Page 59 of Thrown Off Balance

“A group of crazy stalkers?”

“No!” I let my head fall back as my laugh fills the room. “I want forever with you. You’re the only man I’ve ever pictured spending the rest of my life with, I just never thought it would happen.”

“I’ve always known you were the woman I wanted to marry. I just didn’t think your parents would let us get married when we were younger.”

“No, I doubt they would’ve.” I shake my head, but I can’t hide my smile.

“Not only do I love everything about you, but you get along so well with my entire family. I was always terrified of marrying someone who doesn’t love my family as much as I do.”

“Your family is my favorite. They’ve always treated me like I was part of Mulberry Lane.”

Chapter 35

Cody

It’s been a few weeks and things have been quiet on the Jude front. Sure, he follows us every time we leave the house, but we only go to the stadium or Mulberry Lane. He can’t get through the gates to get close to us and he knows it.

He comes to every home game we have and is always sitting right against the glass. He parks outside of our house most nights and I swear I don’t know when he eats or sleeps. He’s always there.

He hasn’t made any attempts to get closer to us though. Uncle Mason told us we could file restraining orders, but it probably isn’t worth it. A piece of paper isn’t going to keep a mentally unstable man away. When the opportunity presents itself, he’s going to make a move.

“I'm so tired of being in this house,” Jax groans from his upside-down position on the couch. His head is hanging off the cushion and he looks like a little kid.

“Will you sit up? This is a serious conversation, Jax,” Uncle Mason lets out a sigh.

“I get it, but at this point, I'm about to jog to the end of the driveway and get in Jude’s car. I'm sure he’ll take me out for a fun night and I’d risk the chance of him kidnapping me just so I can do something!”

“I think it’s time we force his hand,” Maddox says carefully.

“We’ve been toying with this idea for a while and we all think it’s time,” Peck adds.

“This must be serious if all four of you are here.” Sloan glances between Uncle Mason, Maddox, Peck, and Pauly.

“It is. We think he’s waiting for you to be left alone. He’s being patient because he doesn’t want Jax involved. He won't do anything he thinks could taint Jax’s view of him.”

“So, what’s the plan?” I slip an arm around Sloan’s waist and tug her closer to me. I hate the idea of Jude even thinking about hurting my girl.

“You’re not going to like it.” Peck winces.

“Not even a little bit.” Maddox chuckles.

“That’s great, how about someone tells us what your plan actually is, then we can discuss how much we don’t like it,” Jax growls.

“We want you, Cody, and Pauly to leave like you’re going to the stadium. Sloan will stay here with the curtains open so Jude can see her. We’re hoping he’ll make a move and try to get inside the house.”

“Absolutely not!” I shake my head. There’s no way I'm going to put my girlfriend in danger.

“She won't really be in danger, Cody,” Uncle Mason sighs. “We’ll all be here, but we’ll be hiding. We’ll wait until he gets in the house to make our move. We’ll keep her safe.”

“Really? Would you let Aunt Kelsey do this?”

“Your aunt went through something a million times worse than this,” Uncle Mason hisses.

“Yes, but you didn’t willingly put her there. You actually tried to prevent her from ever being put in that position. So, I’ll ask again, would you let Aunt Kelsey do this?”

Uncle Mason opens and closes his mouth, but nothing comes out. He’d never put her life at risk and he knows it.

“I’ll do it,” Sloan says softly from beside me.