Jackson shrugged Wyatt away. “I don’t want your help. You stole the girl I loved, you asshole!”
I gasped. “He saw us kissing?”
“Nooooo, I mean, Bryn.” He blinked his eyes a few times. “Fuck, you were kissing Jules too?” Jackson demanded, his words slurring. He half-heartedly shoved Wyatt. “What’d you do, douchebag? Try to score with every girl I had feelings for!”
“Look man, Bryn kissed me. I didn’t mean for it to happen, and I’m not interested in her, okay?”
Jackson weighed Wyatt’s words. “Yeah, it’s okay. She’s was a real bitch anyway.”
Wyatt snickered. “Whatever you say.”
Turning to smile crookedly at me, Jackson said, “Now Jules, she’s a real keeper. Any guy would be lucky to have a girl like her.” Then he slumped back over.
“Great. He’s passed out again,” I moaned.
We continued working our way through the backyard. Straining, we lugged Jackson up the stairs and into the kitchen. “Jeez, look at this mess,” I said, when I saw the cups and alcohol bottles littering the counters and floors.”
Rolling his eyes, Wyatt said, “Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be a real pisser for their housekeeper to deal with all this while he’s hung-over tomorrow.”
Jackson came to again just as we got to the living room. He shrugged away from Wyatt to wrap his arms around me. “Man, you smell good, Jules.”
“Thanks,” I murmured.
As he leaned in to inhale the strands of my hair, Jackson proceeded to puke all over me. “Oh shit!” I cried, as vomit slid down the inside of my dress. I jerked away, sending Jackson careening towards the floor. Luckily, Wyatt grabbed him, and he didn’t fall.
When he had regained his footing, Jackson’s eyes widened in horror at the sight of me drenched in puke. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Seriously, it’s okay. You can make it up to me by letting me borrow some clothes to change into.”
He nodded. “Okay, I can do that. Just help me upstairs.”
When we started up the stairs, Wyatt wrinkled his nose. “You reek. I can take care of him. You go on upstairs and do something with your hair.”
“Thanks a lot!”
“Look, I’m not being a dick. It’s just…I have a weak stomach.”
Jackson started snickering. “Dude, you act like such a badass, but you’re a total pansy.”
“Shut up!” Wyatt shouted.
“Fine, you two can have each other,” I snapped, before stalking up the remainder of the stairs.
“Second door on the left,” Jackson called.
I stomped down the hallway and into Jackson’s bedroom. Flicking on the light, I momentarily took in the palatial surroundings. He had a suite just like Mom, so it was almost like he had his own apartment. I made my way through the living area that boasted leather couches and a giant plasma TV. His bedroom was huge with a king sized bed.
I went over to the chest of drawers and started digging around. I pulled out an old UGA t-shirt and some sweat pants. I went in the bathroom and slid off my dress. Wyatt was right in the fact I did reek. I fought my own gag reflex when I saw puke had piled in my bra. Snatching it off, I threw it into the shower along with my dress.
After I hosed them off, I hopped into the shower and shampooed my hair two or three times. When I finished, I sniffed the strands to make sure the smell was gone. It smelled manly like Jackson’s shampoo, but at least it didn’t smell like puke. I put on the new clothes and came out of the bathroom. Wyatt had propped Jackson on the edge of the bed and was taking off his shoes.
They both glanced up at me. “You look cute in my clothes…really sexy,” Jackson said.
Wyatt scowled at him. “Look dude, I know it’s not a great time to break it to you, but she’s with me.”
“I know.”
“You do?” both Wyatt and I asked.
“Duh, I’m drunk, not blind. You guys were practically having sex when you were dancing earlier.”
“Oh jeez,” I muttered, heat flushing my cheeks.
Jackson chuckled. “Don’t be embarrassed, Jules. I’m just glad you’re happy—even though it’s not with me.”
“Wow, that’s really considerate and sweet.”
When Wyatt didn’t say anything, I nudged him. “Yeah, that’s cool, man.”
