Page 86 of One Good Crash

"No. Of course not." Again, she hesitated. "It's not that I believed her, but there's the thing with your mom and, well, you know what I think ofher."

Did I ever.

I couldn’t help recall our terrible argument back in Nashville. In the heat of the moment, Allie had called my mom a money-grubbing liar and said that I'd be better off with no mom at all.

Unlike Jax, she hadn't come right out and called my mom a whore, but the implication had been clear enough.

It took me a moment to realize that everyone was staring – I bit my lip – at me.

Obviously, I was supposed to say something in response. What, I had no idea. I mean, whatcouldI say?

Finally, it was Jaden who broke the silence, "So, were we taking turns? Or doing you at the same time?"

God, what a douchebag.

I opened my mouth to tell him so, but Jax beat me to the punch. "Say that again, and you'll be getting a fist in the face."

Jaden shrugged. "Dude, chill. It was just a question."

I looked to Jax. He looked chilled alright, but not in the way Jaden meant. His skin was white, and his muscles were tight. He turned to Darla and said, "Yeah. I fired her. And I should've fired her weeks ago."

Darla's face fell. "But—"

"But nothing," Jax said. "If you wanna do her a real favor, you'll go back and tell her that instead of crying on your couch, she should get off her ass and find a job she can handle."

Darla gave Jax a pleading look. "I'll have a talk with her, okay? Just give her another chance. She'll do better, I promise."

"No," Jax said, "she won't, and she's out of chances." His voice hardened. "You should know, I've already hired her replacement."

In spite of everything, my heart gave a little leap. "You did?"

I looked to Allie, but her expression betrayed nothing. I returned my gaze to Jax.He did mean Allie, right?

I wanted to ask, but I didn't dare – not in front of such a hostile audience.

Jaden said, "Don't I get a say in this?"

Jax didn't even hesitate. "No."

"And why not?" Jaden demanded.

"Because you hired the last one, and you did a shitty job."

From the sidelines, Darla said, "Hey! That's my daughter you're talking about."

Jax turned to look, and his expression softened. "I know. But I'm done. And when you have time to think about it, you'll see it's best for her, too."

But apparently Darla didn't agree. After a few choice words, she turned and stalked away, leaving a trail of profanity in her wake.

Funny, she almost reminded me of Allie – well, Allie in fifty years, anyway.

A moment later, the sound of the front door slamming echoed through the house. I was still wincing when I heard Jaden say, "Hey blondie, you never said."

Allie snapped, "I never said what?"

"With your friend," Jaden replied, "was it supposed to be a three-way? Or were we taking turns?"

I whirled back just in time to see Allie take a flying leap in his direction. I wasn't sure what she was planning, but I tackled her anyway, sending both of us sprawling onto the glossy wooden floor.