Page 40
The front door jangled with a new customer. "Can I help you, Huk?" Willow asked from further away.
Travis's face lit up and he rubbed his palms together.
"Is Travis in here?"
Willow paused. "Uh, yes?"
I didn't hear what they said after that because Travis leaned down. "I'm going to have some fun with him. Just go with it. Trust me." He shot me that player wink and I shook my head.
"I don't think that's a good idea." I might have only known Jackson for a few hours, but I knew damn well how little Jackson liked games.
"I think I know Huk a little better than you do, considering we've known each other our whole lives."
I shot him a look that said I thought he was an idiot just as Jackson came flying through the door with a baby boy on his hip.
Oh god, was it his? Why hadn't I asked if he had kids? Had he been married before? I hadn't even asked if he was single. See, this is what happens when you give up dating. You forget the basics and instead get swept up in twinkling eyes and mind-boggling kisses.
"Afternoon," Jackson said so loudly it echoed off the walls.
"Huk!" Travis grinned. "I saw that truck parked outside with Florida plates and I thought no way. Couldn't be. Had to see for myself. Then I met Marley here, and she's just too damn pretty to be the woman you met the other day. No way could your ugly ass land this."
Oh no.I rolled my eyes but didn't miss the look of pure jealous rage on Jackson's face as he set the boy down and came charging for his friend. It happened so fast I didn't have time to move or even yell. One second Jackson was across from me and the next he was beside me. Somehow in all of that Travis wound up on the ground.
Jackson shook out his fist while Travis shook his head and touched his jaw. "You fucking punched me."
Well that explained it.
Jackson spun to me; his eyes wide with shock as he stared at his red knuckles. "I swear I'm not normally like this."
"He's not," Travis called out from the floor. "I don't think you'veeverpunched me before." He hauled himself back to his feet, still working his jaw. "And trust me, I've deserved it plenty of times." Then he grinned. "Youlikeher."
Jackson hung his head.
I stared at them both in complete disbelief. What was even happening?
And then the baby boy appeared at Jackson's knee and tugged on his jeans. "Huk. Mine."
I burst out laughing at the look the boy gave me. Clearly Huk was his and he did not like me one bit.
Jackson scooped him up into his strong arms and kissed his soft cheek. "I'm yours buddy. Sorry you saw that. Hitting is bad. Remember?"
The boy nodded, then glared at me again.
Jackson chuckled. "Gus, I'd like you to meet Marley. She's my friend."
His nephew.Not that it would have been a deal breaker if he had a kid—I liked kids—but after all his talk of wandering and not being tied down, it would have been a surprise.
The kid was really cute clinging to Jackson with the same kind of jealousy his uncle had just put on display. "It's nice to meet you, Gus."
He kept eyeing me, a teddy bear squeezed in his arms like a shield between us.
"Huk. Mine!" His little body trembled.
Jackson kissed his temple. "I'm yours buddy. That's not changing. Promise."
Gus shot Jackson a glare, then leaned across his body to glare at Travis, too.
"What did I do, little man?"
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