking for anything from you. Except to let me help. This I can help with. This is what I know how to do until you’re ready for us to talk.”

Taking a moment to think it over, I remind myself once again that Jaxon isn’t all bad, even if he did crush me the last time we were alone together. “What’s your plan?”

Relieved, he lays out the schedule and jobs he wants to assign to his guys, and I can’t help feeling relieved that he’s pretty much thought of everything. The only space left untouched will be the small upstairs where my bedroom and bathroom are.

“In the interest of being transparent, I have to tell you something.” Now, Jaxon looks concerned I’ll be upset, which makes me nervous. I knew there’d be a catch to what sounded like a well thought out plan.

I wait him out instead of answering.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he rocks back on his heels. “A few months ago, Fin started working for me. He’ll be part of the team I want to send over, if that’s okay with you.”

My eyes widen, hating the idea of Griffin getting elbows deep into the nastiness my father left behind. “I don’t know…” I trail off, unsure what to think. He’s spent loads of time here in the past, but since I’ve been gone, the house has devolved quickly into a disgusting mess. It should be condemned, honestly.

“If you don’t want him here, I’ll make sure he isn’t. It’s whatever you want. I just thought to get everyone over here, including myself, to clean it out as fast as possible. You deserve better than what he did to this place.” Taking a step closer, he tilts his head to the side, waiting for my reaction. “I may have also talked with Ruth and she’s got a lovely afternoon planned for you and some of the ladies in town, plus other things for the next few days while we do this. You don’t even have to be here if you don’t want to.”

“And this doesn’t mean I owe you anything?” I ask with hesitation, still uncertain.

“Nothing at all. Will you let me take care of this for you?” He peeks down where my hand is resting once again on my stomach. “For both of you? I know you have no intentions of living here, but it’ll help you get rid of his stuff faster.”

“I don’t want it to mean anything,” I murmur, and he takes another step closer.

“It won’t. I promise. I won’t lie to you; I do want to sit and talk. But this isn’t about that. This is about taking care of you and doing what’s right.”

Nodding, I bounce my hands off my thighs nervously, unsure what to do now. It’s never been awkward around Jaxon, but now it’s like I don’t know how to even communicate with him.

“Thank you.”

His smile is warm. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re letting us help. Why don’t you grab your things for a few days and—”

My eyes shoot to the house and he stops, clearly seeing my disdain about heading inside.

“Would you let me go in and get your things?”

These damn freaking emotions are eating at me and I swallow hard, looking at him, unsure how to answer. “I hate going in there, but I can. I slept there last night.”

Jaxon frowns. “I thought you stayed with Ruth?”

“No. My room wasn’t so bad. It’s just getting there that’s tough.”

“Please let me do it for you. What do you need?”

I press my lips together, wanting to refuse him, but he pushes it.

“Please Edith. The thought of you going in there infuriates me, and it’s not healthy to breathe that air. God, just tell me what to get and I’ll grab it all.”

My hands lift to cover my face as I rub away all of my confusion. Why does he want to help so bad? Didn’t he say he wanted nothing to do with me? If I let him do this, will he think we’re okay now?

“I see your mind working. This doesn’t mean you owe me a goddamn thing. I’m going to go get everything I can put into a bag and bring it out. Please, go to Ruth’s place while we make this fucking house tolerable, so you’ll be able to at least walk inside.”

“Okay,” I croak.

Not wanting to risk me changing my mind, he spins around and plucks the key from underneath a rock and lets himself inside. How does he know where the key is?

I remain outside until he returns with a large bag, one I’ve never seen before, and walks past me to put into the trunk of the beater I received through a donation.

Slamming it shut, he comes back, only stopping a foot away. Running his eyes over me, he asks, “How are you feeling? Have you been able to keep anything down today?”

“Yes. I had a bit of toast this morning.” I stop myself from asking, why do you care?

“Would you let me come see you soon so we can talk? I don’t want to stress you out, but if you’re willing, I’ll be there as soon as you say yes.”

“I’m not ready, Jaxon.”

Nodding, he gives me a small smile. “I understand. When you are ready, I’ll be here. I don’t want to push you, not at all. But I do think we need to set some things straight, and I owe you more than just an apology. For now, and maybe you won’t believe me, which is okay, but I have to tell you again that I’m so unbelievably sorry about the way I spoke to you. It was completely out of line. I regret every word that came out of my mouth.”

I blink up at him, unsure of what to say. There’s so much in my head and he must be able to tell.

“You don’t have to say anything. I just… I said I wouldn’t say anything, and I went ahead and said something, anyway. Go and relax for a few days. We’ll take care of everything.” I feel guilty about how defeated he sounds, but I just can’t make myself ease his pain.

Maybe he does feel regret, but over what? I’m not sure how to tell if it’s because someone told him he was mean or if it’s from him.

Hunching over, I head to my car and slip into the front seat. I left my keys tucked between the sun shade and roof, so I pull it down and let them fall into my hand, then start the car. It still feels weird driving myself now that I’ve learned, but the freedom I have is exhilarating.

