“Go brush your teeth, Angel, then come back down and I’ll tell you what we’re going to do today,” I tell Hope, watching her scoot off her chair and run for the stairs. Then, she looks toward the front door and back to me when we hear it close, signaling Jax’s departure. “Men are jerks,” Ashlyn grumbles, running her hand down her hair, trying to tame it. Placing his hand on the top of his sister’s head, he rubs it roughly, messing up her hair and making her shriek before going to Hope and kissing her forehead. “Maybe.” I smile, watching his eyes darken right before his head dips and he whispers, “Or don’t,” kissing me softly then letting me go.

“We’ll be here all day,” I say, leaning up on my tiptoes when his arm bands around my waist. “I gotta head out,” Jax says, placing his cup in the sink and shoving his keys into his pocket. “Sorry, honey,” she tells her, watching as Hope shrugs then takes another bite of her cereal. “Asshole is a naudy word,” Hope chimes in helpfully, making her cringe.

“My boss is an asshole,” she mutters as her nose scrunches up in disgust. “Nope, but I love your outfit,” I say, watching her eyes roll. I don’t know what I will do if he says he doesn’t feel comfortable with her calling him that. Not that I really want to talk to him about it. “Am I interrupting something?” she asks, and I shake my head, knowing I won’t be able to talk to Jax until later tonight about Hope calling him Daddy Ax. “Hey, princess,” she greets Hope with a kiss to her cheek then turns to look at her brother then me. It all looks good on her, but isn’t what she normally wears, and I wonder if this is the work uniform her new boss requested. “Hello?” is yelled as the front door opens and shuts, and I look from Hope towards the door to the kitchen and watch Ashlyn walk in wearing a pair of simple black ballet flats, dark grey slacks, and a black blouse.

“I know, ’cause I’m da best.” She nods then dips her spoon into her cereal, shoving a large spoonful into her mouth like she didn’t just rock my world.

Until Jax by Aurora Rose Reynolds