Page 119 of Rebel Summer

I faced him, gulping down a breath of courage. “I’m so sorry, Dax. It was my idea, and now you're going to get in trouble.”

Dax had built a life here. He had a good job and was well-liked in the community. He had turned so much of his life around, and I hated the idea that he might be in trouble because of my wild night sowing oats.

Beau banged against the bathroom door. “One more minute. And for the love, you’d better just be brushing your teeth in there.”

Dax ignored Beau, and with a finger on my chin, he lifted my face up to meet his. He wore a small smile on his face, as though he found all of this funny, which immediately had my thoughts racing. Maybe I had started him on a path that would make him spiral. He’d been doing so well. His mom was going to kill me. What had I done?

I put my hands on his chest, trying to shake sense into him. “Dax, this could be bad. We’re going to see the judge. What if you get in trouble? What if I ruined your whole life?”

“Eh. I was just the accomplice.” He breathed out a laugh while I glared at him. Laughing was for five minutes ago. I tried to move around him, but he blocked me.

“Hold on, Books,” he whispered, his hands holding me in front of him. He held my gaze for a long moment, his humor apparent, but something else too. Something sweeter that wrapped around my insides and squeezed.

“There’s nobody else on this earth I’d rather share a jail cell with.” Warm brown eyes scattered across my face as he leaned closer and whispered, “I’d do it all over again if it brought me right back here.”

I shook my head at him, but the smile wouldn’t be repressed. Ever so slowly, I turned him to the side, peeling up the sleeve on his t-shirt. His shoulder displayed an impressive sunset on the beach, a palm tree, and his car. I had always been the most fascinated by the car, but there was something else underneath that looked familiar. Something I should have put together long before now. My face burned in secret delight as I looked up at him, my fingers splayed over the ink.

“A DNA strand? You used to hate those jokes.”

A soft smile touched his lips. “I was laughing on the inside.”

All of my tattoos mean something.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” he said, turning to face me once more, his hands on my shoulders. “Not really. But that time with you changed me for the better.”

“Alright, I’m coming in!” Beau yelled through the door.

Dax groaned before yanking open the door. “Can’t two people brush their teeth in peace?”

Beau escorted us to the judge’s door before leaving us alone to our fate. Dax’s tattoo revelation was currently squeezing my heart into a thousand pieces, but I had to put that aside for another day.

The judge was in session.

There were no attorneys or court reporters. It was just Judge Baylor seated at his desk. He motioned for us to sit down while I searched his face for clues and found none. Dax’s shoulder pressed into mine, his easy-going presence calming my jittery hands.

Judge Baylor looked at us both for a long moment, his hands clasped together on his desk. I sat up straighter in my chair, and I noticed Dax doing the same.

“Been out for a little joyride together, I hear?” His voice cracked as though he found humor in the escapade, but the comedy of it all wasn’t quite as evident on his face.

I was determined not to hang my head low, so I looked him in the eye and said, “It was my fault, Your Honor.”

“No, it wasn't,” Dax protested.

Judge Baylor leaned back in his chair, watching us. “Are you both aware it is against the law to drive and have in your possession a car or truck on this island?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Dax said.

“And you still did it?”

“I wanted to, and I insisted,” I said quickly. Dax lightly stepped on my foot.

“You’ve been doing quite a few things together around the island, if the gossip hit my ears correctly.” He looked at Dax. “Whenever I drove past your shop after work headed home, your lights were always on—oftentimes, well into the evening. You worked yourself to the bone. But ever since Ms. Brooks’s arrival, I’ve been seeing you in quite a few places—the cafe, the Fourth of July breakfast, the farmers’ market.” He motioned to the propeller clock on his wall. “I love my clock, by the way.” Dax and I both gaped at him. Judge Baylor chuckled at our reaction before continuing, “I even heard from my granddaughter that the two of you were playing volleyball on the beach the other night.”

Looking at Dax, he added, “I didn’t know you were the volleyball type.”

“Believe me, I’m not, Your Honor.”

A twinkle shown in Judge Baylor’s eyes. “There is a lightness about you now that wasn’t there before, and I like it.”

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