Page 111 of Rival

“You never need my permission. Come all you want. Better yet, let me know when you’re headed over and I’ll make sure I’m here.”

“I owe you for—”

“You owe menothin’,” he bites out firmly, then more gently, “Absolutely nothin’.”

I don’t want to argue, so I whisper a goodbye and walk away. Only to find Jaxon sitting on my front step when I make it back home.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Edith

My shoulders fall, completely giving up that I’ll have anyone respect my request to be left alone at this point.

Jaxon clambers quickly to his feet, holding up his hands in supplication. “I know you don’t want me here, but Iamhere for a reason. Would you just give me a minute to hear me out? Then you can do all the yelling or screaming you want. Not that you’re a yeller, but if you wanted to, I’ll stand here and take every bit of it.”

“Jaxon.” I sigh, exhausted from seeing Mason so early this morning. “You can tell me why you’re here, then I need some time to myself. I have a lot of work to do in there.” I gesture toward the house and he nods once in agreement.

“Actually, that’s why I’m here. You know I have a construction company, but I’m not sure if you know we also do restoration work. One of things we do is clean up after events like house fires, hoarding situations, things like that. I have a whole team of guys who I want to bring over for the next few days to take care of his stuff. They’ll do a deep clean to remove all the tar, sanitize everyinchof that place.”

He takes a deep breath and glances at my stomach. “I can’t bear the thought of you exhausting yourself cleaning up his shit.”

Shifting side to side, I look toward the house, then at him. “I can’t afford that, Jaxon. I appreciate the offer, but I—”

“You’re not paying a penny for it.”

Not everyone is all bad or all good, even the worst people have good qualities.

My most recent lesson rings through my head as I study the man I thought was my friend as I try to decide if this is a trick. I want to think he’s playing games with me, but his face is so earnest, I can’t convince myself he’s being anything but truthful.

I can’t help asking, “What do you want in return?”

Stung, his face falls. “Oh sweetheart, I’m not asking for anything from you. Except to let me help. This I can help with.Thisis what I know how to do until you’re ready for us to talk.”

Taking a moment to think it over, I remind myself once again that Jaxon isn’t all bad, even if he did crush me the last time we were alone together. “What’s your plan?”

Relieved, he lays out the schedule and jobs he wants to assign to his guys, and I can’t help feeling relieved that he’s pretty much thought of everything. The only space left untouched will be the small upstairs where my bedroom and bathroom are.

“In the interest of being transparent, I have to tell you something.” Now, Jaxon looks concerned I’ll be upset, which makes me nervous. I knew there’d be a catch to what sounded like a well thought out plan.

I wait him out instead of answering.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he rocks back on his heels. “A few months ago, Fin started working for me. He’ll be part of the team I want to send over, if that’s okay with you.”

My eyes widen, hating the idea of Griffin getting elbows deep into the nastiness my father left behind. “I don’t know…” I trail off, unsure what to think. He’s spent loads of time here in thepast, but since I’ve been gone, the house has devolved quickly into a disgusting mess. It should be condemned, honestly.

“If you don’t want him here, I’ll make sure he isn’t. It’s whateveryouwant. I just thought to get everyone over here, including myself, to clean it out as fast as possible. You deserve better than what he did to this place.” Taking a step closer, he tilts his head to the side, waiting for my reaction. “I may have also talked with Ruth and she’s got a lovely afternoon planned for you and some of the ladies in town, plus other things for the next few days while we do this. You don’t even have to be here if you don’t want to.”

“And this doesn’t mean I owe you anything?” I ask with hesitation, still uncertain.

“Nothing at all. Will you let me take care of this for you?” He peeks down where my hand is resting once again on my stomach. “For both of you? I know you have no intentions of living here, but it’ll help you get rid of his stuff faster.”

“I don’t want it to mean anything,” I murmur, and he takes another step closer.

“It won’t. I promise. I won’t lie to you; Idowant to sit and talk. But this isn’t about that. This is about taking care of you and doing what’s right.”

Nodding, I bounce my hands off my thighs nervously, unsure what to do now. It’s never been awkward around Jaxon, but now it’s like I don’t know how to even communicate with him.

“Thank you.”