Page 36 of Jax

Jax’s so-called “Prez” stared at him a little longer. When his mouth fell open again, I expected him to continue shouting at him like the big, bad motorcycle club presidents were supposed to do. But much to my surprise, all that came out was a weighted sigh. A huge paw ran down his face, tugging on the short brown beard hanging off his thick jaw. He shook his head.

“I wanna say I don’t get what you’re doing, Jax, but a piece of advice for you,” the president said, and despite Jax’s frown, he didn’t stop. “Get your priorities sorted before this escalates any more. You won’t be able to handle this blow out from the Black Jacks if you don’t know what you want to protect and what you don’t.”

From the defiant flinch of Jax’s body, I had a feeling he wanted to argue his capabilities, but he didn’t. He just nodded his head and took his president’s words with a grain of salt.

“And next time,” the guy added, reaching down to the humungous bike nestled between his legs, “don’t miss church.”

With that, the engine’s thunder filled the air, and seconds later the smaller bike started up next to him.

They were gone and leaving dust in their wake and a heavy impression left on more than just Jax.

“You can stop hiding now.”

I stood to attention. My eyes that had been admiring the departure of his motorcycle buddies were now turned to him. Whatever annoyance that had been on his face had gone.

He arched an eyebrow up at me, almost amused as I stood there looking like I’d been caught red-handed. I hadn’t been hiding, but perhaps I should have made myself known instead of just skulking into hearing range.

I pushed through the grass that was beginning to get a bit long and made way up to Jax’s side. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

“It’s fine.” He sighed. “That was my president, Wolf. He may look like a mobster but he’s a good guy.”

“Oh,” I said, surprised at his sudden offer of information. I looked back to the road. “And the one next to him?”

“That’s Pretty Boy. Our youngest. He’s back at school now, trying to get his GED.” Jax smirked up into the distance, looking like a proud big brother. It was a hilarious concept to me. Unfortunately, before I got to experience the true humor in that statement, Jax was walking back over to the barn. “Come on. Let’s get Max’s training started.”

I watched him walk away, admiring the purple skull and wings peering through the thin material of his sweat-drenched shirt. I thought about his cut. About the bleached white skull and lettering stating their name and turf. The same emblem was borne across the backs of the two other members who rode away on their bikes without looking back.

Maybe there was more to Jax’s new life than I thought.

I wondered if I would have the chance to find out or not.

I hoped I would.

Chapter Nine

Jax

Ronnie waited. Her arm was outstretched, breathing in and out with patience, eyes glossed with a lustful yearning for the contents in her palm to be taken.

The horse paid no attention to the grass in her hands.

We’d forgone Max’s breakfast and removed the feeding hay from her barn last night to encourage her toward Ronnie for this next level of her recovery. It was a slow process, and this was after almost a month and a half of hard work.

The season had turned slowly with us; the sun wasn’t rising as high in the sky and a humid breeze rolled through the air as autumn gave its oncoming warning. The crops were almost ready for harvesting, bowing to the earth and rustling like a whispering crowd, but I had yet to spot a red, brown, or even a yellow colored leaf; fall wasn’t yet ready.

Mr. Jenkins had ought to have been home by now, but after further assessment of his recovery, rehabilitation had been put on the table. He was in a center in the neighboring town and was enjoying all the new nurses he’d met. It was safe to say he wouldn’t be back any time soon.

Despite my worries over the old man and the beautiful scenery around me, my eyes were pegged to the one girl that had my mind running in circles. Her brown hair was tied in a braid running down over one shoulder and coming to a rest just above her breast. Her skin had turned even more bronzed under the summer sun, and her whole body, not just her skin, was beginning to have a glow of healthiness that hadn’t been there before. It was an easy to see the contrast as I looked at her now, at how she’d changed in the last six weeks not just physically but emotionally too. The withdrawn and meek side that had been the pinnacle of my concern when I first saw her now changed back to the mouthy, curious, and stubbornness that had plagued me most of my childhood.

A month ago, I probably would have been unnerved by the nostalgia she was churning inside of me, but doingthisagain, the physical labor on the farm, the rekindling of my passion to help horses, and doing it all by her side, it felt okay somehow. The stubborn fight in me had given way to just a hint of reluctance incapable of stopping her from wriggling into my life.

Confidence had always been the ace up my sleeve, no matter the situation. Until this one came along. The grooves of our past defined who I was today, and despite my vow to not let the past be rewritten, I could feel that vengeful heat begin to chill.

Everything that had happened between us was now like a long-forgotten dream. Instead we were acting like two friends reunited.

Mentally, though, I wasn’t ready to forgive Ronnie yet. As blurry as it felt, the memory was still clear in my mind, and I had to trust my head if my heart was going to make it out of this whole. It would be over soon. Max was progressing quicker than I’d expected and soon Ronnie would go back to the place she had chosen over me so long ago.

I will be back to my normal life before I know it.

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