Shattered Hearts A MFM Love Story

~ ~ Jackson ~ ~

Shortly after Logan finished bringing me up to speed with Maddy, he headed on out. Emptying my coffee, and about to grab a refill, the back door clicked open and my eyes flicked up, thinking it might be Maddy.

Nope. It was Jody.

Damn. Not that I wasn’t happy to see my aunt but I was hoping to get some alone time with my girl.

However, she had brought pie, and one of my favourites too. And not long after that, Maddy came bouncing through the door, careering to a halt when she saw my aunt sitting here with me and I had to wait another hour before Jody had emptied her head of all of Lockwood’s goings on.

Not that I was interested or had listened, my thoughts were all over Maddy. And as soon as the door closed behind Jody. We were both up, out of our seats, making our way to each other. Almost crashing into one another as she rose on her toes, wrapping her arms around my neck, stealing one kiss after another.

“I’ve missed you so much, Jackson.” Her words ghosted my lips between our kisses.

Damn, I could kiss this woman all day. Our kisses went from sweet to hot in less time than it took for my hands to cup her ass and lift her up and Maddy to curl her smooth legs around me.

It was as natural as air to walk right on out of the kitchen and head upstairs to my room and lay her on my bed, kick off my boots and climb on with her, pulling her on top of me as we made out like teenagers.

It was like she couldn’t get enough of me, or get close enough. Her hot little hands roamed freely, as did mine.

When we finally took a breath, she pulled back a little, and I cupped her cheeks. “I think that’s ’bout the best welcome home I’ve ever had.” And if I thought I couldn’t be any happier, she flashed me a smile that damn near had my heart-stopping.

“Tell me what you’ve been up to.” Ugh. That wasn’t good. “I want to know everything,” she said.

Lying wasn’t something I was comfortable with. “Not much to say, Princess.” Which was kinda the truth.

Her eyebrows knitted together and before she could grill me, my hands slid up to her hair, the silky, soft strands teased through my fingers and I lifted my head from the pillow, pressing my lips to hers, brushing them softly, coaxing her lips to part and my tongue to slip back inside to flick against hers.

It was one way to keep her otherwise occupied, and she didn’t resist kissing me back with just as much need.

But it didn’t last long as when our lips parted again, she pulled up to straddle me and her hands rested flat on my chest. “If I didn’t know any better.” She arched her brows. “I might think you’re trying to hide something from me?”

“Me?” I clucked my tongue. “What would I have to hide?”

“Okay. Then tell me ’bout your friend?”

This again. “Later. Now, I’d rather hear about what you and Logan got up to whilst I wasn’t around.”

She immediately tensed and her teeth worried her bottom lip in a cute way that made me want to bite it.

“You really want to know?” She was uncomfortable, but she didn’t need to be. Logan had told me everything already. We’d agreed that honest, open communication was important if we wanted this to work.

Ha. Honesty. Like you’re being honest with them, my conscience tossed back.

I was being honest when it came to our relationship. The dishonest part was why I’d left for a week. It hadn’t been to see an old army buddy. But to be fair. He had let me stay at his place to get my head straight, but he had to leave to visit his brother.

I smoothed a finger over her soft cheek.“Princess, I’ve already spoken to Logan. He told me ’bout the amount of time you two have been spending together and trust me.” I placed my hand over my heart. “It makes me happy that you’re starting to relax, feeling comfortable enough to trust us.”

“I do!” she blurted out, her eyes widening. “Trust you both.” Relaxing her shoulders.“So, he told you everything?”

I nodded.

“And—” She dragged her teeth across her bottom lip. “You’re not jealous or think I’m favouring him over you?”

It would be a lie to say I’d not been jealous of Logan having her all to himself. I’m only human. However, it wasn’t enough that I’d ever try to change our situation. Force her to choose.

Running my hands up, and around her waist, I tickled, and she squealed. “Well, that all depends on you, Princess.” I chuckled as she squirmed on top of me, rubbing her butt over my already very hard dick, and I bit back my groan.

“Jackson...stop!” She cried between giggles.

I quit tickling and she quit wriggling, rolling her eyes at me with her cheeks even pinker than seconds ago.

“Look. As long as you’re not planning on denying me anything that you shared with Logan, then we’re good, Princess.”

She looked taken aback. “I would never do that.”

“Good, because I’m starving.” Suggestively wiggling my eyebrows, I squeezed her waist and was about to flip us over when a sharp pain had me hissing out and wincing.

“Jackson!?”

Goddamn it. I needed to take my medication. Which meant I would need to eat first, but that would mean leaving this bed...or did it?

“Everything okay?” she asked, softening her tone as her eyes clouded with worry.

“Yeah. I’m just hungry, is all.”

She didn’t look at all convinced. “Your face twisted up in pain.” She leaned forward, cupping my face in her small hands. “And the colours gone right out of you.”

