When we got to the top of the stairs, I told him, “You were right. I was on the fence. Or, actually, I wasn’t even on it, I was hiding on the other side of it. I’m ready to get off now.”
We walked the short distance to an old, worn, comfortable couch. This was the area we’d used as a family room when I was growing up. The second floor was what I considered home, my real home.
Jackson sat down and pulled me onto his lap.
“Sweetness, I need you to be sure.” He held his hand up when I started to interrupt him. “Really sure, Tuesday. I haven’t been holding back. Not emotionally. I’ve been letting this play out, but I’m all in. I can’t explain how I know, but I do. You’re it for me. I never believed in love at first sight until I saw you standing in Nick’s living room. There’s this glow about you. All it took was seeing you smile, and you awoke something in me. I’ve heard my dad and uncles talk about it, but I’d always thought they were blowing sunshine. I’ve listened to stories about how my uncles met my aunts and the struggles they went through, denying they felt what they’d felt. Hell, my dad let my mom move to Florida even though he knew he loved her. I am not stupid and I learned something important from them. I’m not going to hide from you, I’m not gonna play games, and I’m not gonna walk away. Not if I know you feel the same way I do. That’s all I need, give me that honesty, and I won’t let go.”
My breath was coming out in ragged pants. I didn’t know what to say. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly. I wanted to ask him to repeat the part about love at first sight.
Did he just say that?
“Jackson,” I breathed. I couldn’t find any other words.
“If we’re doing this, we’re all in,” he told me.
“All in,” I repeated.
“Tuesday, I swear if you try getting back on that fence, I’m burning the motherfucker down.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
Though I wouldn’t need him to.
“So we’re doing this?”
There was only one answer, so I told him, “Yes.”
His eyes went from turbulent to cloudy. There was a storm brewing and it was seriously hot. So hot, in fact, I shivered. He’d looked at me a lot over the last few weeks. Sometimes his gaze was full of lust, sometimes it was soft and lazy, but no less passionate. But never like this. Never with a stare so penetrating I could feel it in my soul. Or maybe he had, but I’d been so blinded by stupidity I was too afraid to acknowledge it. But I didn’t think that was the case. I wouldn’t have been able to deny the stir that look was creating.
“You have no idea how badly I wanna take you back to your room and finally do all the things I’ve been fantasizing about.”
Jackson’s voice had gone deep and husky, and that made me shiver.
“Why don’t you?”
I tried my best to wiggle my hips and grind my ass against his thick erection, but he easily halted my movements.
“Because we have more to talk about and your grandmother is downstairs. This house is huge, Sweetness, but I plan on doing things to you that will make you scream.”
“Oh, that’s disappointing.”
“What is, me making you scream, or you having to wait for it?”
“Waiting for it.”
The storm had passed, and I got Jackson’s lazy smile. Butterflies were dancing in my belly and a tingle of self-doubt was trying to creep in. I tamped it down the best I could. And because I’d promised him I was off the fence, I shared.
“I’m scared.”
“Why are you scared?”
“I’m just afraid I’ll give you everything and it still won’t be enough for you.”
His eyes fluttered closed, and he leaned forward, placing his forehead on mine.
“Thank you,” he whispered. Something big swelled in my chest, he understood how hard that was for me. “But, straight up, Sweetness, not saying everything will always be easy, but I promise you it’ll be perfect.”
“You know that makes no sense, right?”
“We both have our work cut out for us,” he explained. “You learning to open up and me keeping you in a place where you feel confident enough to share. But there’s something you should know, I’ll work my ass off for it. I’ll give you everything I have and when you learn to take it and give yourself back in return, it will be perfect.”
His words struck a chord. Perfect. I’d grown up around a perfect love. I’d watched how my grandfather had adored my grandmother. The kind of love my grandparents shared didn’t just magically happen. They’d worked for it. They’d shared their lives, their thoughts, hopes, and dreams. My grandmother didn’t hold my grandfather at a distance. She was brave and so much smarter than me. She’d known what she’d found in him and had pulled him close.
“I don’t want perfect. I want us. I’m gonna work my ass off for you, too. I’m gonna make sure you know how much I appreciate you. I’m not gonna let you regret choosing me. I promise, Jackson, I’m all in. I won’t lose you.”
He was staring up at me with those cloudy eyes again. Ten minutes ago, his silence would’ve made me nervous now it simply settled around me. His hands on my hips were like two steel bands holding me steady. His presence was like a shroud of steadfast protection. He would keep my heart safe—I knew it.
“Kiss me, Sweetness.”
This time when Jackson asked, I didn’t hesitate. I placed my hands on his chest, and when he groaned, I felt my insides warm. Not with lust or need but with something wholly different, something I’d never in my life felt. Part feminine gratification that he liked my hands on him, but more of a contented happiness. I leaned forward and placed my lips on his. I waited for him to take over, but he didn’t. Our kiss was gentle and light. This was not fueled by haste and lust, it was a slow exploration. Not exactly a getting to know you kiss, more of a welcome home, I’m glad you’re here and want you to stay awhile kiss.