I don’t hear or see the guys for the next four days, even when I pop over to the Coopers’ farm to check on the kittens and Austin every day. I even discovered my father’s horse, Raleigh was tucked into a stall, happily munching on feed.

I refuse to stop referring to the three B’s as kittens because in my mind, they’ll always be babies. Mason kept his distance even though I saw signs of him around when I was there. I peeked down the drive of the house I now own when I left every day and saw not only Jaxon’s truck, but Griffin’s as well. I itch to go to them, but this time alone is important to me.

Eventually, I get a text message from Jaxon. The first one in days.

The house is finished. Would you like to come over? Just as a head’s up, both Griffin AND Mason are here. Mason pitched in as well, along with the rest of my guys.

Debating as I lay in the bed I’ve been using at the Danielsons’ home, I respond. It’s not fair of me to ignore them when they’ve all put in so much effort. They deserve my thanks, at the very least.

I’m just getting up from a nap. I’ll be there in half an hour, if that’s alright with you? Maybe we can all talk?

I hesitated adding the last part, but I do need to talk with all of them. Someone is the father of my little girl and staying silent, avoiding them, isn’t right. It doesn’t mean I have to take up with any of them, but we can at least find some common ground.

She should have a father’s love… Even if he doesn’t love her mother.

Hefting myself up from the bed after that depressing thought, I pop into the bathroom for a quick shower and let Ruth know I’m heading out. Since the house is done, I take the bag of things Jaxon packed for me along.

Ruth eyes it as I haul it outside, but keeps her comments to herself until I fill her in. “The house is finished. Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here for a few days, but I don’t want to take up anymore of your space. You’ve been a godsend, Mrs. Danielson.”

“I do wish you’d call me Ruth. You’ll come here if you need anything, right?”

Hugging her tightly, we both laugh when she pats my stomach poking her. “I will, but now that this is done, I’ll get it listed to sell and find a place in town.”

She eyes me with concern. “I don’t like the idea of you bein’ on your own, honey, but I understand. Josiah and I will always be here. And you tell me if those boys give you any problems. Don’t let them push, you hear me?”

“Yes ma’am. I do need to speak to them, though. We need to figure out how to move forward and what things will look like once I find out who her dad is.” My cheeks flush, hating to bring up that I still have no idea who fathered her.

With a sympathetic smile, she taps my stomach once more. “Nobody is perfect and God never gives us more than we can handle. It’ll work out in the end, no matter what path you choose. But tell me if you need me to tug on some ears. I’ve got them good and scared of me. They’re shakin’ in their boots each time they hear my name.”

The way she cackles has me laughing, and I wave goodbye, thanking her once more before I shut my door.

My drive to the house is easy, and as soon as I park, Griffin is waiting to pull open my door with a hand out to help me stand. I eye it warily, but take it. Talking to them is going to be hard enough, so starting off on the wrong foot doesn’t feel right.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, darlin’?”

His cheesy greeting feels simple, but it’s not. Not really. He must understand because he doesn’t push me any harder once he grabs my bag from the trunk, then follows me inside.

I prepare myself for the assault of stale smoke, so my first few inhales are careful. There’s nothing. It smells clean. Clinical. Disinfected and neutral.

Dropping my shoulders in relief, I take a larger breath and sigh in relief. “It’s gone,” I murmur. Griffin moves to my side and sets my bag on the floor.

“It’s better, that’s for sure. Does the paint smell bother you at all?” He seems worried, so I shake my head.

“Not at all. I can barely smell it. You repainted?” It’s a stupid question because as my eyes fly over the living room, I can see how bright the off-white paint seems. The walls were always tinged yellow from the tar sticking to the sheetrock, but it wasn’t something I paid much attention to until it actually bothered me.

Nodding slowly, his smile is reserved. “We did. Every inch of the house. I know you said we didn’t have to mess with your room, but we washed the walls and flooring in both your bedroom and bathroom, then painted those as well. Mason had his mom wash everything that was left in your drawers and on your bed. She remade it and put clothes back in the dresser, too. We didn’t want you to think we were going through your things without your permission, but it needed cleanin’.”

Looking away from him toward the kitchen, I chew on my cheek, hating that so many people saw the shameful state it was in. “Are they here? Mason and Jaxon? Their trucks were outside.”

“They’re out back. We started a bonfire once you said you wanted to talk. Figured it would help you to be outside, fresh air and everything. Plus, it’s a nice night and you’ll be able to see how clean everything is out there.”

Nodding and feeling quite overwhelmed, I ask, “Can you give me a few minutes? I’ll grab something to drink and head out soon.” My voice is strained as nerves take over, but he doesn’t pressure me by asking if I’m alright.

More serious than I’ve ever seen him, he reaches out, pausing just before the tips of his fingers reach my cheek. “Yeah, darlin’. We’ll be waitin’. We’ll always wait for you.”