**Jax**

She pushed against me and sat up. "I spent a lot of time growing an herb and flower garden." She laughed, but the sound was strained. "I was desperate for a distraction from my thoughts of you, and being with nature like that calmed me."

My heart gave a hard, violent beat before returning to normal. The thought of her outside, surrounded by nature, sun shining down on her, hair glinting, tugged at something deep inside of me. I didn't even have to try to ...