True for You

Copyright © 2013 by Marquita Valentine

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted
downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information
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by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living
or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The
characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously.

Professionally edited by Cynthia Shepp
Professionally Formatted by Dead River Books Formatting

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More Books by Marquita Valentine
 
Holland Springs Series
Seduction of the Billionaire
Drive Me Crazy
Driving To You
Twice Tempted
Third Time’s A Charm
His Christmas Wish
Just Desserts
Not Over You (coming Dec. 9th)
Be Mine (Coming February 10th, 2014)
 
Boys of the South (New Adult Series)
Live For You
Only For You
All For You
True For You
Wish For You (coming January 20th, 2014)

True For You

Jackson

For
me, failure has never been an option, not with Everett Morgan
controlling my entire career. But when my efforts to win back the
girl who got away end up with me helping my rival, I concede
defeat--and sneak away to a private island off the coast of South
Carolina to lick my wounds. 

Only
I wasn't counting on the seamstress for the band driving the getaway
car. Or waking up the next day, with Bliss in my bed and a ring on
her finger…and absolutely no memory of the wedding.

Bliss
terrifies me while giving me  =hope that I can be more, that I
can be this guy no one else can see, but her. Only I'm not sure who I
want to be…except free.

Bliss

I may not have
finished high school, but I graduated with honors from the school of
hard knocks. Four years ago, after barely surviving the second most
terrifying ordeal of my life, I ran away from my foster parents and
never looked back.

Then,
with one reckless decision, I wind up married to Jaxon Hunter,
country music's biggest bad boy. Only to me, he's Jackson Morgan,
equal parts sweet and selfish, thoughtful and arrogant…prideful
and humble.

Try
as I might not to, I'm falling in love with him. Only a future with
Jackson can't happen without reconciling with his past. But I'm not
sure if I can endure the drama, the secrets…or competing with
the only woman Jackson has ever loved
.

Jackson

There’s
no other place I’d rather be than on stage, singing to a full
house. Women scream my name. Guys want to be me, though they’d
never admit it out loud.

But
tonight, they’re yelling for an entirely different reason. They
want a reunion between my ex-girlfriend and me. She’s the only
woman I’ve ever loved.

Glancing
to my right, I nod at the stage manager. He moves out of the way, but
my ex-girlfriend isn’t standing there. Bliss Davenport is.
She’s dressed like usual, loose jeans and a loose top with
curly hair falling over her shoulders.

She’s
watching me, like always. Only I don’t mind. In fact, I want to
join her in the shadows... I want to put my mouth on her again and
make her cry out my name.

Suddenly,
Violet appears, holding her guitar and waiting for her cue. She rolls
her eyes when she catches me staring.

I’m
not staring at you
,
I want to shout, but I can’t, because we’re on stage and
I have to pretend I love Violet.

I
mean, I do love her.

Violet
sashays on stage, waving at the crowd and flirting with me. She’s
pretending she loves me, right now. She’s pretending that, as
we sing, there’s no one for her but me. Only I know she’s
wishing she was singing for another guy. The one she really wants to
be with, the one that has her heart now.

But
that’s not going to stop me. Oh, no.

After
the song is over and we exit the stage, I search for Bliss, but she’s
not there anymore, and try as hard as I might to prevent it from
happening, my heart sinks anyway.

“You’re
supposed to look at Violet, not the damn wardrobe girl,”
Everett growls.

Looking
around, there’s no one for miles it seems. The hallway is
empty. “I’ll do better tomorrow night.”

“Damn
right you will.” Out of nowhere, he hits me in the back of my
head. Black dots dance in front of my eyes. “Just in case you
forget, there’s more where that came from.”

Refusing
to give him the satisfaction of seeing me in pain, I make my hands
stay at my side, and I make my face remain neutral. “Just in
case you forget, I’m bigger than you now,” I snap.

Everett
barks out a laugh. “You won’t hit me back. Hell, you
won’t hit me first.” He walks away, confident that I
won’t take a swing.

Impotent
rage fills me. I’m twenty-four years old and still afraid of
the one man that was supposed to keep me safe.

How
messed up is that?

I
head to my bus, throwing open the door, and immediately heading to my
favorite cabinet. Bypassing a glass, I hit the bottle. When the first
pull of whiskey burns my throat, I smile. And by the time half the
alcohol is gone, I’m floating a million miles away.

***

Fifteen
years earlier

A
little girl with big green eyes and curly brown hair holds out her
hand. “I won’t hurt you,” she whispers.

“How
did you find me?” My fort is the same color as the bushes, hard
to find unless you know exactly where to look.

She
wiggles a foot, her hand falling to her side. “I heard you
crying.”

I
swipe the back of my hand under my nose. “Boys don’t
cry.”

This
morning, I’d made breakfast for my momma’s birthday. Only
she’d gotten mad when I’d tripped in her room and spilled
syrup all over her new rug. She’d shoved me down, face first
into the rug, and smacked my bottom until it burned, and then started
smacking my legs.

