Pieces of Us: A Confessions of the Heart Stand-Alone Novel

by Jackson, A. L.

  I drove out of Charleston and headed to Broadshire Rim. The shopping center where the dentist’s office was located was in the newer area closer to Charleston, and the drive went by fast, even faster with Dillon chattering the whole time.

  Kid nonstop.

  Perfect in his disorder.

  Just like his mom.

  Just like his brother.

  Benjamin laughed at something he said, and lightness weaved its way into the air, and I was shaking my head with a chuckle as I turned on my blinker and slowly pulled into the parking lot.

  I started to whip into a spot in front of the building.

  Second I did, my spirit chugged.

  Nothing but an assault of jealousy that flamed and lashed.

  Coming on bright from that dark, dark pit.

  Possession slammed me, a jumpstart in my veins that made every inch of me shake.

  Izzy was outside the door, key in the lock.

  The prick who’d been all up on her on Monday was leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

  Looking like a pompous douche.

  Eyes grazing her flesh like he was figuring out how long it was going to be until he got to taste it.

  He reached out, touched her arm as he said something that I wished I could hear, and she swiveled her head that way, that blonde flowing around her back and a smile on her face as she said something back.

  Would pay a pretty penny to hear that, too.

  Head craned to the side, his mouth moved as he adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder where it had started to slip.

  “Oh, fuck, no.”

  “That’s a really bad word, Mr. Mack. Don’t tell me you really are a troublemaker, too. Mom’s already got her hands full with the two of us.”

  Shit.

  Didn’t even realize I’d said it out loud, but I couldn’t stop it.

  Anger surging. Jealousy rising. Teeth grinding to dust as I put the truck into park.

  I wasn’t about to sit there and watch this go down.

  “Who is that cock—” Shit, I was slipping again. “—roach?” I fumbled to add on.

  Great.

  There I was, winning all kinds of points.

  Dillon quickly unbuckled and flew forward. He held onto the headrest in front of him as he peered out the windshield. “That cockroach is Mom’s new boss. He’s a dentist. Do you like going to the dentist?”

  That was her boss?

  “Mom always thinks it’s sooooooooooooo good,” Dillon continued to ramble, “but I don’t like it one bit. That noise? Whaaaaaaaaaaaa.” He tried to mimic the sound of the water drill. “I don’t like it, Mr. Mack. Not one little bit.”

  “Yeah, buddy, I don’t like it, not one little bit, either.”

  And I wasn’t fucking going to let it happen.

  No dentists for Izzy.

  I hopped out, the engine still rumbling and roaring, and I strode their direction.

  “Hey, Izzy,” I said as cool and calm as I could muster, a veneer to cover up the greed seething underneath.

  Cockboy saw me first. His eyes narrowed in annoyance.

  Perfect.

  I grinned. “Boys are all buckled in my truck. Do you want to change cars or do you want me to take them home? They’re going to need baths. We stopped for ice cream after Benjamin’s appointment.”

  Unease moved through that tight little body, Izzy swinging her gorgeous face toward me.

  Could almost see her mind jumping right back to Monday night.

  Knew she could still feel it, my touch burning on that lush, pink skin.

  Knew she could still taste my kiss on her tongue, same way as I could still taste her.

  I’d gone to sleep every night swimming in the remnants of the girl.

  This stunning girl who was watching me like she was terrified to take one step closer because when she did, there was going to be no going back.

  What she needed to know was we were unstoppable.

  “Oh,” she squeaked, caught off guard as I got closer.

  I just smiled.

  “Um . . . well . . .” She fiddled and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “We’d better get them shifted. I need to swing by the store on the way home for milk.”

  Wanted to offer to do it for her, but the asshole beat me to the punch.

  “I actually have to stop at the store. I don’t think I live that far from you. Want me to drop some by?”

  Was he serious? Her motherfucking boss? I wanted to knock him in the mouth.

  “Oh.” This time she was slanting that surprise at him, stumbling around her thoughts, the poor girl getting tossed from one rope to the other in a wrestling ring. “Oh-oh . . . I don’t think that’s a good idea. That’s very nice of you, though, but I can manage. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Dropping her attention to the ground, she turned around and started in the direction of her car, not even slowing as she passed where I stood, though she cut me a look that told me she knew exactly what I was doing.

  Good.

  I stared down the prick who was watching her go, the guy grinning at me like he was up for the challenge.

  “Hi, cockroach!”

  I flung my attention over my shoulder to catch Dillon with his head stuck out the back window that was rolled halfway down, hands gripping the top of it, shouting at his mother’s boss.

  The guy’s smug smirk faltered, and I reminded myself to give Lil’ Dill five bucks later.

  “Dillon,” Izzy scolded, horrified, moving for her car. She tossed her bag into the front seat.

  “See ya,” I told him, backing away with my hands stuffed in my pockets, not even giving a shit that I was acting like an asshole.

  I moved up behind Izzy. Her spine stiffened as I approached, and she straightened and whirled around, shooting me the sweetest little daggers from those big eyes.

  I grinned.

  “Don’t you dare go grinnin’ at me, Maxon Chambers,” she hissed low.

