Page 96 of For the Promise

Blossom

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Jaxon says as he drives toward his parents’ house for Sunday lunch.

I gasp. “Of course, I want to go. How else am I going to learn all the embarrassing stories about you as a child?”

He frowns. “You won’t learn them from my mom or Stuart.”

My brow wrinkles. “I get Stuart didn’t come into your life until recently but surely your mom has some juicy stories about you getting caught trying to sneak into the house after being out all night with your girlfriend. How about the time you came home drunk and threw up all over the front porch after trying Smuggler’s Hideaway moonshine for the first time?”

“I’ve never thrown up on the front porch before.”

“Aha! But you do admit to throwing up after the first time you tried Smuggler’s Hideaway moonshine.”

He grimaces. “Everyone throws up after the first time they try Smuggler’s Hideaway moonshine.”

“I didn’t.”

He glances over at me. “Really?”

“Yep.” I grin. “Paisley forced me to drink a gallon of water after each shot of moonshine. I had to pee every thirty minutes for two days but I didn’t throw up.”

“Two days? The liquid should have—”

I place a finger over his lips to stop him. “Exaggeration was for entertainment purposes.”

“I understand.” He captures my hand and places it on his thigh. “My brothers are excellent at exaggeration.”

“Do you get together every Sunday at your mom’s house?”

“Not every Sunday.”

What I wouldn’t do to have a mom’s house to gather at every Sunday with my siblings. But Jaxon’s face reminds me of a convict on his way to the death chair.

“Can I ask why you don’t want to go?”

“I didn’t say I don’t want to go.”

“You didn’t have to. Your face says it all.”

He sighs. “It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with my family. But I’m worried what prank my brothers are going to try and pull since we’re in the middle of this prank war.”

My brow wrinkles. “Your mom is okay with them playing pranks at her house?”

“Mom can’t complain.”

“What do you mean? In my experience, moms can always complain.”

“Forget I said anything.”

“Nope. I am not forgetting anything.”

“We’re almost there.”

I motion to a side street. “Pull over and explain yourself.”

He scowls but does as I said and pulls over. He drums his fingers on the steering wheel for a few long seconds before finally admitting, “I don’t want to disparage my mother. Not in front of you considering your history.”

I grasp his hand to stop the drumming. “Jaxon, I…”

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