Jaxson (19 page)

Walking through the house with Max on my heels, I see Lynnie trying to reach something from the top of the closet in the hallway. Coming up behind her, I put my hands on her hips and grab the book she was trying to reach. She turns in my arms and looks up at me with a small grin. “Thank you.”
 

I lean down and press my lips to hers. “You’re welcome.” She doesn’t take the book from me, but she does wrap her arms around my waist.
 

“I want you to look at that book with me.” She releases me and grabs my hand, dragging me to the couch. I take a seat and pull her down into my lap. My stitches were taken out last week and she still treats me with kid gloves. I love that she cares about hurting me, but I want to get back to the way we were already.
 

I’ve even started working on the ranch again against her orders. She’s been babying me since I got stabbed but there is only so much lying around I can do before I get stir crazy.
 

“What is this?” I finally ask. Yesterday her momma brought us over a photograph that she took when we were at Gracilyn’s gravesite. It was breathtakingly beautiful and I showed all the emotions we were both feeling at that moment in time. We were both happy to have her here in Texas with us, but also heartbroken that she wasn’t here with us. We weren’t able to hold our little girl.
 

“Remember when I told you that I wanted to show you the adventures of Gracilyn and I?” I nod, aware that if I spoke the words wouldn’t have come out of my mouth. “Well, I made this scrapbook as part of the healing process. My therapist thought that it would be good to have something to remember my time with her.”
 

Grabbing the back of her neck, I pull her mouth down on mine. I kiss her deeply, full of all the emotions that are currently running through me. When I release her mouth, she wipes under her eyes. Looking at her, I see my past, my present, and my future. Every good memory, as well as every bad one I’ve experienced in my almost thirty years.
 

When she opens the book to the first page, I feel like we are brought back into the past. I see her beautiful face and the way she looked our senior year of high school. Her features are so young looking and every instinct in me wants to protect her from the pain I know that fills her at the end of this album.
 

We look at the photos one by one. She tells me exactly what she was doing and how she was feeling during each photo and part of me feels like I got to be there with them through the whole pregnancy. Every photo brings me closer to feeling like I knew my daughter. A tear falls from my cheek as Lynd comes to the last page. Right in the middle of the page is a larger photo of the day she was born.
 

It’s the same photo that I have tucked into my wallet. The photo I’ve looked at time and time again. For the longest time it was the only part of her that I had, but now I have so much more. I have to woman who gave me that precious gift by my side again and a few dozen photos of them sightseeing all around New York City.
 

Lynnie takes the photo she got from her momma yesterday and puts it into the album as well. Closing my eyes, I try to fight back the emotion, but I can’t. She wipes under my eyes and I do the same for her. “Thank you for sharing this with me.” I murmur. I pull her face closer to mine and gently kiss both of her wet cheeks.
 

“I have some news for you.” My eyes search her face, trying to figure out what her news can be. She sucks in a deep breath before she lets it out and scans my face.
 

“I’m pregnant.” A blush creeps up her cheeks and my arms tighten around her.
 

“Seriously?” She nods her head up and down a few times before she starts to look panicked.
 

“Yes. I’m eight weeks along. At first I thought that it was just from the stress of the…” She trails off and I crush my lips to hers. Talking about me being stabbed makes her tear up every time. She still has nightmares from that night and I do my best to comfort her after them.
 

“You just made my night.” I whisper against her neck. When I pull back, I see her lip tremble.
 

“Are you sure? I’m just so scared about giving birth again. I can’t go through that heartbreak again.” I do my best to calm her fears, but there is no way that I can promise that it won’t happen.
 

“I’m so damn happy. You have no idea. I get to be here every step of the way this time. No matter what happens, you have me to lean on. We do it together. You feel like breaking down, you come to me. I’ll love you through it all.” A smile creeps on her lips and she wraps her arms around my neck.
 

“I love you Jaxson.” My hand goes to her belly and a grin appears on my lips. Words can’t describe how damn happy I am right now. I have everything I’ve ever wanted in my arms right now.
 

“Love you more Lynnie.” I whisper before showing her exactly how much.

The End

Sneak peek at

By K. Renee

Prologue

To say I'm bitter is an understatement. I'm fucking pissed and humiliated. I never thought that every choice I made since leaving to New York would lead me here. I thought I had the perfect life. Hell, I
know
I had the perfect life. I was dating the hottest guy in the city and he was climbing the ranks in the stock company where he worked. Every girl within a forty mile radius wished they were me.
 

Tyler Martin was the epitome of everything you could want in a boyfriend. He was smart, funny, handsome, and amazing in bed. I never wanted for anything in our relationship. Tyler was a successful stockbroker, but the day everything fell apart was the day he was arrested for embezzling and selling insider trade secrets.
 

As I watched them lead him away in handcuffs, he turned to me and said it was all my fault. What did I do? I didn’t force him to make money. I grew up in a small town, so I wasn’t afraid of not having much. Tyler was the one who made me like designer labels. He would insist on paying top dollar for our clothes, even though that wasn’t the real me. I would have been comfortable in my off name brands and second-hand store finds.
 

We were supposed to get married and start our life together. For the last few months, all our friends had been telling me he was going to propose soon. I was excited and extremely nervous at the same time. He didn’t know anything about my past and I wanted to keep it that way.
 

Hell, I still can’t believe he would just throw our lives down the drain like that. He paid for everything we owned. I had no way to pay for anything. I worked as a receptionist in an office building, for crying out loud. Except for a few thousand dollars I have saved for a rainy day, all our combined funds were frozen by the SEC and FBI. By myself, there will be no way to afford our lavish downtown apartment. In a few short weeks, I’ll be homeless with nowhere to go.

Packing as much stuff as I can fit into my car, I decide it is time to go back home. Once I pack everything I can’t bear to leave behind, I make my way back to the small town I grew up in. My mom always said I could come home whenever I needed to. I think it's about time I take her up on that offer.

Chapter One

When I arrive back in Texas, I immediately think about turning around and going right back to New York. I’ve loved New York ever since I moved to the city. The sounds at night were the first thing that got me hooked. Texas is nothing like it. Sure, you have the honky-tonks and wild orchard parties, but you can’t find amazing pizza at two in the morning in Texas.
 

Newcomb, Texas, is about to be my home again, but I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. There are way too many memories here that I’m not ready to face again. Hell, I’m not even sure my parents will be happy to see me after the way I have treated them over the last few years. After ignoring their calls for months, I am now just going to show up on their doorstep like nothing happened?