The Jaxon Effect

by KC Michaels

  “Jaxon thinks you do blame him.” Kate hoped Jaxon wouldn’t feel she betrayed him by putting that out there.

  “I can’t believe he actually thinks that. I could never blame Jaxon after everything he’s done for us. If he hadn’t come along, Lord knows where Grayson and I would have ended up. Jaxon is the most amazing man I have ever known.” Kate could hear the sincerity her in voice.

  “Maybe you two should talk and clear the air.”

  “Please don’t take this the wrong way Kate, but why are you doing this? I mean wouldn’t it be easier for you if Grayson and I weren’t in his life?”

  Kate wasn’t sure if she liked the sounds of Elise being in his life but she was Grayson’s mother, so it was inevitable.

  “All I want is to see him happy and I know that his relationship with Grayson is important to him.” She purposely didn’t include Elise’s name in that statement.

  It was a few seconds before Elise said anything else. She was looking at Kate as if she was trying to decide if she was being genuine or not. “I have to be honest Kate. When Jason first told me that Jaxon had a girlfriend I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

  She didn’t say anything further and that didn’t sit well with Kate, what was the comment supposed to mean?

  “Elise why don't you come and join us for cake?” Kate decided that keeping friends close and potential enemies closer was a good motto. She wasn’t sure which Elise was going to become so just in case she wanted a chance to feel her out.

  “I don't think that's a good idea Kate, maybe some other time.”

  “Please, if you don't for any other reasons do it for Jaxon. For all that he has done for you and Grayson.”

  “When you put it like that, it’s hard for me to say no, but are you sure Jaxon won’t mind?”

  “I’m positive,” Kate said with confidence.

  “Okay, fine,” she nodded, “I’d like that too. Maybe you’re right Jaxon and I should talk and clear the air.”

  Kate appeared in the kitchen just as Jaxon was about to cut the cake. Three tall glasses of milk and small dessert plates were set out on the table. “Hey look who decided to join us,” Kate announced as Elise followed in behind her.

  Jaxon arched his brow, it was evidence he was surprised to see Elise standing beside Kate but he didn’t comment. Kate motioned for Elise to sit in the empty chair beside Grayson as she retrieved a plate and fork for her. She smiled at Jaxon as she pulled out the chair and sat next to him.

  Jaxon cut slices of cake for himself and Grayson, and plated them. “Elise would you like a big or small piece?”

  “I’ll take a big one please,” she answered uncomfortably.

  Jaxon nodded and heaped a big hunk onto her plate.

  “Would you like a big piece or a small piece babe?” he asked Kate next.

  “I'll take a small piece.”

  “Wimp,” he jokingly said under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

  Kate knocked her shoulder against his in mock retaliation. He put the small piece of cake on her plate. She picked up her fork to take a bite when she felt him place his hand on her leg under the table. She took her own freehand and placed it on his, giving it a squeeze.

  Elise’s visit proved to be uneventful and Kate really hadn’t been able to get a read on her. She was somewhat quiet but Kate did catch her stealing glances at Jaxon. She wondered if the reason Elise had spent the past several years avoiding contact with Jaxon was because she had feelings for him. She could have just as easily been way off base so she kept her opinion to herself but she wasn’t going to let her guard down just in case she was right.

  Two weeks had passed since Grayson had arrived. He was starting at his new school in a couple of days and Kate hadn't yet made any head way with him. She was starting to worry. Jaxon loved his son and although it seemed to not create problems between her and Jaxon yet, she worried that it eventually would. She knew Jaxon loved her but she would never expect him to choose her over his son—if it came down to that. She had to figure out a way to break through to Grayson.

  Jaxon had left that morning for Madrid to deal with the aftermath of the fire. Trying to handle the situation remotely wasn’t working out. There were problems getting the permits to rebuild the section of the plant that had the most damage. Time was money and people needed to get back to work so they could earn a wage to support their families. The only way production was going to get back into full swing within a reasonable time frame was if Jaxon personally handled things over there. Kate accepted the fact he had to leave. When he explained the problems they were having with building permits for the new construction and his concern for his employees, she urged him to go and assured him that Grayson and she would manage without him.

  Kate blinked up at the soft glow of the florescent lighting in the doctor’s office. She made an appointment with her gynecologist for her annual exam and also to renew her birth control pill prescription; she was down to her last packet.

  “So, do you have any reason to believe you could be pregnant?” Dr. Xavier asked as Kate lay down on the examination table, in a blue paper dress.

  “No, of course not.”

  “So you haven’t been sexually active as of lately then.” Kate’s face turned a hundred shades of red.

  “Okay so I take that blushing as a yes.”

  Kate had gone to med school with Linda Xavier. They had known each other for years; even though Linda was a professional the question embarrassed her.

  “So when was your last period?” she asked as she placed a stethoscope to Kate’s midsection.

  “It's been. Well...” Kate realized she wasn’t sure.”

  “Based on the look on your face right now I think we need to do a pregnancy test.”

  “I feel normal I’m sure I would know if I were pregnant.”

