Love Lifted Me (10 page)

Jade
. He thundered down the stairs. Was she having a depersonalization moment? Changing her mind and panicking? “Jade?”

She sat on the porch steps, the breeze in her hair. Asa's baby monitor sat next to her.

“What's going on?” Max stood in the doorway, watching. Under the thin material of her pajamas, he could see her shivering. But the night was warm and dewy. “Are you okay?”

“I'm trying to imagine Texas.” Jade pointed toward the Van Gogh sky. “It's somewhere beyond that dark line of trees but not as far as the stars in the horizon.” She braced against a tremor.

Max eased down behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “Did you have a DP moment?”

“No, just its evil twin, anxiety. I was fine when I went to bed. But then I woke up startled, my heart racing and my thoughts so dark. What if I get to Colby and . . . I'm all alone? Then I started worrying, wondering if I'd made the worst decision of my life. What if I can't undo it? What if it's an experiment in love and life that goes really, really wrong?”

“Do you really think the Lord would send us to Colby and then leave us?” Max settled his chin on her head. “But babe, we don't have to go. One phone call and we're back on track for a Whisper Hollow life.”

“No.” She shivered. “I can't let fear win . . . I can't raise Asa afraid.”

“Are you worried about me? That I'll mess up? Or leave you? Jade, it's not going to happen.”

“I'm not afraid of you leaving me, Max. Messing up maybe.” He felt the reverberation of her laugh against his arm. “If I've learned anything in the past three months it's that you're loyal. You stick to your word, even when you're messing up other areas of your life. You won't leave me.” Jade tipped her head back. Max inhaled the subtle scent of flowers. “But there's no guarantee I won't leave you. I'm the one who grew up with parents leaving. Your parents endured years of infidelity, but they stayed married. When you told me about Asa, you fought to keep us together. I was the one who hightailed it to Iowa in a pink Cadillac. I'm the one who panicked at Mama's funeral and went running down a country road in high heels. As much as I'm a roots-in-the-ground kind of girl, I don't mind moving those roots to different ground.”

“If you run, Jade, I'll chase you. I promised you that night in Prairie City when we went to the Boss or the Hoss, whatever the name of that place. If you wanted to go off with your ex, Dustin, or leave me, fine, but I'd come after you.”

“Dustin is not an issue, Max. If I wanted him I'd not be here right now. He wanted to marry me. But I came home. Whatever we had as teenagers died when we were teenagers. And I married you.” She shivered again.

Max stroked the smooth surface of her arm and she tucked her head against his shoulder. This,
right here
, was what Max had dreamed of for three months at the Outpost.

“I heard you in Asa's room over the baby monitor.”

“Eavesdropper.”

“I think he sort of saved my life, Max. For sure my heart.” Jade nestled closer to Max, a sleepy melancholy in her words.

“Oh, Jade-o, he surely saved mine. He showed up and forced me to deal with everything. I think I'll always love him a little bit extra for that, if it's possible.”

“Some days I can't remember life without him.”

“Tomorrow when I go to Chattanooga, I'll get Cara to start filing adoption papers. We won't have time to finalize before moving to Texas, but we'll get it going. Is that okay with you?”

Jade turned in his arms and rose on her knees to face him. “More than okay, Max.”

He brushed her hair back, watching her face, then cupped his hand against her cheek and kissed her. “I am so hopelessly in love with you, Jade.”

“Keep talking.” She leaned against him, breathing easy without tremors. “I'm listening.”

When Jade awoke, the room was filled with light. She'd stretched, rolled, and burrowed into her pillow. She slept so good. So peacefully. Did she dream about sitting with Max on the . . .

She bolted upright, scrambling out of the covers, catching her foot in the sheets, stumbling forward, and landing on the floor with a thud.

She peered out the window. So much light. The bedside clock flashed 9:02.
Asa
.

