Chapter 43
MADDOX
I’m rushing out the door of my parents’ house the minute I see Braxton’s car pull into the driveway, my dad’s truck following close behind. Mom brushes a hand down my back as I sidestep her and duck out the doorway.
I left practice two hours ago, coming straight here after reaching Braxton’s voicemail back to back to back.
Mom didn’t lie to me when I asked where Dad was—I’m not sure if she even knows how to lie, actually—and while I didn’t have proof that Braxton was also in Rose Carpenter’s office, my gut was screaming at me that that’s where she was.
My beautiful, thoughtful, self-sacrificing woman was out there doing just that. Sacrificing herself for me.
It took everything in me not to tear through the Vancouver streets to get to her and stop her from making a mistake. From throwing away her reputation for me and for the shitty people in our lives that have never deserved us in the first place.
I know deep down that no matter what she did or said to Rose that nothing will change the way the fans see things.
Everything is black and white to them. Every decision I make, every game I play—good or embarrassingly awful.
They don’t care about the details or the excuses, and it’s not their job to.
But Braxton doesn’t see things like that. She never has. She sees things in beautiful, vibrant colours. There’s always a reason behind an action or a decision, and when others don’t understand that, it’s a question as to why and how.
Her outlook on life is one of the things I love most about her. It makes Braxton, Braxton. But at times like this? I wish I could convince her to see things through the eyes of others.
And while I may want to shake some sense into her, I also want to run to her and toss her over my shoulder and kiss the hell out of her until we’re both blue in the face.
I need to tell her how grateful I am for her. For her love and unwavering support. There will never be a way to properly thank her for what she’s risked for me today, and I just hope that Dad was able to stop her and bring her back to me—clear and free of the mistakes I fear she could have made.
Her car comes to a jerking stop a handful of feet in front of me, and I plant a hand on the hood before rushing to the driver’s-side door.
She’s already pulling her keys out of the ignition and opening the door when I swing it the rest of the way and dip toward her.
With a hand across her front, I undo her seat belt and haul her out of the car.
“Maddox!” she squeals, surprise flickering in her blue eyes.
I grumble something unintelligible and grab her beneath her thighs, using my grip to pick her up and push her back against the side of the car. She hooks her legs around my back, pulling me close.
“You don’t get to do that,” I huff against her mouth. “You don’t get to just disappear again.” My fingers tingle as I press them deeper into her thighs. “You don’t get to throw away your reputation for me.”
Her hands fold behind my neck, elbows brushing my shoulders. As if it’s possible, she pulls me closer with her legs around my middle.
“You don’t get to tell me what I do and don’t get to do, Dox. When I told you I loved you, I meant it. And me making sacrifices for you—whether you agree with them or not—is just one of the ways I’m willing to show that love. You would have done the exact same thing for me.”
My eyes drift over her face, soaking her in. And fuck me, every time I look at her, she becomes more and more beautiful. How am I supposed to last the rest of forever? I’m already popping a boner at a mere glimpse or thought of her.
“I’m trying to be mad at you,” I murmur, skimming my lips over hers, tasting what’s left of the fruity lip balm she always uses.
“Don’t be mad. It’s over.”
My heart skips in my chest. “It is? I’m so fucking antsy to know what happened, sweetheart. I don’t know how long I can wait to find out, but I also want to bring you to my old bedroom and ravish you on my bed before you tell me all about it.”
Braxton flushes, eyes drifting down to where my mouth is teasing hers. “I always wondered what it would be like to be ravished by you in your bedroom. I used to dream about it, you know?”
Decided, I nip at her lips and hike her up against my front. “Let’s make some dreams come true, then, yeah?”
“Ew! Have you ever heard of PDA, Dox? Because I think you need a lesson on how to calm it down,” Adalyn yells from somewhere behind me.
I swallow a curse and look over my shoulder, spotting her staring at us from the doorway with a finger pointed into her open mouth. Mom and Dad are trying to usher her inside, and by the small, knowing smile on my dad’s face, he was already expecting this reaction from me.
Maybe I should be more embarrassed that my family knows how wild I am for Braxton, but that ship sailed long ago.
