Page 112 of Rival

His smile is warm. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re letting us help. Why don’t you grab your things for a few days and—”

My eyes shoot to the house and he stops, clearly seeing my disdain about heading inside.

“Would you let me go in and get your things?”

These damn freaking emotions are eating at me and I swallow hard, looking at him, unsure how to answer. “I hate going in there, but I can. I slept there last night.”

Jaxon frowns. “I thought you stayed with Ruth?”

“No. My room wasn’t so bad. It’s just getting there that’s tough.”

“Please let me do it for you. What do you need?”

I press my lips together, wanting to refuse him, but he pushes it.

“PleaseEdith. The thought of you going in there infuriates me, and it’s not healthy to breathe that air. God, just tell me what to get and I’ll grab it all.”

My hands lift to cover my face as I rub away all of my confusion.Why does he want to help so bad? Didn’t he say he wanted nothing to do with me? If I let him do this, will he think we’re okay now?

“I see your mind working. This doesn’t mean you owe me a goddamn thing. I’m going to go get everything I can put into a bag and bring it out. Please, go to Ruth’s place while we make this fucking house tolerable, so you’ll be able to at least walk inside.”

“Okay,” I croak.

Not wanting to risk me changing my mind, he spins around and plucks the key from underneath a rock and lets himself inside.How does he know where the key is?

I remain outside until he returns with a large bag, one I’ve never seen before, and walks past me to put into the trunk of the beater I received through a donation.

Slamming it shut, he comes back, only stopping a foot away. Running his eyes over me, he asks, “How are you feeling? Have you been able to keep anything down today?”

“Yes. I had a bit of toast this morning.” I stop myself from asking,why do you care?

“Would you let me come see you soon so we can talk? I don’t want to stress you out, but if you’re willing, I’ll be there as soon as you say yes.”

“I’m not ready, Jaxon.”

Nodding, he gives me a small smile. “I understand. When youareready, I’ll be here. I don’t want to push you, not at all. But I do think we need to set some things straight, and I owe you more than just an apology. For now, and maybe you won’t believe me, which is okay, but I have to tell you again that I’m so unbelievably sorry about the way I spoke to you. It was completely out of line. I regret every word that came out of my mouth.”

I blink up at him, unsure of what to say. There’s so much in my head and he must be able to tell.

“You don’t have to say anything. I just… I said I wouldn’t say anything, and I went ahead and said something, anyway. Go and relax for a few days. We’ll take care of everything.” I feel guilty about how defeated he sounds, but I just can’t make myself ease his pain.

Maybe hedoesfeel regret, but over what? I’m not sure how to tell if it’s because someone told him he was mean or if it’s from him.

Hunching over, I head to my car and slip into the front seat. I left my keys tucked between the sun shade and roof, so I pull it down and let them fall into my hand, then start the car. It still feels weird driving myself now that I’ve learned, but the freedom I have is exhilarating.

I don’t hear or see the guys for the next four days, even when I pop over to the Coopers’ farm to check on the kittens and Austin every day. I even discovered my father’s horse, Raleigh was tucked into a stall, happily munching on feed.

I refuse to stop referring to the three B’s as kittens because in my mind, they’ll always be babies. Mason kept his distance eventhough I saw signs of him around when I was there. I peeked down the drive of the house I now own when I left every day and saw not only Jaxon’s truck, but Griffin’s as well. I itch to go to them, but this time alone is important to me.

Eventually, I get a text message from Jaxon. The first one in days.

The house is finished. Would you like to come over? Just as a head’s up, both Griffin AND Mason are here. Mason pitched in as well, along with the rest of my guys.

Debating as I lay in the bed I’ve been using at the Danielsons’ home, I respond. It’s not fair of me to ignore them when they’ve all put in so much effort. They deserve my thanks, at the very least.

I’m just getting up from a nap. I’ll be there in half an hour, if that’s alright with you? Maybe we can all talk?

I hesitated adding the last part, but Idoneed to talk with all of them. Someone is the father of my little girl and staying silent, avoiding them, isn’t right. It doesn’t mean I have to take up with any of them, but we can at least find some common ground.