Charming Ever After

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

We head back to the house and head inside. I show Jax where the shower is and he heads inside. I go into my room and lay down but can't sleep. After an hour or so, I get up and walk out to the front porch. Sitting in the swing I just sit and think. I hear the front door open. Kari walks out and sits next to me. "You okay?" she asked. "Yeah. Just can't sleep." I tell her. "You know it's gonna be okay." she says. Looking at her I say "I know." I tell her. "You deserve better than that asshat anyway." Kari says. "Kari, I've pretty much accepted that I'll be alone and I'm okay with that." I tell her but don't know if I am trying to convince myself or her.

After a little while talking to my sister, I finally head to bed to get some sleep. But none of it is restful. I've not had a good nights sleep since Carter ended things with me for my best friend Dana. I get up, dressed and head to the kitchen. Kari is there and breakfast is almost done. Jax walks in ready for the day in his work boots, jeans that seem to fit just right and a white t-shirt under a flannel shirt. "Embracing the farmer style huh?" Kari asked jokingly. Smiling he says "When in Rome." I just shake my head and grab my plate from Kari. Jax does the same and we sit down to eat.

After breakfast, Jax and I head out. "What's on the agenda first?" he asked. "Fixing the barn door. The hinges are messed up. I got the old ones off but it's hard to put the doors back up alone." I tell him. He nods and we head to the barn. Once the doors are back on, which was surprisingly easier with his help, we head to feed the horses. "You have any animals other than horses?" he asked. "Just chickens. Some of the locals buy the eggs from us so that brings in a good chunk of the income here. Once we feed the horses, we'll take care of the eggs and feed the chickens." I tell him. Again he nods. We head out to the stables and the first thing I do is walk over to say good morning to Rayne. "Hey Baby Rayne. How's my girl this morning?" I asked as I nuzzle her nose. "You love her don't you?" he asked. "Yeah. My dad got her for me a couple of months before he died. She was just a colt then. I raised her. She's my rock. Most people go for a drive when they need to clear their head. All I have to do is come out here and take her for a ride and it's like everything gets better. More clear." I tell him. "I can understand that. I used to ride a Harley. Getting out on the open road, nothing mattered but you and ride." he says. "Exactly. Nothing else mattered." I say. We get the chickens fed and the eggs pulled and head to town to get the part for dad's truck.

I pull my truck up in front of the local auto parts store and Jax and I get out. We head in and get the wires that we need and Jax suggests that we change out the starter too just for good measure and I agreed. After getting the parts, we head outside to the truck and I freeze. "You okay?" Jax asked. Before I could answer, they are right in front of me. "Echo. Hey. How have you been?" Carter asked. I look at him and then at Dana and see her hand resting on her very pregnant stomach. Jax looks at me and then at the couple and introduces himself. "Hey, I'm Jax." he says. "Carter and this is my wife Dana." Carter says, shaking Jax's hand. "How have you been, Echo?" he asked and I finally find my voice. "I'm good. Jax, we need to get back. There's a lot we need to get done today." I say before turning and heading towards the truck. "Good meeting you both." Jax says before following me, leaving Carter and Dana standing there. Getting in the truck, I don't say anything. "You okay?" Jax asked. "Yeah." I say simply but don't take my eyes off the road. "You don't seem okay. Who was that back there?" he asked. "No one. I'm okay, Jax." I say and the rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

Pulling up to the house, I asked Jax, "If you don't care, go ahead and work on the truck. When you're done, take the rest of the day." I say before walking off towards the stables. I walk up to Rayne's stable. "Come on baby. Momma needs to get out of here." I say before putting her saddle on her and heading out to the trails alone.

Back at the house, Kari comes outside and asks "Where's Echo?" Jax looks out in the direction that I went and said, "I don't know." Kari walks out to stand beside Jax and sees that he's watching me walk towards the stables. "Something happened." she said. Jax asks "How'd you know that?" Kari says "It's the only time that she rides Rayne in the middle of the day. What happened while you were gone?" Jax says "We got what we needed to fix your dad's truck and when we came out of the store, ran into someone she knew. Carter and Dana? She couldn't get out of there fast enough once she saw them." Kari rubs her hand down her face. "Fuck." she says. "What?" Jax asked clearly confused. "Let's sit down." she says. They walk over to the steps and Kari fills Jax in on who Carter and Dana are. "You remember last night when I told you that her ex was an ass? Well, Carter is her ex. Dana was her best friend. When Echo was seventeen, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. She had to have a hysterectomy and can't have kids. Carter left her for Dana, telling her that he needed to be with someone that could give him kids that she wasn't much of a woman if she couldn't give him babies." Kari explained. "God damn it." Jax says rubbing his hands down his face. "What?" Kari asked. "Dana's pregnant." he says. "Shit. Look, we need to keep an eye on her these next few days. When he left her, she stopped eating and wasn't sleeping. She'll work herself to death if we don't stop her." Kari says. "Yeah. I'll keep an eye on her." Jax says. "You got kids?" Kari asked. "Yeah. Two boys. A friend of mine is keeping them while I get on my feet." Jax says. "Mom in the picture?" she asked. "No. She died a couple of years ago." he says sadly. "I'm sorry." Kari says. "Thanks. Look, I'm gonna go work on the truck and wait on her to come back. I'll keep an eye on her." Jax says before getting up and walking towards the truck.

Riding around, Rayne seems to sense something's wrong. She always does. Dismounting her by the streams, I tie her to the tree and sit down on one of the rocks and cry. She's pregnant. She's giving him what I couldn't. Maybe he's right. No man wants a woman that can't give him kids. I sit there for a couple of hours before heading back to the house. I put Rayne back in her stable when I hear a voice. "I got the truck fixed. Started right up." Jax says. "Thanks." is all I say. "You okay?" he asked. "Yeah. I'm fine." I say. He walks over and pulls me to him and I break down and cry again. Pulling back I say "Sorry about that. Uh, I think I'm gonna go shower. Enjoy the rest of your day." I say before walking off, leaving him standing there.

I walk into the house and into my shower. I sob the entire time before getting out and crawling into bed. I just lay there crying. Kari knocks on the door and says "Dinner's ready." I don't say anything. I just lay there. "Echo you need to eat." she says and I still just lay there. No one says anything else to me the rest of the night.