N. Walters: Jackson’s Jewel

Sitting up, she wrapped her arms around her legs and waited.

“What happened with Derek?” That wasn’t exactly what she’d expected him to say, but she supposed they needed to settle what had happened.

“He hired some sixteen-year-old kid to hack into my e-mail account, credit card account and eventually into my sister’s phone records.” That was how he’d eventually found her. “He promised the kid that he’d help him get a recording contract. Derek knows all kinds of people in the music business and introduced the kid to some of them. He spun some story about trying to find his girlfriend because they had a fight and the boy bought it.

“Right now, Derek’s in a psychiatric hospital being assessed. If he’s deemed competent enough to stand trial, it will happen somewhere down the road.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about Derek. He’d tried to kill her and Jackson, but she remembered him as a young boy as well, laughing and playing with her and her sisters.

“How do you feel about that?” Jackson was watching her, his blue eyes hooded.

“I’m not sure,” she replied honestly. “Part of me wants him put away for good so that he can’t cause any more harm, but the other part of me remembers that he was a good friend for years.”

“That’s understandable.” His voice was gentle and she wanted to be in his arms. These past weeks had been unbearably hard. Her life as she’d known it had been ripped apart, and it wasn’t just her own life that had changed.

Her entire family had been rocked by this. Derek had been like a part of the family and the betrayal went deep. And all because he’d believed that if Emerald and her sisters cut a record and it was successful, his father would finally respect him. With her at his side, he’d finally have the kind of success he always felt he deserved. It was all so sad.

Derek’s father had cut all ties with the family, which hurt her parents as well. They were torn between wanting to help their longtime manager and friend and supporting their daughter if the matter came to trial. Not that there was any doubt. There wasn’t even a choice, but that didn’t mean it was easy for any of them. In fact, it was a mess for everyone.

She stared down at Jackson’s chest and let it all pour out, telling him everything that had transpired in the weeks that she’d been away. In return, he told her about his visits from the police and about the harvest.

Emerald had no idea how long they talked, but finally there seemed to be nothing left to say. She still hadn’t looked at Jackson. Nothing had been settled between them. She’d told him that she loved him and they’d had wild, passionate sex. While it felt wonderful, it didn’t give her any indication as to where they went from here.

She opened her mouth to ask, but closed it as he began to speak. “I was coming to New York.” Her head snapped up and she stared at him in disbelief. He gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “Hard to believe after I practically kicked you off the farm, isn’t it?” He sighed and scrubbed one hand over his face before continuing. “Thing is, I wanted you to stay from the beginning, but I needed to be sure. Needed you to be sure that this wasn’t an aberration brought on by the situation you were in.”

“I understand.” And truly, she did. Didn’t mean she liked it though. Narrowing her eyes at him, she continued. “But if you ever try to do anything like that again, I won’t be responsible for what I do.”

A slow grin split his face. “Fair enough.” He reached for her then and she all but threw herself into his arms. Cupping her face in his large hands, he leaned so close that their noses were touching. “I love you, more than you can even begin to imagine. The light was gone from my life when you left. I want you to stay here with me forever.”

Emerald held her breath. Was he asking what she thought he was asking?

“Marry me.” He kissed her lips softly, gently. “Marry me and share my life. If you want to live in New York, I can sell the farm.”

Shock vibrated through her. That he’d even offer to do such a thing meant everything to her. “You’d do that for me?”

“Whatever it takes.” There was no doubting the sincerity and determination in his eyes.

“Yes.” All the weight that she’d been carrying the past few months slid away. “But I want to live here.” This felt right. There would be challenges as they melded their lives together, but they would face them together.

“You won’t be sorry.” He peppered her face with kisses.

“I know.” She reached for his lips, the passion that always seemed to be simmering between them rising again.

The rumble of a large truck drifted in through the window. “Ignore that. Whoever it is, they’ll go away,” Jackson murmured as he nibbled on her earlobe.

She groaned, wanting to sink against him. “No, they won’t.” As if to prove her point, a loud horn blew.

Jackson dropped his head back to the pillow and sighed as she scrambled off the bed and grabbed her jeans. She didn’t bother with underwear as she shimmied into her pants. “Come on.”

He rolled off the bed, yanked on his jeans and shirt and grabbed his boots as he followed her down the stairs. She finished buttoning her blouse as they walked through the kitchen.

Two burly men were waiting outside when they stepped out onto the porch. “Can I help you?” Jackson asked.

One of the men strode over. “Where do you want the stuff put?”

“What stuff?”

“Jackson.” She tugged on his arm until he faced her. “That’s my furniture. I’m moving in.”

His face went blank and she began to get worried. Then he threw back his head and roared with laughter. Snatching her into his arms, he twirled her around until she got dizzy. He finally stopped and let her feet touch the ground again, but he didn’t let her go.

“Pretty sure of yourself, weren’t you?” The creases at the corners of his eyes deepened as he smiled.

“Not sure, no. But I had lots of hope.”

He kissed her then. A short, hard kiss filled with promise.

“Don’t mean to interrupt.” She could see the laughter in the man’s face as he rubbed his jaw in an attempt to hide his smile. “But we got a schedule to keep.”

Jackson slung his arm around her shoulders and they walked to the back of the truck. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

It didn’t take them long to get it all sorted out. She didn’t have too much stuff, but enough. Most of it was put in her old room off the kitchen until they could figure out what to do with it. Within an hour, the boxes and furniture had been stored and the men had been given a cool drink and were on their way.

Jackson stared at the mound of belongings stuffed into the room and grinned. “That saves us the trouble of having to go to New York to get your things.”

She smacked him on the arm, but he only laughed. She’d never seen him this happy before and it made her heart sing.

“Are you sure about this?” All humor was gone and he was his serious self again. “You’re the one leaving your home.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“What about your career?” He tucked a lock of her hair over her ear and then dropped his hand by his side.

“I can work from here. In fact, this room would make a great office for me. That is, once I get all the other stuff out of it.”

“Whatever you want to do or change is fine with me. This is your home now. We can get rid of any furniture we don’t need any longer. If Erin or Nathan don’t want it, we can donate it to the church for their yearly fundraising sale.”

“We’ll work it all out,” she assured him.

He grabbed her hand and tugged her close. “I know we will.” Bending down, he kissed her neck as his hands roamed over her ass. “Where were we when we were so rudely interrupted?”