Page 19 of The Wayward Son

“Just bring me the two legs. And there should be a bottled protein drink in the door of the fridge.”

Jade returned from the kitchen a few minutes later with the chicken on a plate and the drink. She set them on the coffee table, then picked up his empty water bottle.

“I’ll get you some more water.”

He grinned at her. “I kind of like having you around.”

“Don’t get used to it. Like I said, I’m bored.”

When she returned, he looked at her. “So you were going to marry Seth and stay at home to be the good little wife?”

“I told you, I was under the influence. Blinded by the prospect of a life so far from what I grew up with. Now that I’m distanced from it, it’s clear to me. I would’ve been miserable.”

“Does he know about where you came from? About your asshole father?”

“No. I couldn’t tell him. I didn’t want to tell him. I think I was afraid he’d reject me.” She shook her head. “Turns out he rejected me anyway. I told him I was from a small-town and my parents were dead and I was raised for a few years by my aunt.”

“Weren’t you afraid she was going to spill the beans?”

“Aunt Joy would never admit to any of that. It’d reflect badly on her. Someone might ask why she didn’t step in sooner. She was all too happy to provide Seth with a slightly sad, but not traumatic, childhood for me.”

“Seems like a hell of a way to enter into a relationship and marriage.”

“You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I wasn’t thinking.” She smiled at him. “That’s why life with you is so easy. You know all my secrets. I don’t need to pretend to be someone I’m not. Or worry about saying something that might expose me as a fraud.”

He studied her for a moment. “Will you promise me something?”

“Anything.”

“Next time you enter into a relationship, be upfront. Tell him everything from the start. If he can’t accept that about you, then walk away. Hell, run away. You deserve to be with someone who loves you for who you are.”

She moved over to the couch and sat next to him. “I think you’re the only person who will ever truly accept me for who I am.”

He bumped her shoulder. “He’s out there. Just stay away from the rich, preppy college guys.”

“So I need to find some hardworking, middle-class guy? A mechanic, or plumber maybe.” She turned toward him. “Or a cowboy. They’re always respectful. A well-off cowboy with a nice family from eastern Montana?”

“J.T.’s already taken. And so is my dad.”

“Dammit. How about your granddad?”

“You might have to fight Lucy for him. But I’m pretty sure you could take her. She’s in her sixties, after all.”

Jade laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad I came to your door, Sawyer.”

“Me too.” He kissed the top of her head. “Now get your ass in the kitchen and bring me another bottle of water.”

She sat up and shoved him. “For that you can get your own bottle of water.”

He got up and went to the kitchen. It was spotless. He took a water bottle from the refrigerator and went back to the living room.

“The kitchen looks better than when I moved into the place. Maybe you could get a job cleaning apartments .”

She frowned. “Cleaning up after you, who is pretty neat for a single guy, is one thing. Cleaning up after a stranger is quite another. No thank you.”

“I thought I was pretty neat. Now, seeing what you’ve done. I’m not so sure.”

“One positive thing that came from living with my father, my house will always be clean.”

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