Chapter 22 JACE
JACE
They’ve only been gone a day, but I miss them like crazy.
Daisy has been away before, for sleepovers, camps, and school events, but it’s never been like this.
Everything is quieter without them around, tasks I used to find interesting are now mundane, and it’s making me realize just how much Tessa has come to mean to me.
The woman who was just meant to be a placeholder is now wreaking havoc in my heart, and I have no idea what to do with myself.
Beck catches me as I wheel myself out of the kitchen, whistling a tune, chewing on a blade of grass. “You look like a man who just got dumped,” he mocks, leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed.
“Shut up.”
“Why, when teasing you is so much fun? You’ve been a restless mess since they left. They’ll be back tomorrow, but you’re behaving like they’ll be gone for two months,” he remarks.
“You’re enjoying my torment, aren’t you?” I retort.
“Incredibly.”
“Shouldn’t you be focusing on choosing a date for your wedding and not nagging me?” I ask, shifting the conversation back to him.
“Quinn and I ain’t in a hurry. She’s busy with the redevelopment project, so we are happy with a long engagement. We’ll do it after the baby comes,” he explains.
I hum in understanding. Beck has come so far—fighting his addiction, rebuilding his image to a town that hates him, and finding forever with a woman who adores and accepts him with all his flaws. As his big brother, I am very proud of him.
The intercom crackles, interrupting Beck, who was about to say something. Ella’s voice floods the line. “Hey Jace, you got a minute?”
“It depends on what you want,” I reply.
“You’re about to find out. Meet me in your office in five minutes,” she demands, hanging up before I can respond.
Beck smirks at me. “Good luck,” he chuckles, patting my back before swaggering off.
I sigh as I turn my wheelchair around and take the elevator down to the basement. I already know what Ella wants; she’s been hinting at it for days.
“Find someone permanent, Jace.”
“Tessa’s not staying forever.”
Maybe not. But the thought of someone else in that role, sitting at our table, helping Daisy with her schoolwork, reading to her at night? It makes my chest ache in a way I don’t want to name.
Ella sweeps into my office, a mug of tea in one hand and her laptop tucked under the other arm. Her boots squeak against the hardwood before she plops herself onto one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“You’re welcome,” she says, like I’ve already thanked her for something.
“For what?”
“For saving you the trouble of weeks of interviews.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Ella.”
She drops the laptop on my desk, opens it, and spins it toward me. The screen is filled with headshots and bios—young women, middle-aged women, even one man—all smiling too brightly for my taste.
“Nanny-slash-tutor applicants,” she says with a flourish. “I pulled the best candidates with solid credentials, clean backgrounds, and one even trained under Montessori. We can interview them before the week’s out.”
I stare at the screen. “Why the rush?”
She leans back, crossing her legs. “Tessa’s great, but she’s temporary. You said it yourself—she’s only holding the fort until we find someone better, and I have. So, let’s get ahead of it before Daisy gets too attached.”
Too late for that.
I scroll through the profiles anyway, forcing myself to look. Rebecca, twenty-nine, degree in early childhood education. Maya, thirty-one, bilingual, loves horses. Cara, twenty-four, experienced tutor, references attached.
They all blur together—neat smiles, polished resumes, lists of achievements that mean nothing to me. None of them are her.
Ella watches me, chin resting in her hand. “You’ve rejected six already.”
“They’re not a good fit.”
“For Daisy?” she asks, eyebrow raised. “Or for you?”
I shoot her a look. “Don’t start.”
“Oh, I’m already in the middle of it.” She sits forward, eyes softening.
“Jace, I’m not blind. You light up when she walks into a room, and don’t think we’ve missed the hickeys you leave on each other.
” She holds her hand up to stop me from interrupting her.
“Daisy finally has a mother figure in her life since Opal passed, and I know you like that. You can keep pretending she’s just an employee, but we both know better. ”
I shove the laptop shut a little harder than I mean to.
Ella sighs, tone gentler now. “You deserve to be happy too, you know. It’s not a betrayal to move on.”
Her words twist in my chest. I want to tell her she’s wrong, that love only brings loss, that getting attached only gives the universe more to take, but my throat closes around the words. It’s been seven years since I lost Opal, so maybe it’s time to finally move on.
Instead of telling her that, I just say, “Thanks for the list. I’ll think about it.”
She smirks. “Translation: you won’t look at it again.”
“Good guess.”
She stands and gives me a gentle smile. “You’re a stubborn man, Jace Morgan. Just don’t wait until she’s gone to figure it out.”
After she leaves, I sit staring at the blank laptop screen, thinking about Tessa’s laugh, her stubbornness, her quiet strength. And for the first time, I admit it—not out loud, not even in a whisper, but inside, where the truth can’t hide.
I’m in love with her.
There is no more denying it. The past couple of weeks, since my surprise birthday party, have been incredible.
Now I know what it feels like to have her in my life—love her, hold her, fuck her—and I don’t want to let her go.
She was supposed to be temporary, but now I find myself wanting to hold on and never let go.
Question is, will she want to stay? Does she share the same feelings I do?
She has so much baggage and a lot of secrets that are holding her back.
But our future cannot remain uncertain forever, which is why as soon as she’s back, we are sitting down and having a long talk about the next steps in our relationship.
