Abel Teller's kindergarten teacher is replaced midway through the year with a newcomer to Charming, Maddox Turner. When Jax meets Maddox, she turns his life upside-down in more ways than one.
...
Maddox walked up to the door of the office and knocked lightly before opening it and sticking her head in. She saw an attractive older woman sitting at the desk and a man with artificial hands standing at the filing cabinet. When they looked toward the door, Maddox smiled and gave a little finger wave.
"Mr. Teller said to come in here while he checked out my car?"
The woman lifted her brow before smirking and shaking her head. "Sweetheart, Mr. Teller's been dead for years. You mean Jax?" When Maddox nodded, the woman turned to the man and nodded toward the door. "Why don't you go start the alcohol inventory?"
The man nodded. "I accept that." He walked to the door, smiling at Maddox as he walked by her. "Greetings, madam."
Maddox nodded as she watched him walk out the door before she heard the woman speak up again. "Come sit down, sweetheart. They might be a little while." She held out a hand when Maddox was seated in the chair opposite the desk. "Gemma Teller-Morrow, Jax's mother."
Maddox smiled and shook her hand. "Oh! Yes, of course. I'm Maddox Turner, Abel's teacher?"
Gemma smirked. "Of course, you are."
Maddox nodded as she looked around the office. "I had a meeting with Mr. Teller yesterday about Abel. He's such a good little boy. You all must be so proud of him."
Gemma gave her a genuine smile as she nodded. "Thank you for that. Yes, we all are."
Before Maddox could reply, Jax walked into the office from the garage and grinned at Maddox. "The ping you heard was your motor crying for mercy. You were really low on oil, darlin'. We're gonna go ahead and do a complete oil change. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours."
Maddox winced and nodded. "Ugh, yeah, with the sudden move and getting settled into the house, plus starting classes earlier than planned, I guess something was bound to go unnoticed."
Jax nodded. "Well, Tig's gonna go ahead and start it while I run you home. I can bring your car to you when it's done."
Maddox almost dropped her phone at the thought of being alone with him for any length of time. "Oh! Oh, that's not necessary. I'm sure you have more important things to do. I'll just text my friend to come get me."
Jax smirked and stepped a little closer, making Gemma roll her eyes. "It's no trouble, darlin'. I can have you home before your friend could get here."
The whole time he was speaking, Maddox was busy swiping on her phone. She held the phone up between them. "Done! She'll be here in a few minutes."
Jax sighed and nodded before heading back into the garage while Gemma smirked knowingly and looked at Maddox with interest.
Tig looked at Jax when he sighed for the tenth time in as many minutes. He chuckled and shook his head. "You got it bad already, brother." When Jax just shrugged, his grin widened. "You haven't shown interest in women at all since Tara... "
Jax nodded. "I know, but... it's been over a year. It might be time to move forward, ya know?"
Tig nodded. "Oh, definitely, man. Tara wouldn't want you to be alone forever."
Jax looked at Tig and shook his head. "I don't know but... there's just something about her that draws me in, ya know?" He grinned. "I know for a fact that I make her nervous." He looked up when a car pulled in and parked in front of the office. "What's Venus doing here? You got plans or something?"
Tig shook his head as he stood up straight, wiping his hands on a shop towel. "Nah, not that I know of."
Venus got out of the car and stood waiting as Jax and Tig walked her way. "Hello, gentlemen. Isn't it a lovely day to be out and about?"
Tig grinned as Jax chuckled. "Hey, doll. Did we have plans that I forgot about?"
Venus smiled as she kissed him on the cheek. "No, sugar, I'm here for a friend. Maddox? She said she needed a ride."
Jax's brows raised at that suddenly interesting information. "You know Maddox?"
Venus nodded. "Oh yes, Jackson. We've known each other for ages."
When she heard the car, Gemma got up and looked out of the office door. "Huh. I wonder why Venus is here at this time of day."
Maddox stood and walked over, opening the door. "Oh, she's here for me. You know Venus?"
Gemma chuckled and nodded. "Oh yeah, we're acquainted. How do you know her?"
Maddox chuckled. "We've known each other a long time. She's my best friend."
Gemma shook her head as she followed Maddox outside. "Well, it sure is a small world."
Maddox walked over to where Venus was talking to Jax and Tig. "Hey, Vee, thanks for the ride. I forgot to put oil in my car."
Venus shook her head as she leaned in to kiss Maddox on the cheek. "Again? Girlfriend, we are going to have to talk about proper automotive maintenance." She winked at Jax who grinned at her. "Maybe now there's someone to keep an eye on such things."
Before either man could reply, Maddox pulled Venus toward the car. "Yeah, so we should leave because they need to work on my car." She turned to Gemma as she walked around to the passenger side. "Just give me a call when my car's done, okay?"
Jax stepped in front of his mother and nodded as he smirked at her. "Oh, I'll be sure to call you personally."
Maddox stared at him for a moment before simply getting in the car and slamming the door. She looked out the window at an openly chuckling Jax and shook her head as Venus pulled out of the lot. "Sweet baby Jesus."
Venus surprised her by giggling. "Oh, sugar, if you're on Jackson's radar? It's too late for prayers."
