Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
JAX
M adison and Zoey stood next to my truck by the forest Austin and I had been running around in since we were kids.
They were wearing ginormous white coveralls that I was getting a kick out of. Madison’s eyes dropped to my chest, and she raised her brows in a sexy challenge, making me want to throw her in the back of my truck, and finish what we’d started last night.
“I can’t go running in a muddy forest in these.” Zoey lifted her booted foot. “We need different shoes.”
I pulled down my tailgate, grabbed a duffel bag, and tossed it on the ground. “See if you can find something in there.”
I leaned back on my truck as Madison and Zoey tore through the bag. A few seconds later, Zoey was sporting an old pair of brown work boots as Madison pulled on a pair of flip-flops. Slim pickings in my bag of crap, but if she could run in tap shoes, I was sure she had the balls to take on the forest in flip-flops.
“Well, this blows.” Madison looked down at her feet in my size twelve flip-flops, which had spent the summer in my fishing boat.
Her nose crinkled up. “Are you sure there’s nothing else I can wear?”
“Nope.” I liked her sexy red toenails. “You’re just lucky it’s a nice day.”
Austin walked over. “Are we ready?”
Zoey shrugged. “Maybe.” It was a dare, not a question.
Austin led the way into the woods. “Each team has a flag that I’ve hung on a tree about two hundred yards ahead. Jax and I have the cheetah flag because we’re badass, and you girls have the parakeet flag.” He nodded. “I think we all know why that is.”
“ Why is that?” Madison put her hands on her hips.
He chuckled. “Because you’re not a badass, that’s why.”
Zoey shook her head. “Whatever.”
“The goal is to get your team’s flag and take Jax and me out. That’s not likely, but it should be fun for you New Yorkers.” He gave me a high-five. “We’ll start by the truck, and since you’re beginners, without a shot in hell of actually winning, you can get hit six times before you’re dead.”
Zoey shook her head. “I must’ve heard you wrong, because we don’t need any special treatment.”
“Uh, Jax and I hunt everything. You do need special treatment.”
Austin and Zoey walked away as I grabbed Madison by the waist. “I’ll give you special treatment.”
She harsh-whispered me. “Shhh!”
I passed out paintball guns and goggles to everyone, and purposely put multi-colored jelly balls in each of them. I wanted to have a little fun, and this way, the colors would not indicate who shot who. You know it; my halo is held up by pitchforks.
“When I say go, it’s on.”
Zoey giggled. “Now those words I understand.”
Austin did a double take at Zoey. Unfortunately, I recognized the look on his face far too well.
“Go!” I took off, following Austin. Jogging backward, I turned to see Madison running the other way. I took a shot at her sweet ass, which now had a purple paint mark on it. I saw her jump, turn around, and flip me the bird. More fun than I ever imagined.
I saw a paintball zip past me and turned to see Zoey on my tail. I hopped behind a large oak, waited, and got her in the back when she passed.
“Rat bastard!”
I took off in the other direction, heading toward the area with the flags. I looked ahead to see Austin get hit three times in the chest and cursing up a storm. Apparently, Madison wasn’t messing around. I snuck a peek at her from behind a shrub, and she looked a little bad-assy with her gun. Well, until her flip-flop flew off, and she fell to her knees. Another position my eyes were enjoying.
“Damn flipper floppers!”
She slid her foot back in, providing me with a clean shot. In a flash, she had a red paint streak on her left tit. Score.
Gawping down at her chest, she emitted a long onnoyoudidn’t gasp. “Son of a bitch!” She took off running and screaming. “You stop that, Jax!”
Screw the flag; this was much more fun. The hunt was on. I crept forward slowly, checking in all directions, while Zoey ran ahead of me just before Austin got her in the arm.
She dove behind a bush. “I’m going to kill you, motherfucker!”
Yeah, she seemed like a real sweet girl.
I was on the prowl and sensed my prey close by. Actually, the giggles erupting from behind a tree clued me in. Clearly, Madison would not be a likely survivor in the wild.
