Innocence Read online

  “What bad guys, Ty?” After hearing about his mother, I tossed and turned through my dreams, imagining a neglected Ty being dropped on my doorstep.

  He crawled up onto the bed. “The green glob monster who wants to take my toys.”

  I sighed knowing my imagination had gone wild. “I promise the green glob monster won’t get your toys. Stay here and I’ll be right back.”

  If Ty wouldn’t go back to his bed, I could sleep in his room. He climbed under the sheets and closed his eyes.

  The house was eerily quiet except for the ominous ticking of the hallway clock. Where do they keep the glasses? One option was to wake Pam, but I hated interrupting their sleep when I could handle something as simple as getting a glass of water. In the morning, I’d inform them of snooping in their kitchen.

  Hitting the first floor, I rounded the corner and ran into something hard. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. It’s a person. The one who wants me dealt with. Scampering back, I screamed, “Stay away! Leave!”

  I crashed into a table as I tried to back away. This was the end of my life. At least Pam and Levi would hear me and save Ty. The stranger said something. The panic felt like cotton in my ears. I screamed again. If he was here to kill me, I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  A light flipped on. The stranger held up his hands. “I’m Jaxson—this is my parents’ house.” Stopping, I froze my backward crawl. “You must be London.” His voice was smooth as silk. Hands still up, he continued talking to me like was I crazy while he crouched. Yeah, I was crazy. “London, I’m Jaxson McCole. I came home early.”

  Scampering from upstairs came Levi with Pam close behind. A shotgun cocked. “London, are you okay?”

  Frozen, I wasn’t able to respond. I followed Levi’s glance toward Jaxson and he put the shotgun down. Jaxson stood. “It was my fault. I decided to come home and surprise Ty early.”

  My face heated. How embarrassing. Everyone looked at me. “I’m okay. I’m so sorry. I thought—” I stopped myself before I rambled too much. There was someone out there who didn’t want me out of prison. Levi and Pam knew what was going on, but I wasn’t sure how much Jaxson knew.

  Jaxson quirked a brow and watched me for a moment. As my heart slowed, I took a second to see him. All this time I’d pictured him in his late thirties versus his twenties. How wrong I had been. His dark hair and emerald-green eyes cut through me. He was gorgeous and his facial scruff only added to his manly presence.

  I felt a flush on my face and looked away. “London, do you need help getting up?” Pam walked toward me, a concerned look on her face.

  Had Pam been talking to me? Oh, geez. “No, I’ve got it.”

  Standing, I knew I’d be sore from where I took a tumble. Oh no. In all the commotion, I’d hit the table and knocked over a lamp. “I’m so sorry. I’ll get this cleaned up.” I started to kneel then paused, remembering Ty. My head whipped around. “Did I scare Ty? He woke me up because of a nightmare and wanted water.”

  Pam walked over to me. “He’s fast asleep in your bed. I’ll worry about the lamp tomorrow. It looks like you cut yourself on the arm.” I looked down and saw the trail of blood. This night could not get any worse. “There’s a first-aid kit in the bathroom. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

  “Mom, Dad, I’ll show her. Go ahead and go back to bed.”

  Looking to Pam, I nodded. The last thing I wanted was to inconvenience them more than I had. Pam patted my shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything, sweetheart. And don’t worry about the old lamp. I would have been half-scared out of my mind too.”

  “Thanks, Pam. Goodnight.” I nervously laughed. Being in someone else’s home and messing things up was incredibly awkward. Jaxson traipsed to the kitchen with an unintentional sexy swagger to grab a paper towel for my cut. Our eyes connected and I was frozen in place as Jaxson handed me the paper towel. An electric current connected me to him, rendering me speechless.

  In the back of my mind I registered Pam giving Jaxson a kiss on the cheek, but I couldn’t break away. It wasn’t until she spoke to him it broke the spell. “Welcome home. We missed you.”

  “Missed you too, Mom.”

  We were left alone and it was hard to reconcile the man I had in front of me with the man I had imagined. Without thinking, I said, “You’re not old.”

  “What?”

  I wanted to slap myself. There was a reason I shouldn’t interact with the human race without a certain amount of sleep. “Umm . . . never mind.”

