Undone (A Country Roads Novel) (44 page)

But really, Grace couldn’t be happier for her brother and her sister-in-law. Brendan was going to be an amazing father. Much better than his or Grace’s had been.

Neither Brendan nor Grace had ever had their fathers in their lives. Brendan’s dad had gotten their mother pregnant when she was seventeen. When he’d found out, he’d promptly split town and never looked back. But while Brendan at least knew who his father was, Grace had no idea who hers was. It was one of the great mysteries, and a constant source of gossip in Mirabelle.

There were many things in life that Grace was grateful for, her brother and Paige topping the list. They were a team and they worked together. They loved each other deeply. And Grace envied that stupid, dopey look they always got on their faces. She wanted that. And she knew exactly who she wanted it with. It just sucked for her that the man in question was stubborn and refused to see her as anything besides his best friend’s little sister.

Grace took a deep breath and shook her head, bringing herself back to the muffins that she had to get out into the front of the café. There was no need to concern herself with frustrating men at the moment. So she loaded up a tray with an already cooled batch of muffins and went to load the display case before the eight o’clock rush of customers filled the café. But when she pushed her way through the door she found the frustrating man in question on the other side staring at her with her favorite pair of deep green eyes.

*  *  *

Jax’s whole body relaxed when he saw Grace push through the door from the kitchen. The moment she saw him her blue eyes lit up and her cupid’s-bow mouth split into a giant grin. She’d always looked at him that way. Like he was her favorite person in the whole world. God knew she was his.

“Hey ya, Deputy. Let me guess,” she said as she put the tray down on the counter, “you came here for coffee?”

No. He’d come here to see her. He always came here to see her. But coffee was a legitimate enough excuse, especially since he had to pull a twelve-hour shift that day.

“Please,” he said, drumming his long, freckled fingers on the counter.

“Did you eat breakfast?” she asked as she pulled a to-go cup off of the stack and started pumping coffee into it.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Hmm.” She looked over her shoulder at him and pursed her lips. “You know that isn’t going to fly for a second. I got just the thing to go with this.” She put the steaming cup and a lid down on the counter. “Go fix your coffee while I bag up your breakfast.”

Grace turned around and pushed through the door to the kitchen as Jax grabbed his cup and went over to the end of the counter where the sugar and milk were.

Since Jax was four years old, the King women had been feeding him. Between them and Shep’s mom, those were the only home-cooked meals he’d gotten after his grandmother had died. If it hadn’t been for them, he would’ve gone to bed with an empty stomach more nights than most. Patricia Anderson wasn’t much of a Susie Homemaker. Between her long hours working at the Piggly Wiggly and drinking herself into a stupor and getting high when Haldon was on parole, she sometimes forgot to stock the freezer with corndogs and mini pizzas for her son.

“Here you go.”

Jax turned to find Grace by his side. She hadn’t gotten the height gene like Brendan had. She was about five foot four and came in just under Jax’s chin. Her petite stature and soft heart-shaped face inspired an overwhelming urge in him to protect her. She’d always inspired that feeling in him, ever since her mother had brought her home from the hospital all those years ago.

“They’re banana foster’s muffins and they’re fresh out of the oven,” she said, holding out a bag.

“Thanks, Princess,” he said, grabbing the bag and letting his fingers brush the back of her hand.

God, he loved the way her skin felt against his.

“Anytime, Jax,” she said and smiled widely at him. A second later she stepped into him and grabbed his forearms for balance as she stretched up on her toes and kissed his jaw.

It was something that Grace had done a thousand and one times before. She had no concept of personal boundaries with him, and she was wide open with her affection. And just like always, when her lips brushed his skin he had the overwhelming desire to turn into her. To feel her lips against his. To grab her and hold her against himself while he explored her mouth with his.

But instead of following that impulse, he let her pull back from him.

“Eat those while they’re hot,” she said, pointing to the bag.

“I will,” he promised.

“Do you need something for lunch? I can get you a sandwich.”

“I’m good,” he said, shaking his head.

“How late are you working tonight?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at him.

He couldn’t help but grin at her attempt to intimidate him.

There was no doubt about the fact that Grace King was tough. She’d had to grow a thick skin over the years. Even though Jax, along with Brendan and Shep, had done everything in his power to try and protect her, he couldn’t be there to shield her from everything. So Grace had done everything to even up the score with whoever tried to put her down. She wasn’t a shy little thing by any means, and she’d tell anybody what was up without a moment of hesitation.

“Until eight,” he said.

“Twelve hours?” she asked, exasperated. “I’m getting you a sandwich,” she said, turning on her heal and heading behind the counter.

“Grace, you don’t have to do this.”

“I know,” she said, looking over her shoulder as she opened the display case. “But I’m going to anyways.”

Jax watched as Grace filled a bag with two sandwiches, a bag of chips, a cup of fruit salad, and his favorite, a butterscotch cookie.

“This should last you till dinner.”

Jax just shook his head at her as he pulled his wallet out to pay for everything.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Grace said, shaking her head. “You are
not
paying.”

Before Jax could respond, the bell above the door rang, signaling that someone else was in the café. He turned to see Lula Mae walk in the front door.

