after?” she asked in a tempting voice.
And he was tempted. But with his heart on the line and her feelings unknown, he needed distance. “I need to call Austin, too.”
“Okay. Let me know what they say.” She kissed him on the lips and rolled out of bed, leaving him alone.
Chapter Twelve
Macy showered, letting the warm water run over her skin, soaping her body with strawberry gel, replacing Jaxon’s masculine scent with the fruity one. She didn’t kid herself. She couldn’t rid herself of Jaxon if she wanted to and she didn’t. She loved him. But he had so many walls built up around him she didn’t know if she’d ever get through.
They’d had a moment in bed earlier. She shampooed her hair and tipped her head back to let the bubbles run off. Their bodies had been connected, and for a moment, she’d thought their hearts had as well. But afterwards, she’d felt his defenses go back up and knew he was shutting her out.
Oh, he’d be there for her with Hannah, help deal with the lawyer, go up against Lilah. But the glimpse she’d gotten of his heart? That was locked up tight again.
After conditioning her hair and rinsing off, she stepped out of the shower and onto the fluffy bathroom mat. She dried off and pulled on a dress she’d taken into the bathroom with her and wrapped her damp hair in a bun to dry.
She headed to the kitchen, where she found Jaxon standing by the granite counter, drinking a cup of coffee. “Hi.”
“Hi. Coffee?” He gestured to the brewer.
“I can make it, thanks. Any news from Jonathan?”
He stepped aside so she could get to the machine, and while she popped in a K-cup, he filled her in. “Nothing worth mentioning about Lilah except a low bank balance—don’t ask how he knows that because I didn’t—and a boyfriend who doesn’t have much more money than she does.”
“You’d think that Hannah is wealthy and that’s why she wants custody but–” She was about to explain how Hannah’s insurance from their father was tied up in trust with Macy as trustee and that money was set aside for college when Hannah’s voice sounded through the house followed by the front door slamming.
“Oh, shit.” Macy put the mug down before even taking a sip and rushed to meet her sister in the hall.
Given the black streaks of tears running down Hannah’s face, Macy opted not to lay into her now for sneaking out without leaving a note or asking permission.
“I hate her!”
Macy met Jaxon’s gaze. He appeared as shocked as Macy was. “Who do you hate?” she asked, just to be clear.
“Mom. I overheard her talking to her boyfriend. Do you want to know why she wants me? Because Dad left me insurance and getting custody would give her control of the money.” Her eyes filled again. “He said I was baggage she had to take to get the money but it would be worth it.”
That bitch. Macy was going to kill her. She pulled Hannah into a hug. “Honey, I’m so sorry your mother disappointed you.”
Hannah sniffed. “I wanted to live with her because she was fun. She never got mad at me. She didn’t make me do anything like clean up. I thought it meant she loved me more than you did.”
Jaxon arrived with tissues in his hand and gave them to Hannah, then discreetly stepped away.
“Hannah, I love you. I’ve always told you that. And all the arguments and punishments, those are because I want what’s best for you. And that’s for you to grow up to be a woman with morals and a good sense of right and wrong.”
“I’m sorry.” Hannah wiped her face with the tissues, the black mascara smearing even more. Suddenly her eyes opened wide. “What if Mom gets custody of me? She made me sign a piece of paper saying I wanted to live with her, but that was before. What am I going to do?” She began to panic, wring her hands, and pace.
“Hannah, stop and listen to me. Your money is in a trust. I’m in charge, and even if your mother got custody, she couldn’t touch the money.” Which meant Lilah wasn’t going to want her daughter, and Macy didn’t want to be the one to give Hannah the cold facts.
She wrapped an arm around her sister’s shoulder. “You should go up and wash your face and shower. We can talk about everything that happened some more, and you