Destined to Change by Harley, M. (top android ebook reader TXT) 📕

I didn’t die in the accident.  It didn’t matter if I was happy, as long as they were. They were all I needed, and they kept me close to Declan’s memory. But Jaxon was starting to change my thinking.

Once I calmed down, my mom went home with the understanding that I would take a chance on Jaxon.

Chapter 4

 

Loralei

A few weeks passed and I saw Jaxon almost every day. We would discuss farm business over coffee in the barn office every morning. I would sometimes eat lunch with the farmhands, and Jaxon and I would always sit close to each other.  Once in awhile, our legs would touch under the table. That would send a shiver up my spine. It was like we couldn’t get close enough.

We flirted innocently, well mostly, and I really thought about what my mom had said. He may not be my forever, but he could be perfect for my right now.

The other farmhands and Jake were always teasing Jaxon about his “fancy-pants”, heavy metal t-shirts, and of course his piercings and tattoos. He took it all in stride, but I could tell that some of the things they would say to him would embarrass him. They called him “Stud” because of his many piercings, and I really think they were kinda jealous of all the attention he was getting around town. Women were definitely taking notice of Jaxon. We didn’t see many guys like him in this little town.

We were all sitting around the table in the barn office eating lunch on that Wednesday afternoon.  Jaxon just kept staring at his plate. He looked like he was scared to eat what was on it.

I leaned over. “What do you mean you don’t know what greens are? How is that possible?” I was trying not to laugh my ass off at him.

“Woman, I have never even heard of greens. What exactly are they? Looks like spinach, and I’m definitely not Popeye.” He continued to stare at his plate.

I couldn’t control my laughter. He finally took a bite of the collard greens fried with bacon and onions, and he smiled.  Shoveling a huge forkful in his mouth, he said, “These are awesome!”

I realized it was going to be fun introducing Jaxon to my country ways. He grew up in the city and he was definitely a “city boy”. He had only been on the farm a little over a month. He hadn’t really been able to experience much since he’d been here.

After lunch, Jaxon followed me back to my office and he looked really nervous. He was wringing his hands and I could tell he was sweating. He walked in behind me and shut the door behind us. I wasn’t sure what was going on, and I was a little nervous now too. I tried to stifle a chuckle at him, but I didn’t know what was coming next. I finally broke the silence, “Jaxon, can I help you with something?”

“Um, I have a question to ask you, Loralei. I was wondering, would you like to go out with me Friday night?” He finally made eye contact when he said, “Friday night”.

Oh my God! Jaxon was asking me out. On a date?Whoa! I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t want to say yes, because if I was being honest with myself, my feelings for him kinda scared me. But I didn't want to say no either, because my lady parts needed to be happy and Jaxon sure could make them dance just by looking at me with those gorgeous brown eyes. I had also promised my mom I would take a chance on him.

I had to answer him. I had been standing there staring into his eyes while I was having this conversation in my head. “Yes, Jaxon, I would love to go out with you on Friday. I’ll just need to make sure my parents can watch the twins.” Yeah, right, like that would be a problem. My mom would be jumping for joy when I told her.

Jaxon finally took a breath. I couldn’t believe how nervous he was and how relieved he seemed now that I had said yes. He then placed a light kiss on my cheek as he left my office. I felt like one of those silly love sick teenagers who say, “I’ll never wash this cheek again.”  I felt silly for feeling that way, but it was kinda true.

Thank goodness it was already Wednesday when he asked me out. I don’t think I could’ve survived having to wait any longer; my nerves were about to overtake me. My mom had of course jumped on the opportunity to babysit.

When Friday finally rolled around, Emma came over to help me get ready for my big date.

“What are you planning on wearing tonight, Lor?” Emma asked as she held up my old Hank Jr. t-shirt between her fingers like it was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen.

“I’m not sure. That’s why I asked you to come over. Now, help me pick something out,” I said, sounding a little annoyed with her hatred of most of my clothes.

She gave me that devilish smirk. I’m not gonna lie, that smirk had always scared me. I saw that smirk right before she almost got us kicked out of school in the seventh grade for filling Mrs. Edgeller’s desk drawer with shaving cream. “Well, luckily, I anticipated this problem and brought you some options from my closet.”

That meant she had brought something that I probably wouldn’t be caught dead in. She pulled out a bright red dress that was so short it would have left nothing to the imagination. “Uh, that’s a no. Next.” I looked at her annoyed. Then she pulled out a little black dress that I swear to God was cut all the way down to the navel. I didn’t even have to say anything on that one. She could tell by my stance and expression that she better just put that right