He nodded. "Never looked back. Mum's mum knew Denver was a ratbag all along and didn't trust Jackie's judgement, so she left me the mine in her will and I headed west to prove myself."
Ironic, that in proving himself, he'd almost ruined her. If the Seaborn mine went under, so didSeabornjewel company.
Not worth thinking along about when they'd come so far, and would continue to grow, together, if she had any say in the matter.
"You've never visited him?
Jax’s incredulity answered the question before he opened his mouth. "I want nothing to do with him."
Her fingers stilled as she covered one of his hands with hers. "I heard his appeal's coming up."
A deep frown slashed Jax’s brows. "Yeah, as I'm constantly reminded by the press contacting me for the inside scoop." He scowled. "Those vultures won't take no for an answer."
"Might be good to talk to them to stop them badgering you? Or maybe go see your dad, kind of like an exorcism of the past?"
He stared at her as if she'd suggested he break his dad out of jail.
"I've spent the last decade distancing myself from the old man's poison. Why on earth would I want to see him?"
She saw the shadows clouding his eyes, the pain contorting his mouth, and wanted to butt out. But intimacy went beyond the physical and he had to let her in.
"Because he's your father, and you said you had a great relationship until he was arrested." She took a deep breath and ploughed on. “It might help you lose the latent anger eating you up inside."
"You don't know anything about me," he muttered, his expression bleak as he glared at some spot over her right shoulder.
"Yeah, I do," she said, intertwining her fingers with his and gripping tight. "You're an incredible guy and it's not worth letting the past twist you into knots. Maybe if you talked to him—"
"No." Jax flung off the covers and stood so fast she almost tipped off the edge of the bed.
"Jax—"
"I'm taking a shower."
He stalked across the room, emotionally closed off, the distance between them bigger than ever. If she hadn't already realised she'd fallen in love with him, she would've known it at that moment, because his impressive butt didn't register as much as the anger radiating off him.
She did the only thing a woman in love could do.
She followed him.
Chapter 31
Jax lifted the flick mixer and stepped under the rain-shower head, wishing the hot water would wash away the anger and bitterness and regret gnawing his soul.
Regret he hadn't confronted his dad years ago, regret he hadn't engaged a PI to find his mum, regret he'd blurted his sorry tale to Ruby.
Way to go with making this a romantic weekend.
He'd screwed up. Big time.
If there was one thing he hated more than thinking about his dad, it was pity. Pity he'd seen in Ruby's expressive eyes.
He thumped the stone wall, wishing he could punch it until his knuckles bled. Not that it would help. He'd trodden the road to oblivion in his twenties, losing himself in alcohol and women, until he'd found a new way to obliterate the humiliation of being Denver Maroney's son: making millions his dad could never touch.
Not that he'd ever been a drunk or a user, but for the first six months after Denver went to jail and the business world continually rejected him, he'd drowned his sorrows by partying as hard as dear old Dad used to.
Until he inherited the mine and never looked back.
Jax hadn't been back to Melbourne in ten years, avoiding the ghosts of his past. Now, thanks to an amazing woman, he was considering staying put.
