Page 71 of One Good Crash
Iwasworried and with good reason. I turned my attention back to Jax. "But you don't know Stuart – I mean the guy who owns the truck. He'ssucha jackass."
"I know."
I froze. "Wait, how would you know?"
Again, he motioned to the chair. "Because I know more than you think. Now come on. It's handled. So don't worry about it."
Handled? How?
I studied his face. He didn't look like he was lying, but how could I be sure? I'd known the guy for less than twenty-four hours.
And yet, during that timeframe, he'd been rescuing me non-stop. Already, he'd done a lot more to look out for me than my mom ever had.
If I didn't trusthim, whocouldI trust?
Not my mom – and not Stuart, that's for sure.
I heard myself say, "You know what's funny? Inevertrusted him, just like Allie never trusted my mom. It's strange to think…" Remembering myself, I let my words fade to silence.
After all, Jax surely had better things to do than listen to me analyze my own glorious mistakes.
But already, he was saying, "It's strange to think what?"
I waved away the question. "Never mind."
"No." His gaze locked on mine. "Tell me."
His eyes were dark and probing, with the barest hint of danger. And yet, I wasn't afraid. I was stupidly hypnotized by the sight of him, the sound of him, and even the feel of him.
It was true that we weren't touchingnow, but I'd known what it was like to be held in his arms, to have him pull me close, to feel his breath in my ear and have his hand on my back.
In spite of everything, I couldn't help but wonder, what would it be like to be even closer? Not dancing, but…
With a start, I shook off the distraction.Damn it. Focus, Cassidy.
He'd asked me a question.It's strange to think what?
I replied, "It's just funny that both of us were right."
"Meaning you and Allie."
"Yeah. I mean, I never liked Stuart, andshenever liked my mom."
I tried to smile. "You should've seen her when I announced that I was moving. I swear, I thought she was gonna clobber me." I gave a nervous laugh. "Or maybe tie me to a chair or something, anything to keep me from going."
Was I rambling? I felt like I was rambling. I clamped my lips shut and tried to ignore the warmth creeping up my cheeks.
It wasn't only because I was sharing far more than I normally would with a stranger. It was because on that day, Allie and I had caused such a ruckus that the neighbors had come in to gawk.
It was our first and only big argument, but it had been a doozie.
Jax said, "But you came anyway."
"Well, yeah," I said. "My mom was so nice – I mean on the phone – and I hadn't seen her in forever. Plus, Allie's cousin needed a place to stay, so I figured I'd just, you know, get out of the way and let them have some time to catch up."
I couldn’t help but sigh. "And, well, I figured I could catch up with my mom."
Jax gave me a long, penetrating look. "Yeah? And how'd that work out?"
