Jackson (Tate Family Holidays 1)

She takes her phone back and I can tell she’s overwhelmed with it all.

Smiling at her, I tell her, “Okay. I’m going to grab a coffee. I barely got any sleep last night. Then I’m going to head to the job site.” I tease her, “Hey, by the way, how did you get home this morning?”

She smiles. “Uber. I had to steal one of your shirts, though, for the ride home.” She pulls her apron to the side and shows me my AC/DC T-shirt that she’s wearing.

“Hey, that’s my favorite shirt,” I tell her, trying to pull her back against me. Damn, I like the thought of her in my shirt.

She rolls her eyes at me. “I’ll give it back.”

I shake my head at her. “No. I like you in my shirt.”

She smiles at me, gives me one last kiss and then walks over to a man sitting in a corner booth. He gets up as she approaches and I can’t help but notice when he smiles at her appreciatively. I watch them as I stand in line and once I have a coffee in hand, I walk over to the booth. This may be a bad move on my part, but I don’t even try to talk myself out of it.

Once I approach the table, I apologize for interrupting. Then I lean down and kiss Megan on the lips. “I’ll see you at home later, honey. Be careful.”

The look on her face makes it worth it. She tries to be professional but I see the smile wanting to lift on her lips. Yep, I can’t wait until I get home later.

Megan

The day passes by quickly and I have to admit I’m excited about seeing Jackson. I’m scared too. He acts like he’s over Emily, but I don’t know whether to believe him or not. It’s only been a month. I leave work early, run home and grab an overnight bag and then rush over to his house. I sort of hope I get there before he does. I would like to surprise him.

When I pull into his driveway, his truck isn’t here, unless maybe he’s parked in the garage. There is another car, but it’s parked in the corner of the driveway, making me wonder if maybe it was there last night and I didn’t notice it.

I look under the pot and the key is not there. I knock on the door and I see the curtains move in the window and so I know that someone is there. When no one answers, I knock again. I wait a few seconds and then decide to call him. Picking up my phone, I’m about to hit the connect button when the door flings open. I raise my head with a smile on my face and am stunned. Standing before me is Emily, with one of Jackson’s shirts on and nothing else. Her makeup and hair is all mussed and it really, truly she looks like she just got out of bed.

“Oh hey, I’m sorry. Jackson’s in the shower but he told me to tell you not to bother staying.” She’s smiling and I know she realizes the blow she just gave me. My hand goes to my chest and the pain is excruciating. So this is what it feels like. My heart is ripping in two. I’m just staring at her, speechless and I know the pain is etched on my face. I can’t breathe. Darn, I can’t breathe. I bend over, trying to take deep breaths.

She steps out of the door and her long, thin legs are in my sight. She sounds concerned, but I know better. “Hey, are you all right?” she asks me.

I merely nod my head and then start running to my car. I don’t look at her, I don’t look back. I can’t. Once in the car, I put it in reverse and drive back home, tears rolling down my face the whole way.

Chapter 7

Jackson

I got stuck at work a little later, but I had no choice since I took half the morning off. When I finally leave the job site, I am rushing home and for the first time in a long time, I’m excited about getting there. I hope that Megan’s already there waiting for me.

Pulling into the driveway, I see that Emily’s car is here, and I see her sitting on my porch. I could just pull into the garage and ignore her, but I really don’t want her here when Megan gets here.

I turn off the truck and walk up the sidewalk slowly. Fuck. I hate dealing with this.

“Emily, I don’t know why you’re here but the answer is no.”

“C’mon, Jackson. I messed up. I know I did. But I want you back. I’ll never hurt you again.” She starts crying.

With my key in the door, I turn around to her. She’s good, I’ll give her that. She has the tears rolling down her face. She looks sincere. But I know the truth. I know that she is evil and conniving.