  “You’re probably right,” Xavier said, trying her best to reassure Kate. “It's just precautionary but until I get the results back, I don’t feel comfortable renewing your birth control prescription.”

  She handed Kate a green piece of paper. “Take this down to the lab. They will take a urine and blood sample and will have the results to me this afternoon.”

  Kate took the paper from the other doctor's hands and told herself there was nothing to worry about. It was just a test. Surely if she was pregnant, she would feel different. If she was late it’s had to be due to the fact she has been under a tremendous amount of stress between Jade and Kenny and her tumultuous relationship with Jaxon. At least she really hoped so.

  Kate left the lab and went directly home to Jaxon’s. She paced back and forth in Jaxon’s bedroom waiting to hear from the doctor. She checked the clock. It had been four hours since the lab had taken the blood and urine sample. Surely they had to know by now. The ringing of her phone caused her heart to pound in her chest. The call display told her it was the doctor's office but before she had a chance to answer Jade walked into the room. She didn’t answer it.

  “Aren’t you going to get that?”

  “Um no, it’s just telemarketers.”

  “Okay, well I was actually coming to find you.”

  “You found me. What's up?”

  “I just wanted to let you know that I'm going over to the paper to talk to my boss about a story idea.”

  “You are going with security right?”

  “Of course yes, I think Jon Maxwell is taking me.”

  “Oh, okay great,” Kate said without her usual spunk.

  Jade frowned. “Kate, what's wrong?”

  “What? Nothing is wrong.” She was not going to tell her friend about her pregnancy scare. Chances were it was negative anyway.

  “I can hear it in your voice. I'm not leaving until you tell me.”

  “It’s Grayson,” Kate said.” He hates me and I am not sure how to break through to him.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

  “Is this causing problem for you and Jaxon?”

  “No, not yet but I am afr
aid it might. I’ve tried everything but I can’t even get him to talk to me. I was really hoping to use this time—with Jaxon being away—to make a connection. But it seems the harder I try, the more he pulls away from me.”

  “Sounds a lot like his dad,” Jade remarked. Kate didn’t bother to point it that Jaxon wasn’t biologically Grayson’s father. “Have you thought of maybe doing something together?”

  “Like what?” Kate asked desperate for any type of advice.

  “I don’t know maybe a movie.”

  “I don’t even know if he likes movies, besides what twelve year old boy would want to go to the movies with his dad’s girlfriend?”

  “True—I never thought of it like that. I’m sure you can figure it out you’re a smart woman. Why don’t you just ask him what he likes to do?”

  “I would except I don’t even think he would tell me. He has barely spoken to me at all since he arrived.”

  “Ouch that’s rough. I’m sorry Kate.”

  “Yeah but anyway it’s my problem I’ll figure something out. Maybe I can talk to Jason and get his opinion. The two of them are pretty close maybe he’d have an idea.”

  “Now you’re thinking. Listen I would love to stay and help you figure things thing out but I do have to get going; my boss will have a cow if I keep him waiting.”

  “Of course Jade go. I’ll be here when you get back. Please be careful.”

  “Always,” Jade replied as they exchanged a quick hug.

  Kate went to the kitchen to find Jason. He wasn’t there but something delicious was bubbling in a pot on the stove so she knew he couldn’t be far. Kate went to the stove to see what kind of amazing dish he was preparing today, since living at Jaxon’s she noticed her clothing was getting a little snug. Jason was such an incredible cook she had been eating more than she ever had in her entire life.

  “Are you hungry?”

  Kate jumped back from the pot she had her nose into. “Oh, gosh Jason you scared me. No I was hoping to talk to you about something. By the way what is this it smells divine.”

  “It’s just a stew, nothing special but it’s ready if you would like some.”

  “No thanks,” she said as much as I would love some I think I’ll pass before I find myself having to replace my entire wardrobe because nothing fits me anymore.”

  “Well if you don’t mind me saying so I think you look great. To be honest you might have been a little too thin before.”

  Kate looked down at herself. He was probably right. She did always wish she had more curves.

  “So what was it you wanted to talk about anyway?”

  “Oh, Grayson actually. I was hoping maybe you could help me out. It has been a couple of weeks and he still doesn’t seem to like me much. I am trying to figure out a way to connect with him. Since you and he seem to have a pretty close relationship I was hoping you might have some ideas.”

  “Baseball.”

  Baseball. Yes, it would make sense. Kate thought about Jaxon and her father. Baseball was that one thing they had in common and it was baseball alone that broke the ice. Problem was she really didn’t know anything about baseball personally.

  “Listen my brother has season tickets for the Yankees. I happen to know that Grayson is a Red Sox fan and it just so happens there is a Yankees-Red Sox game Monday night. Why don’t you take him?”

  “I don’t know anything about baseball.”

  “It won’t matter Kate. You can wing it. Just the fact you are taking him will make you the coolest person on the planet.”

  “I don’t know Jason I mean if baseball is a connection Jaxon and Grayson share then it might have the opposite effect. He might resent the fact that I am trying to hone in on something that he and his dad share together.”

