Page 53 of The Last Second Chance
“Hey, Jax! You here to see Beckett?” Ellery greeted him when he walked into his brother’s law office. She had her dark hair pinned back in a tight bun at the base of her neck. Her choker necklace was made out of sterling silver links shaped like cats.
“I’m actually here to see you. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure! Can I get you something to drink?” she offered.
“I’ll take some coffee if you have any made.”
“Black, right?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Ellery bustled off to dig up a mug, and Jax shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered around the room. In many ways, it was the quintessential small town law office. Hefty leather bound books lined the built in shelves and impressive framed documents proclaimed Beckett a law school graduate, an attorney, and mayor.
But Jax could pick out small pieces of personality here and there. There was the crayon drawing Aurora had done when they’d moved from the guesthouse into the big house, as she called it. Stick figure Beckett had a huge orange smile on his face and was holding stick hands with a lumpy stick Gia and a short, round stick Aurora. Presumably the purple blob on Gia’s other side was Evan. Beckett had the drawing framed like it was a Manet. It hung on the wall next to his wedding announcement and aMonthly Moonclipping about Evan’s debate team.
Ellery returned with a steaming mug.
“Here you go. What can I do for you?”
“I was just curious about something. Joey mentioned she talked to you at Shorty’s the other night.”
Ellery’s smile widened to a grin and she returned to sit behind her desk. “Did she now?”
“I’m a little curious about what you told her. She seemed a bit upset when she came back.”
“Oh, sure. I told her you’d make a terrible couple and that we were working on matching you with Moon Beam.”
Jax sank into her visitor’s chair, and pressed his fingers to his eyeballs, hoping to keep them in his head and not strangle Ellery’s pretty little neck.
“Why in the holy hell would you tell her that? Are you trying to ruin my chances with her?”
Ellery steepled her fingertips. “Jax, Jax, Jax.” She shook her head as if she was deeply disappointed with him. “First, let me make it very clear that I have no interest in you filling my house or your brother’s office with fertilizer. Very creative threat by the way. Anthony was shaking in his sneakers when I caught up with him outside.”
“Thanks.”
“Let’s speak hypothetically, shall we?”
“By all means,” Jax said, morosely sipping his coffee.
“Let’s say that hypothetically, I have a five-year-old daughter.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Now let’s say she’s incredibly stubborn. Like brick wall stubborn.”
“Uh-huh.”
“She wants what she wants and nothing you can say can change her mind, because everything has to be her idea. She wants chocolate for lunch, but you want her to eat broccoli.”
“Okay.”
“Even though broccoli is clearly good for her and is definitely the right choice, do you think shoving broccoli in her face and telling her its good for her is going to make her want to eat broccoli?”
“Um. No?”
Ellery broke into a broad smile. “Exactly. She’s going to throw up roadblocks left and right when it comes to broccoli. But what happens if you tell Miss Stubborn that she absolutely can’t have broccoli. Ever.”
A slow grin spread across Jax’s face. “Then maybe she decides she can’t live without broccoli.”
