Page 120 of Jax

“It’s not my fault, you won’t move your lazy ass,” I growled, tempted to poke her with the pitch fork right in the backside. Unfortunately, I knew better.

Instead, I just returned her glare and went back to work, ignoring her. I shoveled all her dirty hay from around her, leaving the little island of hay she refused to get up from, determined to get in the way of my work.

Max had never been cooperative, but this was just pure stubbornness.

“Should’ve just made you into glue,” I grumbled under my breath.

Her ears twitched, but otherwise, she didn’t catch my comment.

Tutting, I rolled the wheelbarrow over, my back aching and sore from overwork as I continued with my task.

Smart people would say I was punishing myself for the small seed of regret that had buried itself deep in my chest last night when I’d all but strapped Jax to the cross and left him to be crucified.

I could feel that niggling thought at the back of mind, the one saying I wanted to take back the words I’d said, and even worse, the thought saying I wanted to go and apologize. But logic told me to ignore it.

It wasn’t like I was wrong after all…

All those things I had said were true. I did blame him for leaving me behind. I blamed him for making me feel like I failed him when I didn’t follow him. And that I deserved to be where I was because I was the idiot who let my real love get away.

But every rider must have a horse.

I wasn’t innocent either. Blaming Jax for things I was too cowardly to fight. Too stubborn to accept. And too persecuting to see the truth.

That I was responsible for my actions. Whatever led to them had a part, but ultimately, it was me who made my choices, and it was unfair for me to shove that entire burden onto Jax.

A huge sigh took the last of my strength from my arms as I propped up my fork and buried my head into its handle. I ground my skull against the wood, a headache brewing inside. “Why do I have to have such a temper?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

I froze.

My body screamed to turn around, but not a single muscle moved. Like a monster creeping up behind me, I couldn’t break through the ice-cold fear trapping me to even look in his direction.

People said that your heart rate rises in fear. But mine didn’t. The slow, heavy thud in my ears grew slower and slower until I wasn’t even sure I could hear it anymore. I believed I was dead until I heard that heavy thrum ripple over my deathly still body.

Max bolted to her feet, kicking against her stall, chuffing and wailing.

Her ripples sent the stall gate swinging shut between me, the barrel, and her. It would have been better to have her on my side, but a horse was creature of flight, not fight, and as much as I wished she could protect me, I didn’t want to drag her into a fight with a beast. Not when I didn’t even know what it was capable of anymore. Or if it was even human to begin with.

“Isn’t my belovedwifegoing to look at her husband’s face?” He spat the words with venom under the guise of his soft southern twang.

My weak grip caused the pitchfork to slip from my fingers and clatter against the side of the stall gate.

The noise jolted my body, and before my cowardice could hold me back, my eyes jerked from my feet to the face that haunted my nightmares.

His jet-black Stetson sat atop his cropped dark hair, dark eyes overshadowed from its brim, but not reaching low enough to cover the warm-toned lips curved into a Cheshire cat’s smile. The cry of Texas sung from his clothes: an unchanging traditional man, bolo tie, embroidered shirt, and tight jeans. Even his goddamn boots.

Not a single hair was out of place.

“Jacob,” I whispered, like a curse that should never have been spoken. The sick churning in my stomach as the words came out of my mouth had reality setting down hard on top of me.

This was no longer a nightmare.

He was here.

He found me.

“What’s this?” he purred, his crooked grin widening even more. “You don’t look happy to see me?” Like a wild jackal cornering his prey, his boots stalked closer one step at a time. “Surely, you knew I’d find you eventually.”

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