  Like a gentlemen, he let it slide. Gesturing to my arm, he said, “Let’s take a look at your arm. You aren’t going to scream at me again, are you? Maybe try to stab me this time?”

  Looking at Jaxson, I tried to keep the smile from forming at his obviously teasing comment. “I make no promises. You shouldn’t have been lurking.”

  “Lurking?”

  “Yes, lurking.” I felt embarrassed for teasing him, bordering on flirting. I am new here. In the middle of my second night. Stop whatever this is, London.

  The light flipped on in the bathroom. Jaxson motioned for me sit on the counter near the marble sink. Taking the first-aid kit out of the cabinet, Jaxson asked, “How are you liking it here so far?”

  “It’s beautiful. Ty and I had fun today. I think he showed me every square inch of this place. You have a very sweet boy.”

  Chuckling, Jaxson opened the kit. “I bet he loved it. Mom said you didn’t mind helping out with him. He’s a lot for her to handle. I’ve hired sitters, but so far it hasn’t worked out.” With a bottle of alcohol, Jaxson gently held my elbow over the sink. “This may sting.”

  I winced as the liquid initially hit. The cut wasn’t bad, but alcohol even in a paper cut wasn’t pleasant. “Why haven’t the sitters worked?”

  “He’s active. They have ulterior motives. The hours are hard. It’s been several things.” I was sure I knew what the ulterior motives were. “So what did you mean by me being old?”

  Closing my eyes, I let my head fall. “I think there are only so many times someone should die of embarrassment in one night.”

  A cloth was put to my elbow. He was making a bigger fuss of the small cut than it was worth. Bending to meet my eyes, Jaxson smile wide, showing two dimples. He was beyond sexy. Stop! Stop! Stop! And that smell. I would die a happy person wrapped in that woodsy manly smell. “You’re secret is safe with me.”

  Before answering, I watched the Band-Aid get applied.

  I leaned my head against the mirror. “No judging. Okay. Oh, geez.” Taking a steadying breath, I continued. “All day long Ty has been talking about how old you were getting. It sounded more geriatric than . . .” I cut off the sentence, stopping where my thoughts were headed. Sexy as hell cowboy. Please let it be bedtime.

  “Than . . .”

  I hopped off the counter. “No way, lurker. I have had enough humiliation for one night. I need to get some shut-eye out in the guesthouse. Alone. I mean I didn’t think you were coming.” I paused. “I’m going now. Thanks for the Band-Aid.”

  Backing out of the bathroom, Jaxson followed me. “I’ll get it out of you at some point.”

  “I’m pretty stubborn.”

  “I think you just issued a challenge. Consider it accepted.”

  I was near the back door when his words registered. “No, no, no. No challenge. I’m not stubborn at all. I was going to say it sounded more geriatric than younger.”

  Jaxson prowled closer to me. The blood heated within my veins. “I don’t think that’s what you were thinking.”

  Ducking out the door, I waved. “Night, Jaxson. I’m going to go die of mortification.”

  He chuckled and followed me. “I’ll make sure you make it to the guesthouse okay. It’s the middle of the night.” The deep timber of his voice had me all kinds of messed up inside. Parts of me felt alive. This was crazy. I needed sleep. A fresh perspective.

  I entered the code on the panel. The lock clicked, granting access. As I grabbed the door handle, I glanced b
ack toward Jaxson. “Night. Thanks for seeing me to my door.”

  “Night, London. It was my pleasure.”

  Pleasure. Quivers in my stomach danced about as I thought about that word.

  Opening the door, I quickly traipsed inside and locked it. I took a deep breath before pushing off the wall and heading to my bedroom. For now, I would pretend this was all a dream. A bad dream. A really bad dream. Except Jaxson was hot. That part wasn’t bad. Oh my gosh! I needed sleep stat!

  I touched my arm where his firm yet gentle grip sent an electrical charge through my body. It was as if his touch branded me.

  This was crazy.

  I was crazy.

  Before I could delve any further into my chaotic thoughts, I buried myself under the covers, pretending none of it happened.

  “LONDON, ARE YOU AWAKE?”

  This felt like déjà vu. Slowly, I peeked an eye open while I got my bearings straight. I was back in the guesthouse. Ty stood there in his super hero pajamas. Memories came back from the night before.

