Rules

Chapter Seven

Gossip and news traveled fast.

Super-fast.

Axel didn’t even need to be part of any conversation to know they were having one about him.

He got to work, though, and organized the men to do their jobs.

He wanted to get a move on with his project, especially as he was now behind, which he didn’t like.

He prided himself on always being on time.

He worked his ass off to complete projects within the specified time period, without losing integrity and quality of his work.

With the kitchen back to square one, he had no choice but to hire a few more hands to help him get the kitchen back up to spec. This time, he kept a close eye on the men and women working.

By lunchtime, he was already exhausted, but he was also anxious to see Joey.

This was going to be the first time she was the subject of town gossip.

He was used to it. People often talked about him behind his back, and he didn’t give a shit.

There had been a few comments here or there about him and Joey—the banter that came with work—but it wasn’t anything disrespectful.

And as the guys left to go and grab lunch, Axel opted to stay behind, get a few more things wired up, and eat his lunch on the job. He hated to do that, because he liked to separate his lunch and work, but when a job fell behind, he was not willing to stop until he brought it back on track.

At the sound of a car approaching, he had no choice but to make his way outside, while taking a bite of his sandwich.

He recognized the man the moment he arrived. It was Marshall Sinclair, Joey’s father.

Axel hadn’t spent a lot of time near fathers, as he’d never been in any kind of relationship.

“Can I help you, Mr. Sinclair?” Axel asked, stepping off the main porch and closing the distance between himself and Marshall.

“You know that word is going around town you’ve spent the night at my daughter’s?” Marshall asked.

“I’m aware of the gossip, sir.” Again, this was a good stance to take. Being respectful. That was all he could be.

“And?” Marshall folded his arms and leaned against the hood of his car.

“And it’s true. I stayed the night, and Joey and I are together.”

Marshall chuckled. “Sorry, but I have to say this, son, you have never dated anyone.”

“I know that, and Joey is different.”

The man before him raised a brow, and he had to wonder why men went through this. Fathers-in-law were scary as fuck. Marshall was protective of his little girl. Axel understood it. He was the first guy since George to show an interest.

“Different?” Marshall asked.

“I’m not going to hurt her, sir.”

“And yet, you never stick around to pick up the pieces. My daughter doesn’t just have herself to consider. She has Adeline.”

Axel nodded.

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, and I don’t want Joey getting hurt. She has been through enough, and I am sure you are aware of what she went through prior to Adeline’s arrival?”

“I know,” Axel said.

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“The fact Joey got hurt does bother me. I’m not going to pretend I know what I’m doing.

The truth is, sir, I don’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing.

I tried to stay away from her, but I like being around her.

She’s an amazing woman, and she makes me smile and laugh.

Even now, I want to go see her and make sure she’s having a good day.

I get that news travels fast, and my reputation is not the best. I have no intention of hurting her. ”

“I thought you had a set of rules.” Okay, the floor could open him up and swallow him whole. Axel wouldn’t mind.

“They were dumb, and with all due respect, I broke every one of them the first time with Joey,” he said.

Marshall looked at him. “If you’re serious about this, and you have no plans to hurt my little girl, then my wife wanted me to extend an invitation to you for Sunday. Be warned, Joey is going to freak out, so it would be up to you if you told her or not.” He smiled at him.

Axel didn’t like this. Should he keep a secret from Joey?

“What did you do, sir?” Axel asked.

He was going to need advice, because he hadn’t dated anyone ever.

Not even in high school. It had always been about the chase, which is what he had seen his own father do.

He’d not seen his dad with his mom, as he had died in childbirth.

From what his Uncle Rick had told him, his dad had been a completely different person, and now he wished he had been able to see him.

“I did whatever my potential future father-in-law said. After all, he owned a couple of shotguns and knives, and was more than happy to take any son of a bitch hunting. Accidents happen like that all the time, you know.”

That threat was well and truly real.

He held his hand up and even offered a smile.

He finished his sandwich, and there was still some time left on his lunch break, so he climbed onto his bike and took off, heading toward his Uncle Rick, who was at the bar.

