Page 53 of Attraction & Repulsion

Tossing his phone on the night stand he rolled on his side to nestle down into the sheets and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t be ludicrous, Mr. Hoover. I’m staying.”

Instead of objecting, Carson lifted her head and kissed his prickly chin. “Is it alright if I fall asleep now?”

“Sleep. You need it.”

After nuzzling her body into Jax, Carson closed her eyes. With all her energy drained and a smile on her face, she was fast asleep within seconds.

Chapter eighteen

Jax was standing on his front porch when Carson rolled into the driveway. It was too cold of a night to be outside. The weatherman had been warning the public for days about a cold front that would hit Thanksgiving Day. Even with the heater on full blast and a thick sweater, Carson wished she had put on fuzzier socks and a beanie.

The drizzle of rain didn’t deter him from ambling around to the passenger side as soon as her truck stopped. He let the icy droplets land on his face, wetting his hair. If it were Carson, she’d be dashing to get into the warm cab.

Jax slipped inside, his build squeezing into Carson’s smaller pickup. Maybe that was why he’d purchased a diesel equipped with more spacious seating.

“Hey,” Carson said, turning down the radio as a new song began. It was a Christmas carol that had no right to be playing on Thanksgiving.

“Hi.” The tip of Jax’s nose was red. He wasn’t even wearing a jacket, just a gray long-sleeved flannel that definitely wasn’t thick enough to battle the weather.

“You’re not cold?” Carson asked.

Looking down at himself, he barely lifted his shoulders. “Not really.”

Although Jax’s body was beside her, she could tell his mind wassomewhere else entirely.

Hundreds of scenarios flashed in Carson’s mind. Was it Kristen? Was she planning to continue her fight for money? Or had something happened to one of his family members? His sister-in-law just had her baby. Had he finally had enough of Carson’s problems and decided to break up with her?

“Everything okay?” Her question was timid, afraid that she might scare him off.

Closing his eyes, Jax leaned his head back. Even in the dim light, Carson could have sworn she saw the color drain from his face.

“Hey, what’s going on?” She reached over and grabbed his freezing hand. As soon as she touched him, he put his other hand on top of hers. Hopefully Carson’s fingers were hot enough to warm his.

Jax chose silence for a little longer, squeezing his eyes shut. His breathing was slow, methodical.

“Talk to me, Jax.”

Eyes fluttering open, he looked down at his lap.

“Did something happen at work today?” she asked.

Jax let out a long breath. “We got a call for DV.”

“DV?”

“Domestic violence.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Carson rubbed her thumb against his hand in an attempt to encourage him.

“The husband went into a drunken rage. We were treating the wife’s injuries trying to persuade her to go to the hospital. But she couldn’t because she had children.” Jax had to swallow before he could continue. “Then four little boys came down the stairs.”

It only took a second for his words to register what that meant to him.Oh.

Finally, Jax looked at her, eyes wet with history. “I saw myself. I saw my family. That was my ma who was black and blue.” He buried his face in his hands, and his shoulders began to shake as his whispered sobs filled the silent night air.

“I’m so sorry, Jax,” Carson said, her own sobs threatening to clog her throat.

How she wished she could take away his pain. Make him forget the horrors of his childhood. She reached up to touch his shoulders, an attempt to soothe him. At her touch, Jax unraveled and rolled into her, and Carson stretched her arms around him in the small of the front seat.

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