Shit, when I was sixteen, I got drunk and told my mom that I was planning on staying a virgin for Braxton, and when Cooper’s dad overheard our conversation, he played it off as something entirely different, not wanting everyone to tease me about it.
It’s been me and Curly Fry since the moment we met in that kindergarten parking lot twenty-one years ago.
I’ve waited for this too long to fear the judgment of others when it comes to her.
“Has your sister ever dated anyone?” Braxton asks softly, clinging to me and pressing her cheek to my chest as I move up the driveway.
“No. And she never will.”
She shakes with a laugh. “You can’t keep her as a little girl forever.”
“I can and I will. God help the first guy she brings home because he might just disappear off the face of the earth one day,” I growl into her hair as we step under the threshold and walk inside.
“Mmhmm. Maybe you’ll actually like him.”
Moving my lips to her, I say, “Fat chance. Now, stop talking about my sister and her potential boyfriend before my cock shrivels up to nothing. I have plans for you that very much involve being hard as a rock.”
“After. We really need to talk about what happened today first, okay? Then you can bring me home and have your wicked, wicked way with me.”
“For you, baby? Anything.”
Let’s get this over with.
Dad lays it all out for me, and I sit between Braxton and Mom on the outdoor couch on the back deck, stunned. The air ripples with my anger, even as I try to reel it in. Disbelief is a nip in my side, but it’s the pain of betrayal that hits the hardest.
“So, she’s changing the article?” I ask slowly.
Dad nods. “And retracting the first one. As long as she keeps up her end of the bargain, nobody will see the photos or learn about the things she does in her free time.”
“And Alex willingly gave you that information? The PI photos and everything? Without something in return?”
“It was the least he could do,” Mom snips, patting my knee.
“And the guy that bugged Braxton’s car? He just gets to get off with no repercussions?” I curl the fingers I have on Braxton’s thigh into the rough material of her jeans.
Dad frowns, looking as displeased by that as I feel. “Rose said she didn’t have a name, and I believe her. I don’t think that if this guy meant to hurt her that he would have just pushed her out of the way.”
A cold sensation slithers through my chest at the idea of what could have happened had the person who broke into her car been intent on really hurting her.
My thigh warms beneath Braxton’s palm, and I turn to her, letting her presence calm me.
“Are you okay with not knowing? Because this is about you, not me or Rose or anyone. I’ll do whatever is necessary to find this guy if that’s what you want,” I say softly.
She smiles at me, head shaking slightly. “I want to forget about it and move on, not drag this out any longer. I believe Rose, and I don’t think I’m in any danger.”
“Okay.” I steal a quick kiss and wrap my arm over her shoulder, pulling her into my side until she’s all but sitting in my lap.
“Now, you need to decide what you want to do next, son. The ball is in your court. Dougie is waiting on your call,” Dad says.
“Tell him that I’ll call him tonight. This is something I have to discuss with Braxton first,” I tell him.
A glimmer of approval lights up Dad’s eyes. “We’ll leave you to it, then. You’re both welcome to stay for dinner too.”
“That would be great,” Braxton replies, and Dad stands, grinning at her.
Mom releases a wobbly breath, squeezing my knee. “I’m proud of you,” she whispers before kissing my cheek and stepping into Dad’s arms as he leads them back into the house, leaving Braxton and me alone.
“Will you come somewhere with me?” I ask her, collecting both of her hands in mine and bringing her knuckles to my lips.
“Anywhere, Dox,” she answers, eyes so soft and warm.
I swiftly pull her up and, with her hands still in mine, tug her down the patio stairs and across the yard. The grass is short, freshly mowed, and the smell of fresh air sparks old memories of days and nights spent out here, just her and me.
Our tree house is tucked off to the side of the yard, in between the side of the house and another massive oak tree that has been here since I was a boy.
A tire swing hangs from one of its thick branches, and I’m sure it hasn’t held the weight of a person in years.
Not since Adalyn was young enough to hide out in here.
The tree house is more worn than it was the last time I wandered off this way, but it’s still the same. The six red-painted pegs are in the truck of the tree leading up to the opening in the house’s base that’s still shut, keeping the animals out that used to try to make the place their own.