I liked this kind the most.
I wanted more of all the different ways Jackson could kiss me. But this felt like the beginning.
Jackson broke the kiss and whispered against my lips, “You know, I always thought your smile was full of hope and a promise of good things to come. But now I’m figuring out it’s not just your smile. It’s your kisses, too. It’s in the way you look at me. It’s everything about you.”
“Jackson.” I didn’t know what to say. God, I’d been so dumb pushing this beautiful, strong, and thoughtful man away. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“Never.”
“Before you say something sweet again and make me cry, may I change the subject and ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Did someone really start the fire at Autumn Lakes?”
Since we’d been back at Gran’s we’d avoided all talk of the fire. But now that we had a moment alone, I wanted to know what he knew.
“Yeah, Sweetness, someone did. And they tampered with the fire suppression system as well.”
“Whoa.”
“You know when I pulled the fire alarm and nothing happened?” I nodded. “That should’ve set off the alarm and the water mist system in that section of the building. It did neither. I don’t know if the system hadn’t been working and the home never repaired it, or if the person who started the fire figured out how to disengage the system.”
“Could they do that?”
“If they knew where the control panel was, they could.”
Holy shit, a control panel, that was it?
“Where was the fire started? Could you tell?”
“In the business office.”
He was watching me closely, so he saw the moment I put it together. “The case?”
“That would be my guess, yes. No paper files made it. All of the electronics in the office are a complete loss. There were two backup servers in the room as well. Good news is, I would think being a medical facility they’d have some sort of offsite backup or cloud storage for the patient r
ecords and billing.”
“Thank God, you were there.”
“It’s not—”
“It is. It totally is. Whatever you were going say “wasn’t”—it was. It is a big deal. It was good luck. It worked out the way it did only because you were there. You got me and Gran out and went to work containing the fire until your buddies arrived, then you went back in with them. It could’ve been worse, and people could’ve been hurt, but they weren’t. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, Sweetness.”
“You’re welcome. Now do you want to see the upstairs or do you want to see if Gran’s done with Emma so we can watch a movie with her?”
“Let’s check on Gran.”
My heart warmed some more.
* * *
My eyes came open and the moment they did, I knew I was alone in bed. It took less than a heartbeat to admit I missed Jackson’s presence.
Last night, after our conversation, we went down to Gran’s room and watched a movie with her. I’d waited and waited for the panic to surface, but it never did. I’d watched him charm my grandmother, and her charm Jackson, and still nothing. No anxiety, no sinking feeling of dread, only calm contentment.
When the movie was over, I took him upstairs to my childhood bedroom, and we undressed like we’d done it a hundred times instead of never. I grabbed his discarded shirt, put it on, and crawled into bed. The second we hit the sheets he curved his body to my back and held me close. That was it. No hanky-panky, just him holding me, telling me to get some sleep.
Now I was alone in bed staring at the soft muted, sage green walls. Thinking about how much I liked Jackson holding me and wondering why the hell I’d fought him so hard. I was goddamned lucky he’d been patient or I would’ve missed out on something big.
Jackson Clark was not Travis. He was not my father. Jackson Clark was a man with integrity, morals, and a protective streak so wide I wasn’t sure it ended. I had to trust he’d take care of my heart. On that thought, I rolled out of bed and went in search of my man.
It hadn’t taken long to find Jackson. I heard them as soon as my feet touched the cool marble in the foyer.
Gran was laughing.
Jackson’s deep, rumbling chuckle filled the house.
It was then it hit me, the one thing that had been missing from The Manor. Something that used to be a given when I was a child.
There was always love. Lots of it.
But somehow the laughter had faded.
Jackson gave it back to us.
I didn’t move. I just stood in the grand entrance of the home that had never failed to surround me in love and enjoyed the sound of laughter.
29
Jackson
I thought I’d known a great deal of happiness throughout my life. I had a great family, a job I loved, good friends, and a nice place to live. I’d been happy. But never like this. I’d never been filled to overflowing. With all I’d had in my life, I’d thought I had, but I’d been wrong.
My happiness had been brimming, but this morning seeing Tuesday in my tee, leaning against the counter in her grandmother’s kitchen, holding a cup of coffee, smiling . . . that’s when it overflowed.
She was bright and open and holding nothing back. Not her humor when she teased her grandmother, not her love when she spoke to Patty, and not her happiness when she smiled at me. It was a night and day change. Her walls had crumbled, and a blinding light shone through. Blinding. It was so bright it took everything in me not to turn away from it.
She was mine.
I would stop at nothing to keep it. What she gave me last night was precious. This morning’s gift was beyond anything I could’ve imagined. She wasn’t taking it back. No matter what, I was going to fight to keep Tuesday smiling and happy.
We were in my truck headed back to her place then to mine when my phone rang. I looked at the display on my dash and saw it was my dad. I hit the button on my steering wheel and the call connected.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Where are you?”