Jackson nodded before falling back on the bed. Straining, he reached up to whisk his shirt over his head. “And I’m glad to finally be free of Bryn.” He tossed it on the floor beside the bed and collapsed back on the pillows from the effort. “Everyone’s been riding my ass to get rid of her—even my dad. Dude, is he going to be stoked when I tell him Saturday night!”
My chest constricted, and I fought to find my breath. I grabbed hold of the bedpost for support. “You’re going to see your dad Saturday?”
“Yeah, at this dance thing of my brother’s.”
Wyatt locked his gaze with mine before asking, “The Summer Sweetheart’s Dance?”
Jackson snapped his fingers. “Yep, that’s it.” He then gave a dreamy smile. “Evan’s all hyped up. It’s his first formal dance, and his first real love.”
“That’s nice,” I murmured as I tried to reign in my emotions. Emmett Marshall would be at the Brandewine Institute on Saturday night. All we’d have to do was show up, and it would be a slam dunk arrest. But instead of feeling the usual adrenaline kick when getting leads from an informant, my stomach was twisting into a hardened knot. Maybe it was because I’d gotten to know and care for Jackson. Maybe it was the fact that when I saw Evan’s smiling face in my mind, I couldn’t imagine ruining the biggest night of his life by handcuffing and hauling his dad away. But more than anything, it sickened me that the information had come from a wasted and vulnerable Jackson.
“God, I’m tired. I gotta get some sleep,” he moaned, absentmindedly. His hand went to the button on his pants, and when he started sliding them off, I let out a squeak. With everything that had happened tonight, Jackson had already exposed himself more than he needed to. “Okay, then. You need your rest, and we’ll talk to you later.”
“Thanks for helping me,” he called as I jetted out of the room.
Wyatt’s laughter rang behind me. “Wait up, Julesy. I want to see how red your face is.”
“Shut up!” I snapped.
We pounded down the stairs and out the front door. My mind was spinning so out of control that I almost tripped and fell on the walkway. Wyatt reached out and grabbed my arm to steady me. “Easy now. Don’t tell me seeing Jackson’s bare chest has made you all loopy,” he joked.
I smacked his arm. “That’s not it at all. I’m just weirded out by the Marshall tip, that’s all.”
Wyatt handed me the helmet. “You mean you’re not super stoked to finally have a definite lead?”
Shrugging, I slid onto the seat. “Doesn’t quite seem right coming from a drunk guy.”
Wyatt smiled and pointed to my heart. “You’re thinking too much with that. It’ll always get you in trouble.”
“Tell me about it,” I murmured.
“Stop worrying about it.”
And as I wrapped my arms around Wyatt again, I tried pushing the Marshall case out of my mind, at least until I could figure out what to do.
Chapter Eighteen
The next day when I strolled into Raye’s office, I found Wyatt lounging around the front desk with Colt and Remy. He sprang to his feet the moment he saw me. The smile that spread across his face caused my insides to turn to absolute mush, and I wondered how I had been so clueless about my feelings for him.
“Hey Jules!”
“Hey,” I replied, returning his smile.
“You wanna sit down?” he offered.
“Thanks, but I’m good.”
Colt and Remy exchanged a glance. “Uh-oh, I think the plan to reel in Jackson backfired last night, and someone else got hooked instead!” Colt said, waggling his eyebrows.
&nb
sp; Remy thumped Wyatt on the back. “Dude! You got her to finally realize how she felt about ya, huh?”
Just as I expected him to come back with one of his normal testosterone fueled responses, Wyatt said, “That’s personal.”
“Oh man, you’ve got it bad!” Remy then proceeded to wrap his arm around my neck to give me a noogie. “Who knew our Little Sis was such a heartbreaker?”
I twisted out of his embrace before he could embarrass me any further. As I smoothed my hair back down, Colt cracked his knuckles. “Just remember, if you get any wild ideas with Jules, we’ll break your head in!”
As Wyatt’s eyes widened, I shot death glares at the boys. “Would you two get a grip?” I then grinned at Wyatt. “I think we all know I can totally take him!”
“Ha, ha,” he replied, as the twins chuckled.