  “What?” It wasn’t even meant to be a denial.

  She huffed. “You know what I’m talkin’ about. You think I don’t see what you’re doin’? You might as well pee all over me.”

  I inched closer, leaned in, inhaled jasmine and sweet and the sun. “First off, that’s illegal. I’m a cop, remember? Unless you want to do it in private. Then I might be game.”

  Okay. No. Totally wasn’t into that shit. But I loved seeing her feathers get ruffled.

  She gasped and a bright shade of fuchsia took to her cheeks. “Maxon Chambers,” she reprimanded like I was one of her kids.

  “Izzy Lane,” I returned, laughing under my breath like I was one, too, loving how fucking cute that she was when she got all frustrated and didn’t know what to do with me.

  Flustered, she shook her head. “You can’t do this. You can’t come around here acting like you are a part of who I am.”

  I angled close, tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear, tried not to dip my nose in to trace along the delicate flesh of her neck. Still, I whispered the words at the shell of her ear, “Not a part of you? You couldn’t scrape me from who you are if you tried. Come to dinner at my house tonight. You and the boys. I want to feed you.”

  Apprehension moved through that sweet body. “You know that’s not a good idea.”

  "I think it’s a great idea.”

  “Well, kiss her if you want her to be a kissin’ kind of friend,” Dillon shouted from the window.

  Izzy’s eyes went wide, and I had to stifle a laugh.

  Now I owed the kid a ten.

  At this rate, he really was going to earn that trip to Disneyworld.

  I inched closer to her, backing her against her car. “What do you say? Come to dinner.”

  “Maxon . . . this is gettin’ complicated.”

  “And you should know, I have every intention of complicating you.” Our mouths were almost touching when I murmured it, and I could feel the thud of her heart hammering at her chest.r />
  Took everything I had not to press myself against it. Feel it beat.

  That energy alive.

  “Please, Mom! I want to eat at Mr. Mack’s house! I’ve never been there before.”

  If he kept it up, I was going to have to sign my bank account over to him.

  She looked at me like she wanted to throttle me. Only it was soft and adoring.

  My stomach tightened. Before I did something stupid like actually kiss her in front of her kids, I backed away and smiled. “I’ll drive the boys. See you there.”

  She huffed, and if I didn’t know any better, would have sworn she stomped her foot. “Fine,” she said, all exasperated like, but I was pretty sure there was a smile behind it.

  Twenty-Three

  Izzy

  I followed Maxon and the boys into Charleston, my senses still a thunder as I dialed my parents’ number.

  Relief hit me when the old answering machine picked up.

  Call me a coward, but the last thing I wanted to do was explain to my mama or daddy on the phone why we weren’t going to be there for dinner.

  No doubt, my mama would have plenty of questions later. The whole problem was I seemed to be lacking all the answers.

  Never had I felt so out of sorts.

  So uncertain.

  I mean, what was that whole kissin’ thing? What had he told my boys?

  God, I was in trouble. I knew it to my core.

  When the answering machine beeped, I left a message. “The boys and I are having dinner at Maxon’s tonight. We’ll be home by eight or eight-thirty. Hope you have a nice, peaceful evenin’.” I quickly tacked that onto the end, as if maybe I could convince myself that the only reason I was staying out tonight was to do them a favor.

  Wishful thinking.

  Because my nerves had gotten themselves into a tangle.

  Anticipation knotted in my belly.

  Hands sweaty where they clung to the steering wheel.

  I just knew agreeing to come over here was changing everything. I was coming up against a wall.

  A deadline.

  A decision.

  And it was all happening too fast.

  Taillights flashed as Maxon pulled into his driveway.

  I pulled in behind him, and Maxon hopped out.

  The man looked like a reckoning when he gave me a look that told me to sit tight in my car.

  Confusion twisted across my brow.

  What was he doin’?

  I watched him stealthily move around his front yard.

  Slow yet sure.

  He climbed to the porch, unlocked the front door, and peered inside.

  At least I got one answer.

  One thing of which I was sure.

  He was checking for safety.

  His posture rigid and imposing.

  A protector.

  A fighter.

  My dragon.

  Sorrow clogged my throat and moisture filled my eyes with the realization of the fear that this man still held onto so tightly.

  As if it’d been etched into him as part of his being.

  I wanted to reach out and stroke it away. Hold it. Bear a portion of it for him.

  I just wished he would have let me.

  He disappeared inside for a minute, and when he returned, his shoulders were relaxed.

  He started back to his truck to help out the boys, and I slipped out onto shaky, unsteady feet.

  “Is this your house?” Dillon asked as Maxon swung him down from the truck, holding him from under his arms. “How long have you lived here? Do you have a dog?”

  “Sure is. About four years. And nope, no dog.”

  One thing I could say about the man, he kept up just fine with Dillon’s erratic train of thought.

  “You don’t have a dog?” Dillon asked as if it were some sort of crime. “Why not?”

  “Wouldn’t want it to be alone all day while I’m at work.”

  “Because you live alone?”

  “Yeah, Lil’ Dill. Because I live alone.”

  He sent me a look that nearly broke me in two when he said it.

  The starkest sort of loneliness bled out.

