She peaked in the bag before offering me a wide smile. “Thank you, but you didn’t need to.”
“You need to eat,” I said with more force. Suddenly a tall, dark-haired man appeared behind her, his hands pushed into his trouser pockets, highlighting the handguns holstered to his chest.
“Helen, do we have a problem?” he asked as his eyes assessed me.
She turned, looking up at him. “No, Thomas, stand down. This is Jax Cartwright.”
“Jackson. Thirty-one. Fireman, staying with Helen. Single, no kids, no criminal record, used to live in town until you were fifteen.”
“Did you do a background check on me?” I asked, my expression furrowed with confusion.
Helen laughed. “Jax, this is Thomas Lanton. My boss and a paranoid control freak who needs to know everything about everyone.”
“And that’s why you have the weapons?” I checked, pushing my hands into my pockets to mirror his stance.
He shrugged. “They make me look like a scary badass to strange men who just wander in off the street.”
“Well, maybe I wouldn’t have wandered in if Helen had taken lunch today. Is that how you treat your staff, Thomas?”
His brows furrowed and his expression turned murderous. “Helen, is that true?”
She rolled her eyes.
“You’re fired.”
“Shut up. You fire me most days. I’m not leaving.”
“Fine, but you’re taking your lunch now and finishing early for the day. And from now on, you will put lunch in your diary and you will make time for it. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Good, now fuck off.” He turned to leave before looking back over his shoulder at me. “I like you, Jackson.” And with that, he was gone.
“I’m never going to hear the end of this now, thank you.”
I picked up her lunch, ignoring the sarcasm in her tone. “You’re welcome. Now come on, you heard the man. Let’s go.”
My hands twitched to touch Helen as we sat outside on a bench, and I watched her eat. When she was done, she gave me that smile that destroyed me. I was still reeling from last night. I thought she’d be regret-filled this morning, but instead, shewoke me with a soft kiss before she buried her face in my chest and muttered, “I’m way too old to sleep on the floor or sleep naked, but thank you for covering us up so we didn’t freeze.”
Her soft sigh brought me back to the moment.
“Let’s go shopping so we can stock up on food I can make you for lunch. I think you might need to keep up your energy.”
She pinched her bottom lip between her teeth. I leaned in close, my eyes locked on hers. “Don’t look at me like that, beautiful.”
“Mum?” Jasper’s voice made us both jump and when I looked up, he was glaring, his eyes darting between me and his mum.Shit.
“Hey, Jasper. What are you doing out of work?” she asked, trying to sound innocent as we both stood.
“I have to go away for a couple of days. I needed some supplies.” He held up a small paper bag as if to reinforce his story.
Helen’s eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t know you were going somewhere.”
“I don’t need to tell you everything. I’m not a kid, Ma.” He sounded angry.
“Jas,” I chastised.
His head dropped before he looked back up and, despite not being around him for years, the pain in his eyes was clear to see. “Sorry. It’s just been a day. Look, I’ll text you all the details when I get there, okay?”