Always Us (The Jade Series #8) (49 page)

Sometimes it’s hard for me to relive what I went through, especially when I see a girl’s face in the audience and I can tell she’s stuck in that same horrible place I was stuck at for so many years. But I keep giving these speeches, hoping my words will help. I don’t always know if they do, but occasionally I get an email telling me how I changed someone’s life. The first time I got one of those, I cried for 10 minutes straight. I couldn’t believe I had that much of an effect on someone. Even today, those emails make me cry.

While we’re on the subject of helping people, I should mention our charities. The summer after our sophomore year, Garret formed Rachel’s Swim Club, a non-profit organization that provides free swim lessons to kids. It’s named after his mom, who always wanted every kid to know how to swim. Garret convinced his mentor at WaveField Sports to help him out by providing equipment and using his connections to help get the program up and running. It’s now in 20 states and is modeled after the program at Camsburg, where members of college swim teams volunteer their time to teach kids how to swim.

Garret and I also started The Taylor Foundation, named in memory of my mom and her parents, who I never got to meet. The foundation gives out money to people like Sara, who need help making ends meet. People can go online and nominate someone they know who needs help. They can either provide the money themselves or they can ask the foundation for the money. But however it’s done, the person remains anonymous, just like with our fake foundation. The recipient never knows who nominated them or the source of the money. It could be us, or whoever it was who nominated them. We have a staff of people who review all the nominations and send the money out. So far we’ve helped a lot of people and it was all inspired by Sara.

I almost forgot about Sara, probably because I never see her anymore and she’s too busy to call me, which I totally understand because she and Alex have a new baby girl. Sara and Alex got married two years ago, then moved to Oregon, where Alex got a job as a junior architect. They have a house with a big back yard for Caleb to play in. He’s almost four years old now. Sara’s been taking classes at the community college, but she’s taking this semester off since she just had a baby.
 

Alex has been a great dad to Caleb. He even adopted him after a long legal battle with Brandon, Caleb’s father. When Brandon found out Alex wanted to adopt Caleb, he fought the adoption and tried to get custody of Caleb. Brandon was just being a jerk and everyone knew it, but the law is the law and he
is
Caleb’s father so he has rights.

Sara was a mess when this happened. She didn’t eat. She didn’t sleep. She was totally stressed. She and Alex couldn’t afford all the legal fees so Garret’s fake rich friend stepped in again and paid for the best lawyer we could get. The lawyer proved to the court that Brandon never wanted Caleb and had no intention of being a father and that he was only doing this to stop the adoption. Eventually it all got settled and Alex was able to adopt Caleb. I’d love to see them again and see how much Caleb’s grown. Sara said they’ll come visit when the baby is a little older, maybe next summer. I told her she has to stay with us in the house. We have plenty of room and I like having people over.

Our house is now completely done. We built it last year and moved in right after graduation. The pool was put in last May and Grace moved into the guest house in June. I love having her live right next door to us. Garret’s been traveling a lot for the business so it’s nice to have Grace around so I’m not alone. She doesn’t like being alone either so it works out well. She’s been planting flowers around her house, using the same flower map she showed me a few years ago. She also started a garden with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and herbs. She’s never grown vegetables before so she’s excited to see how her garden turns out.

So yeah, a lot has happened the past few years and things are good.
 

JADE

Things are still crazy busy with Garret and me. WaveField Sports has really taken off and we’ve opened three more stores in California and are looking at expanding into more states. We already have stores in Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon, but are hoping to open a store in Colorado in the next year or so.

I’ve become a lot more involved with the business. Last spring, Garret asked if I wanted to help expand the women’s line of clothing and sporting goods and, of course, I said yes. I love all that stuff, and now I get to check out all the latest items before they come out and decide if we should carry them in our stores.