This time, he wasn’t outside cleaning up mess, but with it being nearly afternoon, he would have done that this morning.

“I wondered when you were going to show up,” Uncle Rick said from behind the bar, where he was filling up the fridge with more bottles of beer.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Is this about that rumor where you were caught with a certain Joey Sinclair? I knew that was going to happen. The way the two of you were looking at each other the other night, I just knew it was destiny or fate, or something like that. So, what do you need me for?” Uncle Rick asked.

“Her father has just invited me to dinner on Sunday, and he has also suggested I not tell Joey about it. What should I do?”

“Tell me everything.”

He told his uncle everything, including the threat, which his uncle found rather funny. Axel didn’t find it funny. It was not something to laugh about.

“Why do you find this funny?”

“Any other girl, and you would have declined it. Joey must be special.”

“She is special,” Axel said. “I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“Slow down and stop panicking. You’re not going to fuck anything up.”

Axel couldn’t help but start pacing, as he felt completely in the dark about this. “I have no idea what I am going to do.”

“First, you’re going to the dinner on Sunday?” Uncle Rick asked.

“Yeah, of course. I am not going to miss it. It would give the wrong impression.”

“Then, do as Marshall said. Personally, I wouldn’t piss him off. I’ve heard he’s one hell of a shot, and he never misses a target. This could be a test for you.” Uncle Rick shrugged.

Yeah, it was going to be some test.

****

It had been a busy week. With the kids returning to normal next week with school, the coffee shop had seemed busier than usual. Everyone was getting the last bits of shopping ready for school, and it meant a lot of busy, harassed-looking moms and dads, just wanting a nice strong coffee.

Joey loved how busy it was, but she also got a lot of questions. She was asked about Axel, and she had no idea what to say. She was asked if they were dating, how long that had been going on. One nosy person even asked if Adeline was Axel’s. That one had come as a shock.

Then, of course, every single night, Axel was at the coffee shop, where he would say hi to her and talk to Adeline.

Each night, he would come around, and they had enjoyed dinner together every day.

Axel didn’t go home. In fact, he had packed some clothes in a bag and had even put them in her wardrobe, which she didn’t mind.

They would sit together, watching a movie, until Adeline was too tired and had to either be carried or marched to bed.

She insisted on Axel carrying her, and he didn’t seem to mind, as he tucked her into bed.

Even though she was nine years old, she had insisted on Axel reading her a book. It was cute.

Each morning, they would wake up, and Adeline would talk with Axel about everything and anything.

Joey would cook breakfast, and they would go to work.

There was a time Adeline had asked if she could go with Axel, but he had told her it wasn’t safe to do so.

A building site was not a place to have a young kid.

The nights Adeline was fast asleep were when she and Axel could make up for lost time. He had been stepping up his use of anal toys, filling her ass as he took care of her pussy at the same time.

She wasn’t bored. Their relationship was like fire.

Now it was Sunday, and Axel had gone home, which meant she was able to travel to her parents’ house. She had been able to avoid them all week. They had odd appointments, and they hadn’t been able to take Adeline all week, not that she minded. Axel and Adeline got along so well.

Arriving at her parents’ house, she frowned the moment she recognized Ashley’s car.

Her sister had been calling her nonstop all week.

Not that it was any different from any other week.

But, if her sister was here for family lunch, then that had to mean her parents were up to something.

Her sister only came back for juicy gossip.

Ashley didn’t have a problem coming back to her old town, but it was a couple of hours between home and the city, and driving tended to exhaust her.

“Auntie Ashley is here,” Adeline said, climbing out of the car, letting Princess out as well.

Princess was a dream and quickly ran around the back of her parents’ house, where she would spend a lot of time in the sun, or playing.

That was another thing, Axel didn’t mind taking walks with the dog.

Adeline and Axel had gotten into a morning routine where they quickly took Princess around the block.

Sometimes at work, Axel would stop by and take Princess and Adeline around to the park for thirty minutes, then bring them back.

It had been a surreal kind of week.

Ashley came out of her parents’ front door, opened her arms, and immediately swung Adeline up into the air.