  Most unsettling part was the hope brimming in the middle of it, as if maybe he had the intention of changing that.

  Oh lord, I could feel that fork in the road coming up fast.

  Left or right.

  Dillon went scampering up the side steps and onto the porch while Maxon ducked back into the truck. He murmured a bunch of words that I felt more than heard, so gentle with his son as he unbuckled him from his special seat and helped him get his crutches adjusted after he settled him on the ground.

  “There. How’s that? Are you steady?”

  “I’vvvve got it.”

  “Watch out for the gravel. It’s loose,” Maxon warned softly.

  “Stoppp worrying so much.” Benjamin sent him a sly, knowing grin from over his shoulder, and Maxon sent him an adoring one in return, and my world was trembling on its axis.

  So close to toppling over.

  Benjamin slowly made his way up the steps.

  I stood beside Maxon and watched our son go.

  That feeling rushed over us.

  Attraction and want. Flickers of old affection that had become somethin’ new.

  Awareness and regret.

  I forced the words out beneath the pressure of it. “Thank you for takin’ him today. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

  I realized my arms were hugged over my middle when I said it. My stance and my words nothing but a defense.

  Because I could sense it all slipping away.

  “He’s my son, Izzy.” His words dropped low in emphasis. “My son.”

  A shiver raced my spine, and my voice came soft. “Sometimes, I watch him just . . . walkin’ . . . and joy explodes in the middle of me. I spent so many years worried that he wouldn’t be able to run and play. Seeing him like this? It feels like a miracle.”

  “He is a miracle.” Maxon’s tone was as jagged as the gravel under our feet.

  I glanced over at him.

  The sight of the man was nothing but a thief sent to steal my breath.

  “Maxon—”

  “Need to tell you something.” He cut me off.

  Anxiety pulsed through his body. It sent a hammer of dread assaulting mine.

  My teeth clamped down on my bottom lip, and I struggled to prepare myself for what he might say. That yes, Benjamin was a miracle—wonderful and inspiring and kind—but that it was all too much.

  Nothing I hadn’t heard before.

  I could handle it, right?

  “The day you left when you came and took care of me?”

  My brow pinched.

  Not what I was expecting.

  Fury blackened his expression, rage bustling beneath the surface of his skin. “Found my truck busted up that afternoon. A slur spray-painted on the side of it. Think I’m being targeted.”

  I whirled around to face him.

  “You think whoever hurt you that night was responsible?”

  They knew where he lived?

  Terror raced.

  Taking over.

  The thought of something horrible happening to him more than I could process.

  His hands curled into fists. “Don’t know for sure, we’re still waiting on the prints, but my gut says yes. Could just as easily be some neighborhood kid playing a prank. But I won’t take the chance. Won’t let my guard down.”

  He inched forward. “Need you to know what’s happening before you walk through that door. What being around someone like me means. Last thing I ever wanted was to drag you into my mess. Never wanted this for anyone. And when it comes to you, I don’t know how to stop myself.”

  There was his fear again.

  Though, in that moment, I was feeling it, too.

  Fear for him.

  For the life he led.

  The danger he faced at every turn.

  Respect seeped from my pore
s. Respect for the decision he’d made to turn his back on the path he’d been slipping down when he’d been getting caught up in the ugliness.

  But I had to wonder if he were doing it for the right reasons.

  “I’m not afraid for me, Maxon. I’m afraid of you racin’ toward danger just because you think that’s what you deserve. That you have to pay a price. Prove who you are. I think that’s pretty clear.”

  What was I sayin? Did I mean it? Could I look at him and see who he truly was.

  But I was sure that I always had. I hadn’t been the one who was blinded. It was Maxon who’d gotten lost.

  “That’s because you were the good in my world. The light that chased out the dark. You never wanted to acknowledge what was hidden underneath.”

  There was a warning in the rumble of his words, and I turned my attention away, needing a breath.

  Not sure how we were ever gonna meet in the middle.

  If he’d ever get over his past. If I could ever forgive him for living it.

  Where did that leave us?

  He blew out a sigh. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

  I cast him a soft smile, unable to stop myself. “We’d better. The boys are probably raiding the refrigerator by now.”

  I took the hand he extended. Heat sizzled up my arm at the contact.

  I didn’t know whether to chastise myself for thinking it felt so right.

  He ushered me inside, and Benjamin was on the floor in front of a console with a huge TV sitting on top of it, pulling out a video gaming system.

  “Maxon said we could play, Mom! He’s got Mario Cart. It’s the coolest game in the world. You want to play with us?” Dillon shouted.

  I glanced at Maxon. Feeling out of sorts. Wondering how I was supposed to fit into the shape of his world.

  He nudged me. “Go on, sit down, relax. I’ll start dinner.”

  “You don’t have to take care of me.” Another defense.

  He inched closer, his breath a warm caress across my face. “Let me. I want to.”

  For a moment, I hesitated, and then I gave, toeing off my shoes and settling on the couch.

  Tucking my knees to my chest, I tried to pay attention to the boys who started playing a video game.

  But my attention kept getting caught up on the man in the kitchen, his big, powerful body adept there, too.