Page 106 of The Last Second Chance
Evan grinned and twirled spaghetti noodles on his fork. “Let’s just say it’s a lot harder to find my math book now.”
24
“Relax, Jojo,” Jax said, covering her hand on the seat’s armrest with his own.
The plane leveled off its ascent as they headed west. Away from the farm and the horses. Away from her house and her dog.
L.A. was not her idea of a vacation—sign her up for a booze fest on a tropical beach—but she had to admit, she was curious about seeing the lure of the place Jax had called home for so many years.
“Are you sure Carter can handle everything?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
“What if Waffles misses me and won’t eat?”
“Then you can video chat with him and make him eat.”
Joey knew she was being ridiculous, but couldn’t seem to help it. It had been a long time since she’d been so far away from the stables and the farm. And the last time, a family beach vacation with her parents and sister, she hadn’t been in charge of a dog, thirty horses, and a calendar full of lessons.
She stretched her long legs forward, appreciating the legroom that first class provided and wondered what that extra twelve inches cost. When she’d asked, Jax told her not to worry about it. The studio paid for travel to premieres, which was good news for her that she didn’t have to dip into her nest egg and scrunch herself into coach between Jax and some guy who smelled like an ashtray and snored.
She smiled to herself. “It’s like we’re finally taking that trip we talked about that night in the car,” she told him.
Jax flinched and rubbed her hand silently.
“What’s wrong? Are you nervous about flying?” Joey asked.
Jax shook his head. “I just don’t like thinking about that night.”
“I don’t remember much about the…after,” she confessed. “What do you remember?”
What happened to make him leave the hospital, pack a bag, and leave her? What happened in those hours that changed the course of both their lives?
“Jojo, I really don’t want to talk about it.”
She bit her tongue and let it drop. Maybe not knowing was better somehow?Probably not.
Jax sighed heavily next to her. “After the crash it was so quiet. It smelled like engine coolant, you know that maple syrup smell? I couldn’t see much. I’d hit my head on the steering wheel and there was blood in my eyes.” His voice tightened at the memories.
Joey squeezed his hand.
“I looked over at you, touched you. There was so much blood and you weren’t moving. You were slumped forward over the seatbelt. I thought you were gone,” he whispered the words.
“I’m not exactly sure what happened next. I think there was a car behind us that saw the whole thing. The guy pulled me out of the car, but we couldn’t get your door open. You still weren’t moving.” He shook his head.
“I got back in the car with you. There were lights, sirens coming, and then I could see where the blood was coming from.” He took her right hand, rolled her arm over and traced the thin scar that zigged and zagged its way from wrist to elbow.”
The guy who stopped was a nurse and as soon as he said “artery” my heart stopped. I took off my shirt and wrapped it around your arm, put pressure on it and the next thing I know is the EMTs are there, saying they got you. But I couldn’t let go.”
Joey turned her arm over, pulled his hand into her lap. She felt guilty that her need to know hurt him by remembering. She wished she could take the memories from him. Wished that she could change the events of the past for them both. But that wasn’t possible and the only way out of those memories was through them.
She didn’t want him to hurt anymore so she changed the subject.
“So what kind of a dress am I going to have to wear tomorrow?”
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Everything about L.A. was excessive. From the glossy black Uber with tinted windows that picked them up at the airport to the hotel suite that was bigger than the first floor of her house. “This shower could hold twelve people,” Joey’s voice echoed off the bathroom walls and fixtures that gleamed gold in the late afternoon sun. “Even the walls are marble.”
