Page 37 of Tee’d Up For Trouble

Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare?—”

Before she could finish, I stepped to the edge of the tub and lowered her in, fully clothed. She spluttered as the water splashed over the sides, soaking my shirt and the floor.

“Jax! You absoluteeejit!” She sat up in the tub, swiping water out of her face.

I grabbed a towel and tossed it over a nearby stool, grinning despite the death glare she was giving me. “There. Nice and cozy. How’s the water? Too hot? Too cold?”

“It’s wet, you jackass!” she snapped, though the sharpness in her tone didn’t entirely hide the faint twitch of amusement tugging at the corner of her mouth.

I knelt by the side of the tub. “You can yell at me all you want, Dee. I’m not leaving until you promise to relax for once in your life.”

She glared at me, her wet hair plastered to her face. “I’m relaxed. I’m perfectly relaxed.”

I raised an eyebrow and reached for the hem of her drenched sweater. “Alright then, let’s help you get comfortable, Wild Cat. Can’t exactly soak properly in all your clothes, can you?”

She slapped my hands away, but her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. “You’re an arsehole and a pervert.”

“And you’re exhausted.” My tone softened, and I cupped her cheek again the way I had before. This time, she didn’t swat me away. “Dee, let someone take care of you for once. Just this once. Give me that, yeah?”

Her shoulders slumped, and the fight left her. “I can’t, Jax,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “If I stop, everything will fall apart.”

I shook my head, brushing a strand of wet hair out of her face. “Nothing’s going to fall apart, baby. You’ve got Ronan, you’ve got the whole village behind you—and whether you like it or not, you’ve got me.”

She looked at me for a long moment, the tension in her face slowly easing. Finally, she sighed and leaned back in the tub, water sloshing around her. “You’re still anaresehole!”

I smiled. “I’ve been told.”

I helped her out of her clothes, and it took a minute because wet jeans weren’t the easiest to take off a body, especially when I was distracted by said body.

Once out of her clothes, she closed her eyes, soaking in the warmth of the bath. I could see her through the water, but I turned away. It seemed wrong, even though I desperately wanted to see my Dee naked. But I wanted it to happen when we were in bed, wanting one another, and not because one of us was exhausted.

“Fine. You win,” she murmured drowsily. “But if I fall asleep in here and drown, it’s on your head.”

“Fair enough.” I stood and grabbed a towel to dry myself. “Now, relax, and I’ll make sure you get your breakfast—and we can leave the arse-kicking for when you’re fully rested.”

Dee pouted, her eyes still closed. She looked fucking adorable. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to argue.”

“I’mverylucky, darlin’ Dee, and not only because you’re tired.”

CHAPTER14

Dee

Jax had been right. I needed a nap. It was a four-hour one, but that just showed me how tired I’d been. After, I felt better and was down at the pub where everyone had heard of the Clare County Council’s decision. No one talked about anything but that, which I found exhausting because everyone wanted to know what I was planning to do next. I had no plan. I had nothing.

After we closed the pub for the day, Ronan, Jax, and I settled on the bench outside. The cold filtered through my coat, and my breath fogged up the air.

“It’s spring in Charleston,” Jax complained. “It’s freaking March, and it’s still freezing.”

Ronan leaned against a streetlight, cigarette in hand. “Welcome to Ballybeg.”

Jax was right; itwascold, the kind that crept into your bones and made itself at home. Usually, this time of year, I’d have a bit of a spring in my step—even if the weather hadn’t turned—because St. Paddy’s was around the corner. And at The Banshee’s Rest, we always made a grand thing of it. But this year, I didn’t feel like there was much to celebrate. How many more would we have once Ballybeg became something unrecognizable?

I knew that Ronan and I felt the blow of knowing how the vote would go, but Jax didn’t seem immune to it either. He was on our side. But then again, he was a tourist. He’d be going soon enough, and he’d remember that village where he got stranded in Ireland, and wouldn’t care that it had been wiped off the map.

Jax nudged my shoulder with his. “You’re scowling, darlin’ Dee.”

“Am I?”

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