A Hidden Truth

In All Honesty

[Jaxon]

    I woke when Juniper’s alarm started ringing to go start supper. I pretended to be asleep still, wondering what she would do this time. When she tried to peek in my pants this morning, it’d been funny and cute. Juniper was always doing something I didn’t expect and it was amazingly refreshing.

    The weight of her head left my lap, but I could still feel her on the couch next to me. There was movement again, she’d gotten closer to me. I could feel her breath on my neck. It was strange. She wasn’t touching me like she had previously when she found I was asleep or laying down.

    She sighed and sat back. “I don’t know what I’m doing. Why do you do this to me? I’ve always been confident in so much of my life. I knew what I was doing and why. If you treated me like he did, then I’d understand your motivations. Hell, if you treated me like any other guy does, I’d understand, but you don’t. My friends say it’s great. You respect me and my history. I’m ashamed to tell them I’ve tried and failed to seduce you. You make me crazy. What am I missing to make you feel the way I do?”

    There was a faint pained tone in her voice. I didn’t want to hurt or frustrate her. She had no idea how much I wanted her. 

    Even though her dreams gave her away, there was no insight from me. Only me telling her how I felt, then pushing her away. I did it so she’d have time to know me before I indulged my urges, but she was taking it as a rejection of sorts.

    Her lips made soft contact with mine. The neediness we seemed to radiate when we normally kissed wasn’t there. This wasn’t fueled by desire or lust. It was a simple, loving kiss that ended almost as quickly as it started.

    “Jaxon, I want to keep you for as long as I can. I just have to find a way to be myself around you instead of the broken girl. You’ll get tired of broken Juniper long before real Juniper. I know that. I need to figure out how to be with you without trying to be with you. I kind of hoped letting off some of the pressure this morning would help, but it just made me antsy and antagonistic.” Juniper laughed. “I better go start supper.”

    She kissed my cheek and left the couch. I listened as she pulled things out of the cupboards and fridge. The fact that she thought I’d leave her was painful. I’d never felt this strongly about anyone before and I couldn’t risk her pushing me away because of her own insecurities. An idea struck me. I hoped it would work.

    “Mmm, Juniper.” I mumbled. The sounds coming from the kitchen stopped. She was listening.

    “I love how you read that, sweet. Your voice is so beautiful. You set me on fire with your words.” I sighed. “I can’t wait to make love to you and hear those sounds again. See you look at me like I’m the most important person on Earth. Feel your soft body beneath me.”

    She gasped a little. I’d told her this morning how much I wanted her. She didn’t seem to fully get it. I hoped hearing this would make her understand. Maybe thinking I was talking in my sleep, like she did, could be the thing that sealed it for her.

    “Never leave me, my Juniper. Be mine forever. You’re my heart.” I whispered.

    The things I’d wanted to say, but was afraid would scare her off. At least, this way, I could pretend I had no clue I’d said it. She wouldn’t blame me for things said in my sleep. Or, I hoped she wouldn’t.

    There was a little giggle from the kitchen and a happy sounding sigh. I kept my eyes closed and listened to her mixing and stirring as she hummed. I found myself drifting a little again. Her phone started ringing on the coffee table.

    I sat up and looked at her.

    “Could you get that for me, Jaxon?” Juniper asked while she worked on chopping something.

    I picked it up and hit talk without looking.

    “Hello, Juniper’s phone.”

    “Who the hell is this?” A voice on the other end growled.

    “This is Jaxon. Who’s this?” I asked.

    “This is Hank Merritt. Why are you answering Juniper’s phone?”

    “She asked me to. Let me take you to her. She’s cooking.”

    I took the phone over to her and told her it was Hank. She set down the knife, put the phone on speaker, and set it on the counter.

    “How can I help you, Hank?” She said calmly.

    “I talked to Marie-Rose about what happened today. She didn’t believe we hadn’t kissed. I got you on speaker so you can tell her.”

    “If she doesn’t believe you, I don’t think she’ll believe me. All I can do is tell her the truth. We’ve never kissed in public. You should show her the video.” Juniper started shaking a little.

    “I’ll show her later. We need to plan some meet ups. Stuff where we can act like this ain’t a thing and everythin’s good between us all. You got any ideas?” He asked.

    She seemed frozen. I stood behind Juniper and wrapped my arms around her waist. Getting close to her ear, I whispered that she was okay and I was there. She relaxed against me.

