Chapter 10 No Safe Place #2
Jax shook his head with an amused smile.
"I feel judged."
"You should."
The easy laughter surprised them both.
It came naturally now.
Neither of them needed to force conversation anymore.
Silence no longer felt awkward.
It felt comfortable.
Safe.
After cleaning the dishes together, they carried two mugs of coffee onto the front porch.
A pair of old rocking chairs overlooked the lake while crickets sang from somewhere in the surrounding woods.
Jax leaned back and watched the moonlight dance across the water.
"I used to come here after Dad died."
Julian looked toward him.
"Every weekend."
"I'd sit right here."
"And do what?"
"Nothing."
He smiled faintly.
"I thought if I stayed long enough..."
"...I'd eventually figure everything out."
"Did you?"
"No."
They both laughed quietly.
"I mostly learned that grief doesn't care where you sit."
Julian nodded slowly.
"I've been learning the same lesson."
Several peaceful moments passed before Jax spoke again.
"What do you actually want?"
Julian looked confused.
"From life."
Jax clarified.
"Not work."
"Not survival."
"You."
The question lingered.
No one had asked Julian that in years.
He stared out over the lake before answering.
"I want to wake up excited to go to work."
"I want to help people."
"But I don't want my entire life to disappear inside my job."
He paused thoughtfully.
"I want a home that feels lived in."
"A kitchen where someone complains about my terrible coffee."
Jax smiled.
"I thought you made good coffee."
"I don't."
"I just buy expensive beans."
That earned another laugh.
Julian continued.
"I want someone waiting for me after bad shifts."
"Someone who understands why I might not feel like talking."
"Someone who doesn't expect me to always be the strong one."
His voice softened.
"I think I've spent so much time taking care of everyone else..."
"...that I forgot what it feels like to be taken care of."
Jax understood immediately.
"I know that feeling."
Julian turned toward him.
"What about you?"
Jax leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I want to keep the garage."
"Not because it's all I have."
"Because I actually love the work."
He smiled toward the distant lights reflecting across the lake.
"I'd like to hire more apprentices."
"Teach kids who need a second chance."
"My father did that."
"I'd like people to remember Cooper Auto for that too."
Julian nodded.
"I can see that."
Jax grew quiet again.
"And..."
He hesitated.
"I'd like to stop being afraid."
Julian watched him carefully.
"Afraid of what?"
Jax laughed softly without humor.
"That answer would take all night."
"We've got time."
The mechanic looked toward the stars.
"I've spent years worrying about disappointing people."
"My father."
"The town."
"My customers."
"My employees."
"Myself."
He rubbed one hand across the back of his neck.
"After a while..."
"You stop asking what you want."
"You only ask what everyone else expects."
Julian understood far too well.
"So what do you want?"
Jax looked directly at him.
"This."
Julian blinked.
"The cabin?"
"You."
The single word settled gently between them.
"No pretending."
"No hiding."
"No looking over my shoulder."
Jax smiled quietly.
"I don't know what this becomes."
"I don't know how we get there."
"But I know..."
He paused.
"...I don't want to imagine my future anymore without you somewhere in it."
Julian felt emotion tighten his chest.
"You make it sound so simple."
"It isn't."
"I know."
Julian looked down into his coffee.
"I've been trying to convince myself this is just attraction."
Jax waited.
"It stopped being that a long time ago."
Julian admitted.
"I look for you after every difficult call."
"I think about telling you things before I think about telling anyone else."
"When something good happens..."
"...you're the first person I want to share it with."
He laughed quietly.
"I don't even know when that happened."
Jax smiled.
"I think I do."
"When?"
"The night you stayed after Rig Four overheated."
Julian shook his head.
"No."
"I think it happened before that."
"When I saw you standing in the rain."
"You looked completely miserable."
"I remember thinking..."
He smiled to himself.
"...I hope he's alright."
Jax laughed softly.
"You fell for me because I looked miserable?"
"I never claimed to have good judgment."
The porch filled with quiet laughter.
Eventually it faded into comfortable silence once more.
Without thinking, Julian reached across the small table separating them.
His hand rested lightly over Jax's.
This time neither of them questioned it.
Jax turned his hand over slowly until their fingers naturally intertwined.
No urgency.
No desperation.
Just quiet certainty.
"We're probably making everything more complicated."
Julian whispered.
"Probably."
"You regret it?"
Jax answered immediately.
"No."
"You?"
Julian looked at their joined hands.
"Not for a second."
The simplicity of the answer carried more meaning than either of them could have expressed in longer speeches.
They stayed on the porch until the coffee turned cold and the fire burned low.
Eventually Jax stood.
"We should head back."
Reality waited for them.
Ashcroft.
Station 6.
Cooper Auto.
The investigation.
The town that seemed to notice everything.
The drive home passed mostly in peaceful silence.
Neither man felt the need to fill it.
The memories of the cabin lingered warmly between them.
As they entered town, the familiar streets gradually replaced forests and open water.
Jax turned onto the road leading toward Cooper Auto.
Something immediately caught his attention.
A dark-colored sedan sat parked across the street.
Its headlights remained off.
The engine was running.
Julian frowned.
"Do you know them?"
Jax slowed the truck.
"I can't tell."
The vehicle was positioned beneath the shadow of an old oak tree, making it impossible to identify the driver through the windshield.
For several long seconds, neither vehicle moved.
Then, as if the unseen driver realized they had been noticed, the sedan's headlights suddenly flashed on.
The engine revved.
Without hesitation, the car pulled away from the curb and accelerated toward Main Street.
"Did you see the plate?"
Julian asked.
Jax shook his head.
"No."
"It happened too fast."
Within moments the taillights disappeared around the corner, leaving only an empty stretch of road behind.
Neither man spoke.
Jax slowly pulled into the garage parking lot.
The building looked exactly as they had left it that morning.
Locked.
Quiet.
Dark.
Yet the uneasy feeling remained.
Someone had been there.
Waiting.
Watching.
Whether they had been watching the garage...
Or watching the two of them...
Neither man could say.
But as they stood together beneath the security lights outside Cooper Auto Repair, one truth became impossible to ignore.
The mystery surrounding the sabotage had entered a far more dangerous phase.
And whoever was working against them now knew exactly where to find them.
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