Page 68 of When Our Stars Aligned

Still, there’s a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. Jax hasn’t been in a relationship in over a decade because Maranda broke his trust. I’ve been aware of his last name for a few months and still haven’t mentioned the coincidence. I hope he doesn’t interpret my silence as something sinister. I’m sure I’m overthinking this, but that’s what being with someone like Trent does to you. It boosts your paranoia like it’s on triple steroids.

I enter Jax’s place and find him angrily pacing back and forth with his phone in his hand. He spins on his heels when he hears me come in. His face is hard, his jaw is tense, and his nostrilsare flaring. I take a step back, feeling like I just stepped into a bullpen.

He waves his hand as if to tell me to walk past him. He must’ve picked up on my hesitant body language. I make my way towards the bedroom and start to change out of my work clothes. I guess I’ll hold off on telling him until after he calms down from whatever he’s doing on the phone.

I take my time undressing. I don’t want to go back out into the living room and interrupt him. I can’t imagine who he is talking to. His voice is muffled through the closed door, making it hard to decipher any clear words. Maybe it has to do with the house he’s currently working on? I know he received the wrong shipment of tiles.

A few minutes later, Jax comes into the room still looking upset but not as hardened as earlier. “Hey, sweetheart.” He pulls me into his chest, rests his head on mine, and takes a deep breath. I feel his body relax against mine.

“Everything okay?” I say into his chest since he won’t release me. He often tells me I bring him peace, so I know whatever happened, staying close to him will help.

“Yeah, it’s okay now.” He kisses the top of my head. He loosens his hold a bit, so I’m able to shift myself to look up at him.

“What happened?” I ask. “Who was on the phone?”

“It was a credit card company.” He sighs. “I got a letter in the mail addressed to—” His grip tightens on me once more.

“Addressed to whom?”

“To my ex, Mrs. Maranda Parker.” He abruptly lets go of me and starts pacing again.

“I don’t understand.”

“Even though we were married for less than a year, Maranda still kept my last name until she remarried about a year ago. It drove me insane. It still drives me insane. I know I have acommon last name, but I’m the only male left in my family to carry on our name.”

Jax’s eyes seem to wander off towards a distant memory. “My gram and pop meant so much to me.” He shakes his head. “I stupidly gave it to her and she took it and ran.”

“What do you mean by she took it and ran?” My body stiffens, but I try to act normal even though my anxiety begins to multiply. I don’t want to disappoint Jax. I’m a people pleaser and now I’m feeling like I did something wrong when I didn’t. Oh. My. God.Don’t freak out, Aly.

“I didn’t tell you this before, but soon after we divorced, she opened a bank account and a few credit cards under my last name. It fucked with my credit for a while. I had to hire an attorney to get things straightened out. Eventually, things calmed down, and now that she’s remarried, she finally took her new husband’s last name. But today I got a letter from a credit card company and it was addressed to her.”

“Did she take another credit card out in your name?”

“No, I called the company. It was just an advertisement. They said things like name changes take time to switch over, but it just set me off, you know? I guess it just brought up shitty memories.” He walks over to me and pulls me back into a hug. “Enough about that. How was your day?”

“Oh, it was fine, just the usual.” I hug him back and smile.

Well, I know one thing for sure. Today is not the day I tell Jax my little secret.

38

Jax

I pull into the driveway of my childhood home; I haven’t been back since Gram’s funeral. It’s going to be different this year without her. Back when the grandkids were younger, Gram and Pop would split the holidays between our family and Uncle Chris’s. That all stopped once Uncle Chris and his family moved to Japan. The travel was too extensive for my aging grandparents. By the time my uncle and his family moved back to the States, everyone was in college and doing their own thing. My cousins now live all over the United States. The only family member who lives in Oregon is my cousin Claire. Uncle Chris and Aunt Maria are not too far away in Washington. Sophia lives in Florida, Mia is in Texas, and I’m not sure where Lyndsey is; she and her husband are both active-duty Navy.

The front door opens before I can even reach for the handle, and my sister Emma pops out. I take a step back in shock.

“Whoa! Did you eat the entire turkey, Ems?” It’s so weird to see her pregnant.

“Very funny.” She gives me a hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” I hug her back. “I can’t believe you have two babies cooking in there! How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good despite the fact that I look like a whale,” she says as we head towards the kitchen. The smell of a roasting turkey and my mother’s homemade biscuits fills the air.

“You look great!” I throw my arm around her shoulder and give her a squeeze.

“Emma! You stop that right now! You are positively radiant!” My mother wipes her hands on her apron and heads towards me to give me a hug.

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