Page 99 of Forever Home

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Madison

It felt like Kylie and Dante’s wedding would never arrive. Waiting almost an entire month since I last saw everyone was agonizing. But when the day of the wedding came, damn it was everything I imagined it would be and so much more. Kylie looked like a Goddess in her dress and with the way she did her hair and makeup… she looked ethereal.

Though of course after a night of tequila and much convincing, I was able to find out thatinnocentwas far from the truth when it came to Kylie. And though I didn’t get many details because she refused to share all… she painted a picture that was pretty telling.

Who knew my girl was a freak in the sheets and a lady in the streets?

No wonder Dante put a ring on it so quickly. He got lucky.

With a glass of champagne in hand, I watch as the happy couple spin around the makeshift dance floor of Mrs. Kendall’s home. I’d halfexpected them to go all out and have this lavish wedding, but Kylie wanted something small and intimate with just friends and family.

So that’s exactly what she got, and it was absolutely amazing.

A figure moving out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. My head slowly turns to spot Jaxson sneaking out of the room through the kitchen doorway. He’s made good on his word to keep in touch with me while he was back in New York for work. And though our conversations have been more than just hello and how are you doing… they weren’t as close as they were at one point in time.

It was clear over the last few days that something is bothering him. His responses seemed stressed and very short. And when I spoke to him on the phone two days ago to clarify a few things for the wedding, he seemed distant. As if his mind was a million miles away.

All day I’ve tried to find time to confront him and ask him what was wrong, but I never was able to get a moment alone with him. It was as if every time I tried to talk to him, something happened and the world wouldn’t function without me there.

But I quickly accepted it. It’s Kylie's big day and the last thing I want to do is ruin it.

With everyone distracted, I take the opportunity to slip away. Slowly but surely, I maneuver my way through the body of people watching Kylie and Dante, towards the kitchen where Jaxson had disappeared. My feet carry me out of the house and straight to the back yard where I find Jaxson, standing in the middle of the yard with his hands shoved into his pockets, staring up at the treehouse.

“Jaxson?” I ask softly, watching his shoulders tense slightly before relaxing again.

“I sold the restaurant,” he says without turning around. Alarm bells ringing in my head at his words. Which restaurant… and why?

“What?” It’s the only thing I manage to get out in shock as he slowly turns around to face me.

“I said I sold it.”

“Which restaurant?” I finally ask, still slightly confused. “And why—”

“Charcuterie,” he musters out with a sigh before turning to look at the treehouse once more. “It’s not important anymore. Plus, the others run themselves without me actually having to be there. Taking charge ofthat place was keeping me away from what I really want, Madison. From who I want to spend my time with.”

“What—” I don’t get a chance to finish asking him what he’s talking about before he’s towering over me, taking my breath away.

“You wanna go up?” he asks, waiting for a response. “For old time’s sake?”

The treehouse is where it all began for him and I, and to hear about his life changes, and the fact that he’s implying he made those changes for me, only makes me want to know if it’s true.

“Why not?”

The moment we get up to the top, we both take a place on either side of the small room. The awkward weight of unknowing fills the space between us. He seems to be lost in thought as he stares out the tiny window to the world below.

It’s as if everything over the past year has brought us together and then broke us at the same time.

“I don’t even know what to do anymore,” he finally admits. “Being in New York… alone. It doesn’t feel right. It’s empty and missing the spark that made me want to come home.”

“Jaxson—”

“No, Madison,” he says, turning to me, his eyes filled with remorse as a smile perks the corner of his lips. “You know what I realized only recently that took me years to understand?”

“What’s that?”

“That I’ve got it all wrong," he scoffs. “All my life, I’ve wished for Willowcreek to feel like home, but my house never felt like one. Among all my siblings I felt invisible, and I kept thinking that my next success, my next big break, would finally put me in my family's spotlight.”

Shaking his head, his gaze drifts towards the window once more. “But things don’t always happen how you want. Now that I finally got those few spotlight moments, I don’t think that’s what I ever really wanted. I wanted to find my home.”

---