With that thought in mind, I get back to work, busying my mind to stop myself from thinking of her.
The storm rolls in after dinner. Clouds stack heavily over the ridge until the whole sky turns the color of bruised steel. Before long, thunder rumbles in the distance, just as it starts raining. The power flickers once, then steadies.
Already done with my work for the day, I retire to the living room and pour myself a drink, enjoying the warmth from the fireplace. Everyone else has retired for the night, which allows room for my thoughts to soar.
I keep thinking about Ella’s words—Don’t wait until she’s gone to figure it out.
The words hit hard, sharp in the chest, but there’s peace in it too. For the first time in years, I want something more than survival. I want her—here, in this house, in my life, beside my daughter.
I can see it so clearly, it scares me.
All of a sudden, the lights go out, and the entire house goes dark. The power cuts out sometimes during heavy rain, but the generators should’ve kicked in by now. They always do. Only today, they don’t. I checked them earlier, and they were working fine.
A cold unease curls through me.
I set the glass down and grab my flashlight from the drawer near the fireplace, flicking it on. The beam slices through the dark. “Beck?” I call out. My voice sounds wrong in the quiet, too loud, too human.
Nothing.
“Beck? Ella? Dad?”
No answer, but rain and thunder.
Then, faintly, I hear the crunch of gravel outside.
My pulse spikes, and I move toward the front door, boots silent against the floor.
I flick off the flashlight and let my eyes adjust to the dark.
The rain is still coming down hard, but between the thunder and wind, I swear I hear footsteps—too steady and deliberate.
I grab a handgun from the drawer beneath the console table. The weight in my palm steadies me.
“Beck? Dad?” I call again, quieter now.
A faint thud answers from somewhere upstairs, followed by another, and then a loud crash as glass shatters, furniture slamming against the floorboards.
Ella’s scream slices through the noise, high and raw. I don’t think, I just move.
My boots hit the stairs hard, two at a time. The flashlight beam cuts through flashes of lightning spilling in through the windows. Beck’s door flies open just as I reach the landing; he’s already armed, wide awake, Dad right behind him.
“Ella!” I bark.
There’s another crash, closer this time. The hallway feels endless as we sprint toward the sound. My heartbeat is a steady roar in my ears. I’ve felt this before, in the field, in ambush zones where one wrong step could get you killed.
Only this time, it’s home, and my sister is screaming. What follows is pure chaos.
“Move!” I bark, charging forward.
Dad flanks left, Beck covers right, and I go straight down the middle, toward the sound of Ella’s scream.
My flashlight beam cuts across the room just in time to see a masked man yank her toward the window. She’s fighting like hell—kicking, clawing, her hair wild around her face.
“Get your hands off her!”
I tackle him from behind. We crash hard into the dresser, wood splintering beneath the impact.
He swings an elbow into my ribs, landing a solid hit, but adrenaline’s already taken over.
I grab his arm and twist until I hear the pop of his shoulder giving out, then drive my fist into his jaw. He goes limp.
Another one rushes me from the side, but Beck’s faster—with a single, clean shot. The man drops before he can reach us.
Dad grabs Ella, pulling her behind him. “You okay?”
She nods, shaky. “Y-yeah.”
The third man lunges from the shadows. I spin just as he brings a knife down.
It catches my sleeve, grazes skin—it’s shallow, but enough to piss me off.
I slam him back against the wall, the drywall cracking under the force.
He swings again, desperate, but I duck, pin him, and drive my forearm into his throat.
His breath gurgles out, then he goes still.
For a moment, the only sounds are Ella’s ragged breathing and the rain hammering the roof.
“Clear?” Beck asks, voice low.
“Clear,” Dad answers, sweeping his weapon toward the window.
I check pulses, but there’s nothing. All three intruders are down.
Ella’s shaking so hard she can barely stand. I pull her into my chest, holding her there until her breathing evens out. “You’re safe. You hear me? You’re safe now.”
Her fingers clutch the fabric of my shirt, and when she finally looks up, her eyes are wide, terrified. “They said—they said they were here for her.”
My stomach turns cold. “Who?”
“Tessa,” she whispers.
The name hits like a punch.
Dad swears under his breath. Beck’s already moving, grabbing one of the dead men’s phones. He taps the screen, the glow cutting through the dark. “Encrypted messages. Look—“
For half a second, a name flashes on the lock screen before the phone shuts itself off.
Richard Kane.
I freeze. My hand tightens around the flashlight until my knuckles ache. It’s him. Tessa’s former boss. I don’t need proof to know he’s the man she’s been running from, and he’s finally found her. And if he’s bold enough to send men here, then my whole family is in danger.
But if Kane thinks he can touch what’s mine, if he thinks he can use my family to get to her, he’s got no idea who he’s dealing with.
I step toward the balcony, just as Zane rushes in, shotgun in hand. “I heard gunshots!”
Beck points to one of the men, bleeding all over the floor from where he shot him.
“I can’t believe y’all didn’t invite me to the party,” Zane remarks when he realizes we have everything handled.
He pulls Ella in for a hug as she explains what has happened.
“What now? Who is this Richard guy, and what does he want with Tessa?” Beck asks.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” I reply as my thoughts go to Tessa. “But he’s made a big mistake coming after her. He wanted a war, and now he’s got one.”