I wipe my face, get out of the car, and walk inside.
Jax is in the living room. He takes one look at me and stands.
“What happened?”
“My mom called.”
“Your mom?”
I nod. “I haven’t talked to her in years. She’s… she’s not mad at me.” I burst into tears.
Jax crosses the room, pulls me into his chest, and I cry into his shirt while he holds me.
“That’s good, Tiger,” he says quietly. “That’s really good.”
The front door opens, and Zephyr walks in. “Everything okay?”
“Tiger’s mom called,” Jax explains.
“Shit. Is she—”
“She’s okay,” I say quickly. “It was good.”
Callum appears behind Zephyr. “Whose mom called?”
“Mine,” I tell him.
“From prison?”
“Yeah.”
They all look at each other. Then at me.
I tell them about the call. About what my mom said. About how she wants me to be happy, and she thinks she’s going to get out of prison soon.
“Are you?” Zephyr asks. “Happy?”
I look at Jax and nod. “Yeah.”
“Good,” Jax says. His arm is around my shoulders.
Chapter Fifty: Jax
I’m holding her and thinking about that word.
Happy.
She said it so easily. She didn’t even hesitate.
My arm is around her shoulders like I’ve made a decision and I’m sticking with it.
But inside, I’m still fighting myself. Still wrestling with the part of me that wants to be the only one. The one who gets her completely. The one who doesn’t have to share.
Except I already lost that fight.
I lost it the second I came back. The second I helped her get Zinnia. The second I watched her smile at Zephyr and laugh with Callum and realized she needs all three of us.
Not just me.