She jumped up and shot me in the chest before she took off again. Then her flip-flop shot off in the other direction, and she bent down to retrieve it.
“Your seconds are numbered, Madison.”
I raised my gun. Wide-eyed, she stood and then took off, one shoed. I leaned against a tree, taking in the sight of her, running with one bare foot through the woods.
Zoey was in the distance, and I got her twice in the leg. At the same time, Madison got her in the back.
“Madison! You’re on my team!”
“Sorry.” She threw her arm in the air. “I just got excited!”
Austin took off after Zoey, expected, as I hunted my Madison. Apparently, the game had changed from getting the flag to shooting the shit out of anyone. I was digging it.
After a few minutes and no Madison, I climbed a tree to get a better look. I chose one branch and froze. A few ticks of the clock later, and I had her in sight. I took a shot and got her in the ass. She turned and burst into laughter.
“Where are you, small little man?” She looked around. “I’m going to murder you!”
“Clearly not with a gun.”
Her head whipped up, and she did a little dance. “You think you’re a good shot, huh?”
“Baby, I know I am.”
“Well, my left boob is feeling left out.” She shook her head. “Unless you can’t do it.”
A pop later, and the left one was orange, as she jumped up and down laughing before spinning around and sticking out her rear.
“Give it to me, big boy.”
I pelleted that little ass as she roared with laughter.
“That’s pretty impressive, Jax. Now why don’t you come down here and tell me more about your aim.”
I started to climb down to the sound of her cackling before shooting me in the back five times. It was a dirty shot; my kind of girl.
Once on the ground, she attempted to run, but not before I got a hold of her arms. I made sure we were alone, picked her up, and she instantly wrapped those legs around my waist and dropped her gun on the ground. I held her ass as she rested her hands on my face, planting a long kiss on my lips.
Every part of her fit perfectly with me. My mind went wild when I thought of what would’ve happened if we hadn’t been interrupted last night. How eager she was, how perfect she was, how much I needed her to stay.
She pulled away. “We’d better find Austin and Zoey before they find us.”
I kissed the tip of her nose, releasing her back to her one flip-flopped feet.
Ten minutes later, Zoey approached the truck holding both flags above her head. “We are the champions!”
Austin jogged up behind her. “Zoey cheated.”
She gasped. “I did not. There are no rules in the woods. It’s survival of the fittest!”
He laughed. “Well, the fittest can’t survive the flashing of a red bra. It froze me in my tracks. That’s the only reason you won.”
She approached Madison and gave her a high-five. “The women always have the power.” She squinted at me after examining Madison’s white coveralls, with her rainbow boobs and ass. “It looks like a horrific attack happened here.”
Madison tore off her coveralls and threw them into the back of my truck. “We should probably get back. Uh, Daisy might have some wedding shit for us to do.”
Madison jumped in the back seat while Zoey looked at me with a stare that could’ve cut glass before climbing in the truck. Mental note: don’t piss off Zoey.
After playing the game, “guess the tune by my shitty humming,” which sucked, by the way, we rolled down the road towards Daisy’s house and saw her in the pasture on a blanket with Jim and Grant. Lola and Daisy’s horse, Hannibal Lector, were tied off on the fence.
I pulled the truck over as Madison opened her door before I fully stopped and jumped out.
“Hello!” Madison waved at the three of them.
As my feet hit the ground, a grin spread across my face when Grant jumped up, ran to her and threw his arms around her waist.
Jim waved. “Come on over! Daisy made some sandwiches. She tried a new recipe from the cooking show she loves.”
We all plopped on the blanket as Daisy started passing out her baggies of food.
Zoey took a sandwich. “Thank you, Daisy. This looks wonderful.”
Madison grabbed one just as Austin took a big bite and started coughing.
“Are you okay?” Daisy reached over and patted his back.
“It tastes so bad, my mouth will never recover,” he garbled over the food. Grabbing a napkin, he spit his food into it, folded it over, and rubbed the clean side over his tongue just in case there was leftover residue or something.
