In the sunlight, p.1
In the Sunlight, page 1
part #3 of Rebels Series
in the sunlight
MEADOW JONES
Copyright Meadow Jones (2022)
In the Aftermath
Cover design:
Y’all That Graphic
Editing:
Angela O’Connell
Formatting:
MJ Formats 4U
No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. The E-book copy is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not re-sold or given away.
This book is a work of fiction and is the product of the author’s imagination.
Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within.
Any trademarks, service marks, product names are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used for reference purposes only. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms that are used.
Created with Vellum
contents
A note to my readers
About In The Sunlight
Playlist
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
What’s next
So many thanks!
Thanks for reading me!
About Meadow Jones
Also by Meadow Jones
a note to my readers
Thank you so much for reading In the Aftermath. As an Indie Author, I’m honored you’re taking time out of your day to read little old me. I know life can get crazy but it truly is such an honor.
The idea of Vaughn and Jude came to me early on. I loved the idea of a sunshine guy and the grump he falls in love with. They were a blast to write! I’ve never written a Grump/Sunshine book quite like this. I hope you fall in love with Jude and Vaughn as I have.
~Meadow
Always to RRCS.
You’re forever loved and always missed.
about in the sunlight
Jude
My world is messy and complicated. I’ve had so much taken away from me, and yet, I can’t help but focus on the good. I’ve been given a new lease on life, one that I won’t waste, and with this fresh start comes a surprising new roommate. Vaughn is a single father and the grumpiest man I’ve ever met. He’s irritable and prickly, and at first, seems like he wants to break me. But the more time we spend together, the more I see past his hardened heart to the softness and love he has for his baby girl. Then I realize that the only thing this man is capable of breaking is my heart. When our pasts reemerge and threaten to destroy our future, can we withstand the darkness and hold onto the sunlight?
Vaughn
No one can put a smile on my face except my precious daughter. That is, until I’m forced into the same space as the bold ray of sunshine who is now my roommate. Jude is everything I’m not—he’s optimistic, bubbly, and cheerful. He’s also a distraction I haven’t accounted for when my only goal has been to give my daughter the best life possible. I don’t have time for the pint-sized lover of all things pink who occupies my home and has burrowed his way into my heart. More so, he’s grown to love my daughter and gives my life color where it has been muted for so long. Can I give this sweet man the bright future he deserves when my dark past doesn’t want to let me go?
playlist
Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know”
Bullet for My Valentine, “Your Betrayal”
Foo Fighters, “Cold Day in the Sun”
Katrina and the Waves, “Walking on Sunshine”
Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Natasha Bedingfield, “Pocketful of Sunshine”
Pharrell Williams, “Happy”
The Beatles, “Good Day Sunshine”
The Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun”
The Rembrandts, “I’ll Be There For You”
The Wanted, “Chasing the Sun”
WALK THE MOON, “Shut Up and Dance”
prologue
Jude
Nine years ago
When my brother promised our mom he’d keep Zeke and me out of her hair, I didn’t think he’d let his younger brothers hang out with him and his friends. Corey is way too cool for that, but as Zeke and I take our seats on his friend’s speedboat, I know this will be the best day. The lake is smooth, and the water won’t freeze my balls off.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I hear Corey yell from the back of the boat. “Fuck no. We’re not drinking or getting high with my little brothers here. Do I look like I want to get a whipping from my mother? Yeah, she may be tiny, but if I fuck up her babies in my care, my tiny ass mama will whip my ass from here to kingdom come.”
I always hated when my brother made us the reason others around us couldn’t have fun, as if they would blame us. “Okay, dude, duly noted. Next time, just don’t bring the fucking brats with you.”
“Fuck off. Talk about my brothers like that again and you’ll be swimming back to shore.”
Zeke, my older brother by two years, sits next to me, and we’re both surprised by Corey’s reaction. “Maybe he does like us after all.”
Corey, is the oldest of us three, and grabs Zeke’s shoulders. “Yeah, you two aren’t that bad. I’m the only one who can call you brats, though. I won that honor having to watch after you jackasses.”
