I was really worried about Ellie. I hated knowing she was so sad, and that her life was falling apart. If anyone knew how she felt, it was me. I was the queen of having your life ripped apart without warning.
Surely, Abby, Gina, and Tonya were helping her through this, right? If not, then Nick must be. Were she and Nick still together? I should’ve asked her. Though, I had a feeling, she was way more interested in my life right now.
Fresh unease churned in my gut. How was I ever going to explain the situation with Trent—and Jax—once I went home?
Plopping a meatball onto the tray, I wiped hair from my forehead with the back of my hand. I was really going to miss Larissa’s cooking. A pang of guilt punched me. I never even said goodbye to her, and part of me wished I had.
She’d been nothing but nice to me; she’d made an unbearable situation somewhat bearable. It wasn’t fair that I just walked out. And as much as I hated to admit it, I was going to miss Little Frank, too. Even though he liked to wake me up too early, he was my brother.
The threat of tears burned my throat. I swallowed against them and refocused my attention on the task at hand. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about my short life in Malibu. It hadn’t been all terrible. Simon had been pretty great. I smiled.
I could still hear the way he said my name, the letters twisting with his British accent. I could see his smile, complete with the way he slightly lifted his brow, the tiny silver hoop lifting in tandem.
But, like everything else in my life, that had been shattered. Still, there was no reason I couldn’t call and check in on him, make sure he was okay. That’s what friends did, after all.
“Earth to Chloe.” Whitney waved her hand in front of my face.
“Huh?” I blinked. “Sorry. What did you say?”
She gave me a strange look. “I said, when the tray is full, put it in the fridge so the meatballs can firm up.”
“Oh, okay.” I quickly finished the meatballs and set the trays in the refrigerator, then washed my hands again. “I’ll be right back.” I left before anyone could ask me where I was going or what I was doing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:
Again
WHEN I AWOKE THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Trent was gone. Again. I went through my normal routine, then headed downstairs. Jax was in the kitchen, cooking. Again.
I shook my head and took a seat at the island counter. The cabin was just as quiet this morning as it had been yesterday, which meant it was just me and Jax. Again.
“Morning, sleeping beauty.” Jax grinned. “Hope you like French toast.”
He set a heaping plate of food in front of me. Syrup and butter appeared a second later, followed by a glass of chocolate milk.
“Thanks.” I watched him carefully, wondering if I was dealing with the nice Jax, or the mean spirited Jax from last night.
I barely got my French toast buttered when he sat next to me, an even bigger helping of food in front of him. There had to be an entire loaf of bread on his plate. My eyes bulged.
“You thought my eggs were good, wait till you try this,” he said, dumping half a bottle of syrup over his food.
I poured a less generous amount over mine and took a large bite. Cinnamon, vanilla, a hint of powdered sugar, and maple syrup danced along my taste buds. I closed my eyes and groaned at how good it tasted.
“Wow, Jax. This is amazing.”
He simply smiled before digging into his own food. Okay, apparently, I was in the presence of nice Jax this morning. We ate in silence for several moments, and my thoughts were peacefully blank, allowing me to enjoy my breakfast.
When I couldn’t eat another bite, I wiped my mouth and pushed my plate away. “Let me guess. No one else is here?”
Jax shook his head. “Sean thinks he found a lead, but the person will only talk to Trent, so he left.”
My heart raced. What kind of lead? What could this person possibly know? Was my secret about to be uncovered?
I swallowed hard. “And the twins?” I asked.
“They went with him.” Jax finished his towering stack of French toast. “The person Trent’s meeting isn’t exactly… friendly. The twins and Sean are backup.”
Fear clutched my chest. “Who’s he meeting?”
Jax shrugged, then stood with a graceful flourish. He gathered our dishes and set them in the sink.
I highly doubted Jax didn’t know who Trent was meeting, but why wasn’t Jax willing to tell me? I slid off the stool and crossed my arms.
“If this person is so dangerous that Trent needs backup, why did he even go?” I asked.
“Because we need answers, and this person might have them.” Jax leaned against the sink. “Want to get out of here?”
Whatever smart remark I was about to make died, and I blinked, momentarily confused. “You mean get out of the cabin?”
Jax nodded.
“Um…” Even though it had only been a day, I was already going stir crazy, and having two mind-reading vampires hovering around wasn’t helping. “Yeah, I do.” I smiled.
“Good.” He pushed away from the sink. “Let’s go for a walk.”
After putting on my sneakers, I followed Jax out the sliding glass doors and off the back porch. Remnants of the morning dew hung in the air and lingered on the grass, but the sun was shining brightly.
I tilted my face toward the sky, basking in the warm glow of the sun’s rays. Everything smelled so fresh and untouched—it was the polar opposite of Malibu, and I loved it. Maybe I really was a country girl at heart.
“This way.” Jax’s hands were shoved in his pockets.
I fell into step beside him and observed the beauty of nature