“What?” Daisy tilted her head. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying this tastes like a chicken and roadkill beat each other to death with a pepper.” He continued to wipe his tongue with a napkin.
Zoey dropped her sandwich on the blanket while Madison flashed a tense smile and put hers back in the basket. “I think I’m good.”
Daisy grabbed one and unwrapped it. “Austin, is this one of your unfunny jokes?” She took a bite and chewed. “Oh, sugar snap! What in the hell is wrong with these?” She spit it into a napkin.
I covered Grant’s ears. “Daisy, we have to reel in the language.”
Daisy waved her arm. “Oh shit, I’m sorry, Jax.”
“Still happening.” I kept my hands over his ear.
“Damn it!” She covered her mouth, and I shook my head in surrender. “Oh, come on, I don’t know if I can ever be a clean-spoken woman. I raised you and Austin with some salty language, and y’all are great humans.” She tossed her sandwich in the basket. “You know, I think missing the beginning of the cooking show really screwed these up. Clearly, I improvised a bit too much. But I do have some bags of chips, so have at it.”
We all dug in.
“Madison, will you ride the horse with me?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, Grant, I kind of stink at horse riding.”
I stood. “Come on, you two ride, and I’ll lead the horse.”
Zoey smiled. “I want to ride a horse, too.”
Daisy pointed. “Austin, help her with Hannibal Lecter.”
We headed over past the fence where the horses were, when Austin grabbed the reins. “Zoey, have you ridden before?”
“A few times.”
“Do you want me to help you?” Austin walked the horse closer to her.
She looked at Madison and laughed. “He thinks I’m fragile. That’s adorable.”
Austin grinned. “She’s not fragile like a flower. She’s fragile like a bomb.”
I knew it wasn’t his line, but the look on her face was priceless.
Once Madison and Grant were on, I led them around as they debated whether hot dogs were a sandwich or not. Riveting.
After a bit Zoey yawned. “Okay, I’ve been up since four this morning. Pretty soon, the bags under my eyes will be bigger than my boobs. I need a nap.”
Madison cleared her throat. “Zoey, watch the language. Grant is here.”
“I’m sorry, honey.” She motioned at Grant. “I’m going to really try to make sure I don’t talk shitty anymore.”
Madison shook her head as Grant laughed.
* * *
Everybody headed to Daisy’s house. Austin and Jim were going to check the cattle, and Zoey went to take a nap.
“Madison, I’m going to catch up on my beauty sleep, too. See you all later.” Daisy disappeared into her room with a wave.
After everyone went their separate ways, Grant clapped his hands and pointed at me. “Come on, Madison, we have something to show you.”
“What are you guys up to?”
Grant was beaming. “We made you something yesterday.”
“You did?” She looked over at me. “Ahh, so that’s what the tools were about. Why am I a little afraid right now?”
After a speedy walk over the hill, we arrived at the shed, and Grant pulled open the door. “Surprise!”
Her mouth dropped open when she stepped inside, with Grant and me following. I stood in the corner, taking in her reaction.
Grant clapped his hands. “It’s your very own she-shed!”
She looked at him as if he were speaking Russian, and then her eyes continued to travel over the loveseat, powder blue chair, and rug below our feet. Those emerald eyes stopped at the little table in the corner, where a white microwave sat, topped with cans of SpaghettiOs piled in a pyramid.
She turned to me, her hand covering her heart, and a small grin weaved its way across her rosy lips. “You both did this for me?”
I nodded as Grant took her hand. “My teacher, Ms. Hobbs, said that sometimes grown-up girls like to put themselves in a time out and be alone. Now you can stay in Montana, and when you want to be alone, you have your own place.”
Her smile faded, prompting a worried pull in my gut. “Grant?—”
“You can come here and color, or eat your SpaghettiOs, or have a campout.” He pointed to the loft, and her mouth dropped open.
“A loft? Oh my gosh, this is amazing!”
“Come on!” While Grant climbed the ladder, she turned to me and smiled.
“I can’t believe this place.”
We both followed Grant, and a second later, we were all lying on the mattress, looking up at the twinkly lights.