The boat pulls away from the dock, and in the middle of the lake, Zeke and I are the first on the tube made for two. Corey goes all crazy on us for not wanting to wear life jackets, but after his lecture about what mom would do to him, we know we have no choice if we want to go out on the water.
Zeke thinks he’s too old to tube, but I won’t go on it without him. He appeases me because that is what older brothers do.
“Okay, morons, do you think you can hold on?” Corey teases, and we both jump on the large tube as the motor starts. His friend begins to pull us, but he’s not slow. Soon, we’re laughing, lost in the world of water splashing in our faces on one of the hottest days of the summer.
One moment we’re sitting next to one another, and the next, a blur of metal hits our tube on Zeke’s side, where he takes on the brunt of the force. Suddenly, I’m in the water and my life jacket keeps me afloat as I search for Zeke. By the time I find him and swim toward his body, blood pools around him. The water is red. Corey swims to me and tries to shield me from Zeke, but the image is ingrained in my mind. And, I’ll never forget my brother’s lifeless body.
one
Jude
Present
I’m staring at my computer screen and know I can school this guy on the other side if I want to. Still, considering I’m a twenty-two-year-old jobless genius who can’t seem to secure a career, I wonder what my next move is. I had this idea when I first started hacking into this company’s mainframe. I wanted to impress the head of cyber-security, making a name for myself to impress him. Maybe he’d see how good I am and offer me a job on the spot. It had been a fucking stupid idea. My job interview of sorts could totally backfire in my face. Who knows?
I ponder my bad choices when bangs begin on the front door of the apartment I share with my brother. I don’t hurry, because whoever is on the other side can chill the fuck out. I pull it back to see a frantic woman I’ve only met a half dozen times, standing in the dark, dank hallway, tears falling down her face.
I know her, and it’s unfortunate for me because she stresses me the fuck out. I’m the type who can always find the best in people. But in our limited interactions, Kim Hannigan makes it too complicated.
She’s been to our apartment enough and I don’t understand why she knocked. She knows we don’t have a working lock. It’s not safe, but there’s nothing safe about living in this apartment complex.
“Kim, hey. You didn’t have to knock. Corey isn’t here.” The rounded belly she’s resting her hand on makes me think she’s nine months pregnant with twins and not simply seven with only one baby. Corey has this big plan, one affording them the life they both want to live while putting in very little work.
“Jude, wait.” She helps herself into the apartment, tears falling onto her pregnant stomach. “I know he’s not here.” I narrow my eyes at her. This must be more than a fight I assume they had because it’s all they do as of late. “Jude, they arrested your brother. It was the FBI. Fuck, I was with him when they took Corey. And…”
I can’t breathe; the smoke-stained walls are the only thing holding me up. I’m unable to speak. And why the hell am I surprised? The sorry motherfucker. I’ve shown him several ways to hide his digita
“Corey went too far with his last hack. They traced him back to the coffee shop he works out of sometimes,” she explains as her sobs fill the small space, but for once, I can’t fault the woman.
“What am I going to do? How do we find someone who can get him out? I’m due in two months. He swore this last job would be what we’d need to get out of here and into an apartment with a lock.”
I care very little about Kim’s plight, but I can sympathize with her. Corey and his baby, my niece or nephew, are a different story and will always come first.
It appears as though my final job interview has been moved up. I’m not dressed up—wearing a pink cropped hoodie, a pair of green Converse, and ripped black jeans—as I pull on my backpack. But it will have to do.
“Stay put, Kim. Place a chair in front of the door; I’ll be back soon.”
“Where are you going?” she asks.
“To get a job, one I should have had over a year ago.” I’m out of the apartment and on my way to turn myself into the head of cyber security. I’ve been messing with the man for months, showing him up on his computer skills at every turn. I’ll beg for mercy as I ask for a job. If this isn’t a fucking horrible idea, I don’t know what is.
