“What are you doing?” Marlene asks, and I can hear the nervousness in her voice as she backs away from me.

“I’m going to give you a chance to be honest with me. I’m going to ask you where Ellie’s mother is, and I want you to tell me the truth. If you don’t tell me where she is now and I find out later on that you knew her whereabouts and kept that from me, I’m going to make you pay for that mistake.”

“You ain’t the law. You can’t talk to me like this,” she says, putting her hands on her wide hips and looking toward the door.

“You’re right. I’m not a cop, and that information should lead you into doing the smart thing,” I snarl.

“She’s my sister.”

“I don’t give a fuck if she’s the fucking Pope. Tell me where she is.”

“I don’t know,” she says quietly after a long moment.

“You sure you want that to be your final answer?” I ask her, turning toward the door.

“It’s the truth.”

“Remember I warned you,” I say, opening the door and stepping down the rickety stairs to the grass.

“What about my money?”

“Get it from your sister,” I tell her, clicking the alarm for my truck and swinging up inside. I’m so pissed that I can actually feel my heart pounding in my neck. I want to take a can of gasoline and light her damn trailer on fire.

“What did she say?” Ellie asks quietly from my side as I pull out onto the main road. Pulling my eyes from the asphalt, I look over at her quickly, seeing a sadness in her gaze that makes my fist tighten on the steering wheel.

“Nothing, baby.”

“Jax.”

“Ellie,” I say in the same tone, feeling my lips twitch.

“I don’t know what you could possibly think is funny right now,” she huffs, and I see her cross her arms over her chest out of the corner of my eye, the action making me smile. Fuck but she’s cute.

“So annoying,” she mumbles under her breath, making me chuckle.

“Mama,” I hear, and I look over my shoulder at Hope, whose eyes are open and locked on her mom in the front seat.

“Angel baby.” Ellie pulls off her seatbelt, gets up on her knees, and leans over the backseat. Pulling off the side of the road, I put the truck in park, walk around, to help Ellie out, but before I get there, she’s out and has the back door open, trying to get Hope from her car seat.

The moment she has Hope unbuckled and in her arms, sobs begin to wrack Ellie’s small frame. Without thinking, I wrap my arms around both of them as a feeling of rightness settles in my gut.

“It’s okay, Mama.” Hope pats her mom’s back, making Ellie cry harder.

“I know, Angel,” Ellie says, pulling her face away from Hope’s neck and kissing her forehead. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. Gwama said you were workin’,” she says, putting her hand on her mom’s cheek and looking into her face.

“I was, Angel, and guess what.”

“What?” Hope asks, and my heart does another tug when both their faces light up with smiles so bright they steal the air right out of my lungs.

“Mommy has a new job.”

“Yay!” She laughs, and Ellie places her hand on the back of Hope’s head and dips her backwards, whispering in her ear.

“I love you, Angel baby.”

“Lub you, Mama,” she says then her eyes come to me and she tilts her head to the side.

“Hope, this is Jax,” Ellie says, and I watch her cheeks get pink as she realizes her body is pressed against the length of mine. “Jax, this is Hope.” She steps away, turning so Hope is facing me.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hope.”

“You too, Ax.” She smiles, showing off a gap between her front teeth that makes her even more beautiful.

“All right, Angel, get back in your car seat,” Ellie tells her, and she climbs up into the seat then locks herself in place, like she’s done it a million times before. Not trusting her, I check to make sure it’s secure then tap the end of her nose, making her smile before I shut the door.

Once I’m back behind the wheel, I head towards Ellie’s place so we can pick up her stuff. Do I feel shitty I told my mom to find a way to get Ellie to Nashville, even if she had to use her fear against her? A little, but at the end of the day, she will be under my roof, so fuck it. All’s fair in love and war, right?

“Turn here,” Ellie says, bringing me out of my thoughts. Frowning, I turn and enter a large trailer park. I know places like these; rent’s cheap, making it easy for everyone and anyone to live here. Following Ellie’s directions, we pull up in front of a small singlewide trailer. Just from the outside, I can tell she is one of the few people in the park who takes pride in her place, judging by the flowers on her small front porch, which have died in her absence, and the colorful floral flag hanging off to the side of the front door, welcoming anyone who might come for a visit.

Shutting down the truck, I hop out and round the hood, taking in my surroundings. Two trailers down, there are a group of guys sitting outside in lawn chairs, drinking beer. A little farther down from them, I watch a man pass a small bag of something off to a kid who’s probably no older than seventeen.

“From now on, wait ’til I open your door,” I tell Ellie, taking a sleeping Hope from her arms.

“Why?” She frowns, shutting the door.

“Because my mom would kick my ass if I didn’t.”

“Oh.” She presses her lips together like she’s trying not to smile, making me want to lean in and kiss her.

“Ready?” I ask knowing I cant do what I want, not yet anyways.

“Ready.” She sighs, going to the porch, lifting the edge of the mat, and pulling out a key.

“Are you kidding me?” I growl, looking at the key in her hand.

“What?” she asks, opening the door and stepping inside.

“Ellie, baby, you do not leave a key to your house in such an obvious place. That’s basically an invite to anyone who comes over to walk inside and steal all your shit.”

“Nothing has ever happened before.” She shrugs.

“Thank fuck but there’s a first time for everything,” I tell her, trying to gentle my voice, which is hard to do considering how pissed I am, knowing a single mother is living in a place like this with a key under her motherfucking doormat.

“I won’t do it again,” she says, reading my face.

Nodding, I lay Hope down on the small couch by the door then look around.

The place is small but clean and homey. A small flat screen TV sits in front of the couch on a stand with tons of picture frames scattered across the surface, most containing shots of Ellie and Hope, but in a few, are pictures of a man holding a baby. There’s one with the same man, but this time his arm is wrapped around a woman as she looks down at the small bundle in her arms while he smiles at the camera. I wonder absently if that was Ellie’s ex, but still can’t drag enough courage to the surface to ask.

Pulling my eyes away from the photos, I take in the rest of the space. A stylish chair sits in the corner, adding color to the room, and it matches the drapes on the windows. In the kitchen is a small dining table, with two chairs that are old but still fit with the decor.

“I don’t know what I should bring,” Ellie mumbles, walking into the kitchen and looking around.

“Whatever we don’t take now, we can come back for,” I tell her softly, moving to her side. “My place has everything you’ll need for now.”

“Are you really sure about us staying with you?” she asks, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “I know your dad said he could get us an apartment in town.”

“I’m sure.” I feel my chest vibrate in annoyance. I don’t want her or Hope out of my sight. And God, I love my dad, but I was ready to pummel him when he suggested that. “Like my mom said, I’m hardly home. I work a lot, and my place already has security set up. It’s the safest place for you both.”

Her eyes go to the couch, and I know without Hope there wouldn’t be a chance in hell Ellie would be moving in with me.