  The water. The screaming. Jaxson. The mortification. Jaxson. The bathroom. Jaxson. Sleep hadn’t cured my outrageous thoughts.

  “Daddy, doesn’t know I’m here. Your phone woke us up. Daddy’s talking on it.”

  I shot straight up. Jaxson was on my phone. “Who is your daddy talking to?”

  There were only two options and neither one were good. If it was my dad . . . I’d have to explain everything. If it was Millie . . . Lord, help me. It was only six in the morning. Only three hours since I’d had my awkward encounter last night. I was exhausted.

  Ty bounded to the door. “Some girl named Millie. She wouldn’t stop calling.”

  “Where’s your daddy now?”

  “In the kitchen making coffee. I snuck out to tell on him.”

  I gave Ty a hug. “We’ll have a big bowl of ice cream for snack today. Let’s go find your dad and get my phone.”

  Giving a salute, he raced out the front door. Why was Jaxson talking to Millie? What could they be talking about?

  We made it into Pam’s kitchen in record time since Jaxson and Ty stayed there through the night. I nearly dropped my mouth to the floor as Jaxson stood at the stove in low-slung lounge pants and a T-shirt that hugged his figure. My tongue felt like it turned to cotton. Please keep it together.

  Jaxson turned as Ty skidded across the floor. “Did he wake you?”

  “He came to inform me someone hijacked my phone.”

  Taking the skillet off the stove, Jaxson talked into the phone. “London’s up. It was nice talking to you, Millie.” He started to hand me the phone as I outstretched my hand. Right before I had it in my grasp he snatched it back. His eyes watched mine intently. That same electrical charge sparked between us. “Millie, one last thing. Thanks for all the advice. Here’s London.”

  Advice?

  I grasped the phone. “Millie.”

  “Good morning, sunshine. I had a very nice talk with a very sexy sounding Jaxson.”

  “What advice did you give him?”

  “Oh, you know. Just advice. Don’t sweat it.” This wasn’t good. Not good at all.

  “I was sleeping in the room and then Jaxson got home—”

  Millie giggled, interrupting. “Oh, he told me about it all . . . including the challenge.”

  Kill. Me. Now. I took a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. There was no reason to get off track. “This is early for you. Why did you call?”

  “Just checking on you.” There was something off in her voice.

  I stepped out of the kitchen. “Millie, there was another reason you called at the crack of dawn.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m missing you. I’ll be out there as soon as I can.”

  “Millie, I’m here. Anytime you need me.”

  “I know. You’re the best.”

  “You too.”

  Hanging up the phone, I closed my eyes for a second. I knew there was another reason Millie had called, but something stopped her. What was it? When her mind was made up there was no changing it in the immediate future. Laughter came from the kitchen as I returned.

  “London, do you want an omelet?” That voice had only gotten sexier with a few more hours of sleep.

  Ty cocked his head to one side, watching me. “Daddy makes the best omelets. You can sit by me, London. Daddy is really big, but he’s nice. He’s old.”

  Jaxson and I looked at each other as I raised my eyebrow. There was no way I could keep it in any longer as I laughed. Jaxson pointed the spatula at Ty. “You told London on me and I’m not old.”

  Ty giggled into his hands. “I knew she wouldn’t want you on her phone and she’d come straight to the house. You said I couldn’t wake her up unless it was a good reason.”

  “Give me a high-five, Ty.” Satisfied, Ty slapped my hand as hard as he could. I pretended it stung, which made him puff his chest out.

  “London, will you be my best friend?”

  “I think that sounds good.”

  All attention returned to Jaxson. “She’s my best friend until I get old. Then we’ll get married. Don’t you think she’s pretty, Dad?”

  I coughed as Jaxson laughed while I felt the heat creep across my face. It was a fact—I would never be able to go five minutes in front of this man without being mortified. The heat in Jaxson’s stare warmed me more. “She’s beautiful.”

  Only the sizzling of the skillet could be heard for a few seconds before he asked, “What can I get the beautiful lady this morning?”

  “Just a cheese omelet. I can get the glasses.”

  “Perfect. Glasses are to the left of the sink. Ty will want apple juice. There’s a fresh pot of coffee. Mugs are on the top shelf.”