    “How about you three going out to dinner and a movie? Like a family date. I can bump into you at the restaurant or something. We can do it on Saturday. Tammy’s parents have a table for us. I can ask them to reserve one for you as well. They serve a lot of foods Remy will eat without complaining and some really nice things I think Marie-Rose would like. We’ll have to act like nothing’s happened, that means me calling her mama. Make sure she’s prepared.”

    “Anythin’ we can do sooner?” Hank asked.

    “I have tutoring all week and we just did grocery shopping. I have a doctor appointment on Thursday and was planning to stop at Jammers for lunch. I could change the restaurant. Coleton Market is popular for the gossips. It’s also a good place to grab lunch. Should be around one in the afternoon. Sound good? We can make it look like we planned to meet up for lunch after my appointment.” She offered.

    “I’ll go with.” I whispered in her ear. She turned and kissed my jaw.

    “I’ve been having some car trouble lately and didn’t have time to take it in because this week is crazy. Jaxon’s driving me around. So he’ll be with us.” Juniper told him.

    “That’s fine. I can move some stuff. Let’s plan for both. The more often we can be seen this week, the better.” He said.

    “Good. I’ll text Tammy and get Saturday set up. Gotta go or I’m gonna burn the sauce. See you all on Thursday.” She responded and hit the end button.

    Juniper turned in my arms and buried her face in my chest. I rocked her a little until her breathing normalized.

    “He’s not going to get you, sweet. I’ll be with you the whole time. Can you get another ticket to prom? I’ll drive you.” I murmured.

    “Ask Clayton for his. They sold out three weeks ago. Do you have a suit? Are you gonna be my date?” She questioned breathily.

    “I’m your boyfriend, sweet. I’ll find a way to go with you. I have a suit in my room at Bobbi’s.” I kissed her head and she squeezed me tight. “Now, you need to get back to supper or it won’t be ready when Teddy gets home. Gary will be back soon. He’s going to text me when his bus gets here. We should save some for him.”

    “Thank you. You saved me again. I seriously can’t imagine how I would have dealt with that without you.” She sighed.

    “Guess you’ll just have to marry me, then. That way you never have to figure it out.” I chuckled. I kind of wanted to see how she’d react to the idea.

    She pushed me away and slapped my chest. I grinned at her and she laughed.

    “That better not be how you plan to propose to me, Jaxon Boone!” Juniper scolded playfully.

    “No, when I propose to you, it’s going to be beautiful and perfect with a ring and everything, Juniper Fordyce.” I smiled and went back to the living room to start reading the book for book club.

    Whenever I looked back over, she was beaming. I loved seeing her so happy. It made me feel happier. Especially since it practically confirmed she was at least open to the idea of a proposal. It would be perfect. I’d make her mine forever.

    Teddy was thrilled that Juniper was cooking his favorite meal when he got home. He went into his room and changed into more comfortable clothing before coming to the table. We told him about the call with Hank and he thanked me for going with her. I told him it would be better if it were me instead of Gary. Soon everyone would know Juniper and I were together. He agreed.  

    We made sure to have a plate fixed for Gary. Around seven-thirty he texted to say he was nearly to the depot. I headed out to pick him up. Giving Teddy and Juniper time alone. I knew they hadn’t had time to unpack mentally, it would be helpful if they could do that together.

    When I pulled up at the bus depot, they were just hauling luggage out of the compartment. I could see Gary waiting. At 6’4”, he was one of the tallest guys there. He was mostly ignoring the people around him while he looked for his bag to be unloaded. I parked and walked over.

    “Looks like I made it in time.” I grinned.

    “There were two accidents in a couple towns we went through. Made us late. How’s everyone doing?” He asked.

    “Teddy’s loving his new job. Juniper made his favorite dinner tonight. She got in a fight at school and we have to do some damage control.” I saw an older woman leaning close and listening to what we said. “Some little twit at her school is starting up old rumors. I told her not to worry about it, but she loves her family and can’t stand someone spreading stories.”

    “What kind of stories?”

    “You remember hearing about the eyelash incident last summer?” He’d been at the meeting so I was sure he knew.

    “Right?”

    “The girl, Becca Shaw, is saying the video was fake. The sheriff himself looked at the video and said it wasn’t. And before that, Becca was talking s**t about me. Like she even knows me.” I scoffed.

