Destined to Change by Lisa M. Harley

released me from his bear hug and started to put his jacket on.
    While Sammy was getting his stuff ready and his teacher was lecturing him again about his stunt today, Uncle Jake pulled me out into the hallway.
    “Son, I warned you.  That boy thinks you’re gonna be his new daddy.  You need to figure out what the hell is going on back in Richmond.  Get your shit together, and decide what you’re gonna do.  You cannot hurt those kids and their momma.  You hear me, boy?”
    “I hear you.  That’s the last thing I wanna do.”
     
    Loralei
     
    When I got home around five thirty, Jake’s truck was in my driveway and Mags was sitting on the front porch listening to her iPod and playing with Tinkerbell, her cat. When she saw me, she came running over, whispering, “Mommy, I think Sammy is in a lot of trouble.” I could tell she didn’t really feel bad for her brother.
    I walked into my house, and Jaxon, Jake, and Sammy were in the kitchen, Jaxon and Jake were chopping veggies for a salad. Sammy was sitting at the table, staring at the pizza boxes sitting in front of him like he was starving to death. I caught Jaxon’s attention and nodded for him to come upstairs with me.
    When we got to my room he gave me a quick kiss and I asked “What happened at the school?”  He chuckled, and explained to me that Sammy got into a fight at school and apparently called another boy an “asshat”.
    “Why were they fighting?” I asked.
    He explained, “The principal said that the other kid was giving Sammy a hard time about not having a dad and Sammy told him his dad had died, but he was getting a new daddy and he was big and mean and had tattoos and would kick his butt. Then he called the kid an ‘asshat’ and pushed him down on the playground.”
    I didn’t know which part of this statement I should tackle first. The part where Sammy was in a fight, or when he cursed at another child, or that he thought Jaxon was his new daddy. And the worst part of the whole thing was that Jaxon thought it was really funny.
    “I’m glad you find this humorous.” I said in a very sarcastic tone.
    He smirked. “Some parts of the story are funny, babe. I straightened everything out with the principal, Sammy didn’t get suspended. All he has to do is write a letter of apology to the kid and help the teacher for a couple of weeks during his recess times.”
    But didn’t he understand which part of the story upset me the most? “Sammy thinks you’re going to be his new daddy?”
    Jaxon looked confused. “I know we aren’t there yet, Loralei, but wouldn’t you rather him think that than not like me. I talked to him about it and explained that I wasn’t his new daddy and that he shouldn’t ever use his fists or his strength to solve his problems, because it doesn’t work that way.” When he said that, he had a look in his eyes that told me he was speaking from personal experience.
    We went downstairs and Mags had set the table and Sammy was looking at me with a complete and utter look of fear on his face. I informed him he would be grounded for this, and we would talk about his punishment after school tomorrow while he was helping Jake muck the stalls in the barn. He actually looked relieved, I think he thought I was going to freak out, but amazingly enough I remained perfectly calm.
    ---------
    Jaxon and I were getting along so well. We were always catching each other in the barn or out in the field. We made-out like teenagers. It actually reminded me a lot of the time I spent with Declan. I noticed, since I had started spending time with Jaxon, my thoughts didn’t turn to Declan quite as much as they had.
    Dusk had always been my favorite time of the day. I loved to sit out on my big porch and watch the sun go down. I was doing that when I heard Jaxon’s motorcycle roaring up the lane.
    He drove up to the porch. I couldn’t look away. He was so sexy. Like, incredibly sexy. He had on faded blue jeans with the knees ripped