“Max? Asa? Where are you? Why did you let me sleep? Asa?” She ran to his room, her heels awakening the hardwood. His room was neat and picked up. His bed, empty and made. “Asa? Max?” Jade ran down the hall. Max's room was also vacant, picked up, bed made. Did she wake up in the twilight zone? Jade leaned over the banister. “Max?”

Not a creature stirred. Thankfully, not even a mouse. At the end of the hall, Jade peered out the window into the yard. Two redbirds lighted on a grassy sunspot.

This was unacceptable. Leaving without telling her. Jade ran to her room, charged and hot, and snatched her phone from the bedside table.

“Hey, babe,” Max answered, cheery. Too cheery.

“Where are you? Why did you let me sleep so long? Please tell me Asa is with you.”

“Yeah . . . he's with me. Where else would he be? Is there a problem?”

“Yes, you left without telling me and you took my kid.” Jade paced to the window, striking her heel hard against the floor, and peered onto Begonia Valley Lane.

“Okay,” he said, tentative. “I hear you . . . I'm sorry.”

“Why didn't you at least leave a note?”

“I left a note.”

“Where?” Jade whirled around, scanning the bedroom's surfaces.

“In the kitchen. On the island. You can't miss it.”

“In the kitchen? I didn't even go downstairs.” Jade jammed the heel of her hand to her forehead.
Asa is fine. Calm down
. “Next time, just wake me, okay? Asa is used to seeing me in the morning. We snuggle and kiss and talk. It's our time.”

“Okay, okay . . . got it.” Max held his voice low. Tender. “I just thought you needed to sleep.”

“Max, I'm a mom.” Best three words in the English language.
I'm a mom
. “And a business owner. I don't have the luxury of sleep. Now that the Asa crisis is over, I'm late for work.” Jade headed to the bathroom. “Where are you, anyway? Did Asa have breakfast? He's cranky without breakfast.”

“I made pancakes.”

“I slept through pancakes?”

“You were tired, Jade. Give yourself a break. You don't have to be supermom all the time. You held down the fort for me while I was gone, so let me help you a bit. Besides, I needed to meet Coach Bonham at the school before he left on vacation.”

“Just don't freak me out, again. Please.” He was laughing. “What is so darn funny?”

“You, Mama. Official or not, Jade, you're Asa's mom. Speaking of moms, I left Asa with mine. After I met with the coach, I drove up to see Mom and tell her about the move. She asked if she could have her grandson for the morning so I said yes. She looked kind of down.”

Mom
. The word always touched her heart. “Did she tell you what's going on? When I asked she clammed up.” Jade cradled the phone, tied her hair back, and brushed her teeth. If she hurried, she'd make it to the shop by nine thirty. She hated opening late. It was bad business.

“She clammed up with me too. Said she was just tired of all the lies and secrets.”

Jade listened as Max recapped his stilted conversation with June. A thought hit her. She peered at her reflection, the green toothbrush jutting from her mouth.

“In the end, all I can conclude is she's trying to protect Dad's reputation with me.”

“Yeah, yeah, right.”

If Taylor Branch's paternity claim was true, it didn't just impact Max. It impacted Jade and the adoption. It impacted Max's parents. And the McClures, Rice's parents, who'd sued Max for custody after she died.

If Max wasn't his biological father, they'd have grounds to sue again. Other than a deadbeat dad, Gus and Lorelai would be Asa's only blood relatives.

The toothpaste burned Jade's mouth. She rinsed, tucking her toothbrush away. What if they'd known all along? What if that's why they sued? Surely they would've said something.
Gus and Lorelai don't . . . they can't
. But Rice was close to her parents. Would she keep Asa's dad a secret from them but blab to Taylor?

It made no sense. Taylor had to be lying. But why?

“Jade, you there? I hear swishing.”

“Um, yeah, I was brushing my teeth. Sorry.” And going wild with thought. “What were you saying?”

“I said I know you're running behind, but do you have breakfast plans?” Max said, a kind lilt in his voice. “I mean, after you brush your teeth?”

