Love Song Series Box Set (8 page)

Jase

What in the hell are they doing in her bedroom? There better not be anything going on between Matty and Julie. If there is, I’m going to kick my brother’s ass. As that thought passes through my mind, words he said long ago come back to haunt me.

“
If she comes back, she’s not yours anymore. You better remember that, because I hope like hell that I can make her mine.”

Those were the words he spoke when she left me, but I
’ll be damned if they come true. Julie is mine; always has been, always will be. I may not have her back yet, but I will soon. Once I get her, I’m never letting her go. Not even my brother will take her away from me.

“
I’m so glad you’re not busy anymore.” Jenny’s words pull me from thoughts of what’s going on in Julie’s bedroom.

“
What do you mean, busy?”

“
Momma told me why you couldn’t come and see me. You wanted to, but you were busy like Uncle Brandon and Uncle Will. They’re busy being soldiers. They go to faraway places, just to keep little girls like me safe. Momma says she can’t tell me why you’re so busy, that it’s a big secret, but that I always have your heart. I’m not sure how your heart can be with me. Doesn’t it need to be in you, to make you stay alive?” she asks in a serious tone.

I don
’t know how to answer her, so I just pull her into my lap and give her a big hug. I’m not sure what Julie has told her about me, but it doesn’t sound like it was bad. Thank God for that. I don’t want to say the wrong thing and make Julie or me look like liars.

“
If you’re not too busy anymore, are you going to come see me like other daddies do?”

“
Yes, you’re going to see me so much that you’ll get tired of looking at my face,” I promise.

“
Oh no, I won’t. You’re pretty,” she says with a smile. I’m fucking beaming now. My daughter thinks I’m pretty. I know the guys at the garage would laugh their asses off if they heard her say that, but I don’t give damn. It’s the best compliment I’ve ever gotten.

“
Daddy, can you call me something?” she asks, making no sense at all.

“
What do you mean?”

“
All the other daddies call their little girls something nice, like my friend Autumn’s daddy calls her honey bun, and Tracy’s daddy calls her pumpkin. I want you to call me something nice too.”

I think for a minute
, trying to come up with a name that’s special enough for my little girl. It has to be something special, something precious, just like her. Then, it hits me. My mom’s perfume.

“
Did you know you were named after my mom?” I ask.

She nods her head.
“I’m named after my Grandma Chelle. She’s my guardian angel, always watching me from heaven.”

Her words warm my heart, and I feel the urge to go to Julie and drop to my knees, beg her for forgiveness
, and thank her for giving me such a wonderful little girl. “Well, my mom always wore this perfume that smelled like a sweet pea flower. It’s a beautiful flower, all small and delicate, just like you, so how about I call you sweet pea?”

She smiles and pulls me in for a hug.
“I love it, Daddy!”

“
I love you, Sweet Pea.”

Chapter 7

Julie

I
’ve always loved coming to Music Row. Kristen, Becca, and I used to come up here all the time. That was before Becca became a bitch. We’d listen to the music, fill up on junk food, and spend all of our money on the tourist crap. It didn’t matter that we lived less than an hour out of Nashville; a Music City tee was still cool as shit!

Some guys are playing their guitars on the street, and Jenny thinks that is so awesome. She throws all her allowance in their guitar case and requests a Taylor Swift song. Seeing these guys playing
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is really funny, until I notice Jase looking at me. I give him a look that clearly says you should listen to this song. He just shakes his head and smiles. I have to fight my own smile, knowing he is melting my heart with each look.

I look over at Matty to see him watching Jenny with a smile on his face. It
’s sad that he is more of a father to her than her own father. Seeing Jase and her together has really opened my eyes. I now know without a shadow of a doubt that everyone was wrong; I should have told him about her the day she was born. Jase deserved the chance to be her father. More importantly, Jenny deserved the chance to have a dad.

“
I think we should head over to the zoo. What about y’all?” I ask with a smile, trying to shake the sadness away.

“
Sure, babe,” Matty agrees and places a kiss on my forehead. I know he’s just playing his part of the game I started this morning, but all the attention sure feels good. It’s been a long time since anyone has made me feel special.

