Lyndley (15 page)

Her eyes light up and she turns to me. “Why did you guys break up?”
 

“Well, things were amazing between us…right up until he broke up with me. We had just graduated and we were supposed to be going to New York to start college. A week before we left, we went out with our friends. When he dropped me off afterwards, he told me he couldn’t go with me. He needed to stay here and take over the ranch. His father was sick and couldn’t do it alone.
 

“A few months after I got to New York, I found out I was pregnant and decided I was going to keep the baby. I had a normal pregnancy and had planned on telling Jax about it after I gave birth, but I guess God had other plans for our little girl.”
 

I pause as the tears start to fall down my cheeks. No matter how many times I’ve told this story over the last month, it never gets easier.

“When I went into labor, there were complications and her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. She didn’t make it.” When I look up at Amie, she has tears streaming down her face, too.
 

“Instead of telling anyone about Gracilyn, I kept her a secret. I stayed in New York because I didn’t want to face anyone here. I was so ashamed, I thought staying in New York and being a different person was a better idea. When I met Tyler, I thought things were finally starting to look up for me, but he was nothing more than a dream. He lied and blamed me for everything that happened.” I wipe my eyes, waiting for her to say something.
 

“Gosh, Lyndley, I wish I knew. I never would have pushed you to date Tyler if I knew all that,” she whispers, wrapping her arms around me.
 

By the time a very sweaty and dirty Jax gets back home, Amie and I are dressed to impress and a little tipsy from the wine we have been drinking since lunch. He comes walking up to me. “Damn, girl. You look fucking amazing.” His hands slide their way from my thighs to my ass and stay there. I kiss him roughly, moaning when his tongue slips into my mouth. I can hear Amie’s giggles behind me.
 

Jax drags me into the room with him, continuing to assault my mouth. His hand grips my ass and he lifts me up, so I wrap my legs around his waist. My pussy is throbbing and I want nothing more than for him to bury himself in me.

He unbuttons his jeans with one hand and pulls them down just enough for me to pull his cock out. Sliding my panties to the side, he sinks inside me. Pushing me against the bedroom door, he pounds into me with long, hard thrusts. In a few seconds, I’m falling over the edge. “Oh fuck, Jax!” I scream as I come.
 

A few thrusts later, he bites down on my shoulder as he fills me with his come. “Shit,” he moans.
 

He rests his forehead on my shoulder for a moment and catches his breath before he sets me back down.
 

Looking at him, I can tell something happened between Tate and him. He has a small cut on his cheek and a few scratches on his knuckles. Instead of saying anything, I just kiss his neck, then place a soft kiss to the cut on his cheek. “Thank you,” I whisper.
 

“My pleasure, darlin’. You ever need servicing, don’t hesitate to say something.” He winks, then helps me straighten my panties and dress before he jumps in the shower.
 

I make my way back into the living room, seeing Amie sitting there with a huge smile on her face. “Holy shit! That was hot!”
 

“I know. I can’t believe I’m married to him,” I giggle.
 

She looks at me in shock. “You’re married? Why the hell didn’t you say so? When did that happen? Why wasn’t I invited?”
 

“We got married when we were seventeen. We were young and dumb, but it was the best decision of my life.”
 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
 

“No one really knows,” I say, shrugging.
 

“So what were you going to do if Tyler asked you to marry him? I heard he was going to right before he got arrested.”
 

He was? I can’t even imagine that. He was all about status and money. I doubt I would have been the person he chose to marry because I came from nothing, and he would rather have married into a family with money.
 

“I don’t know. He didn’t love me that much. Hell, he blamed me for everything that happened to him. I would never marry someone like that.” I wrinkle my nose. “Besides, I already have a husband, a really hot one.” I start to giggle as Jax walks into the room wearing a pair of nice blue jeans and a dark grey button-up shirt that makes his eyes seem lighter than normal.

When the doorbell rings, Amie goes running towards it.
 

“That Tyler guy sounds like a douche. The only smart thing he did was find you. I’m a little envious of him,” Jax says, running a finger down my cheek.
 

I smile up at him. “If I came to you and asked for a divorce, would you have given it to me?”
 

He chuckles, pulling me to him. “Fuck no. I would have told that asshole to go fuck off. You, darlin’, are mine and I sure as hell ain’t letting you divorce me to go marry some yuppie.” Giggling, I pull his face to mine and kiss him.
 

When we hear someone clear his throat behind us, we turn around and see Tate and Amie standing there.
 

“You guys ready to go?” Tate asks. I see a cut on his eyebrow and one across the bridge of his nose, but I bite my tongue. I’m not even sure I want to know what they were fighting about since it probably had something to do with me.
 

We nod, and we all make our way to the truck, Amie and Tate climbing in the back. I can hear her giggles so I can only imagine what is going on back there. I can see Jax out of the corner of my eye and he’s smirking.