Owning a sporting goods store has expanded my interest in all kinds of sports. I’m not just running anymore. I’m doing other sports as well. Garret’s been teaching me how to surf and I’ve been swimming in our pool and I’ve even taken yoga classes. I used to think yoga was boring but I’ve come to like it. It’s helped me build strength and increase my flexibility, which has made me a better runner. I did a marathon last May just to see if I could run that far. I finished it, but I wouldn’t do one again. I like to run just to run, not to compete. And I no longer use running to escape my problems. Instead I use it to clear my mind and relax.

I’m still speaking to young women, but have had so many requests that I had to turn some down. It was getting to be too much travel. Plus, I’m trying to get more involved with WaveField and I can’t do that if I’m never around. So I cut back to just two or three trips a month, and when I’m home I do video chats with high school students and community groups. I absolutely love what I do. I can’t imagine a better job. It doesn’t even feel like a job. It just feels like what I was meant to do.

I used to wonder why bad things happened to me. Why I had to grow up in such a bad home with an abusive mother and not enough money for food. I used to wonder what I did to deserve that. Why I had to suffer when other people didn’t. But now, I almost feel like I was meant to go through that. Like I had to in order to get to the place I’m at now. And using my experience to help others has helped me get over the pain I felt from the hell I went through as a kid. It’s helped me heal and grow and become a stronger person.

“Hey.” Garret comes up behind me in the kitchen, his arms circling my waist. “Thanks for dinner.”

Tonight was his birthday dinner. I made him lasagna, like I did the first year we were married. Only this time, I didn’t actually make it. I ordered it from his favorite Italian place and just heated it in the oven. He didn’t want to go out. We love our house so much that we tend to stay in a lot. He cooks or we get takeout and then we eat outside on the patio, which overlooks the ocean. Living here is even better than the dream I had in my head. It’s amazing.

I turn to face him, looping my arms around his neck. “You ready for dessert?”

He smiles. “What are we having? Chocolate cake?”

I shake my head. “Nope.”

“Ice cream?”

“Try again.”

“Hmm. Those are my two favorite desserts. I don’t know what else to guess.”

I smile and step back until I’m out of his grasp. I’m wearing a strapless white sundress and I tug it down slowly until it’s down at my ankles. I step out it, and am left wearing just my lacy white string bikinis.

“This is dessert.” I spin around, showing myself off. “But if you don’t like it, there’s some ice cream in the freezer.”

His gaze sweeps over my nearly-naked body. I see the want in his eyes. The need. The desire. He’s been traveling the past two weeks and just got back before we had dinner. Two weeks is a long time for us to be apart. It seems like months since we’ve been together.

He steps forward, his arms enveloping me. “Damn, I’ve missed you.” His lips crash into mine as his arms tighten around me, bringing me closer. Our tongues tangle as our bodies press together. I feel his desire for me and it fires up my core. He lifts me up, our mouths still joined, and I wrap my legs around his waist.

“I can’t go this long without you,” he says as he carries me to the bedroom. “I missed you way too much.”

He lays me on the bed, then strips his clothes off, his eyes on me as he does. He slides my panties off and lies next to me, gazing at my body as his hand drifts over my skin. “I swear you look even hotter now than when I met you. How is that possible?”

I don’t usually compliment myself, but he’s right. Expanding my workouts beyond running has really reshaped my body. My muscles are more defined, my butt has more shape, and being out in the sun a lot has given my skin a golden glow.

Garret looks better, too. I thought he was hot when I met him, but back then he still had the body of a teen. Now he has the body of a man. He’s bigger, more built. And he still has those incredible abs.

He slips his hand between my legs and his mouth moves to my breast. My breath catches, and I close my eyes, savoring the feel of his touch. I’ve missed him, too. So much that I’m surprised we made it through dinner without ripping each other’s clothes off.

I reach down and feel him, stroking him.

“Jade,” he breathes out. “I’ve really fucking missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

His hand continues to tease me as his mouth moves back up to my lips. We kiss, and it stirs up more want, more desire between us. But it’s more than just physical. It always has been with him. Whenever Garret and I are together like this, I feel the love he has for me. The love we share. I feel it in the way he touches me and kisses me.
 

