All My Heart

Meet the Carters: Jax's POV

Dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans, I got out of my car in front of Paige's house. With her being in college still and working and me needing to stay for meetings and learning things about Bill's business, we hadn't seen each other since our second date. And God, did I miss her. She came out dressed in jean shorts, a shirt that had a v-neck in it, and a baseball cap. My heart began beating fast and my blood flow flew south. I hid a groan with a small cough and flashed her a smile. A dog came out behind her and she led it toward the Jeep where I met her.

"Jax, this is Ellie," she said, smiling. "She's my puppy."

She was a beautiful dog. Her fur was groomed and she looked very happy. She reminded me of my German Shepard, Max, back home. He was my best friend. Right before she went to jump on me, Paige stopped her.

"Tsk," she said loudly and the dog backed away, still wagging her tail. I bent down and was face to face with her and pet her head.

"She's beautiful," I reply. I stood back up and kissed her cheek. "Just like her owner."

Paige smiled at me and opened the back door.

"Will you pick her up and put her back there? She is too short to jump up there just yet. And she's really heavy," she said, laughing slightly. I nodded and picked up the heavy dog and set her in the seat. She sat down obediently and looked over at me and Paige. Shutting the door, Paige touched my bicep, sending electricity all the way through my left arm.

"I didn't know you had tattoos," She commented. She was referring to my half sleeve on my bicep. She gently pushed my sleeve up and traced them. "Do you have anymore?" She asked me. I nodded and grabbed the bottom of my shirt, hinting to take it off.

"I have more on my back. Would you like to see them?"

"No, I think i can wait," she replied, seeming to regret her decision after she spoke. We put our luggage in the trunk and hopped into the vehicle.

"My dad is excited to meet you," she said, smiling. She changed her baseball cap to wear it backwards and slid on sunglasses. "And you should've heard what my sister was saying this morning. She's ecstatic."

I chuckled, looking over at her. She was so god d-amn beautiful. She didn't even need to wear makeup to be beautiful. Her skin was naturally tanned and glowy and beautiful. Her lips were a natural pink at all times. She even had freckles on her cheeks and nose. They were so cute.

"Well I'm very excited to meet them and get to hear some, hopefully, really embarrassing stories."

She laughed as she turned around, backing out of the driveway.

"I'm sure there will be many told."

***

About forty minutes into the drive, Paige was driving on the high way and from a slight distance, I heard fire truck sirens. They seemed to get closer and closer within seconds and Paige went into complete panic and I saw her begin to breathe deeply and she got into the far right lane and pulled over, waiting for the fire truck to pass. Tears were in her eyes and I sensed how panicked she was.

"Paige, it's just a fire truck. They'll safely make their way through," I told her. She shook her head, not making eye contact with me. She looked in her rearview mirror then her side mirrors. As the sirens got ear piercingly close, I saw her wipe a tear away and she was gripping the wheel so tight her knuckles were white.

As it passed, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. I placed my hand on hers on the wheel and she began to loosen up.

"I'm sorry," she said, quietly, as she got back onto the highway and got back on route. "Something, a couple years back, traumatic happened and it's just terrifying to hear that sound."