Page 13 of Love is a Drum Beat
“Are you eating enough? Sleeping enough?”
“If I answer, will you leave?”
He shrugged.
She sighed. “Yes and yes. All I do is eat and sleep. And try to play the drums, but I’m sort of in a fight with my drum set right now.”
“Are you taking vitamins? Do you have a go bag packed or a plan for when the baby comes? Do you know how you’ll get to the hospital?”
She stared at him, her eyes wide. “Who are you?”
“My mom is a neonatologist. She likes to tell me things I have no desire to know.”
Jo froze the moment he mentioned his mom, and a tear streaked down her cheek. “I… I don’t have anyone, Dax.” The confession seemed to deflate her. “There’s no one to call. I’ll get a cab when it’s time.”
“No one? There isn’t anyone who can help?”
She shook her head. “Not all of us have moms who like to talk to us. The only two people I’d call—Noah and Mel—may or may not be in town then. Noah promised to make it in time, but what if I go into labor before he gets back?”
“What about Blake?” He hated the idea that Blake Coleman now had a connection to Jo. He’d only met the guy once, but it was enough.
Jo let out a harsh laugh and struggled to push herself to her feet. Dax jumped forward to help her. Once she was steady, he let go.
She walked toward the kitchen table and reached for a paper. “You mean this Blake Coleman?” She extended the document toward him, and he took it.
At first, he wasn’t sure what he was reading. Then, his eyes widened as he looked from the document to Jo. Blake wanted to make sure no one knew the baby was his. “Are you going to sign it?”
She hugged her arms across her chest. “Already did. I won’t force him to help me. It’s better if I do this on my own.”
On her own? Was that how Jo saw her future? In Rockstars Anonymous, Drew and Noah were already calling Jo’s baby theirs. Dax hadn’t voiced it, but he was excited for Jo’s kid. He loved kids and had an easier time relating to them than most adults. Stella was proof of that. Dax had clicked with Noah’s niece instantly.
“Jo.” He stepped toward her, but she stepped back.
“I’m okay, Dax. Really. You don’t need to worry about me. I have been on my own since I was seventeen. I’m used to taking care of myself. I know you think I need you, but I am not your burden. I refuse to be a burden to anyone.”
“Jo—”
“No. I mean it.” She rested a hand on her stomach. “This time, I won’t be alone though. I’m good. I swear. You can leave and get on with your life. We barely know each other, Dax. Being members of Rockstars Anonymous doesn’t change that.”
But he wanted to know her. How could she not see that? Since the moment Dax walked into the first Rockstars Anonymous meeting and caught sight of Jo, he’d needed to know what made her tick, what made her feel. She was angry and damaged from whatever had happened in her life. Fame and money didn’t wash away the past.
And still, he listened to every word she said, watched every action she made. He knew she fiddled with her hair when she was nervous. But she was rarely nervous. Her widest smiles were reserved for Noah, her person. The guarded look in her eyes never went away.
He knew her.
And he didn’t.
“Dax?”
“Yeah?” He met her gaze.
“Will you…” She sucked in a breath. “Will you keep this NDA just between us? I don’t need Noah and Drew coming back just to give Blake a thrashing.”
He’d do anything she asked. His head nodded of its own accord. “It’s our secret.”
At those words, she graced him with a rare smile, and he lost the battle with his own heart. Jo Jackson was the kind of girl he could fall in love with.
But he was nervous, awkward Dax Nelson. He doubted she’d ever give him the chance to love her like she deserved.