His body shifts, covering me, and I feel the tip of him, then all of him as he pushes inside me. He gazes down at me. “I love you. I love you so damn much.” He leaves soft kisses along my cheek and my lips as he moves in and out in slow rhythmic movements.

I run my hands through his hair. “I love you, too.”

He keeps his pace steady, not wanting to rush this, but I crave the release as the tension winds tight within my core, continuing to build as he moves inside me. I feel his muscles tense, his hand gripping my hip as he drives harder and deeper. My whole body responds, quaking beneath him as my release finally erupts in powerful waves. I grab hold of him as it does, and then I relax, my arms and head falling back on the bed.

Garret softly kisses my forehead and my lips, then his movements speed up again and he continues until I feel his body shudder and come to rest over mine.

We lie there for several minutes. My body is warm, still filled with sensations. That might’ve been the best sex we’ve ever had. Or maybe it’s just because I haven’t been with him for weeks.

“I actually do have a real dessert for you,” I tell him.

“I don’t need it. That was more than enough. That was amazing.” He moves off me to the side.

I take my spot under his arm, looking up at him. “It was even better than normal, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s always amazing but that was—shit, that was beyond amazing.”

“Did we do something differently?”

“I don’t think so.” He runs his warm hand up and down my arm, which is lying over his chest. “Maybe we’re just getting better at it. We should practice more so we just keep improving.”

“I agree, but to do that, you have to be home more.” I say it jokingly, but his traveling
does
bother me. He’s been gone way too much.

“Yeah, I need to figure out my schedule. Try to cut back on the travel. But you know, you can always come with me.”

“I will. But I like being home. I like this house and being here with Grace. I just wish you could be here, too.” I lay my head on his chest. “Garret, I don’t want you to become your dad. I mean, I don’t want you to get so into your work that I never see you.”

“Jade.” He waits until I look at him. “If you want me to cut back at work, I will. Just tell me. I’m trying to make this company a success, but sometimes it’s hard to stop. I’m competitive and driven to succeed and sometimes that takes over. I need you to stop me from letting that side of me get out of control. The past few months you’ve been busy, too, so I just kept working. But we need to find the right balance between work and this. Us.” He kisses me. “Because us is the most important thing.”

“I don’t want to tell you what to do.”

“When it comes to work, I need you to. I need you to tell me to slow down. Otherwise, I can’t stop myself. I’ll keep pushing myself to make this company grow.”

“But that’s what you should be doing. Growing the company. Making it a success.”

“It’s already a success. It doesn’t need to be the world’s largest sporting goods company. It doesn’t even need to be nationwide. We don’t have to keep expanding.”

“But isn’t that what you want?”

“Not if it means not seeing you. Talking on the phone isn’t good enough. I married you so I could see you every day. So you could fall asleep in my arms. So I could wake up every morning and see your beautiful face.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses it. “And make you breakfast. By the way, what exactly do you eat when I’m not around?”

“I kind of skip breakfast when you’re not here.”

“See? That can’t happen.” He lays my hand back over his chest and rubs my arm. “What should we do, Jade?”

“I just miss you. I miss you when you’re gone, but I also want you to do whatever you need to do for the company.”

“I don’t care about the company. I mean, I do, but I don’t care enough to let it come between us. I can hire people to do what I’m doing. The traveling. The sales calls. I don’t need to be the one doing it. In fact, I shouldn’t be doing it. That should be someone else’s job. I should be doing the higher level stuff.”

“If you did, would you be home more?”

“I can be home as much as you want. We own the company. And it’s private so we don’t have to report to shareholders. We make the rules.”

I lie back on my pillow, pulling the sheet over me. “You need to make this decision, Garret. It’s
your
company.”

He shifts onto his side, gazing down at me. “It’s
our
company. Yours and mine.”

“I know, and I love the store. And I love being involved in it and seeing it grow. But I also love
you
. And I miss you, Garret. I miss you a lot.”