Hearts Incarcerated

Chapter 5

I had thought Penny was a shock, but Jax's father was the actual shock.

His house was huge and well kept, and when we knocked at the door, it was opened by a beautiful African American woman with a bright and friendly smile.

"Hi! I'm Indigo Hart. I'm looking for Mr. Delton."

"Sure, come in. I'm Hayley."

"Lovely to meet you."

She took us into a beautiful kitchen where we took a seat and waited for her to return.

I assumed the man she walked back in with was Jax's father, his skin was darker but he looked a lot like Jax.

He smiled warmly at us, "Hi, my wife tells me that you're looking for me," he held out his hand, "Jonah."

I shook his hand, "Indigo, and this is Leo," I glanced at Hayley, "I hoped to talk to you about Jax."

Hayley sat down and offered us juice, smiling at Jonah, "Oh, honey, I told you that you would find him."

Jonah sat, "Is he hurt?"

"No, no, he's in prison and he is due for release in a little under a year. I'm his therapist. When he gets out he will need-"

"He can come here. You know, by the time I got my life together Penny told me she didn't know where he was, I was so scared that he had been killed. You coming here today is a miracle. Could you give me all the details so I could see him?"

My heart almost burst with happiness.

"Of course, my uncle runs the prison so I may be able to get you in when I have a session with him."

Jonah had tears in his eyes, "Thank you so much, you've brought my boy back to me. Thank you."

Hayley held her husband's hand, her own eyes misted over, "I've heard so much about him, I can't wait to meet him."

"He's made a lot of bad choices, but in the time that I've been working with him, I can tell you that he is a great person and he just needs a chance with people who believe in him. I think he has a shot at really making a success of himself."

I noticed Leo shift uncomfortably next to me.

Jonah reached over to squeeze my hand, "Thank you."

We spoke for a little while longer and Hayley introduced me to Jax's little sister who was six months old, I was told of Hayley and Jonah's son who was at school, he was five.

I couldn't wait to tell Jax the incredible news, he had a family waiting to welcome him home with open arms.

×××

Leo had followed me into my office when I got back, "Well, I can understand why you do what you do now. You're making an amazing change in people's lives. I don't think I will ever forget the look in Jonah's eyes.

"I'm so happy that he's going to get a good chance out there, after Penny, I hadn't expected anything good to come from Jonah, so it was a pleasant surprise."

"Could I take you out to dinner tonight again? I enjoy seeing you."

My mind went over what had happened between Jax and me, "Um, not tonight I have something that I need to take care of first. Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. Tomorrow."

He walked out and I threw my head back in a long sigh.

Going to my phone I picked it up and called my front desk, "Jane, can you get Delton for me?"

"Sure, doc."

I sat down on the edge of my desk, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt as I waited.

I needed to make sure that Jax understood that it would never work between us because I was his shrink and not because he was a prisoner, it was morally wrong.

And then I could give him the good news.

He walked in, standing awkwardly with his head down.

"Jax, I have some good news. But first, we need to talk about earlier. Can you look at me?"

He looked up, "We don't need to talk about anything, you're right. I shouldn't have kissed you. You've got a good life going for you and I-"

"No, you're a great person and I would date you if I wasn't your shrink, but I could lose my job over this, and it would be wrong of me to pursue anything with you when you're vulnerable, that would be wrong and toxic on so many levels. That's it, I don't think that I'm out of your league or anything like that."

"Yeah, sure. What was that good news?"

I sighed, he was still hurt, but I chose not to concentrate on that, "I saw your dad and he wants to come and see you, and you can stay with them when you get out."

He came over to sit, "My dad?"

"Yes, and judging by his house and his wife I think he's changed his life around, he has a six-month-old daughter and a five-year-old son. He didn't know you were in prison, he's been trying to find you."

"He wants me around?"

"Yes, he does. He wants to be in your life and I am going to arrange a visit for you soon."

"How did you track him down?"

I chewed on the inside of my lip.

He frowned up at me, "Blue?"

"I tracked your mom down first and got the address from her."

"Is she coming too?" The look of hope in his eyes broke my heart a little.

I sighed and crouched in front of him, "No, um, she-"

He scoffed, "She doesn't care. It's cool, you don't have to try and make me feel better."

I squeezed his knee, "Hey, it's going to be okay."

"Yeah, maybe. When do they want to see me?"

"I will call them and set it up for as soon as possible."

"Hey, Indi? Do you think you could maybe be there with me when they come?"

"Of course! And I've been thinking, we should appeal to get you out sooner now that we know you have a place to go."

He caught my hand in his, "Thank you for doing all of this for me."

"You're welcome, Jax. I told you, I believe in you."

"Are you going to be my shrink when I get out?"

"Um, I'm not a private shrink, but you can talk to me whenever you want to."

I could sense him begin to shut down again, "I should probably get back to my cell."

I nodded and got to my feet, he stood and tilted his head, "Remember when you're not my shrink, I can take you out."

I laughed and he walked out to be taken back to his cell, leaving me with a mix of guilt and confusion.

We definitely had chemistry, more so than I had experienced with any of my ex's, and definitely more so than Leo and me.

But it was wrong, and I knew this and I couldn't allow myself to let this happen.

×××

"And we are going to appeal to get him out sooner, on good behaviour," I finished filling Leo in on my plan, taking a sip of wine.

Leo glanced around the restaurant before leaning over the table and lowering his voice, "I get that you're trying to do a good thing. But, are you sure that he is ready for this? Has he had enough sessions with you?"

"And I will put him in touch with an amazing therapist once he gets out so he can continue getting help. Why do you have to be so narrow-minded about this?"

"Because I'm out there, I see the damage some of these guys do. I saw what Delton did."

"And maybe if these guys had a good therapist they wouldn't have done any of these things."

"Indigo, you can't fix everyone. Some people aren't fixable."

"Why are you so against Jax?" I asked, getting rather annoyed now.

He sighed, "I am not against Jax, I just want you to be sure of this."

"I would never put someone out there if I wasn't sure that it was the right thing. I wouldn't endanger the public."

"Maybe not intentionally, all I'm saying is make sure you're sure about this."

I sighed, "I will, but I honestly believe that he will be okay. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, and with continued therapy sessions as well as a good home environment and a job I am confident that he will be okay."

"I hope so, I do. Now, can we forget about work and enjoy each other's company?"

"Sure, that sounds like a good plan. But I feel like I should probably let you know that I have a lot going on right now and all I can offer is friendship."

He smiled, "That's fine with me, I enjoy your company."

Getting home I threw my keys down on the counter and kicked my shoes off as I made my way into the living room, I felt a whole lot better after speaking to Leo, and a lot less guilty about my incorrect feelings over Jax.

While I stood firm in my decision to remain professional, I didn't feel right about leading Leo on, I much preferred basing a relationship on friendship and perhaps once he and I got to know each other more we would be able to have a relationship.

Right now all I wanted to do was focus on my career and my family.

Seeing the way Jonah had reacted reminded me that I had my own family with who I had a rather rocky relationship, and I wanted to fix that.

Getting my mobile out, I sent my sister a text, we hadn't spoken in years, since I had started the job at the prison.

None of my family had wanted this for me, when they knew I would be a therapist they expected me to own my private practice, not to work in a prison.

Sighing, I turned on the television and laid down on my couch, where I would probably fall asleep for the night, pondering whether or not my sister would even bother responding to my text.

A/N:

Let me know what you would like to see more of in this book!