point out that this whole entire situation was strange.
A corner of her lips twitched with a faint amusement. “I know what you’re thinking.”
He quirked his eyebrows. “You do?”
“Yep. You’re thinking this whole situation is one big crazy mess.”
A deep chuckle rose in his throat. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
Her face fell. “You’re wishing you hadn’t crossed paths with me,” she said morosely.
He jumped to answer. “No, that’s not it at all.” Again, he had an intense desire to protect her.
A cautious hope stirred in her eyes. “Really?” she asked quietly.
“Really,” he asserted. “I told you I’d help however I can, and I meant it.”
Her eyes misted. “Thank you,” she uttered. “You have no idea how much that means to me.” She looked down.
This time, he couldn’t stop himself. He reached out and placed a hand over hers, marveling at the electric charge that buzzed through him. He could tell from her slight flinch that she’d felt it too. Interesting that they would still have so much heat between them, even after all this time. Her skin was warm and inviting beneath his. His breath ran faster as his eyes followed the graceful line of her milky neck, moving up to her chin, her prominent cheekbones, her piercing eyes feathered with thick lashes, sculpted eyebrows. She really was incredibly beautiful. No wonder he’d fallen so hard for her. “I’m not going anywhere.” The certainty in his voice was so intense that it surprised even him. Hadn’t he learned before that she couldn’t be trusted? In her defense, they were kids. Still, a zebra didn’t often change its stripes.
For years, Jaxson had made sure to keep the upper hand in every relationship by not caring too much. With Lemon, it would be too easy to slip back into old patterns. She looked up, her gaze doing strange things to his insides. How was it that Lemon wielded so much power over him? Thankfully, she didn’t seem cognizant of that fact. He’d need to make dang sure that she never realized. “You have my word,” he finished.
“Jaxson.” His name was a soft sigh on her breath. Her eyes were vulnerable, searching. “What were we to each other?”
His breath hitched. Did he dare tell her the truth? Would it be too much for her to handle? He didn’t want to lie. He could downplay the situation, tell her that yeah, they’d dated but it was more of a casual thing.
The clearing of a throat caused them both to look up. There stood Daddy, holding a white food bag, amusement coloring his features. “Good morning,” he boomed. “I was gonna ask how things are going, but from the looks of things I’d say y’all are as fine as frog hair.”
Lemon snatched her hand away from Jaxson’s as a nervous laugh trembled from her throat. Her face was cherry red. “Um, that wasn’t what it looked like,” she said, her hand going up around her neck.
“Never is,” Daddy winked. “Like the science test, huh?”
“Science test. I don’t understand.” Lemon gave Jaxson a questioning look.
Jaxson shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.” He couldn’t explain Daddy’s snide comment without delving into the past. Daddy knew that, which is why he was razzing Jaxson about it.
“Tell him that nothing was going on,” Lemon insisted, gritting her teeth.
“Nothing was going on,” Jaxson said dutifully as he sniggered.
Lemon scoffed. “You’re no help.”
“I’m just teasing. It was purely innocent,” Jaxson admitted.
“Uh, huh,” Daddy said, a twinkle in his light eyes. “I figured y’all would be hungry, so I stopped by Jack’s and grabbed some sausage biscuits.”
“Thanks,” Jaxson said heartily. His stomach growled loudly. He clutched it, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Laughter issued from Lemon’s throat. “We’d better feed your stomach before it eats your intestines.”
Daddy grinned admiringly. “I like her,” he said to Jaxson. “You got any orange juice?” He deposited the bag on the table and went to the refrigerator.
“Yep, sure do,” Jaxson answered. His thoughts went to Daddy’s science test comment. He and Lemon were in his bedroom, studying for a test. One thing led to another, and before long, they were making out. Daddy opened the door. Lemon’s face had turned redder than a sunburn, much like it had a few minutes ago. Shortly thereafter, Daddy made a new rule. From then on, no girls were allowed in the bedroom.
After getting three glasses out of the cupboard. Daddy plopped down in a chair and began pouring the orange juice. He held out his hands to both of them. Jaxson grinned