Page 100 of Finding His Redemption

Before Jax could stop him, Oliver had placed the brush in Echo’s mouth. She froze, clearly confused, but didn’t drop it.

“Now paint!” Oliver pointed to a fresh sheet of paper.

Echo looked at Jax, brush hanging from her mouth, expression so bewildered that he had to bite back a laugh.

“It’s okay, girl,” he said. “You can drop it.”

Instead, Echo took a hesitant step forward and nose-nudged the brush toward the paper. A splotch of yellow appeared. Oliver clapped his hands in delight.

“She did it! She’s an artist!”

Echo’s tail began to wag, tentatively at first, then with growing enthusiasm. She pushed the paintbrush against the paper again, making a long, jagged line.

And there it was—joy. Pure, uncomplicated joy on Echo’s face as she looked from the paper to Oliver to Jax. Her tail wagged so hard her whole body shook with it.

Jax had spent so many years repressing every feeling that the sudden, tectonic shift inside him nearly dropped him to his knees.

He’d done this. He’d taken a broken, terrified animal and helped her find happiness again. Not by force or dominance, but through patience and care.

It was the opposite of everything he’d ever done before.

“Mom!” Oliver called through the open door. “Come see Echo painting!”

Jax tensed, his eyes going to the bakery entrance. A moment later, Nessie appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on her apron. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, wisps escaping around her face. She looked tired, with dark circles under her eyes, but still beautiful in a way that made his throat tight.

“Oliver, honey, I told you not to—” She froze when she saw Jax, her expression shuttering. “Oh.”

Just that. One syllable, flat and cold.

“Hey, Ness,” he said, trying to ignore the way his pulse kicked up as he climbed to his feet. “Got a minute?”

She glanced at Oliver, who was still happily painting with Echo, then at Jonah, who suddenly found the mountains in the distance fascinating.

“I need to get back inside,” she said. “I have… a lot to do.”

“Just five minutes. Please.”

She hesitated, then nodded once, sharp and reluctant. “Oliver, stay with Jonah, okay? I need to talk to Jax.”

“Okay, Mom!” The boy didn’t even look up, too engrossed in his collaboration with Echo.

Nessie stepped back inside, holding the door for Jax. He followed her through the empty bakery to the small office in theback. The moment the door closed behind them, she crossed her arms, putting physical distance between them.

“What do you want, Jax?”

The ice in the question felt like getting hit with shrapnel all over again. “I’ve been calling you.”

“I know.”

“You didn’t answer.”

She looked away. “I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy to text back ‘I’m alive’?” He tried to keep the hurt out of his voice. Failed.

“I’m sorry. It’s just…” She sighed, and her shoulders dropped slightly. “Everything’s complicated right now.”

“Because of the murder investigation.”