Page 60 of Redeeming Violet

I didn’t have a choice to follow when she tugged my hand, leaving Cooper and Jaxon alone in the living room. Not that I objected leaving the room, tea sounded perfect - anything to get my head on straight.

“Will they be okay?” I asked.

“Eh. If something breaks, it’s not my house,” she laughed.

We made tea and took it outside to Cooper’s beautiful backyard oasis.

“I love it back here,” I told Abby. “I live in an apartment in Virginia. I don’t have a yard. I hadn’t realized how much I missed sitting outside and enjoying the fresh air.”

“Have Jaxon build you a patio. Maybe he can put in a four-seasons room, so you can enjoy it all year long and you won’t get eaten by those giant mosquitos they have in Maryland. You can take out the glass in the spring and summer and still enjoy the fresh air.”

Build me a patio? She really had the wrong idea.

“Jaxon only brought me here so I could get my feet under me after the kidnapping. That’s all. Nothing more is going on.”

“Nonsense. Jaxon could’ve taken you anywhere. He chose here so you’d be around family.”

“But, really we only just met. We’re just starting out. I don’t think he thought things through.”

“That boy has thought things through since he was five years old. He always studied whatever was in front of him, not making a move or decision until he could predict the outcome. Word of advice, never play chess with him. He’ll win.” How could I make her understand she was wrong? She was, wasn’t she? “Cooper is… smart… he knew how to manipulate Jaxon. Sometimes Jax thinks too much and needs a push in the right direction. Cooper would never had said anything to me if he hadn’t seen his brother struggling. He brought you here for a reason. He needed Cooper. He needed his brother to see for himself how much he loved you, so his brother could push him to a decision. They’ve always been that way.”

“Thinks too much? I don’t think he’s thought about it enough. He asked me to move in.” I realized my mistake when a Cheshire cat smile crossed her face. “It’s too soon, right?”

“There is not an impulsive bone in my boy’s body. He plans, he plots, he thinks, and he takes. What do you want?”

“I want to move in, and build a four seasons room, and have people over for dinner, and come visit you, and bring my brother to meet you. I want to be happy and laugh, I want to see Jaxon smile at me, I want to cook him dinner, I want to tangle my legs with his every night, I want to know everything about him. I want him happy, I want to marry him, I want… him,” I rushed out.

“Then he’s yours.”

“Is he behind me?” I whispered, not wanting to believe I’d heard Jaxon’s voice.

“Did I forget to tell you both my boys are sneaky, too?”

I had been so wrapped up talking to Abby I hadn’t been paying attention to the fact there was no more yelling between the brothers.

“Come here, Vi,” he said.

“I don’t think I can stand,” I admitted, both my knees bouncing with my frayed nerves.

“Excuse me, mom,” he said as he leaned in, put his hand under my pits, and hauled me up into his arms.

It didn’t matter that my knees were knocking together, and I couldn’t catch my balance. Jaxon would hold me. He’d never let me fall.

“I love you, Violet Meyers.”

“I love you, too, Jaxon Cain.”

“You wanna be my wife, huh?”

“Is that an offer?” I giggled.

“One day, soon.”

“Soon?”

“Yes, soon, Vi.”

I smiled against his chest, no longer worried about my intentions, accepting Jaxon’s offer to move in. I did want to put the past behind me. I did want to start fresh, and not go back to living my sad lonely life. I wanted to do those things with Jaxon by my side. I also wanted to give those things to him. I realized, standing outside in the warm California sun, that I wouldn’t change a thing about the last six months. Everything that had happened led me to this moment.