For a moment, I wonder what it would have been like if I had been Matty
’s girl instead of Jase’s. Would we be married by now? Would Jenny have a little brother or sister? I look at Matty then peek over at Jase. They look so much alike. Why couldn’t I have fallen in love with the reliable brother? I shake my thoughts away. “Come on, y’all. Let’s get to the zoo.”

We start to walk back to the parking garage, but Jenny spies
Ye Olde Fudge Shoppe and begs Matty to take her in. It didn’t take much begging. Matty would give my girl the moon if he could. I start to follow them in when Jase grabs my hand and pulls me back onto the sidewalk.

“
What the hell is going on between you and Matty? Shit, Julie, he’s my brother,” Jase finishes while shaking his head in frustration.

I look down to my feet and think about what Jase says. He is right in a way. I am being a bitch, and I
’m not that type of girl. I’m not so petty that I need to use a friend to make someone jealous, am I? I can explain it any way I want, but that’s what I’m doing. I’m pulled from my thoughts by a woman wearing way too much perfume.

“
Jase Gibson, wow! It’s great to see you here,” she says while pushing her body against his. “You never called me back, but I’ll forgive you.” Her voice is flirty. She turns to look at me. She blinks a few times then sneers at me. ”Oh my, if it isn’t Julie Walker.”

That
’s when it hits me. Brittany Miller. She was Brandon’s girlfriend in high school. She was always a bitch to me when she was dating my brother. She would call me names and make fun of me to her friends. As soon as Brandon found out, he broke things off with her, but it was too late to undo the damage it caused. She blamed me for losing him, and things only got worse.

Think about all the things that high school bullies do, and I guarantee she did it to me
, only she’s a devious bitch. She wasn’t a normal bully. No, Brittany was devoted to it. I swear she spent every waking moment coming up with new ways to torment me.

One time, she even took pictures of me changing in the locker room. She blew the pictures up
, wrote cow across my ass, and then hung them all over the school. I spent the rest of the year with everyone mooing at me.

I came home crying nearly every day. I almost quit school just to get away from her, but Kristen and
Becca talked me out of it. Jase knew what happened. He used to hate her as much as I did, but I guess his dick didn’t hate her. Seems like his dick doesn’t hate anyone.

“
I better head inside. Matty is with our daughter buying some candy, and I wouldn’t want him to get her too much.” I put my hand on Jase’s arm and squeeze. “I’ll go check on our daughter. See you inside?”

Just before stepping away,
I look up at Jase and shake my head. I’m angry now; angry at Jase and angry at myself for feeling guilty about Matty.

“
Yeah, Jase, your brother,” I say as I walk into the candy store.

Jase

I watch Julie walk into the shop, and my frustration grows. Shit, Brittany just fucked things up even more. I was so close this morning. Her words may have been harsh, but her stolen glances let me know I’m not the only one still feeling something.

“
You need to go.”

She
gets impossibly closer, rubbing her tits against my arm. “You know you don’t want me to leave.”

I take a step away and glare at her.
“Yes, I do. I’m spending the day with Julie and our daughter.” I say, purposely leaving out Matty. I don’t even want to think about why he’s here.

“
You have a daughter with her?” Brittany asks, even though Julie just told her about Jenny.

“
Yeah, she’s eight years old and fucking beautiful. I messed things up with Julie, but I’m going to fix it. I can’t do that with you here.”

“
Jase…” she starts with a whine, but I cut her off.

“
Like I said, you need to go.”

“
Well, excuse me. I just thought we could have another go,” she says, purring and rubbing up against me. Before, I would have taken her up on it, but not with Julie back. Even if I never get the chance to have Julie again, my time with bitches like her is over.

“
Did you not hear me say that I have a daughter, or did you miss the part where I said that I want to work things out with Julie?”

“
Yeah, I heard you, but I don’t care. Becca and I were talking yesterday, and I really don’t think you care either, do you?” She smiles sarcastically. “I know all about you screwing Becca the first time you were with Julie. Why should this time be any different? We just won’t tell her,” she says with malice.

