Page 92 of Tactical Revival

She beams up at him.It’s adorable. Utterly and completely heart-melting.

“How far along are you?” I ask her.

“Four months,” she replies. “But I look like I’m going to give birth tomorrow. This is our third.”

“Congratulations, that’s amazing.” I glance over at Jaxson. Will he want more kids? Should we talk about that? Getting ahead of myself.

“Thanks. We met your son before, he’s a great kid.”

Pride swells within me. “He is a pretty great guy.”

“He is. Anyway, we just wanted to pop in to meet you. We’ll be heading out tomorrow, but I told Jaxson that I’d love for the three of you to come visit us in LA. Whenever you’re up for it.”

“You’re leaving so soon?”

“Wrenley runs a women and children’s shelter,” Jaxson tells me. “They have their big annual event coming up soon, so she said she needs to get prepared.”

“That’s so wonderful. It must feel so good to help others like that.”

“It’s a blessing, to be sure.” Wrenley steps forward and squeezes my hand. “Take care of Jaxson for us? He’s not as strong as he pretends.” She winks at Jaxson, who rolls his eyes.

“I will,” I promise.

They embrace then step out, but before I can say anything, Chad is wheeled into the room. His chest is bandaged, his face pale. But he’s alive. And even though they’d told me he was, seeing him makes me feel a bit better.

“I needed to see that you were okay,” Chad says. “I just—I was scared for you.”

“Thank you for trying to stop them from taking me.”

“I didn’t do enough.”

“You tried,” I tell him. “And that’s enough to me.”

“You don’t need to thank me.” He smiles softly, then turns to Jaxson and holds out a hand. “Thank you for taking care of Margot and Matty.”

Jaxson hesitates a moment, then takes Chad’s hand. “I’ll always take care of them.”

“I’m counting on it,” he replies. “Margot’s always deserved better than me. I’m glad she found it.”

CHAPTER 25

Jaxson

Waves crashing against the shore will always be a soothing sound to me. Something about the way they ebb and flow, smoothing out the sand as they slip away.

Which is precisely why I chose the shoreline for this particular meeting. I’d gotten here earlier than the agreed-upon time, hoping that I could calm some of my nerves before Bradley Payne arrives.

It’s been a whirlwind of a month, picking up the pieces of Lanetti and Patty’s betrayal. It shook the town to know that two of their own were capable of such horrific things. Kidnapping Margot, drugging Kleo, Lanetti faking her own kidnapping… It’ll provide topics of conversation for months to come.

But I can’t be focused on that right now.

Because I’m trying to move forward, too.

Things with Margot are great, and construction at the B&B is well underway. Everett was able to offer a steep discount on labor and materials, granting Margot the ability to open the doors by Christmas, which is what she was hoping for.

She’s even planning a big Christmas party for the town as a fun reopening event.

Matty’s started visiting Chad once a week in rehab, and I can see on the kid’s face how happy he is that his dad is making an effort. I figured if he could forgive his father, it was well past time I forgave my own.

---