Then
she screamed something about her hand hurting and reached for one of
her slippers. My daddy had been the one to save me from her, but I’d
run away as soon as they’d started fighting.

This
is where I always go when they fight, or I’m feeling scared.
One day, though, I’m going to have my own house. A special
place that only the people I love and love me get to stay.

“I’m
Junie. What’s your name?” Junie gets on her knees and
crawls in beside me.

“Jackson.”
While I was making breakfast for my momma, I saw Junie and her dad
pull up. Her daddy had gone into my daddy’s garage. She’d
skipped alongside them.

“That’s
a nice name.” She holds out a bag of hot snaps. “Want
some?”

“No.”
One time I ate a bag of those, and my stomach felt like it was on
fire for the rest of the day.

“How
old are you?” she asks and eats a handful of those spicy
things.

“Eight
and three-quarters.”

“I’m
just five, no quarters.” She smiles at me, big enough so I can
see that there’s a tooth missing from the top of her mouth.
“Wanna swing?”

I
do, but my butt hurts too much. I’m wiggling around a lot, like
when I have to go pee, but can’t, because I’m not done
practicing my music lessons. “Swinging is for girls.”

She
gets all quiet again, then, “What would you like to do?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh,”
she says, and then sighs. “My daddy and your daddy used to go
to school together. They were bestest friends.”

“Do
you like school?”

“I
guess.”

“I
like school. My teacher is nice.” She keeps talking and I keep
listening, until she hands my guitar to me. “Play for me?”
she asks, batting her lashes at me.

With
my guitar in my hands, I feel better. Playing music always makes me
feel better. “What song would you like to hear?”

She
shrugs. “I dunno.” I play a couple songs for her. She
claps for me, and my chest puffs up.

“Last one,”
I say.

“Play
something happy!”

Try
as I might, I can’t think of a single happy song to play.
Instead, I set the guitar down and glance at her. “Does your
momma hit you?”

“Is
that why you were crying?”

“Maybe.”
I grab one of my ARMY men and pretend to shoot the bad guy, not
wanting to look at her.

“One
time I tried to get my ball from the road, and Mrs. Willis almost hit
me with her car. My momma hugged me, popped my bottom, and then
hugged me again,” Junie says, and my head jerks up.

“What
did your daddy do?”

“He
popped my bottom, too, and then fussed at me for not listening.”

I
scrunched up my nose. “That’s it?”

“Well, he
hugged me later and I promised to listen next time.” Her eyes
get even bigger. “I’ll never, ever go in the road again.”

She
gets quiet again, and so do I. I wonder if she’s lying to me,
because sometimes kids do that when they don’t want to get in
trouble. I lie all the time so I don’t get in trouble with my
momma.

“If
they hit you again, I’ll come save you.” Like my daddy
would. He always saves me. “Or if you just need me, I’ll
save you, no matter what.”

Junie
looks at me and leans close. She has freckles on her nose and cheeks.
“If you need me, I’ll save you, no matter what.”

Before
I can tell her boys don’t need saving, her daddy calls her
name.

“Coming!”
She gives me a hug and leaves my safe place, pausing at the front to
whisper, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Junie
shows up again and again to play with me. Mostly we play big kid
games, but sometimes, Junie wants to play baby games, so I let her be
the mommy and I’m the daddy.

“You
can’t tell anyone, or I won’t play with you anymore,”
I warn, not meaning it. My parents never let any of my friends from
school come over. I’m only allowed to go to their house. For
some reason, I don’t get invited very many places.

“I
promise. “ Her face is serious as she hands me her baby doll.
“Hold her like this so she’ll feel safe.” She
brushes my shoulder with her hand, and I make a noise.

“Ouch.”

“What’s
wrong?” Before I can stop her, she lifts up my sleeve,
revealing the four adult-sized fingerprint bruises on my skin. “Did
you fall down?”

I
hold on to her baby doll, trying to not to cry. “No.” I
hadn’t fallen. I’d gotten in between my momma and her
pills. I thought that if I threw them away, she’d be nice all
the time.

“Do
you want me to save you? I’ll tell my daddy—”

“No,”
I shout, throwing her doll to the ground. “I don’t want
to play this stupid game anymore.”

June
starts to cry and picks up her doll, carefully checking her. “You
didn’t have to hurt my baby.”

“It’s
not a real baby. It’s pretend and stupid.”

Her
lower lip pokes out, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “Friends
aren’t mean to each other, and they don’t say stupid.”
She starts walking away, and I can’t stand it.

“Stop.
I didn’t mean it.”

She
turns around. “Say you’re sorry,” she sniffs.

“I’m
sorry.”

She
holds out her doll to me. “Now tell Teresa you’re sorry.”

“Sorry,
Teresa,” I mumble.

“Good
job,” she says, like I’m her dog or something. Then she
holds out her hand. I stare at it, and then take it. “I hope
your boo-boos go away.”