“
What is with you stupid bitches? Becca is a cunt, and I don’t want you or anyone else. I only want my family, so fuck off. Tell all your damn friends the same thing,” I say angrily as I walk off.

My mom would beat my ass if she heard me talk to a woman like that, but I had to put her in her place.
I can’t have that shit going on around my kid. I don’t want it going on at all. I’m done with all that. My family is the only thing that’s important to me now.

When I walk into the shop, I see Matty laughing with Julie and Jenny. Jenny pulls on his hand
, and he bends down to her. She gives him a kiss on the cheek with her fudge-covered lips. Julie laughs and reaches for a napkin. She wipes the fudge off his cheek and kisses him in the same spot that my daughter had just kissed. Matty grabs them both and pulls them in for a hug.

It
’s at that exact moment that I realize just how much I have lost. I have to grab the wall to keep upright; the pain in my chest nearly brings me to my knees.

Julie

Our day in Nashville turned out great. We stayed at the zoo all afternoon, and Jenny had tons of fun. Jase carried her around on his shoulders and showed her every single animal. He spent an hour climbing on the jungle gym with her, then bought her nearly every stuffed animal the gift shop had. She loved it. Yes, he over did it a little, but I’m glad he did. He and Jenny both needed it.

I think, I hope, he will be the kind of
dad Jenny needs. Dean may have been good to her, but he was never her daddy. Matty has always held a special place in her heart, but he is her uncle. It’s just not the same. She needed a father and now she has one.

When we got home, Jase
asked if he could take Jenny to Dairy Queen for an ice cream. I was a little nervous about letting her go, but I knew I had to give him a chance. He said they would only be gone about an hour, and I know it’s going to be one of the longest hours of my life. Thankfully, Bethany is home, and Kristen has stopped over to visit. They can help me stay sane.

“
Sit your ass down,” Kris calls from the couch as I pull back the curtain to look for Jase’s truck.

I slowly let it go and make my way to the other end of the sofa.
“I’m just worried. What if she gets scared?”

“
He’ll bring her home,” Bethany says, like the answer is the simplest thing in the world.

“
She might not tell him. You know Jenny. She’ll put on a smile and pretend to be having fun. Then, she’ll come home and tell me how awful it was,” I say, reminding her of the first time Jenny spent the night with her friend Autumn.

A small smile crosses her face.
“This is not a sleepover at her friend’s house. She’s with her dad. She’ll be fine.”

Kristen shifts in her seat, throwing her feet onto the couch.
“Enough worrying. Tell me about your day in Nashville with the guys.”

I tell them everything, even about the way Matty and I acted when he first got here.
“I don’t know why I did it. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me.”

Kristen seems angry, but she doesn
’t say anything. Instead, Bethany pipes in. “I don’t get it. What’s the big deal? You hug Matty all the time.”

Kris shifts again and stands up.
“The difference is that she doesn’t normally rub herself all over him.”

With that, she walks out of the room.
I can hear her rummaging through the fridge for what I guess is another glass of wine. I shrug my shoulders at Bethany. “What was that about?”

She shakes her head, clear
ly disappointed in me. “I don’t know, but if you don’t want to hurt her, you might want to think twice about using Matty to make Jase jealous.

Shit!
There must be more to this Matty and Kristen thing than a few stolen glances at each other. “Yeah, that’s not happening again.”

“
What’s not happening again?” Kris says, walking into the room with a glass in one hand and a bottle in the other.

I
’m saved from answering by the sound of Jase’s truck pulling into the driveway. I instantly jump from my seat and head out the door. I reach the truck before he can even get Jenny unbuckled. The smile on her face, a true smile, lets me know that the trip went well.

As soon as her door is open, she runs to me and wraps her arms around me.
“I had a Blizzard with Oreo cookies in it. It was so good.”

Leaning down to place a ki
ss on the top of her head, I peek over to where Jase is standing.
Thank You,
I mouth. Thank you for giving her this is what I want to say.

He looks confused for a second before a smile spreads across his face.
Thank you,
he mouths back. Thank you for giving me the chance is what I think he means.

Those two little words hold such meaning.
They also hold promise; promise that one day, we will be able to be friends again.