I reached up and took her hands in mine and kissed her knuckles. “You ever ate blueberry pie in bed before, Princess?”

“Pie?”

“Yeah. I’m in the mood for some pie.”

“No.” She smiled. “Can’t say that I have.”

“Me either.” I winked. “So how’s ’bout I go get us that pie and you can feed me?”

Maddy giggled. “Feed you, huh?”

“I was thinking I could lick it from your body.” Never ask. Never get, was something I lived by.

This time she full-on laughed. “You’re crazy Jackson Reilly. Won’t that make a mess?”

A slow smile uncurled on my mouth. “Nope.” And in one swift move, I flipped us over with only a small eek from Maddy escaping. “I’m a very clean eater, I’ll have you know.” I slipped in a quick kiss. “You won’t—” I kissed her neck. “—Find.” Dotting more kisses. “A crumb on this bed. Or you, by the time I’ve finished.”

“Okay. You’ve convinced me. But don’t blame me if we end up in a sticky mess.”

“Well, that just means I’ll have to strip you naked and hose you down.” Maddy, hot and wet in my shower, was in my all-time top five things to do before I die. And to show her how much I liked that idea, I rolled my hips into her so she could feel how hard I was. How much I wanted her.

“I think I kinda like that idea,” she said shyly, before adding, “C’mon. Jump to it. Go get that pie.”

I was pushing up and off the bed as she flashed me a smile. “Oh, and there are some strawberries in the refrigerator, too. Might as well have ourselves a little picnic up here.”

Dashing downstairs, I came to an abrupt halt. Logan was sitting at the table. His dark brows bunched together full on glaring at me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling an off-kilter itch beneath my skin. That hadn’t happened since we were kids where our twin-link hummed in disharmony.

“I reckon me and you need to talk, brother.”

Talk? Hell no. “Can it wait? I’m upstairs with Maddy right now.”

“No!” he insisted. “It can’t.”

I didn’t know what the hell could be so important. “Well, sorry, Logan. But there ain’t nothing that can’t wait till later on.” I spread my arms out, looking around. “Because I don’t see any fires.” I walked past the table and opened the refrigerator door and pulled out Jody’s pie and the punnet of strawberries.

Placing them on the side, I went to grab a knife to slice up the pie.

“Who’s Dr Monroe, Jackson?”

I could feel his stare from the corner of my eye as my stomach went into free fall and I stumbled back two steps. “Who?” keeping my voice steady, trying to play dumb.

His chair scraped across the floor.

“Jackson!?” I heard Maddy calling out over the bannister. “What’s taking you so long?”

Logan moved in front of me, lowering his voice. “Tell Maddy you need to help me with something in the stables. You have five minutes before we do this conversation with her listening.”

He didn’t hang around. Walking away, he grabbed his hat and slammed the door on the way out.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

Grabbing the pie and strawberries, I headed out of the kitchen to find her waiting at the top of the stairs with her hand on her hips.

“I was just about to come find you. Thought you might have started without me.” She grinned as I made my way up to her.

I plastered on a smile, holding the pie up for her to see. “Sorry Princess. Logan grabbed me. He needs me out in the stables to help with something.”

She gave me a curious glance. “What? Now? Why?”

I flicked my head up toward the bedroom. “Let me set these down.” She followed right behind me.

“Do you need my help?” she offered.

Putting the food down, I turned around and pulled her toward me, bracketing her small waist with my big hands. Maddy angled her head up. “I think he needs my superior strength on this one.” I huffed, rolling my eyes for added effect.

Maddy’s hands ran up my arms to squeeze my biceps. “Hmm, I guess I will just have to stay here and start without you,” she said, pouting cutely.

I pressed a quick kiss to her sweet lips. “I guess you will.”

“I can’t say there will be much left by the time you get back.” She stepped out of my hold and turned, flicking her head over her shoulder. “Better be quick.”

I slapped her ass. “Trust me. I’ll be as quick.” Maddy giggled as she rubbed her butt cheek. “And you better be on my bed waiting for me.”

She crawled onto the bed, keeping her eyes on me. “Right here?”

“Right there, Princess.”

I dragged myself out of there and went in search of Logan, only to find him muttering softly to his horse, Jethro, running his large hand down the old guy’s nose.

“How’s he fairin’?” Jethro had colic which wasn’t good in old horses.

Logan shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “He’s managing.” He gave Jethro one last pet and turned his attention on me and wasted no time. “What the hell is going on, Jackson? Are you sick?” He threw his hands up. “They talked about you having a procedure. What procedure?”

“How did you find out?”

“I answered your goddammed phone.”

I should have been angry with him, but in the grand scheme of things, it seemed pointless. I grabbed a bale of hay, setting it down and then another. Sitting on one, I gestured to the other. “You might want to sit for this.”

