Free Jaxson's Song by Angie West Page A

sighed, slipped on the same rubber soled shoes she had worn to
work the night before and did a quick but thorough job of tidying
up the bedroom. A glance out the window told her that maybe ten
minutes had passed.
    She stood in front of the
door and took three deep breaths. Would Jaxson be up and about?
Would he even still be in the house? She recalled his instructions
about locking up after herself, and her mouth settled into a grim
line. It didn’t matter if he was in the house; he’d made it clear
last night that he didn’t want to run into her this morning. Well,
that was fine because she didn’t relish the idea of running into
him, either.
    Kate thrust her shoulders
back, twisted the doorknob, and strode into the hallway. Despite
her intention of breezing past Jaxson’s bedroom without so much as
a glance to the right, her eyes strayed to the closed door and her
stomach clenched. Nerves, and it was no wonder. With a sigh, she
jogged down the stairs and made her way through the lower level of
the house. In the soft light of day, Kate was able to confirm her
first impression from the previous night.
    The pale pinks,
champagnes, and golds provided the perfect backdrop for the
Victorian charm the house seemed to exude. The home was warm and
charming…completely unlike the man who lived there! The thick,
beige carpet muffled her footfall and a minute later, her shoes
squeaked against the linoleum in the kitchen and dining room. She
was at the front door when a faint scuffling noise sounded behind
her.
    “ Kate.”
    “ Jaxson…” She turned around. He was standing in the kitchen
doorway, clad in a nondescript, navy blue bathrobe over a blue
skirt and white blouse. His close cropped, dark brown hair was wet
from the shower. Kate lifted one hand to tug self-consciously on
her own wild hair, but quickly forced it back down to her side and
steadily regarded her neighbor. “I was just leaving.”
    “ Yeah…” His green eyes traveled the length of her body. “Look,
I just came down here to…”
    “ To what?” she prompted when Jaxson fell silent. Keeping her
gaze locked on him required a herculean effort; it was impossible
to see him this morning and not picture his hands on her body. Her
heart rate kicked up a notch as she waited for him to respond, to
make this morning less awkward, to say something, anything .
    Jaxson opened his mouth,
closed it, and finally dug into the side pocket of his robe. He
pulled out an elastic band and tossed it across the dining
room.
    Kate scrambled to catch
the black elastic hair tie.
    “ You left that on the floor last night.”
    Now it was her turn to
gape. “Thanks,” she finally snapped. Without a backward glance, she
walked out the door, slamming it in her wake and stomping across
the still-wet grass that separated her house from Jaxson’s. She was
still moving full steam ahead as she took the steps up the porch
two at a time, paused, remembered her purse, backtracked, and
retrieved it from the Toyota. Back up the steps she went, slamming
her front door behind her, so irritated that for a full minute she
forgot to pause, forgot to be afraid.
    Kate’s bravado deserted
her a second later. She stood in the entryway, back pressed to the
front door as dust motes swirled around her. Some long dormant
self-preservation instinct made her slow her breathing and close
her eyes, listen for any sound in the empty house. Hopefully it was
empty. Her pulse kicked up a notch, and for a brief second she
reached behind her back and went for the doorknob.
    “ No,” she whispered. Repeated the word with more force. The
door had been locked a moment ago. Hadn’t it? The house was
silent.
    “ There’s no one here.” She exhaled, hating that her voice
sounded so shaky in the rambling space.
    Kate squealed when the
crash came. A thud, then the sound of glass shattering. The sitting
room, it had come from the front sitting room, just off the
entryway. She took two steps forward, a chill