Raye came out of the back. “Boys, we’re going to go meet Nathaniel over in Metter to pick up a jumper. Wyatt, can you man the phones until your mom gets back?”
At the disappointed look on his face, I said, “I’ll stay with the phones. Wyatt can go and get some more training.”
“Really?” Wyatt asked.
I grinned. “Sure.”
Raye eyed the two of us before Colt said, “Yeah, they’re a thing now.”
“I can see that,” Raye replied, as he tried to fight the corners of his lips turning up. “Sherry’s at the courthouse seeing if some of our jumpers are showing up for their court dates, but she should be coming back in an hour or so.”
“I can totally handle things while you’re gone.”
Raye and the twins started for the door. Wyatt leaned in to give me a good-bye kiss, but was interrupted by Colt clearing his throat. “Hey, let’s go!”
I gave him a stink eye before wrapping my arms around Wyatt’s neck and really laid one on him. When he pulled away, Wyatt grinned and shook his head. “Gotta love that temper of yours, Julesy.”
I giggled. “You’re welcome.”
The boys headed out, and I got settled at the front desk. I decided to make use of my time waiting for Sherry by working though the bad and the ugly of Raye’s jumper pile. I started calling informants, aka snitches, to try and get some leads. I was on the phone with a bitter ex-girlfriend who was spilling the beans about where to find her ex when the bell over the front door tinkled.
Cupping the phone, I called over my shoulder, “I’ll be with you in just a sec.” I continued scribbling down the information. “Okay, I’ll pass it on to Raye. Thanks again.”
I hung up and then whirled around in my chair. “Sorry about that. How can I help you?” I glanced up and gasped.
Jackson stood in front of me.
“Oh shit,” I mumbled.
Without even a hello, he demanded, “Your dad isn’t a lawyer, is he?”
I slowly shook my head back and forth.
“He’s a bondsman and a bounty hunter.”
I nodded.
Jackson rolled his eyes. “Unbelievable.”
“I really—”
He threw up his hands. “I can’t believe how stupid I was not to see it. All the signs were there!”
Oh, this was bad. Very, very bad. “How did you find out?”
“Bryn told me about your Dad. And the more I thought about Raye, I realized that he had to be in on it too. So I started doing a little investigating myself.”
Anger boiled in my veins. Of course Bryn would have resorted to something so low. She had no idea Wyatt and I were together, so of course she would do anything to get Jackson to hate me.
And then he asked the question I was dreading. “Is your dad hunting my dad?”
My mouth suddenly ran dry at the prospect of coming clean with him. I had to lick my lips a few times before they would work enough for me to say, “No, my dad hasn’t been hunting your dad.”
“He hasn’t?”
“No.”
Jackson’s brows furrowed in confusion. “But I thought—”
“It’s not him…it’s me.”
Even though I wanted to look away, I couldn’t. I don’t think I’d ever seen someone’s face change so many colors. Jackson’s expression went from confused to shocked to finally angry. He exhaled noisily before drawing in a deep breath. I could tell he was trying to control his emotions. “All this time you’ve been looking for my dad?”
“Yes,” I replied, my voice barely a whisper.
Jackson stared down at his hands, curling them into fists. He appeared to be weighing his next words. “So us hanging out… was that just about my dad?”
Jeez, he had to go right for the throat with his question. But I knew there was no way out but to be honest with him. “At first it was. Maybe a little of it was competition with Bryn—you know, to try to get you to like me instead of her. But then when I started getting to know you better, I felt differently. I found out that, besides being incredibly hot—” Oh God had I actually just said that? I felt my cheeks growing warm. “Uh, yeah, so I found out that besides being cute, you were also an amazingly sweet, caring, and cool guy. And that made me wish that I had never heard of the case. But I didn’t entirely stop looking.”
He glanced up and stared into my eyes, searching to see if there was truth in them. Once he was satisfied, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“I guess this is where you say you’re glad there was nothing really between us, and you storm out of here.”
Jackson knelt down beside me. “I’m not going to storm out of here Jules because deep down I know you are a decent person.”