Grant turned his head toward her. “Look, we all fit perfectly up here.” He giggled. “Like a snug bug in a rug. Do you like it, Madison?”
She looked at him with adoration. “Grant, I love it so much.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. That smile, the twinkle in those eyes brighter than the lights above us, and the relief I felt as I imagined her mind spinning. Her silence was telling me that she wasn’t ruling out something more, and it was confirmed when she looked over at me, and her cheeks had a pink tinge to them. I had one more day to figure out a plan to make her mine.
After another hour of hanging out in Madison’s she-shed and a thorough discussion of why worms divide in two when sliced by a shovel—at that moment, I discovered Madison makes up her own science facts—we walked her back to Daisy’s.
“Do you want to ride with us to the rehearsal?”
“I think I’m riding with Zoey, but I’ll see you both there.”
“See you then.”
I grabbed Grant, and we headed back to my place. I looked back to see sexy Madison standing on the front porch watching us. Her warm smile caused a sharpness in my chest. Even leaving her for a few hours felt wrong.
I got Grant into the shower, dressed in his little black dress pants and blue button-down shirt that Daisy had picked up in town. Boy cleaned up well. He packed his suitcase for his sleepover with Katie tomorrow morning, while I showered and shaved.
“She loved the she-shed, Jax.” His little head nodded as he bopped into the bathroom. “I knew it would be her favorite place.”
“We did well. But?—”
He gave me an eye roll. “I know, you think she’s going to leave. But I think she’s going to stay here with us. All three of us are a match, right? We’re like peanut butter, jelly, and bread. You need all three for it to be right. I think she knows that, too.”
I nodded and hoped he was right.
* * *
We picked up Austin and headed to the church while Grant played on my iPad in the back seat.
Austin spoke quietly. “Dude, what’s up with you and Madison?”
“Nothing.”
“Good, she’s Jim’s daughter, so kind of off limits for you.” He chuckled.
We pulled up to the church to see all of Daisy’s extended family doing the ordinary rehearsal dinner parking lot pre-gaming. Yeah, a grill cooking up brats, my Aunt Kim sitting on a tailgate with a Mike’s Hard Lemonade in hand, and my Uncle Burt working the keg. My nephew Andrew James, a little pistol, was wearing his Nebraska Cornhusker jersey and tossing around a football with a bunch of kids. Just next to the corn hole toss was my cousin Josh running the DJ booth with “Fancy Like” blaring.
As we parked, Madison and Zoey pulled up beside us, and we all got out, just as my cousin Rachel shot me a smile as she flipped me the bird. Yes, that’s how my family rolls.
Zoey looked around and laughed. “What in the hell is this?”
Austin laughed. “Our family.”
“Well, shit.” A sly grin. “Introduce me.”
Austin and Zoey walked away as Grant hopped out of the truck.
“Can I go play football with those kids?”
“Go for it but don’t get dirty. I brought some jeans you can put on in the truck after the rehearsal so you don’t ruin your clothes.”
Madison’s eyes lit up. “This is the rehearsal dinner?” She laugh-snorted.
“Want a beer?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” Grant was playing with the kids as we walked through a crowd to see Zoey doing a keg stand, with Austin holding her legs, as the group cheered her on. She appeared to fit right in, outside of what I imagine were her five hundred-dollar jeans.
Another cousin, Jake Miller, grabbed the D.J. microphone. “Okay, Daisy wants everybody in the wedding party inside the church. The rest of us will party on!” The crowd went wild as my Aunt Zakari and Uncle Dontavius started a line dance with the whole place joining in.
A remarkably quick run-through of who walks where, and we were back in the parking lot where card tables and chairs had been set up, and a buffet table of burgers, brats, and sides awaited.
Zoey grabbed Madison’s hand. “Shot time, baby.”
Madison took the shot; they clinked and downed one and then another. Ten minutes later, Madison and Zoey were leading the Electric Slide as my wild-ass family followed. I sat back in my chair, beer in hand, knowing this woman had my heart.