He grumbled but made his way over and sat down.

Where should I start?

“Jackson?” he prompted. “Are you sick?”

“Do I look sick?” I snarked and instantly regretted my attitude.

“Don’t get smart with me—because I’m about to kick your ass if you don’t start talking.”

My mouth kicked up into a cocky grin as I swiped my thumb across my bottom lip. “You can try. But it won’t be as easy as when we were kids.” I chuckled. “And don’t think you being older by those few minutes gives you any advantage.”

“I can still kick your ass, Jackson.”

I held out my hands palms up, inviting him. “Take your best shot, brother.”

He shot up. His lips pinched into a mean, thin line as he raised his hand, stabbing his finger at me, growling. “Quit this bullshit! Right now.”

Deep pain lanced across my chest. “The Army discharged me under medical grounds.”

The tension in his face somewhat eased, but he remained standing, crossing his arms over his chest, braced like some kind of bouncer. “Go on.”

I let out a weary sigh. “I have a tumour.” Tapping my head.

He stood there, jaw-sawing for me to see a shot of anguish scoring through his blue eyes. “What the hell?” His arms dropped along with his butt onto the hay bale. “Tumour?” He repeated. “When? How long have you known ’bout it?”

“A while.” Shrugging. “Started with headaches. Visual disturbances.” It felt like fingers were tightening around my throat the more I told him. “Problems with my balance, sometimes.”

“And that’s why you had this procedure?”

“No.”

He jerked back. “No?” he repeated.

And that led me to problem number two. “That procedure was to fix a cerebral aneurysm.”

“Aneurysm!?” His voice rose. “Hang on. Aren’t they life-threatening?”

This was the look I wanted to avoid. The horror and fear in his eyes.

“Yeah.” I sighed. “Some can be fatal.”

I dropped my eyes, unable to hold his intense stare.

“And is it?” He gulped. “Going to kill you?”

My eyes lifted. “No.” Shaking my head. “Last week I went in so they could fix it.”

He let out a breath. “And how did they do that? Because I don’t see any signs that they cracked your head open?”

A small smile lifted my lips. “Dr Monroe is good at what he does. The best I’ve been told. Didn’t need a scalpel, got in my head via my nasal cavity. He called it clipping or something like that.”

“And this fixed it?”

“Yeah, well, that and medication to improve blood flow, keep my blood pressure under control.”

Logan stilled, his muscles in his shoulders contracting with tension. He lowered his head slightly and let out a sigh so quiet, I might not have heard it if I wasn’t listening. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. Kept it to yourself.”

“I didn’t want you to worry.”

He was up again, moving past me, pacing back and forth. “Worry me?” He barked out. “Fuck. Jackson. You’re my brother. I worry. All the damn time.” He came to an abrupt stop. “And what about the tumour?” Turning to face me. “They said on the phone you need to go back for another CT scan.”

Ah, shit. That didn’t sound good. “They want to remove it.”

He moved to sit in front of me again. “Okay. So the sooner this gets done, the better, right?” he asked.

That was the tricky part. Removing it came with its own set of complications.

“I’m coming with you. Next week. When you go back,” His tone was firm.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

“It’s not up for discussion, Jackson.”

I didn’t need him to treat me like I was a child. “Who the hell made you the boss of me?”

“You did. When you decided to keep this from me.”

I scoffed. “Still don’t mean I need you there to hold my hand.” I didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for me.

He sat thoughtfully for a moment, watching me as if I was some kind of problem he had to fix himself. “Maddy’s gonna want to come too. You can’t keep this from her.”

Oh no. That shit wasn’t happening. It was bad enough that he knew. If Maddy got wind of this. Then Jody would be next to find out.

My chest locked up tight. Heart stuttering to a stop. “You can’t tell her.” I shook my head adamantly. “Not this Logan.”

He kept his voice level. “No. You’re right. I can’t.”

The breath rushed out of me in a whooshing sound. “Good. Yeah. Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me, Jackson. I ain’t telling her,” he paused “—you are.”

I shot up this time, and he did the same as I got right up in his face. “This is my business. And mine alone. I decide who and when anyone gets to know.” The idea of Maddy looking at me the way he was right now. Nah-ah. Wasn’t happening.

“It ain’t up for discussion, Jackson. I ain’t letting you deal with this on your own.”

We stood there glaring at each other, neither ready to back down on this.

Motherfucker. I was pissed off at him. But at the same time—not.

I would have done the same thing in his shoes. He stepped closer and placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing.

“Go on. You better head back before she comes looking for you.”

I breathed heavily through my nose. “Okay, you win, Logan, I’ll tell her.” I shook my head. “But not tonight.”

Tonight I just wanted to lose myself in Maddy. Pretend that none of this shit was happening.