Page 21 of Unraveled

She tipped her head in acknowledgement and slipped her hand into his. “Adalyn Keller.”

He turned next to the man, who returned his handshake. “Jaxon Keller, and this”—he bounced the baby on his hip—“is Jaclyn.”

“Hey, beautiful.” The baby turned her head into her father’s shoulder, peeking at him with one eye, and he grinned as he gestured down the hallway. “You can follow me.”

He watched with interest as the man wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist, then fell into step behind him. As soon as they were seated along one side of the table, he closed the door and sat opposite them.

While Adalyn extracted a sippy cup and some snacks from a large bag, he took a moment to study them. She wore a wide head wrap to hide a portion of hair that had been shaved away, and the white square of a bandage was visible over her temple. The baby sat on the table in front of Jaxon, her curious gaze flitting around the room.

It suddenly struck him, seeing the baby’s face next to his, how much they looked alike. From her pale blonde locks and bright eyes, she seemed to be the spitting image of her father. They were a beautiful family, which made him all the more curious about their appointment today.

He’d looked over the paperwork just a few days ago, and it seemed like a pretty cut-and-dried case to him—Mrs. Keller had requested to annul the marriage nearly a year ago, and all they were missing was a signature from each party in order to prepare the final paperwork. From the looks of things, though, the annulment no longer seemed to be required.

Finally all settled, Mr. and Mrs. Keller gazed across the table at him expectantly, and he jumped right in. “First of all, I’d like to apologize for not following up sooner. It was an oversight that should never have happened.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jaxon said. “Actually, I’m glad it worked out this way—we both are.”

He and his wife shared a warm look, and he sat back in his chair with a little smile. It wasn’t often that he dealt with happy clients like this. “So,” he began slowly, “should I assume that we can disregard the paperwork?”

“We…” Adalyn faltered for a second, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. “It was kind of an impetuous mistake on my part.”

Her husband draped one arm over the back of her chair and lightly grazed his knuckles across her shoulder. “On both our parts,” he said before turning his icy blue gaze to him. “We met in Vegas a couple years ago. One thing led to another, and…”

His brows rose, and he lifted his chin in understanding as his gaze bounced between them. “Got it.”

As a lawyer, this was precisely the type of situation that he typically advised clients to be extremely wary of. Seemingly aware of the same thing, Adalyn dropped her eyes away, blushing furiously, and Jaxon pulled her closer.

He couldn’t help but wonder how many people had said the exact same thing—that eloping in Vegas was rash and would never work out. Neither tried to defend themselves; they didn’t have to. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that they’d found something special.

Adalyn leaned into her husband, and he dropped a kiss on her forehead. The baby squirmed on the table, one of Jaxon’s arms curled loosely around her, ready to catch her in case anything happened. The man in question turned back to him. “We’ve decided to give things a second chance.”

“Good. I hope it works out for you,” he said sincerely. They truly looked happy, and he wished them the best—but he still couldn’t figure out exactly why they were here. “Well, then, you can disregard the paperwork you’ve received, and I’ll make the changes on my side.”

“I appreciate that,” Jaxon replied, “but there’s actually something I was hoping you could help us with.”

He tipped his head in question, and Jaxon continued. “The woman I spoke with told me you could help us with our wills.”

He nodded. “I can do that. Do you have an existing will, or are you starting from scratch?”

They exchanged a quick look. “From scratch,” Adalyn said.

“I work security,” Jaxon spoke up, “and I want to make sure the girls are taken care of in case anything happens.”

His eyes moved to the insignia on Jaxon’s chest displaying the letters Vantage in white thread, and he nodded thoughtfully. It looked so familiar, but he couldn’t place where he’d last seen it. He tipped his chin toward the logo embroidered into the shirt. “Is that where you work?”

Jaxon’s head dipped, his eyes following his gaze before meeting his again. “Vantage Security,” he clarified. “I was discharged from the Army a couple months ago, and a buddy of mine invited me to come work for him.”

“I’ve seen that logo before.” Focusing intently, he tried to bring the man’s face into view. He’d seen him when he visited Audrey at the health center. What was his name again? He stared across the table at Jaxon. “Tall guy, broad, beard. I met him at the health center not too long ago.”

Jaxon nodded knowingly. “Luke.”

He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. His girlfriend works with a friend of mine.” Calling Audrey a friend sounded childish, but he didn’t have a better word for their relationship—yet. “Is your group local?”

Jaxon nodded. “We do a little bit of everything—PI work, personal protection. We’re in the process of setting up a gym upstairs to offer self-defense courses.”

“Nice. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

With that, they transitioned into a discussion of preparing a living will for both of them, listing assets and beneficiaries. Half an hour later, Jaclyn began to fuss, and he smiled over the table at them. “I can finish this up and send it your way in a couple days to check over.”