Chapter Twenty-Two
Jax grumbled her way through the next couple of days. She was so angry at her sister for keeping the truth from her. It wasn’t
as if Ryleigh had some random accidental encounter. Instead, everything had been deliberate. She’d applied for a job, had
driven down to San Diego, had the interview, then driven home. All without saying a word!
They were supposed to be tight—they weren’t just sisters, they were best friends. But here she was—keeping life-altering information
secret.
Jax knew that under her pissy mood was a whole lot of hurt she didn’t want to acknowledge. Okay, maybe she hadn’t been totally
supportive but how could Ryleigh keep this from her?
She slammed books when she put them on the counter, snapped at other drivers when she ran errands and accidentally stepped
on the new cat’s tail. The latter made him squeal and her feel like crap. Ramon flew over and glared at her.
“Careful!” he instructed.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” She sank onto a chair and held out her hand. “Forgive me?”
Ramon studied her before flying over and landing.
“Pretty is as pretty does.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. “Do you even know what that means?”
“Ask Huckleberry.”
Jax stared at him. “Who’s Huckleberry?”
“Ask Huckleberry.”
With that, he flew away. She got up and continued putting books on the shelves. When she spotted the cat, she walked over
and apologized again.
“I’m sorry. I’m in a mood and wasn’t looking where I was going.” She crouched down and held out her hand. She was pleased
when he moved close and rubbed against her.
“Thank you for forgiving me. I’ll be more careful in the future.” She scratched behind his ears, then asked, “Are you Huckleberry?”
The cat only purred.
Fences mended, she returned to work. A few minutes later a woman she didn’t know walked over to her and smiled.
“Is the work here done?” she asked. “It looks done. Or close. You’re nearly finished, right?”
“You mean the construction work?”
“Yes. Because if that’s the case, there’s only one job between me and when Marcus and his team can start. I’ve been waiting
nearly seven months for him to find time to remodel my kitchen, which is two months longer than I thought it would be, and
I have to tell you, I’m slowly losing my mind.”
Jax offered her a sympathetic smile, all the while wondering what she was talking about.
“You had to wait for Marcus and his team to start the job?”
The woman stared at her as if she was crazy. “Of course. Everyone does. He’s in high demand, so once he agrees to the project,
you go into a queue. A job like this one ties up a lot of his resources.”
“That makes sense,” Jax said, then added, “Yes, they’re just wrapping up a few details here. Most of his guys are already working on the next job.”
“Thank goodness.” The woman sighed. “I’ll call him and see if I can get an exact date and hope there isn’t another months-long
delay!”
Jax watched her leave. Why had there been a months-long . . .
“No,” she breathed. It couldn’t be that her job had taken several months, could it? When she’d first discovered the water
damage, she’d had to ask around to find a new contractor. Her usual guy had retired. Marcus had come highly recommended, so
she’d contacted him. He’d been out the next day, had given her a bid by the end of that week and had started a mere two weeks
later.
Had he pushed her job to the front of the line? And if so, why?
She had a chance to get her answer later that afternoon when Marcus showed up. He crossed to her and smiled.
“How’s it going?”
“I’m crabby about my sister. I accidentally stepped on the cat’s tail, which I feel awful about, but he’s forgiven me, and
I think Ramon wants to call him Huckleberry. Did you push me to the front of the line?”
Marcus held up his hands in the shape of a T. “That was a little too much information all at once. Let’s take this one thing
at a time. You have every right to be mad at your sister. She was wrong not to tell you things had progressed to the point
where she was going on an interview.”
“I know, right? It’s huge.” But even as she spoke, she started to feel her pissiness slip away and sadness take its place.
“What if she leaves? What if I lose her?”
“You won’t lose her. She’ll always be your sister and you’ll always love her.”
“But things will be different and I don’t like that. I want her here.”
Marcus didn’t say anything. Jax glared at him. “You’re not taking her side, are you?”
“There aren’t any sides.”
“This is not the time to be rational. This is the time to agree with everything I say.”
His mouth curved up in a smile. “Do you mean that?”
“No, but it felt good to say it.” She sighed. “I know, I know. She deserves a life. She deserves to be happy. She wants a
husband and a family. I get that. I just don’t know why she can’t have it here.”
“Maybe she can.”
“We’ve discussed this. There aren’t a lot of options.” She thought about Ryleigh’s unexpected confession about being in love
with Alex. If only he would fall for her, all Jax’s problems would be solved.
“I want her to be happy,” Jax said, “But I need her to be happy here!”
