Page 93 of Guarded from Corruption

It won’t ever be like what Shea and Niall had with their mother. Too many things have happened for that. There’s too much hurt. But I visit her every other week, and we talk. I tell my mother about Niall. My new job in Seguin. All the places in Texas I’ve visited. And she tells me about the books she’s reading. The painting classes she started taking.

It’s enough for now.

Not to say everything is perfect all the time. The pain slams into me at unexpected times. Niall and I will be at a restaurant and I get upset when I spot a father playing tic-tac-toe on a placemat with his daughter. I’ll go to the grocery store by myself and have to call Niall to help me through a threatening panic attack.

But it’s getting better. Thanks to Niall, and his team, and Henley, who I still have weekly virtual counseling sessions with. Sometimes Niall will join in, because he has his own residual feelings of guilt to work through.

Still. I’m a lot luckier than most. And I’m so excited about the future.

As we enter the barn, a huge smile spreads across my face. Even though I’ve been helping all week to decorate, the finished product is even better than I expected.

It’s fully decked out with lights and balloons and confetti scattered all over. There are dozens of refurbished chairs set around family-style tables. Games like cornhole and shuffleboard and ping-pong are set up along one long wall. The newly installed kitchen is a flurry of activity with Dante at the center of it, but he pauses from flipping burgers to call over, “Niall. Jade. Did Shea finally drag you out of the apartment?”

Xavier’s manning the bar, putting the finishing touches on his signature drink. It’s an orange mojito topped with a blood-orange wedge with tiny blade and arrow skewers poked through it. He raises one in our direction. “Bring that sangria over here. And then try a Longhorn Blade and Arrow. They’re quite good, if I say so myself.”

“How many of them have you had?” asks a handsome man with short brown hair and an intense gaze. His serious features relax as he grins at Xavier. “Any drink tastes great if you have enough of them.”

“Cole.” A raven-haired woman comes up beside him, smiling. She has an adorable baby resting on her hip. “Are you volunteering to take over bartending duty?”

Niall takes my tray and puts it on one of the long buffet tables, then wraps his arm around my waist and leads me over to the couple. He lifts his chin and gives the man a manly sort of handshake slash shoulder clap. “Cole. It’s good to see you.”

Cole—who I’ve heard about but haven’t met in person until now—gives an answering jerk of his chin. “Niall. Things are looking great here. And it looks like you’ve found something you weren’t expecting when you moved to Texas.” He holds his hand out to me. “I’m Cole Mitchell. This is my wife, Maya. And our daughter, Clara.”

As I take Cole’s hand, I say, “Hi. I’m Jade. It’s so nice to meet you. And thank you for creating this. Blade and Arrow… it saved my life.” Glancing at Niall, I add, “Well. It was Niall. If not for him…”

“This is my Jade,” Niall adds with a proprietary note in his voice. He kisses my cheek. “And I’m damn glad I was here when she needed me.”

“Are we talking about badass Jade?” Another man I haven’t met, but recognize from some of Dante’s photos, comes up to join us. He has black hair and icy blue eyes that sparkle with laughter. Tucked into his side is a petite redhead who gives me a bright smile.

“I’m Zane,” he announces as he holds out his hand. “This is Elle. And Jade, I’ve been so eager to meet you. After we heard all the things you did… You could join B and A and fit right in.”

Elle gives me a more serious look. “What you did was really amazing. So brave.” Her lips curve into a smile. “But I’m sure you don’t want to talk about that at a party. When you’re ready, though, I’d love to introduce you to the others. Georgia, Charlie, Hanna, Nora—they’re all excited to meet you.”

“I’d really like to meet Georgia,” I tell her. “She sent me this wonderful blanket, and these crafting kits… they helped so much when I was at loose ends.”

Zane gestures across the barn at two couples chatting. One couple consists of a huge man and a tall, pregnant woman with gorgeous caramel hair. The other is a dark-haired man holding the hand of a platinum-haired woman. “That’s Leo and Georgia, and Finn and Hanna. Two of our Blade and Arrow couples. Charlie and Rylan are touring the building with Erik. And Nora and Jackson will be getting here a little later. They just finished up a job in DC and had to take a later flight.”

Niall smiles. “It’s great that everyone could be here. I know you’re all so busy.”

Cole grins. “As if we’d miss the official grand opening of our new Blade and Arrow branch? No way.”

“Are you going to just stand around talking or eat some of this food?” Dante approaches our small group with a smile. “What have I been slaving over the stove for hours for?”

Niall’s eyes light up. “So you’re saying the burgers are ready?”

“I am.” Dante’s gaze moves to mine. “Thanks for bringing the dip. And the lemon bars. They look great. Almost like Niall had nothing to do with them.”

“Hey,” Niall huffs. “I can cook. And I helped, for your information.” A beat and then, “I shopped for all the ingredients. And I was there for moral support while Jade cooked.”

I hug him and press a quick kiss to his lips. “You were a big help.”

“Did I hear someone say Niall was a big help cooking?” T.J. joins our little semi-circle, Milena tucked into his arm. “I can’t believe that. I remember that time when he tried to make ramen and set off the smoke detectors. We all had to evacuate.”

“That was over ten years ago,” Niall laughs. “Are you ever going to let me forget that?”

Milena giggles. “Probably not.”

“Come on,” Dante says. “Let’s get some of those burgers before vulture Finn eats all of them.”

---