When we pull up to Donovan’s Bar and Grill, I know it’s going to be a long night because we used to come here before we would go out to the orchards and party with all our friends.
 

Once we get a table and order our first round, I look around the room and see that things haven’t changed a bit in the last ten years. After we place our orders, we start talking about New York. Tate is hanging on every word that comes out of Amie’s mouth, which is funny because Tate has always been the man whore of the group, so it’s strange to watch him follow her around like a puppy dog.
 

After we finish our meals, I swear I see Tyler out of the corner of my eye. Shaking my head, I remind myself that he’s in prison. “You okay?” Jax asks.
 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Where are we going after this?”
 

“Well, I thought we could go to the bar in town. Sound good?” he asks, kissing my forehead. I nod and cuddle into him. The waitress comes around and drops off our check. Once everything is paid for, we make our way to the bar.
 

Chapter Eighteen

The first thing we do when we get to the bar is order a round of drinks, then we find a table and get comfortable. Once Amie and I have downed our first ones, we run off to the bar and order a few more. As we walk back to the table, I see Tate and Jax are arguing about something. Just before I can find out what, “Sweet Home Alabama” starts to play and Amie pulls me out to the dance floor.
 

After a few songs, Amie and I are sweaty, so we decide to head back to the table to cool off. I smell his cologne before he steps out of the shadows, and I freeze.
 

“T-Tyler…,” I stutter out. Smirking, he tries to grab my hand, but I jerk away. “Don’t touch me.” I look over at the table to see the guys making their way to us.
 

Tisking, Tyler holds his hand out, expecting me to take it. I take a step back. “Lyndley, let’s go. We have things to do. Since you couldn’t take care of business while I was in prison, you’ll be making up for lost time.” His eyes aren’t the same light brown color that I loved. They look almost black.
 

Jax grabs me around the waist and pulls me behind him. “Can I help you?” he growls.

Tyler looks him up and down. “Yeah, redneck. I’d appreciate it if you kept your dirty hands off my girlfriend.” My hands grip the back of Jax’s shirt. “Lyndley, let’s go. I don’t have all fucking day to waste in this hellhole.”
 

Jax reaches back and puts a hand on me. “She’s not going anywhere with you. So why don’t you take your Yankee ass back where you fucking came from.” Tyler tries to step closer to me, but Jax pushes him back. “Stay the fuck away from her. I won’t warn you again.”
 

I watch Tyler throw the first punch, barely missing Jax’s face. Tate pushes Amie and me back, calling one of their friends over to keep us from getting in the way.

“You must be Tyler. My girl told me about you. You finally come to claim what’s mine?” Jax says with a cocky grin. Before Tyler can swing, Jax hits him on his cheekbone. Tyler stumbles back, holding his face.
 

“She isn’t worth it. She’s just a whore anyway. Have fun with my sloppy seconds,” Tyler spits.

As he backs up, Jax charges after him, punching Tyler a few times before Tate can pull him off. “Don’t you
ever
talk about her like that. You are a sorry piece of shit. If anyone isn’t worth it, it’s you, motherfucker. You come near her again, I’ll make sure you stay away for good.” Tyler mutters something under his breath before he turns and walks out the door.
 

Running over to Jax, I wrap my arms around him and check his hands for any cuts. “Baby, I’m fine,” he says, wrapping me in his arms and kissing my head. “You okay, Lynnie?”
 

Nodding, I bury my face into his chest. I was so scared. Tyler was never like that before. I look at Amie, seeing Tate is holding her trembling body. Jax walks me to the bar and orders me a drink to calm my nerves.
 

“Baby, I won’t let him take you away from me. I already told you I’m never letting you go and I meant that.” He winks at me and kisses my forehead again.
 

We all sit at the bar for a little over an hour as I slowly take sips of my whiskey. Tate and Jax start talking about a basketball game, while Amie and I just watch the room. I have a bad feeling, but I can’t figure out why. Rubbing my hand on his thigh, I tell Jax I’m ready to go. The night has already been eventful and I want to go curl up in bed.

Once we pay our tab, we make our way into the parking lot. Tate and Amie get caught behind a group of people at the bar entrance. When we get to his truck, Jax turns to me. “I love you, babe.”

Suddenly, Jax stiffens and his eyes go wide. Before I can ask him what’s wrong, he falls to the ground in front of me, blood pouring from his side. I look up, seeing Tyler standing behind him, a bloody knife in his hand.
 

When I start to scream, I see Tate and a few other people come running towards us. When Tate runs at Tyler, he tries to stab him, as well. Stunned, I watch the fight for a few seconds, then look at Jax again.
 

I drop to the ground next to him, not caring about the rocks cutting my knees. “Please, Jax. You’re going to be fine. You have to be. I need you.” Tears pouring from my eyes, I press my hands over the wound, but blood keeps coming. “I love you,” I whisper over and over.