    “Juni wouldn’t like someone talking s**t about her boyfriend. Did she clock the girl?” He laughed.

    “No. But she wanted to. Unfortunately, it was the last straw for her and she ended up shouting that Becca was cheating on my nephew. Clayton. Poor kid. He had no idea. Juniper planned on talking to him later, but she said it just popped out. And that was how the fight started. Becca attacked her. Those fighting lessons from Tammy paid off. She pinned her without causing damage, until a teacher could come.” I explained.

    “Nice. How’d Teddy take the whole thing?” Gary asked.

    “He was disappointed in Juniper for rising to Becca’s bait, but he understood. I think she was a little worried he would be really mad. Oh, Clayton broke up with Becca. She’s banned from the ranch.” I said.

    “How are you doing with all this? I didn’t think Juniper had it in her to be involved in a fight.”

    “She was defending herself. She tried to stop the fight. It had her shaken up. Becca was her friend when they were young, but now, it seems all she wants to do is start something. We talked about the crap Becca said about me. Juniper teased me for a bit, but it was stuff we would’ve gotten around to later.” I grinned.

    “There’s my bag. Let’s go. I missed Teddy. It’s weird, I’m attached after only a little while. Looks like you have the same situation with his sister, though.” Gary laughed.

    “I imagine you and I will be brothers-in-law in the future. I’m gonna marry that girl, Gary.” I patted him on the back and we went to grab his luggage and go.

    As I was getting into the car, I could see the woman on the phone to someone. It would start the ball rolling with the stuff we wanted people to be saying. I hoped adding that I wanted to marry Juniper would overpower the rumors about her and Hank. Marie-Rose Clements’ daughter and Tara Callum’s son is not a match people would have expected.

    Juniper’s rough refusals of almost every boy in her grade and a few older boys, had caused her to be a topic in gossip circles for a while. Especially, since Teddy was gay and she was friends with the only out lesbians at her school. At least, according to Bobbi. This would flood the rumor mill fast. Both Teddy and Juniper were dating people and the relationships were serious enough that both men were talking about marriage.

    “Do you think she got all that?” Gary snickered as we pulled out of the lot.

    “You saw her, too?”

    “She’d be a terrible spy.” He snorted.

    “Let’s get back to the house. I’m tired and Juniper’s had a long day.” I smiled.

    “Sounds good.”

    We drove back to the ranch and Teddy came flying out of the house as soon as we started pulling Gary’s bag from the trunk. Gary wrapped him in a hug and I worked on carrying his bag into the house and setting it in their bedroom. Juniper was laying on the couch reading. She smiled at me as I came back in the room.

    “You almost ready for bed, sweet?” I asked.

    “Yeah. I can’t seem to focus. There was a lot going on today and I’m exhausted.” She sighed.

    I helped her off the couch and we headed into her room. Grabbing my sweats, I went to the bathroom to change. When I returned, she was already under the blankets and half asleep. I pulled her into my arms and she fell asleep with her head on my chest. Nothing had ever felt as right. I resolved that I wouldn’t ever have to be without her again. She told me the kids at school called her Auntie June because she was dating Clayton’s uncle. I vowed to make that name hers in real life as I drifted to sleep myself.

    Around three in the morning, Juniper started talking. It was probably the longest she’d slept quietly on a night with a dream. There was no grinding or grasping. No begging and crying. Just soft, breathy talking, like she was trying to tell a secret. It made me smile a bit.

    “My Jaxon says I’m his heart. I think he’s mine, too. Like I was living without one, only replacement hearts and made up hearts. I don’t know what to do, daddy.” She murmured.

    That made me nervous. I knew Hank made her call him ‘daddy’ when they were being intimate. Was this the start of some weird hybrid dream?

    “You think so? How do I keep him?... But I want him, daddy. I need him. Sorry, daddy.” It looked like she was listening to someone else when a huge grin spread across her face. “Thank you, daddy! I love you! I miss you and grampy. Thank you for bringing my Jaxon to me... No, he didn’t. He was never my daddy. It was like playing pretend. I never meant it when I called him that. He was my mother’s husband. You were always my daddy.”

    She was dreaming about her real father. I stroked her hair and she cuddled closer. I couldn’t imagine having to grow up without one of my parents. Juniper was asking her father for advice about me. I loved that so much. I loved her so much. I drifted to sleep again, leaving her to talk with her father.