  I gave a nervous laugh. “I’ll stick with juice. Caffeine makes me jittery. And that’s the last thing I need right now.” Why was this man affecting me this way?

  As I made my way to the sink, Ty scrambled off the chair without saying what he was doing. There was no telling. Leaning up, I grabbed two glasses. “It was hard falling asleep with your scent all around me last night while I slept in the bed you were in.”

  Tingles erupted over my skin followed by goose bumps as I felt Jaxson’s breath against my ear. Barely above a hoarse whisper, I said, “Is that so?”

  “Yes.” That one word had me nearly dropping the glass as I sat it on the counter.

  “Jaxson . . .”

  “London . . .”

  Footsteps brought me back to the here and now. When Jaxson moved, the lack of heat was noticed. I wanted him near me.

  “London, I’m ready to go see Sparkles do her tricks.” I took a second before turning around and facing Ty. When I did . . . I wanted to squeeze him with how cute he looked in his roper jeans, boots, and T-shirt.

  “Breakfast first. Who is Sparkles?” Jaxson asked.

  Ty walked between us. I was still recovering from our earlier encounter. “Sparkles is London’s horse. She said she could do tricks. I told London I don’t ride horses after you got thrown and hurt yourself because you were old.”

  Jaxson’s eyes shot to mine for a second before he took Ty’s omelet out of the pan. I raised my eyes again to say, see this was why I thought you were old. He mouthed to me as he stirred the eggs, I’m not old.

  I raised an eyebrow and gave a noncommittal shrug. “Sometimes it’s best to simply embrace the truth.”

  The new egg batter popped in the butter as it cooked. To keep from smiling, I bit down on my lower lip. As I passed by, Jaxson grabbed my hand while turning my way, his back to Ty. He mouthed again, I’m not old.

  “I guess you’ll have to prove it . . .”

  Oh-my-gosh. Did I just challenge him . . . again? I was in trouble. Serious trouble.

  Sparkles was saddled and grazed a few feet away in the field next to the barn. The red saddle pad against her black coat looked amazing. A few other horses grazed in this pasture, but they were at the other end, leaving plenty of ro
om for us. I knew Sparkles wouldn’t take off.

  Jaxson had excused himself to check on a few of the horses in the rehab clinic. Afterward, the plan was to show me what my job entailed while Ty did some rounds with Levi. Impatiently, Ty stood on the fence rail.

  “Sparkles, are you ready to show Ty some tricks?” The horse stood tall and nodded her head. “Before we start, can I have a hug and kiss?”

  My horse loved performing. Dad and I worked with her for tireless hours. While I was in prison, Dad kept up all the training. Trotting the few steps to me, Sparkles puckered her lips to my cheek. “Aw, I love your kisses.” Next, she reached around with her neck to hug me. “That’s a sweet girl. Do you want to blow a kiss over to Ty?”

  This trick was always done in the direction I motioned with my hand. I had four fingers extended with my thumb against my palm. Sparkles shook her head, puckered her lips and let out a big gust of air. Ty couldn’t stop laughing.

  “Sparkles! It’s not nice to be rude.” I put my hand on my hip. A neigh escaped right on cue showing how much Dad worked with her. I was prepared to improvise if some of her tricks weren’t practiced. “Sparkles, time out for you.”

  With her head down, she walked a few feet and looked back. I kept pointing. “Timeout, Sparkles.”

  I turned back to Ty. “I’m sorry she was so rude. I don’t know what happened to her manners.”

  Ty barely kept his laughter contained as he watched Sparkles walk sideways back to me ever so quietly. I turned quickly and she stopped and looked up. Focusing back on Ty, he laughed again. “What’s so funny?”

  He shook his head. And I repeated what I’d done before. After two more times, Sparkles rested her head on my shoulder. “She snuck up on you, London. She didn’t go to timeout.”

  I patted the side of her face while giving her a sugar cube. “Sparkles, Sparkles, Sparkles, what am I going to do with you?”

  She shook her head. “Why don’t you take a bow since you snuck up on me?”

  Backing away, Sparkles leaned forward as Ty clapped. “She really does do tricks, London! She’s the bestest horse ever.”