“Don't make fun of my multitasking.” Jade turned on the shower, then noticed the bare towel rack. Ah, that's right, she'd used her towel last night to mop up after Asa's hurricane-force bath. She hurried to the bedroom linen closet. “Rain check on the breakfast. Unless you want to bring something by the Blue—”

Max stood in the bedroom door, phone to his ear, a brown bag bearing the swirly Sugar Plumbs logo in his hand. The aroma of cinnamon and bacon filled Jade's senses. Her stomach rumbled and her heart ignited.

“—Umbrella.” Jade lowered her phone. On impulse, she gathered her pajama top close, watching Max watch her.

He remained stalwart, his phone still pressed to his ear. “I'll leave if you want,” he said, his eyes surveying her. His hair fell in soft layers around his face and curled into his collar. He'd trimmed his beard close to his cheeks and the dark hairs accented the familiar contours of his face.

“I'm late, Max. Work . . .” She swallowed her emotion but found no passion to her rebuttal. “I should get going.” Jade motioned toward the bathroom. “The water's running.”

He glanced at the Sugar Plumbs bag. Cute, shy, like a boy. “Mae put in two of her large cinnamon rolls, hot from the oven. I guess I'll run these down to the kitchen.” But he didn't move as he lifted his gaze to her. “It's taking every ounce of self-control not to drop this stuff to the floor and cross this room to scoop you up.”

Jade heard thunder in her ears. Her shallow breath made her throat feel thick as cotton. Max's gaze drew her in, reflecting his love, speaking to Jade of her beauty and his desire. With each heartbeat, the walls she'd built crumbled. She'd missed her husband. In every way.

“Then you should stay.” Jade walked toward him, around the end of the bed, and set the Sugar Plumbs bag on the dresser. “We can eat this later.”

“What about the shop?” But Max already had her in his arms. “Jade, are you sure?”

“The shop can wait. I'm already late, what's a few more minutes?”

“Or hours.” His words were warm as he kissed her cheek. Slowly, he slipped his hand around her waist and along the curve of her hip.

“Or days,” she whispered. She missed him. Until now, she didn't know how much. Jade smoothed her hands along the top of his shoulders.

Max tentatively moved his face to hers, touching her cheek with his lips, then brushing them along her jaw.

She closed her eyes and breathed in his soapy clean skin, responding to every kiss and touch. “Max.” Tears washed her eyes. “I love you. I've always loved you.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “It's been a long time—”

“So why are you talking, cowboy? I mean, coach.” She laughed as Max tumbled with her onto the bed. This was Max. Her Max.

He brushed his fingers along her hair line. He stretched out next to her. “Jade, I promise you—”

“Stop, Max, I know. I believe you. I'm choosing to believe you.” She pressed her finger to his lips. “I saw the change in you the first day back. In your eyes, in your voice, in your manner. Two weeks later, I still see.”

Max raised up on his elbows and held her face in his hands, his eyes searching hers. A grin twitched the edge of his lips. “I feel like it's the first time.”

“In so many ways, it is.” Jade said, letting go and trusting her heart, trusting her Max.

Ten

“Max, where have you been?” Jade met him at the Blue Umbrella's back door with Asa on her hip. “We've been waiting.” He had his phone to his ear, where it'd been all week as they scrambled to move.

“Taking care of details, Jade. You do want a house to live in, don't you?” He'd cut his long, dark cowboy locks yesterday as part of his transformation into a head coach. Without his hair around his face, his brown and gold eyes were beautiful but intense. “Hey, buddy, how are you?”

Asa reached for Max's open arms. “Truck.” He held up his favorite item from the office toy box.

“I see. An old milk truck.”

“I called over an hour ago.” Jade leaned toward him. She'd been scrambling to get ready for the move herself, as well as prep for the
Southern Life
feature. To complicate matters, the reporter and photographer had arrived early. Not minutes—hours. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a modicum of makeup, Jade looked more like the after-hours cleaning lady than the chic owner of a trending vintage shop.