Page 101 of Axe Marks the Spot

“Does she see him often?”

“Just one weekend a month. If I had my way, it would be never.”

“Is he not a good parent?” I think of what Kas told me today. Her commentary led me to think he’s not a great guy, but I want to hear it from Lindsey.

She sighs. “He’s fine. He treats Kas well, but he’s an ass to me, and we don’t get along. What annoys me most, though, is his parenting: He tends to treat Kas more like a friend. That means when she comes back from his place, she’s always a little more defiant of me and the rules. Which is already something I’ve had a hard time enforcing, as you’ve started to find out.”

I nod. Lindsey’s already gotten a bit more confident in keeping routines since we started working together, but it’s good to have more information so I can help her better in the future.

“My mom was like that with me,” I say. “I felt more like her friend than her child.”

“Really?”

“She was a sweet woman. I loved her, but she was a shit parent.” I cringe as soon as I say it. That’s probably not something Lindsey wants to hear.

“Did she pass on?”

I nod. “Both my parents.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I say. “It’s been awhile now.” I don’t need to get into the fact that my relationship with my parents, especially my dad, was strained long before they died. It’s not something I need pity for, and I’ve had time to grieve and heal.

“My dad passed away a few years back of a stroke,” Lindsey says.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I say softly.

“Thank you.” She takes another drink of her wine. “My mom is still with us—she actually moved with us to Starlight Haven for about a year, but she missed Santa Solana and moved back. Nathan lives here now, though, as you know. Do you know his story?”

“I don’t know how he met Fox and Morgan, but I know they’re all engaged now.”

Lindsey smiles. “He was coming up to see me two Christmases ago when his car crashed into a snowbank, and they rescued him. He was snowed in with them for a couple of nights, and, well, I don’t need to imagine what happened from there to get them to the point of moving in with each other as fast as they did.”

I smile. I can imagine it. And knowing Fox and Morgan, it must have been a wild experience for Nathan, especially if he was new to kink like Lindsey is.

“They love each other,” I say. “That’s what’s important.”

Lindsey dips her chin. “To be honest, I’m a little jealous.”

I swallow another bite of chicken. “Of what?”

She wipes her mouth. “Of how much they love each other. I don’t know if I’ve ever been loved like that. The way they look at each other, it’s like…I don’t know. Like their souls were meant to be together.”

My chest smarts for the beautiful woman in front of me, and I want to comfort her, to tell her that she’ll find that love. Because there’s no way the world could be so cruel as to let her suffer as much as I’m guessing she already has with her ex. But something in me won’t say it, because I don’t like the idea of her with anyone but me. And it’s too soon to tell her that.

“Fox and Morgan are special people, and I’m sure Nathan is, too. I’m glad they found each other.”

“Me, too.” She sighs. “Anyway, I shouldn’t complain. I have Kas. She loves me—most of the time, at least.” She chuckles to herself. “And, of course, Nathan and my mom.”

“I didn’t think you were complaining. You have a right to want to be loved like you deserve.”

Lindsey’s eyes meet mine. We hold each other’s gaze for a long beat before she asks, “And you?”

“And me, what?”

“Have you had a love like that?”

I have loved, at least like a Dom loves his partners. I’ve also had silly first loves as a teenager. But I’ve never loved so deeply that I wanted to have that person in my life day in and day out.