He put his arm around her. “I think in your heart you need her to be happy wherever she is and you’ll love her no matter what.”
“I don’t think I’m that nice.”
He lightly kissed her. “You are.”
“Maybe. But right now I’m still grumpy.”
“Did Ramon tell you the cat’s name is Huckleberry?”
“Not in those words. He told me to go ask Huckleberry and I don’t know anyone by that name, which leaves the cat.”
“I was hoping we could just call him The Cat, but Huckleberry works, too. What else?”
She looked into his blue eyes. “Some lady came in and wanted to know if the job here was done. She’s been waiting seven months
for a kitchen remodel, which is months longer than she expected. Do you have a wait list? Did you move me to the front of
the line?”
“Yes.”
She shrugged out of his embrace and moved to face him.
“Yes to both questions?”
He nodded.
She tried to figure out what he meant. “Because we talked and you gave me a bid and then started work in two weeks.”
“I know.” His smile turned sexy. “I wanted to impress you.”
“But I would have waited.”
“I didn’t want that. Waiting meant I couldn’t spend time here, getting to know you.”
She blinked at him. “You made other customers wait because you like me?”
“Uh-huh. Consider it a perk of our relationship.”
“I feel mild guilt about cutting in line.”
“You didn’t. It was my decision. And aren’t you happy the work is done?”
“Very.” She stepped close and pressed her hands to his chest. “Thank you for wanting to impress me.”
“Anytime.”
“I’m looking forward to our dinner next week.”
“Monday,” he clarified. “Our dinner is Monday.”
She held in a smile. “You don’t want to wait until Thursday or the weekend?”
“Monday,” he repeated, his gaze intense. “Dinner.”
She raised herself up on tiptoe and lightly kissed him. “And breakfast,” she murmured. “Should I buy condoms?”
“I already have them waiting.”
“I like a man who’s prepared.”
“I’m still so mad at her,” Ryleigh fumed as she paced back and forth in Alex’s law office. She had the brief thought that
her shorts and T-shirt were slightly out of place here, but was too wound up to care. She’d been alternating between angry
and hurt, but right now the fury was winning.
“She doesn’t respect me,” she ranted. “She only thinks about herself.”
“You know that’s not true,” Alex said mildly. “She loves you and she’s one of your biggest fans.”
“Maybe, but she isn’t supporting me on this. It’s my life. I get to decide, not her.”
“It is your decision, but every choice you make has consequences. Jax wants the best for you, but right now she can’t see
past how much she’s going to miss you. The two of you have always been tight. You’re best friends. After all these years,
you’re changing the rules. Worse, you kept your interview from her, so not only is she worried about losing you, now she’s
afraid she can’t trust you.”
Ryleigh spun to face him. “That’s not fair! You’re supposed to take my side.”
“Not when you’re wrong.”
He spoke mildly, but she still felt the ouch all the way to her toes. “I’m not the bad guy.”
He didn’t say anything.
“I get to move if I want,” she mumbled.
“Yes, you do, but we’re all going to miss you.”
She was going to miss them as well. She couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing Jax whenever she wanted, of not being around
as Gentry, Xander and Noah grew and changed, and Alex. She had a bad feeling he would be the hardest to leave.
She looked at him, wondering what he was thinking. Did he have any feelings for her beyond friendship? She knew he enjoyed
the sex—he couldn’t possibly be faking his enthusiasm. Plus he’d been the one to suggest they have sex in the first place.
No, the sex wasn’t the issue, but what becoming his lover had revealed about her own heart.
“This is hard,” she said, sinking into the visitor chair. “I don’t like it.”
“You have to do what’s right for you.”
She glared at him. “You don’t want to beg me to stay?”
“I won’t do that, Ryleigh. I won’t get between you and what makes you happy.”
“But what if I don’t know the right answer?”
“I can’t help you with that.”
He could, she thought. He could tell her he was crazy about her. That would make her decision-making a whole lot easier. But
he obviously wasn’t going to, and so it was all on her.
Jax waited until Ryleigh was a couple of hours into her shift at the bookstore then sought out her sister, who was busy shelving
the latest cozy mystery releases. She stood in the aisle until her sister looked at her. For a second, neither of them spoke.
“I don’t want to fight,” Jax said at last. “I’m sorry I wasn’t supportive, but this is hard for me. I don’t want to lose you.”
Ryleigh hugged her. “I don’t want to be lost. I’m not dying, I’m just thinking about moving to San Diego. And you were right
to be mad at me. I should have told you about the interview.”
“That hurt me,” she said as she stepped back.