Chapter 30
800 Words
They were out on the patio above the backyard. Sarah drank her wine, then rested her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes.
“You OK?”
She looked at Jax, standing next to the smoking barbecue. She admired his arms in his tight black t-shirt.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just enjoying the silence.”
“You ever get away from the city?” Jax flipped the burgers.
“Oh, no. Never. I wish I did. I love a big, open sky.”
“Well, just hang on a few hours. The stars out here are something else.”
“I bet.” She looked around again. “I just – I can’t believe you live out here like this.”
“No?”
“No. It seems so… cozy. Homey.”
“Yeah, well.” Jax took a drink of his wine. “I didn’t have too much of that when I was growing up, and as soon as I could afford it, I made damn good and sure I got it for myself.”
“Tough childhood?” she asked softly.
“Oh, yeah, baby. Tough as it gets.”
She paused. “You want to tell me about it?”
Jax glanced at her, briefly. Normally, he didn’t talk about it, not with anyone. But it didn’t seem fair, somehow, for him to know about Sarah’s life and what she was fighting her way through, and to hold out on her.
Besides that, he knew she wouldn’t look down on where he came from, and she wouldn’t think less of him for it. Maybe she’d even understand what he’d done that had landed him in jail, and why he’d done it. But this wasn’t the time.
“I do want to tell you,” he said quietly. “Just not now, OK?”
“OK.”
Her easy acceptance surprised him; usually, people pushed. At least until he glowered at them, and then they shut the f**k up. They also never asked again.
“Really?” he said. “You don’t mind me not talking about it yet?”
“I don’t mind.” She smiled at him. “It’s your story, Jax. You tell it when you’re ready.”
“Yeah, well.” He stared up at the mountains, avoiding her bright blue gaze. “It’s not a nice story, Sarah. Like, not at all.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I wouldn’t wish a tough upbringing on anyone.” She looked around. “But it doesn’t seem to have held you back, in the end.”
He looked at her now, suddenly wanting to be honest about at least one important thing. “OK, truth?”
“Yeah, always. You know that, Jax.”
“All this money that I have? It didn’t come from Curves, and it obviously didn’t come from my family. But before you start to worry, it didn’t come from anything illegal.”
“OK.” She waited.
“I won the lottery.”
She blinked. “Like… the real lottery? Little balls falling into a clear box and a guy in a penguin suit calling the numbers?”
“Yep. Exactly.”
“Here, in Colorado?”
“No, back home. The Michigan State Lottery.”
“You’re from Michigan?”
“Detroit, baby, born and raised.”
“Holy crap.” She laughed now. “You know what? I never even won a school raffle.”
“It was the first thing I won, ever. I made it count, I guess.”
“I’ll say.” Sarah shook her head. “That’s great, Jax.”
“Yeah, in lots of ways, it is. I mean, I was able to buy Curves for cash and this house with no mortgage. My motorcycle, my truck. And there’s plenty to spare, so I’m able to help my sister. I went from working construction for cash-in-hand and bouncing in bars, to this.” Jax waved his hand around the patio, then was quiet for a few seconds. “I still wake up some mornings, and I can’t believe I have this life now. It’s just – it’s so far from where I was not so long ago. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever really stop being amazed by that.”
“I hope not.”
“You do?” he asked.
“Yeah. You’re grateful for what you’ve got, and lots of people with money aren’t. As long as you’re amazed by where you wake up, you’ll remember to be grateful.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” He looked at the burgers. “I think these are ready. You hungry?”
“Starved.”
“Great. Grab a plate and come over here. Dinner is served.”
- Writer
