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“You know she’s just scared, and she’s going to fight you on it and try to come off like she doesn’t feel anything, but…she does. She’s lost so much, Jackson. There are walls she’s built up around herself. It’s a defense mechanism. But believe me when I tell you that she feels and she feels deeply…you scare her because you’re the first person she’s let her guard down with and it’s because of your connection to me that’s gonna make her run.”
What if right now she was planning on leaving? What if he showed up here tomorrow or next week and she was gone? She was a flight risk and he wasn’t sure he was willing to give her the time or the space she might normally need. The clock was ticking and even though it scared the hell out of him, Jackson wanted her to know how he felt.
He loved her.
Seriously, he fell in love at first sight.
He’d been so wrapped up in this messed up situation with his father that he never got to tell her or even show her how he felt. All he knew was that she was it for him. It was fast and everything about their time together wasn’t completely logical, but that didn’t make his feelings any less sincere.
He loved her.
Savannah had spent her entire life living in limbo and he wanted to be the one to show her what a home and family truly were. Jackson knew she had her adoptive parents, but from everything she and Cash had shared, it didn’t sound like things were stable there for all that long. He wanted to show her Magnolia Sound and everything his great-grandfather had created and that all his brothers and cousins and aunts and uncles were doing to carry on the tradition. He wanted to bring her to holiday celebrations and introduce her to his friends and build a life with her—one where she could put her stamp on all of it because it belonged to her.
Hell, he wanted to give her the world.
She had a long list of people who had left her—either by choice or unforeseeable and tragic circumstances. He knew she’d never forget any of them, but he also wanted her to remember the person who wanted to stay with her.
His entire life, relationships of any kind came easily to Jackson; he was a fairly easygoing person and even when he broke up with women, it was always amicably. But what he had with Savannah was different. She was different. And he knew this was a relationship he was going to have to work at, but if she cared about him even half as much as he cared about her, he’d consider that a win.
She was worth it.
“Jackson?”
He turned at the sound of Savannah’s sleepy voice. Her hair was in total disarray and she wasn’t too steady on her feet, but as she rubbed her eyes and yawned, he had the uncontrollable urge to kiss her.
So he did.
“Good morning,” he said, slowly wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Mmm…good morning.” Resting her head on his shoulder, she asked, “How come you’re up so early? I thought for sure you’d still be asleep when I woke up.”
When she yawned again, he carefully turned them and walked back to her bedroom where they curled up together. “My mind was racing as soon as I opened my eyes, so I figured I’d go out to the living room so I wouldn’t wake you.”
She snuggled close and hummed softly but didn’t say a word.
“Garrett texted and said Cash had a peaceful night,” he told her. “He’s heading home to shower and change and check in with Emma, and I told him I’d meet him back up at the hospital at nine. Austin and Mia have a doctor’s appointment so he’ll be there at ten.” Pausing, he reached up and gently played with her hair. “I wasn’t sure what your plans were for the day, but maybe you and I can go together.”
Still she didn’t say a word.
“Austin’s supposed to stop and get some cinnamon rolls from Henderson’s. They’re some of Cash’s favorites, so…I thought if he felt like eating today, he might appreciate having them there. Plus…you know…I’m always up for some of Mrs. H’s stuff.”
This time when she didn’t speak, he wondered if she’d fallen back to sleep.
“Um…Savannah?”
“Hmm?”
“Feel free to join the conversation any time,” he teased lightly.
“Sorry. I guess I was just thinking about what I should do. I already told Parker I was going to take the next couple of days off, but I didn’t want to get in the way of Cash’s family coming to see him. I know Georgia was making some kind of schedule…”
That made him chuckle. “Yeah, I heard about that. But the hospice nurses all say that we can have up to eight people in the room at one time. If there had been a hospice center that was separate from the actual hospital, then we could have as many people as we wanted. I guess with the size of the room and all…”
She nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”
“We can all still be on the floor, just not all in the room. So I say, the more the merrier.”
Savannah slowly lifted her head. “Seriously? The merrier?”