His terse question had me on alert. I glanced at Tuesday as I rolled to a stop before making the left to hit her street. The happy vibe she’d been sporting was gone.
Dammit.
“Almost to Tuesday’s.”
“Brady caught something on the camera. He’s there now checking it out. I’m five minutes out and Ethan is three.”
“Fuck.”
“Tuesday with you?”
“In the car, and you’re on speaker.”
“When you get there, straight into the house.”
“Yep.”
“Or turn around and go somewhere else.”
“We’re here,” I told him as I pulled into Tuesday’s driveway. Brady was out of his car and at Tuesday’s mailbox.
“Right. See you soon.”
Dad disconnected, and I turned to Tuesday. “Everything’s gonna be okay, Sweetness.”
“You keep sayin’ that, Jackson, but every time I turn around something new happens to prove that’s not the case.”
“Look at me.” I waited for her pretty brown eyes to connect with mine. All the happiness from the morning had fled. “Please—”
“I’m not gonna push you away,” she told me. “I’m just . . . over this. All of it. My mom. Travis. The sick publicity stunt that just keeps on giving all these years later. My agent. Fires. Investigations. Lawsuits. I want it to be over.”
“It will be. Soon. The only good news about what’s happening right now is, hopefully, Brady caught something on the camera. Let’s get inside and see what he found.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything else.
I jumped out of the truck, rounded the hood, not taking my eyes off Tuesday, helped her down, and moved her to the porch. Tuesday fished her keys out of her bag and handed them to me. Once the door was unlocked, I maneuvered her inside and waited for Brady to join us.
The storm door opened, and my dad and Brady both walked in. Dad was not five minutes out, or if he had been, he’d broken every traffic law to get to us.
“What’d you find?” I asked.
Today, Brady didn’t look at Tuesday and me with the same longing I’d thought I’d noticed the last time he’d been in her house. Today, he looked pissed. Scarily pissed, and I knew why my dad and uncles had searched him out and offered him a job, it was because he had the capacity to harness the anger he was feeling right now. My guess was they’d poached him from their old unit at the Army base.
“Tuesday,” my dad greeted her.
“Hi, Nolan.”
“This morning I was watching the cameras.” Brady jumped right in. “I saw a silver Nissan Sentra pull up to the mailbox, slip something in, and drive away. Problem is, both front and back license plates were removed. And the driver was wearing a ball cap pulled low, and black gloves. All I can verify from the video is the driver is white. I’d guess a man due to the height and size, but I can’t swear to it.”
“So the driver was casing the house and saw you installing the cameras,” Dad surmised.
“Absolutely.”
“Wait. A Nissan Sentra? Old, beat up looking?”
Dad and Brady both went on alert. “You know the car?” Brady inquired.
“I’ve seen it. A few weeks ago, the morning after Tuesday got back from New York. I was leaving and wasn’t paying attention as I backed out of the driveway. I almost hit the Sentra. They honked and swerved around me.”
“Did you see the driver?” he continued.
“No. I was . . .”
I let my statement trail and before I could think of a better explanation Tuesday spoke.
“You were angry with me. It was the morning of flowers and payback. I heard the horn and went to the front window to see what it was, but you were already gone, and the street was empty.”
Yes. She was correct. That was the morning of payback.
“Sweetness—”
“I’m fine Jackson. I don’t know anyone with a silver Se
ntra. Or any color Sentra for that matter. And, before you ask, I’ve never seen it hanging around either.”
“What was in the mailbox?” I asked.
Brady looked at my dad, waiting for his permission before he handed it to me. A white sheet of paper had already been placed inside a Ziploc bag.
I warned you, bitch. Now you’ll both pay.
I handed it back to Brady and looked down at Tuesday. She was pressed to my side, my arm over her shoulder, hers around my waist. She wouldn’t be paying. Neither would I. However, no amount of reassurance would convince her of that.
There was a knock at the door and all of us turned, expecting to see Ethan. What none of us expected was to see an attractive woman, dressed in a business suit, step through uninvited. Further, I didn’t expect Tuesday to tear from my arms and bear down on the woman.
Thankfully, Brady grabbed her around the waist and had her clean off her feet before she could clobber the woman.
“You cannot be believed!” Tuesday yelled. “You have some nerve coming to my house. But inviting yourself in—in-fucking-credible.”
Brady set Tuesday aside, however, he didn’t release her until I had an arm around her.
“We need to talk,” the woman said.
“Who is this woman?” I asked Tuesday.
She turned her head to look me in the eye and if I thought she’d been hot around the collar when she was arguing with her mom, holy shit, that was nothing compared to the daggers she was throwing at the intruder.
“This woman, is Meredith.”
“The fuck?” The growl that came forth had my dad stepping closer to me.
“Oh, good, I see you remember who she is.” Tuesday’s sarcastic remark had the woman standing a little taller.
“Could never forget the bitch who was behind the scheme that violated my woman.”
Meredith’s eyes got big before she whispered, “You know.” Then louder. “Please, let me explain.”
Claiming Tuesday: The Next Generation Page 18