Braxton keeps quiet as I lead us to the stepping pegs we used instead of a ladder. My eyes are drawn to the design in the bark of the tree, the one I have tattooed on my chest.
With a warmth settling behind my ribs, I step on the bottom peg, testing whether or not it can still hold my weight. When it does, I move up to the next one and the next before pushing at the door and letting it flop open with a loud creaking noise, dust flying everywhere.
I push my body through the hole in the floor and move inside, looking around the place to make sure there aren’t any surprises before calling down to Braxton to let her know it’s safe to follow me up.
“Are you sure it isn’t going to collapse with us both inside?” she asks, peeking her head inside, inspecting the tree house with a look of pure awe.
“We used to fit six people in here when we were younger, baby girl. I think it can handle it.”
“Okay,” she mutters before setting her palms on the wood and climbing inside.
“Everything is exactly how we left it,” I say, brushing my fingers over the Warriors logo sewn into the blanket covering the window, held up by two nails, one in each corner.
Two beanbag chairs rest beneath the window, one blue and one purple. A shelf of old books is on the wall opposite, decorated with a ceramic bowl of old guitar picks, a stack of chipped hockey pucks, a dirty paint pallet, and a couple of old vinyls.
“How did none of this stuff get ruined?” Braxton mutters.
“Dad must have closed the shutters every winter.”
I avoided this place for years. I never would have noticed if the shutters outside of the window had been left open or closed.
“I didn’t think I would get to see this place again.”
“I didn’t think that I would ever want to,” I reply.
I turn to her, finding her closer than I thought. She moves toward me without saying a word and wraps her arms around me.
“Sit with me,” I whisper, smoothing a hand over her hair.
She nods, and as soon as my ass hits the wood, I pull her onto my lap, biting my tongue at the pleasure that sparks as her centre brushes my cock. Her palms find my chest, and her thumbs make slow, soothing circles there. She smells so good, like a mix of all my favourite things.
“Are you going to enter free agency?” she asks, eyes trapping mine, as if I would dare look away.
I stroke my hand up and down her back. “I think so. It’s time I moved on from the VW.”
She takes in my words, chewing on the inside of her lip as she contemplates them before asking, “Do you remember when we were seventeen and I told you that I couldn’t chase you?”
An overwhelming sense of nostalgia comes over me, along with a mix of bad and good memories. “Yes.”
“Well, I think that things have changed. And while I don’t want to chase you, because I really hate that term, I do want to follow you. Wherever you go, I want to be with you, by your side.”
“What?” I force past the emotion in my throat.
A soft smile tugs at her mouth, and she raises a hand to my face, stroking the line of my jaw. I press into her hold, taking as much from her as I can.
“I want to try something new. I’ve been thinking of attempting a career as a travel vet instead of being hunkered down in one place.
Running my own business isn’t what I thought it would be, and I know it might seem like I’m just scared of you leaving again, but that’s not it.
I mean, that does play some part, but I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I know I won’t be able to follow you everywhere you go, but we’ll still get to travel all over together and—”
“Baby, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Shit, the answer is yes, whatever it is you want to ask me or tell me. It’s yes. Let’s do this,” I interrupt her rambling, my pulse racing.
Her eyelashes flutter over wide eyes. “Really? That’s something you would want? You don’t think it’s too much?”
“Fuck no. If that’s something that will make you happy and that you’re positive about, then absolutely, because nothing would make me happier.”
“Nothing?” She toys with the bottom hem of my shirt, slipping her fingers underneath, above the waistband of my pants. Her smile is coy and fucking sexy as hell, and I resist the urge to suck it right off.
I fit my hands to her waist and slide her up my lap, seating her right on top of my cock as it hardens beneath her. Grinning as she moans, I lean my head against the wall of the tree house and say, “Nothing. Everything else is just icing on the goddamn cake.”
Bringing our foreheads together, she rubs her nose along the side of mine and whispers, “You know, the last time we were sitting here together, I wanted nothing more than to kiss you.”
“Is that right?”
She hums, ghosting her lips over mine. “What do you say we do more than just kiss?”
“I say fuck yes.” And then I kiss her and make another memory in this tree house that I don’t ever plan on forgetting.