“Oh, my, you have grown. What have I told you, Miss Sinclair, that you have to stop growing while I’m away. I have banned all kind of child growth, and now I am going to have to tickle you as punishment.”

Adeline burst out laughing as Ashley tickled her niece until Adeline couldn’t take it anymore.

“I will let you go this time, but you keep growing and I will not allow the tickling to stop,” Ashley said.

Adeline ran into the house, and Joey stood on the main porch with her arms folded. “You want to tell me why you’re here?” Joey asked.

“You know, a simple hug, and ‘wow, big sis, you’re looking sexy as fuck in your jeans and shirt. Are those tits real?’ Uh, yes, they are. I have not had any work done on these bad boys,” Ashley said, pointing at her tits.

Joey rolled her eyes, made her way toward her sister, and gave her a hug. “How are you?”

“You know, I’m fine. Working hard all the damn time.”

“It’s good we’re talking about you. What do you know?” Joey asked.

“I don’t know anything,” Ashley said.

“Come on, clearly something is happening.”

“You’re paranoid.” Ashley threw her arm around Joey’s shoulder. “You know, sex is good for you. You’ve got this glow, but...” She clicked her tongue. “It’s made you very paranoid.”

They walked into her parents’ home, and her mother was there, pulling her in for a hug. Her suspicions were raised.

Her father pulled her in for a cuddle as well. Ashley was not too far away, so he had both arms across their shoulders and was hugging them tightly.

“My two girls. You two are not going to change, are you?”

“Dad, come on, you’re embarrassing us,” Ashley said. “Besides, I’m like thirty-five, I am never going to change. I’m kind of like you, old and stuck in my ways.”

“Do not call me old,” their father said.

They both laughed.

“I was thinking I might need to start considering Botox,” Ashley said.

Their father tutted and left them alone. Once aging was mentioned, their father was out of there.

Ashley laughed. “I am going to help Mom.”

Adeline was out in the yard, and Joey was about to make her way to the kitchen to help with dinner, when there was a knock at the door.

She made her way toward her parents’ front door, wondering who it could be, and as she opened it, she had a sneaking suspicion about who was behind that door.

There was only one person that would bring Ashley home early, especially if she was working on a big case.

Axel stood on the opposite side of the door. She looked at him, a little taken aback.

“Hey,” he said, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Don’t be so rude, Joey,” her father said. “I invited him, as did your mother. It’s good to see you.”

She should have seen this coming. Her parents meddling in her love life. It was what they liked to do. They were going to grill Axel. She felt so sorry for him, because they had brought in her sister, who happened to be a lawyer, and a damn good one.

Her father pulled Axel inside and gave him a slap on the back.

Not only did Axel have flowers for her mother, but had also brought a bottle of good quality scotch for her father. Clearly, he knew what he was doing.

Joey wanted to get him alone and warn him, but right on cue, her sister was there, as was her mother, taking her away from him and leaving him on his own.

Her dad owned a couple of shotguns and hunting knives.

He had given the same warning to George, and it was probably why she had married him.

That hadn’t gone well, and she knew her dad had wanted to hurt George after what he did to her.

Joey had to convince him to let her handle it.

It was hard, seeing the pain and anger in her father’s face.

He had taken care of her for so long, and when she had woken up in the hospital, she knew he blamed himself.

Axel wasn’t like George. He was a good guy. Sweet and kind.

“This is going to be a fun meal, isn’t it?” Ashely asked.

“You knew!”

“Of course I knew. As soon as someone told Mom and Dad, I knew. You should have known your little tryst wasn’t going to stay a secret forever. This is one of the many reasons I left town.”

That, and she was a kick-ass lawyer who was headhunted.

“So, you and Axel, huh?” Ashley asked.

“Don’t.”

“What? I was wondering if he was even going to show.” Ashley let out a little squeal and then nudged her shoulder. “Come on, Axel, the guy that had nothing to do with anyone, has turned up for a family dinner, and you’re not a little excited about that?”

Joey smiled. It was kind of nice that he actually showed up.