  “To be honest Kate I don’t know why my brother has season tickets. He has never gone to a game.”

  He has never taken Grayson to a game?” That made no sense to her whatsoever.

  “No.”

  “I don’t understand if his son loves baseball and he loves baseball why don’t they go?”

  “Yeah, I ask myself the same thing. My brother is a complex man and there are things that I don’t even know about him. He used to play. He was a natural; in fact at the age of twelve he was even being scouted.”

  “So what happened exactly? Why did he stop playing?”

  “I don’t really know but after our parents died he stopped playing the game and he refused to tell me why.”

  “How did your parent’s die?”

  “My brother never told you?”

  “No he didn’t. I asked him about them once and he changed the subject so I just assumed it was too painful for him to talk about them.”

  “I see, well I’m not surprised because my parent’s death is a painful subject for me and even more so for my brother.”

  “What happened to them? Was there an accident?”

  “No, it was no accident. Our father shot our mother and then took his own life. Jaxon witnessed the entire thing.”

  Kate brought her hand to her mouth in shock, “Oh my God that’s horrible. I had no idea. I’m truly sorry. No wonder he doesn’t like to speak about them.”

  “Yeah, that is definitely part of it.”

  “What’s the other part?”

  “I don’t know but I always have a feeling that something else happened that day that Jaxon has kept a secret all these years.”

  “I’m so sorry Jason, for both of you.”

  “Yes, so am I,” he said sadness in his usually chipper voice.

  Kate sighed feeling both sadness and frustration. “I just wish he would tell me something. I can’t get anything out of him. It’s like he is wearing a suit of armour and I can’t break through.”

  “Well please don’t give up on him Kate. He will come around eventually because between you and me I think you have made some pretty big dents. I’ll get the tickets out of the safe for the game.”

  “Great thanks Jason I owe you big time.”

  Kate listened to the message over and over again. How was it possible that she could be pregnant? She was on birth control and even after everything had happened she never forgot to take her pill. It wasn’t long before it dawned on her what had happened.

  A couple of weeks before she even met Jaxon she had strep throat. She hadn’t even considered when she agreed to sleep with him without protection, that the anti-biotic she had taken would weaken the effectiveness of the pill. How could she be so negligent?

  The entire weekend Kate kept mainly to herself. She had left the house once to make a quick trip to the drugstore with Royce. It was obvious he had no experience with maternity vitamins as he didn’t even bat and eye when she added them to the other things she had picked up in an effort to not bring attention to the real reason she was there.

  Jade was busy working on a story for the paper so she hadn’t noticed that Kate had withdrawn from the land of the living. She thought about her options, not that there were any. She was going to have the baby. She didn’t have any negative opinions of women who chose to have abortions. But an abortion wasn’t something she would consider as an option for herself. She just wished she knew how Jaxon was going to take the news. Although they had come a long way in regards to their relationship, it wasn’t nearly far enough that she felt confident that he would be okay with the fact they were going to have a baby. There were still so many secrets he was keeping from her. With that she thought about Grayson. How was he going to feel about the fact that the woman he viewed as the enemy was going to have a child with his father? Oh God this was not going to be good.

  It was Monday morning and Grayson’s first day at his new school. Kate knew Jaxon was going to call and she had not yet worked up enough nerve to tell him about the baby. It was something that was probably best to tell him in person anyway. Her phone rang. She checked the caller ID and it was Jaxon. She quickly popped a maternity vitamin in her mouth and swallowed it down with some water bef
ore answering the phone.

  “Hey,” she answered.

  “Hey babe,” he said. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you too. How are things going over there?”

  “Things are good. It appears it was more of a lack of communication than anything. The problems have been resolved so I’m coming back early. I can't stay away from you for one minute longer than I have to. I should be arriving home Wednesday night instead of Friday as I originally planned.”

  “That’s great news.” The excitement she tried to convey really didn’t come through.

  “Is something wrong, babe?” Yes your son still hates me and by the way I’m pregnant.

  “No. of course not. I just miss you.”

  “I know, I miss you too. How's Grayson?”

  “He's good. He starts school today. He and I are going to ride over together with Royce, and then Royce is going to drop me off at the hospital.”

  “Is the security team still tight at the hospital?”

  “Yes of course. Jaxon, I’m very safe here so you don't have to worry.”

  “I can’t help it. If anything happened to you…,” he trailed off.

  “Jaxon, nothing is going to happen to me,” she assured him. “I better get going before Grayson is late for school.”

  “Are you sure there isn’t anything you want to tell me. You sound different.”

  “No everything is fine, in fact Grayson and I are going to catch a ball game together on Wednesday night.” He didn’t reply.

  “Jaxon are you there?”

  “Yeah I’m here.”

  “Is it okay if we use your tickets and go to the game? Jason said it would be okay but if you prefer we don’t I understand.”

  “No of course it’s okay. Listen tell Grayson I called, and tell him good luck today, I have to go to a meeting now.”

  “Would you like to tell him yourself, I can get him for you?”

  “No, I’ll call him later tonight.”