“Charlie won’t kick you in the balls for dating his sister,” I say, still giggling as I scoop a barking Bella into my arms and nestle her between our chests.
Despite the chaos in the room right now, Jax doesn’t try to quiet me. He watches me, his eyes soft as he radiates his own happiness that’s beautiful to see.
“I hope you realize how much I care for you, Freckles. I’m going to risk my balls for you tomorrow.”
“You’ll be fine. Charlie won’t touch you.”I hope.
Chapter Forty-Three
Jax
Before we leftfor our trip, Charlie and I agreed to let Lauren sleep in while we’re here. She needs the rest more than she needs to be included in our almost inevitable failure this morning.
On my way to the kitchen, I grab Bella from her kennel and let her outside to do her business. Then I creep back to the coffee pot with her in my arms as I try my best to avoid all the squeaky spots in the floorboards. Even though it’s been a few years since I’ve been up to the cabin, Charlie and I came here enough in high school and into college that I’ve practically memorized them.
Charlie joins me while the coffee brews. He’s already dressed, which makes me wonder if he even slept at all, but he smiles brightly as he greets Bella and me. Maybe the time alone was exactly what he needed to get his head on straight.
The coffee maker stops, and Charlie isn’t shy about taking the first cup. He’s always been a coffee fiend.
“This is probably the first time we’ve been alone together since I got into town, huh?”he notes, blowing on the steaming mug.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“We’ll have a lot to catch up on.”
He’s still smiling, but there’s something in his tone that sends me into high alert. Ignoring it, I pull Bella closer to my chest. “Yeah, I want to hear all about your life in Hollywood, and everywhere else for that matter. Have you still been traveling a lot for work lately?”
He rolls his eyes. “You and I both know I don’t live in Hollywood, and my life isn’t that glamorous. I’m more interested in what I’ve been missing out on at home.”
“Eh, you know Roots. Not much happens around here.”
He sets down his mug, reaching for a thermos in the cabinets to take the rest of his coffee for the road.
“Want one?” He holds out a blue thermos with some cheesy saying about hunting on it.
“I’m good. I haven’t been drinking much of the stuff lately. I’m already going to be jittery.”
What I fail to mention is that I haven’t been drinking coffee because Lauren doesn’t drink it. She bought me coffee grounds and a coffee maker for her house, but I don’t need the extra zing of energy in the morning anymore when I’m with her.
It’s as if Charlie can tell I’m holding that information back because he eyes me closely, looking as if he wants to say something.
Pressing his lips together, he heads toward the door. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yup. Should we leave a note for Lauren to let her know when we left?”
“She’ll be fine.” His words have a bite to them, so I don’t argue.
I put Bella in her kennel, muttering an apology before I head to the garage to grab my bow and the rest of our gear.
The deer stand isn’t too far from the cabin, and the cold snap that swept through this part of Texas is long gone, so we opt to walk. It’s a little more discreet than taking the four wheelers.
As soon as we’ve set everything up in the stand, Charlie turns to me, a creepy smile on his face. “You have to fill me in on what happened with that girl you were seeing. You know, the one who wanted to keep things a secret?”
The hair on the back of my neck prickles as I note his grip tightening on his bow.
“There’s not much to tell.”
“Well, are you still seeing her?”