To the casual observer, Grace and Brendan’s grandmother wouldn’t strike a person as someone to be feared. She had a kind face and bright blue eyes that when paired with her ample stature and friendly disposition inspired a feeling of warmth and openness. But Lula Mae was fiercely loyal, and those blue eyes could go as cold as ice when someone hurt anyone who she loved. Lula Mae had declared Jax as one of hers over twenty-five years ago, and she’d marched down to his parents’ house more than once to give them a piece of her mind.

Jax had spent more nights sleeping at the King’s house than he could count. It was one of the few places he’d actually felt safe growing up. And even now, whenever he saw her or her husband, Oliver, he had that overwhelming feeling of being protected.

“Jaxson Lance Anderson,” Lula Mae said, walking up to him, “what in the world is your wallet doing out? Your money is no good here.”

“That’s what I just told him.”

Jax turned back to Grace, who was wearing a self-satisfied smile.

“Your granddaughter just gave me over thirty dollars’ worth of food,” he said, indicating the stuffed bag on the counter before he turned back to Lula Mae.

“I don’t care,” she said, shaking her head. “Now give me some sugar before you go and keep the people of Mirabelle safe.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jax said, leaning down and giving Lula Mae a peck on the check.

“And the next time I see that wallet of yours make an appearance in this establishment, you are going to get a smack upside that head of yours. You understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jax repeated.

“Good boy,” she said and nodded, patting his cheek.

“Thanks again,” he said, reaching for the bag of food and his coffee. “I’ll see you two later.”

“Bye, sugar,” Lula Mae said as she rounded the counter and headed for the kitchen.

“See you later,” Grace said, giving him another of her face-splitting grins.

Jax headed for the door, unable to stop his own smile from spreading across his face.

Grace stared at Jax’s retreating form as he walked out of the café, and she appreciated every inch of it. He had a lean muscular body. His shoulders filled out the top of his forest-green deputy’s shirt and his strong back tapered down to his waist. His shirt was tucked into his green pants that hung low from his narrow hips and covered his long toned legs.

And oh dear God, did Jaxson Anderson have a nice ass.

Though her appreciation of said ass had only been going on for about ten years, the appreciation of Jaxson Anderson had been discovered a long time ago. He was the boy who saved her from bullies on the playground. The boy who gave her his ice cream cone when hers fell in the dirt. The boy who picked her up off of the ground when she skated into a tree. The boy who let her cry on his shoulder after her mom had died.

Yes, Brendan and Shep had done all of those things as well, but Jax was different. Jax was hers. She’d decided that eighteen years ago. She’d just been waiting for him to figure it out.

But the man was ridiculously slow on the uptake.

Grace had been in love with him since she was six years old. She loved his freckles and his reddish-brown hair. His hair was always long enough to where someone could run their fingers through it and rumple it just a little. Not that she’d ever rumpled Jax’s hair, but a girl always had her fantasies, and getting Jax all tousled was most definitely one of Grace’s.

Jax was always so in control and self-contained, and so damn serious. More often than not, that boy had a frown on his face, which was probably why every time Grace saw his dimpled smile it made her go all warm and giddy.

God, she loved his smile. She just wanted to kiss it, run her lips down from his mouth, and trace his smooth, triangular jaw with her tongue.

Grace sighed wistfully as the door shut behind him and she turned to join her grandmother in the kitchen.

“You get your young man all fed and caffeinated?” Lula Mae asked as she pulled containers out of the refrigerator.

“I don’t know about ‘my young man’ but I did get Jax something to soak up that coffee he came in for.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Lula Mae said, looking over her shoulder and shaking her head pityingly. “That boy did not come in here for coffee.”

“Hmmm, well, he sure didn’t ask for anything else,” Grace said as she walked over to the stove and started plating the rest of her muffins.

“Just give it time.”

“Time?” Grace spun around to look at her grandmother. “How much
time
does the man need? He’s had years.”

“Yes, well, he’ll figure things out. Sooner than later, I think.”

“I don’t think so. To him, I’m just Brendan’s little sister.”

“There’s no
just
about it,” Lula Mae said, grabbing one last container before she closed the fridge and walked back to the counter where she’d piled everything else. “He doesn’t have brotherly feelings for you, Gracie. I’ve never seen anyone fluster that boy the way you do.”

“Oh, come on, Jaxson Anderson doesn’t get flustered,” Grace said, shaking her head.

“If you think that, then he isn’t the only one who’s blind.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You see, Gracie, you’ve never had the chance to observe him when you aren’t around.”

“And?” she prompted, gesturing with her hand for her grandmother to carry on.

“He changes when you’re around. Smiles more.”

“Really? ’Cause he still frowns a whole lot around me.”

“Well, that’s usually when some other boy is trying to get your attention and he’s jealous.”

“Jealous,” Grace scoffed. “He doesn’t get jealous.”

“Oh, yes he does. Grace, you need to open your eyes. That boy has been fighting his feelings for you for years.”

And with that, Lula Mae went about fixing her menu for the day, leaving Grace even more frustrated than she had been the minute before.

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