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“I’m doing okay, just waiting for your little brother to finish his breakfast so he can take me foodshopping.”
“How is Eli, and what’s he doing inFlorida?”
His younger brother Elijah had been walking a straight line since he’d been arrested twelve years earlier and had spent time in prison for aggravated assault. At thirty-eight, he was making a good living in construction, had managed to find a strong woman who loved him, and had twin baby girls whom he would die for.
“Remember that he broke his wrist a few weeks ago? Well, he’s got at least another four weeks on disability, so he decided he’d bring the family down for a little vacation. It’s so wonderful having my grandbabies here with me. But you know Eli … he can’t sit still. The kids are out with their mothers, and Dale is on his way to work. He just got off a two-day break, so he’ll be doing twelve-hour shifts the next three days.”
Dale was his little sister’s husband, a nurse at the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville where they lived.
“So, how is everything with the new job? Have you found a place to live yet? When are yougoing up?”
“I’m visiting with Jim and Annie,” Jax told her. “Annie’s about ready to pop out her little girl, and Jim’s staying close to home, so I’m helping keep the boys occupied so shecan rest.”
“Aw, bless her! I’m so glad she’s doing well with this baby. Give them my love, won’t you?”
“Will do, Mom. And I’m going to be looking at some places in the next couple of days. Hopefully I’ll find something I like so I can move my things from storage and be ready to start by the end of August.”
“Will you be able to pop down for a visit before then?”
Jax wished he could, but he wouldn’t promise something he wasn’t sure he could follow through on. “I don’t know, Mom. Depends on how soon the housing issue gets resolved. I’ll letyou know.”
“Alright then.” Jax heard a shuffling on his mother’s end, then she said, “Well, say hi to your brother so we can go. And take care of yourself, please. Next time, I’ll want to hear about you, notyour job.”
Jax said a few words to his brother, who wasn’t much of a talker to begin with, before he hung up. He had understood the meaning behind his mother’s last coded words. She was going to pry into his personal life … again. He’d been forced to give her some version of the truth after he ended things with Noah because her sharp eyes had not missed the fact that he’d lost weight and was generally not his usual self. It was almost as though distance and time apart gave her a keener eye and ear where he was concerned whenever he was where she was. Since then, she hadn’t stopped asking about his love life, insisting that there was still time to find the love ofhis life.
He knew he’d already found him though. Eleven years ago, things had been new and uncertain, and he had convinced himself that aside from the impropriety of their relationship because of the power dynamic involved, he was really too old for Noah and it was better for the two of them if he let him go so the younger man could find someone with whom he had more in common. It hadn’t made the breakup easier, but at least it had made him feel less like a heel.
Now he would have to deal with the pain of that loss a second time, unless Noah chose him again. What were the odds of that happening though, especially after his hot-tempered ultimatum? There wasn’t time to dwell on any of that now, because his phone chimed a message. The realtor had texted him back with an address and time for thenext day.
He replied confirming the information and then sat back, feeling completely out of sorts. Things were going just as he planned. He would have enough to do these next two days at least to keep his mind off Noah. Pocketing his phone, he went in search of Annie. He’d promised to do some food shopping for her, and she had been making a list before she started in on the nursery. He found her there, smoothing the coverlet over the small mattress in the crib. The colors in the room were a soothing blue and gray, with pops of yellowand pink.
“I’m ready to go shopping now, Annie. Where’s your list?”
She turned at the sound of his voice and smiled tiredly at him, pulling a slip of paper from the pocket ofher dress.
“Thanks, Jax. Don’t worry if you can’t find everything. Sometimes my shopping list is more like a wish list.”
They chuckled together, but before he left, Jax said, “You look like you need to be off your feet for a bit. Why don’t you go put your feet up until I get back, hmm? I’d feel a whole lot better knowing you’re not tiring yourself out while I’m not around to help if somethinghappens.”
She closed the gap between them and rested her palm against his cheek. “You’re a real sweetheart. Some lucky guy is going to win big time when he catches you.”
Jax grinned. “Nice try, but a compliment, no matter how sweet, is not a promise. Are you going to get off your feet until Iget back?”
“I promise, Mother!” Her sardonic tone was not lost on him. “See, I’m going now.”
She walked out of the nursery ahead of him and went through to the back porch, settling herself in the recliner next to a small table holding the Kindle e-reader she had plugged in and a tall, insulated bottle. She’d been prepared, as though she knew he would make that request of her.
“Satisfied?” She lifted her brows at him when she was settled.
“Very,” he returned with a smirk, ignoring her sass. “I’ll be as quickas I can.”
He had to drive past Noah’s home to get into town. There was a car on the driveway that he knew wasn’t Noah’s. Who was with him? What were they doing? Maybe it was one of his students’ parents waiting for their child. He turned his eyes back to the road and willed his thoughts away from Noah. Jax had told him that the next move was his, so now he’d have to be tough enough to wait. Whether forever or just for a while was not up to him, and if the answer was not what he prayed for, he would pick up the pieces and keep moving. No matter what happened, he had known love.
The supermarket seemed unusually crowded for the middle of the week, and he was grateful that no one in this little town knew him so he could zip through the aisles taking care of business without any delays. Except of course, when he couldn’t find the natural peanut butter that Annie had on the list. And though she had said he could leave whatever he couldn’t find, he knew that the boys could make their own PB&J sandwiches, so finding it would be helpful to her. He decided to make one more attempt, slipping down to the last aisle where all the natural foods wereshelved.
Just as he snagged the last jar of the item on the shelf, he felt a tickle in his spine and turned around. Noah stood directly behind him, watching him. How uncanny was it that he could still feel the other man in his orbit? They hadn’t seen each other in more than a decade, and yet he was as attuned to him as he had ever been. He set the jar in the cart and turned to walk back so he could do the adult thing andsay hello.
“Food shopping for Annie?”
