I smiled. “Good.”
“Yup. One step in front of the other. That’s all I can really do.”
I planned to take every single step right there beside him. As long as we kept moving forward, I knew we’d be all right.
“Now, can we get to this damn party? I promised Connor I wouldn’t miss it.” Jax tossed me his keys and headed to the passenger seat of his truck. He’d been letting me drive it around whenever I asked him so I could get more comfortable behind the wheel. We never drove anywhere further than ten minutes, but lucky for us, nowhere in Havenbarrow took longer than ten minutes to get.
Today was Connor’s big birthday bash, and by big I meant huge. Connor was loved by pretty much everyone in town. The whole town’s center was shut down as if a huge festival was in town. There was a Ferris wheel rented, carnival games, and a tilt-a-whirl ride.
Everyone in town showed up to celebrate Connor’s eighteen birthday, which was pretty much Jax’s idea of hell. He still hated the people in town—but he loved Connor more than he’d ever admit.
We parked the truck—which I drove perfectly may I add—and Jax grabbed Connor’s gift from the backseat.
People were running around the festival laughing, hollering, and stuffing their faces with cotton candy and popcorn. It was all so over the top and wonderful. Connor deserved such a celebration.
When Connor said it was a twenty-five-dollar entry fee for his birthday, he wasn’t kidding. There were two teenagers taking the money in at the main gate. I left him a fifty—I was feeling extra wild and giving since I’d finished the first draft of my manuscript. Sure, my agent might not had been able to sell the book to a publisher, and I might’ve had to keep tapping into my savings for a while, but it felt good to be back on track with my dreams and goals.
“Partner, you made it!” Connor said, rushing over to Jax and me with the biggest grin on his face. That wasn’t the only thing on his face. It turned out there was a face painter at his party and Connor had officially become a tiger. I hoped he never changed too much. His spirit was too bright to ever disappear.
Jax smiled. “I couldn’t break our deal. Happy birthday.” He handed Connor his gift.
“I hope you gave me this and my one hundred dollars you owe me.”
“Yeah, yeah, punk. I paid the girls on my way in.”
Connor hurried to open his gift, and he burst out laughing when he saw what was inside. I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows at the oddity of the present.
“Holy fuck!” Connor exclaimed.
“Language,” Jax said.
“No way, Jax. I’m now eighteen so I can say whatever the fuck I want. But seriously, this is the best gift ever.”
I raked up an eyebrow. “Are those…anal beads?”
“They sure are.” Connor grinned ear to ear. “Tell me the truth, Jax. Are these Eddie’s?”
“Wait, what?!” I gasped.
“Never mind,” they said in unison.
You know what? I’d go ahead and let that thought die off. The last thing I needed to do was burst into tears at my next therapy session as I thought about Eddie using anal beads.
“I also got you this,” Jax said, pulling out his wallet.
Connor wiggled his eyebrows. “More money?”
“No, but I think you might like it.” He handed him a business card, and within seconds, Connor got emotional.
He waved the card in the air. “Serious?”
“Yup.”
Connor handed the card over to me to show what was making him so emotional. I read it out loud. “Kilter & Roe Landscaping: Two Men and a Hoe.” Classy. I liked it.
“You really want to start up another business with me?” Connor asked.
“It would be an honor.” Jax held his hand out toward him. “What do you say, partner?”
“I say hell fucking yeah!” Connor jumped around with excitement. “Oh! I almost forgot the best news I had to tell you about my mom. She’s in remission. The cancer is officially gone.”
Jax’s eyes welled with tears as he tossed his arms around Connor and flung him around from excitement. “Fuck yeah!” he hollered.
Connor laughed. “Language, Jax! Anyway. I’ve finally saved up enough to take her to Disney World this winter, and I wanted to invite you both to come with me. You know, I need my partner there to experience the happiest place in the world.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Jax said, grinning so wide. At that moment I was reminded of something so important about life. I was reminded that even though there were dark moments, there were ones filled with light, too. Connor’s mother found a happy ending, and I knew there were so many more happy endings to come in our lives. I was looking forward to all of the moments with Jax. The ups and the downs.