Okay, that was totally not the answer I was expecting. I couldn’t believe how he was reacting to all this. I swept my hand to my chest. “I’m a decent person? I just told you I had been hunting your father—using you to get information about him. You should be turning over tables and screaming obscenities at me!”
Jackson laughed. “Jules, if I started going apeshit, you’d just take me down.”
“Yeah, so what’s your point?”
“The point is I really can’t be too mad at you for using me to get to my dad.”
I gaped at him. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “There are few people in my life who don’t have some motive for knowing me—either because of who my family is, the money we have, or because of my popularity at school.”
“Ouch. Knowing that has to suck.”
He shrugged. “It’s just the way it’s always been. But the friends I surround myself with are the ones I know really don’t give a shit about all the other stuff.”
“It’s good that you have them, and you’re not totally surrounded by jerks like me.”
Rolling his eyes, Jackson said, “Jules, you know how I feel about my dad. I really couldn’t give a shit if he got arrested.
“You don’t mean that,” I protested.
He clenched his jaw. “You don’t have any idea what it’s like to have a fugitive for a father.”
For the first time, I tried putting myself in Jackson’s shoes. How humiliating it must’ve been to have his dad on the run. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must be. Finally, I said, “You’re right. I don’t. And I know in the long run it probably doesn’t mean anything, but I am truly sorry for what you’ve been through. I really am.”
He gave me a tight smile. “Funny thing is I’ve wanted to turn him in a dozen times. But every time I came close, I’d think of Evan.” He gave his head an angry shake. “It doesn’t matter how many times Dad forgets to call or how many times he doesn’t come to visit, Evan still loves him. Dad will always be his hero.” His voice choked off. When his eyes met mine, his mouth twisted like he wanted to say something, but he was afraid to actually say the words. Finally, he drew in a deep breath. “I came here today to ask you a favor.”
Oh no. He was going to ask me the unthinkable—to stop hunting his dad. Before I could protest, Jackson held up his hands. “I don’t mean for you to stop looking for my dad indefinitely. Just for a few days. You see there’s this dance??
?”
“I know all about the Summer Sweetheart’s Dance and Evan.”
Jackson’s eyes widened. “You do? But how?”
I shifted in my seat. “I met Evan while doing some recon work on your dad. And then last night, when you were drunk…”
Jackson grimaced. “Yeah, I get it.”
“For what it’s worth, Evan’s really great,” I said, softly. I then proceeded to spill my guts and tell Jackson about Wyatt’s and my visit to the Brandewine Institute.
Instead of being pissed off, he nodded. “I’m glad you got to know him a little. I’m hoping now you can understand even better why I wouldn’t want anything to ruin his big night. Trust me, I haven’t seen him this excited or this happy in a long, long time. So can you wait until the dance is over?”
The breath I’d been holding whooshed out of me. Feeling deflated, I murmured, “Wow, I don’t know what to say.” I mean, it was one thing for me to be conflicted over whether I should withhold the details from Dad, but it was a totally different ball game to be asked to completely ignore a lead. I’d never, ever done that before.
At my hesitation, Jackson said, “Jules, I’ll understand if you say no.”
“Yeah, sure you will. Every time you look at me, you’ll just see that bitch who hunted down your dad and ruined your brother’s life!”
“No, I won’t,” he protested with a smile.
And then, for a brief instant, I actually allowed myself to entertain giving up on the Marshall case for a little while. Sure, Emmett was a fugitive and a bail jumper, but he was a white collar fugitive. He hadn’t been arrested for rape or murder or anything really heinous. He’d just run off with a bunch of rich people’s money. And I’m sure in the long run, they could spare it. So it wasn’t like I would be doing something morally and ethically wrong, like letting a murderer or rapist roam free…right? No, I wasn’t buying it either.
But in the vast scheme of things, it wasn’t really fair for Dad to use me to get to Emmett. I mean, I’d never actually gotten to know a jumper’s family before. That was a heck of a lot of emotions to put on someone. Dad always joked I’d inherited Granddaddy’s tender heart. You let the sad ASPCA commercial come on, and Granddaddy and I both would be sniffling. So how fair was it that he’d put this major moral and ethical dilemma in my pathway?