“You better,” he growled good-naturedly, grasping my thigh underneath the table.
“So how long are you in town for, Jill?” Connie asked when there was a general lull in the boisterous conversation.
Jill looked like a deer in headlights for a moment as the silence weighed heavily on the table.
Connie’s big blue eyes darted around nervously. “Sorry, was I not supposed to ask that?” she asked in the genuine and straightforward way that was pure Connie.
“No, it’s fine,” Jill rushed to assure her. “I’m just not sure.”
“I heard there’s an opening at the hospital,” Scarlet put in. Scar had been in nursing school since I’d known her, but with a toddler and baby on the way, her progress had stalled some.
“Oh?” Jill asked. “Well, I have a lot to sort out.” She shifted nervously in her seat and I waded in to her rescue.
“Jill’s a hot commodity.” I winked. “Where’s Ry?” I asked, deliberately changing the subject.
I saw Jill literally deflate with relief when the focus wasn’t on her anymore.
“Wrapped up in something,” Wes snickered.
“Man whore,” Ettie shook her head with a giggle.
“On Thanksgiving? Really?” I demanded. As much as Ry could be annoying at times, I missed him. I was mildly affronted that he’d picked a random bimbo over his family.
“Pumpkin pie’s good but not nearly as good as pussy,” Wes chortled as Connie smacked him; I turned to smother a laugh in Axel’s shoulder.
It was after pie and to the point where I was stuffed to the gills when I finally had Jill alone for a minute. Rather than try to wrap her up in a conversation when we only had a spare moment, I tried to coax her up to our place for the night.
“I don’t know, Soph,” she fretted. “I don’t want to put you out and I don’t have any of Mason’s overnight stuff.”
“Okay, how about tomorrow then? Or I could come to you?” I offered. I missed my friend and wanted to spend time together like we used to. We had a lot of catching up to do.
Axel came to stand alongside me, and Maddox immediately reached out of my arms for his daddy. “What’s up?” Axel asked, picking our boy up and delivering a quick nuzzle into his neck.
“Jill and I were trying to sort out a sleepover,” I informed him. “I was thinking I could stay with her tomorrow night.”.
Axel turned to Jill. “I’ll pick you up, bring you to our place.”
“Babe,” I sighed, exasperated.
“Got no problem with girls’ night,” he shook his head. “But I want you under our roof.”
“That’s fine,” Jill assured him, shooting me a look to relax.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “How are you getting home?”
“Uh, Cal has Mason’s car seat in his truck. I guess he’s taking me home,” she replied nervously.
“Okay, well, you’re in good hands then,” I answered her softly, reaching out to squeeze her hand.
“Yeah,” she bit her lip, not meeting my eye.
Weird. I didn’t know this side of Jill. The woman I knew was bold and unafraid to speak her mind.
“Let’s go,” Axel said a short while later. His demeanor had been surly after dinner and I couldn’t understand why. We’d had a great night.
“Sure,” I agreed, eyeing him warily.
We said our goodbyes and headed out into the chilly evening. “Will we get snow soon you think, up at the house?” I wondered aloud as he fired up the engine and pointed us toward home.
“Possibly,” he shrugged.
“I hope it snows for Christmas.” I grinned at the thought of a warm fire and cozy day. Just for us. “Can we get our tree soon?”
“Sure,” he shrugged pensively.
I was getting a lot of shrugs and not many words out of him. Never a good sign.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
“Nothin’,” he muttered.
“Okay,” I replied, not in any hurry to have him spoil my upbeat mood.
We drove the majority of the ride home in silence with Maddox slumbering peacefully in his car seat.
It was a good deal colder up at our place and I rushed inside with Maddox wrapped in my arms.
The alarm beeped at me but I let Axel deal with it as I carried Mad to bed. He went down without a peep, tired from all the excitement of the evening.
I knew well enough by now to avoid Axel and whatever he was working through. Instead, I got ready for bed and slid under the warm covers, curling up with a baking book. I couldn’t explain exactly why I was so hell bent on being able to cook. Maybe it was that my mother had never done it, that Axel’s hadn’t either. I certainly didn’t feel like Axel expected it. It was more an expectation of myself; a huge hurdle of independence after a life beholden to others.
I’d studied the merits of coffee cake thoroughly by the time I turned out the light. Axel was pacing around the house, banging around as he seemed to do when he was in a dark mood.
As always, I had trouble sleeping until I felt Axel slide into bed.
“Babe, what is it?” I asked, my voice hoarse with elusive sleep.
“Nothin’,” he growled.
I slid up on an elbow peering over at him through the dim light. “Are you mad about something?”
His reply was cutting. “You seriously askin’?”
Then it dawned on me. “You’re mad at me?” I replied in shock. “What the heck did I do?”
“Do you have any idea what the state of play is right now, Sophie? Any idea how much fucking danger there is? And you’re offering to flit off with Jill like it’s nothing! Wanting to spend the night in a not so great part of town without me!” he snarled.
It seemed I unleashed the beast with a simple question.
“It was just an idea, babe, Jesus,” I snorted, exasperated with his attitude. I bit back the urge to give him a hard time for using the word “flit.” Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like a good time to tease him. Such a good morsel lost, damn.
“Do not blow me off about this,” he growled.
“You didn’t even want to talk about it until I forced it out of you!” I threw up my hands in frustration, sitting up in bed, sleep forgotten. “I understand it’s dangerous out there. It’s been dangerous for me since you met me,” I exclaimed. “That doesn’t mean I can’t want simple things like a sleepover with my best friend without making her go out of her way,” I tried to explain. “I know you wouldn’t let me do something risky, nor would I go against something you were concerned about. As long as it’s reasonable,” I hastened to add. “All you have to do is explain why and we’re good. You don’t have to pace around the house all night like a goddamned lion,” I said dryly.
“A lion?” he queried with a lifted brow.
I shrugged, my arms crossed.
He sighed, sitting with his back against the headboard, his chiseled abs on infuriatingly gorgeous display. “I admit I can be a possessive bastard,” he nodded, running a hand over his beard. “But until your father is behind bars, until we know what’s at play with the Riders, I need you close. Hell, I’ll always want you close but especially now, Soph.”