Vaughn
The news came a couple days ago. Anna Maven, only twenty-three and four years my junior, and the woman I thought I’d marry one day, dead in a car accident, coming home from a trip in the mountains of Georgia. She broke up with me a year ago after what she claimed was the last straw. But, I’m still in shock.
Now she’s dead, and I sit in front of her house, willing myself to take the few steps from my car to her parent’s front porch to pay my respects. Her parents didn’t hate me. I wasn’t their ideal choice for their daughter. They made it apparent but tolerated me for the sake of their Anna.
I wasn’t able to talk to them at the funeral. I loved her. But time has given me perspective, and I don’t believe it had been the type of love where I’d count the seconds before we were back in each other’s arms. What we had was safe, but never the take your breath away sort of love.
But, losing her still leaves a hole in my heart. She’d been attentive and dealt with all my negative Eeyore emotions that still surround me from losing my first love.
My first love wasn’t a person but a sport. It had always been more than simply a sport to me though. It had been my passion. My best friend still plays pro ball in L.A. He has everything. The game, love, and a future.
It’s been hard to let go of my anger. I can’t say I’ve truly recovered. Anna’s final ultimatum came after a tryout with a minor league team. It didn’t result in an offer, and I’d withdrawn into myself, locking myself in my bedroom for a week.
I take the porch steps two at a time and am saddened by the thought I’d not treated Anna with the love she deserved. Maybe I didn’t have it in me to love anyone.
I ring the bell as I hear many voices behind the door. Her service was packed, and I assume it’s the same in Anna’s childhood home.
The door swings open, and her mother appears holding a baby. I don’t know much about babies, but I know she’s not a newborn as she sits on her hip, blowing bubbles. Anna’s mother stills at my presence in front of her.
“Vaughn, um, hey. This isn’t a good time.”
What the hell? Of course, it’s not a good time. The woman has just buried her daughter.
“I was at the service. I’m so very sorry, Priscilla, for your loss. I’m here to pay respects. I know it didn’t end well between me and Anna, but I loved her.”
I still grieve the loss of a woman I’d been with for two years.
“Thank you for that. But in light of the circumstances, you should go.”
“What circumstances?”
“You broke my little girl’s heart.” Priscilla has never minced words and is rather direct.
A woman with features similar to Anna’s mother appears behind Priscilla. “Honey, let me take the baby for you. Okay?” She gives the little girl over to the woman with outstretched hands.
“Come on, Bella Grace, let’s give your grandma a few moments to herself.”
Priscilla deposits the baby in the stranger’s arms.
These words startle me, but when a flash of fear is seen in Priscilla’s eyes, everything falls into place like the jigsaw puzzle no one ever wanted me to solve.
Anna was an only child. And as I watch the little girl being passed off to the other person, I notice a resemblance with her nose, mouth, and eyes—so brown they can be mistaken as black, like my own.
“Wait, stop right there,” I call toward the woman with no name.
“No, Aunt Lillian, don’t stop. Just take Bella to her room, and I’ll be there shortly.”
It’s the second time the baby has been called Bella. Anna and I had a long-drawn-out conversation one night about children. She told me she wanted to use Bella if we ever had a girl, but I’d insisted Grace was a better option.
And yet, it’s the baby’s name—Bella Grace.
“Priscilla, is she my baby?” I ask, pointing toward the little girl, still in the stranger’s arms. The more I stare, the more I understand the truth.
She attempts to shut the door, but I’m quick to move my foot in front of it to stop it from slamming in my face.
“Anna was an only child. Whose baby is she? Is she mine?” I ask again.
Priscilla continues to push against my foot. “Don’t be ridiculous. My aunt has dementia; she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. The baby, Bella, is my sister’s grandchild.”
“Why does her grandchild have a room in your house? And why does she look exactly like me?” I’ve rendered Priscilla speechless.
Mr. Maven appears behind his wife. “Vaughn, I think it’s time for you to leave.”
I may leave now, but sure as fuck, I’ll be back. And that child, my child, will leave with me.
two
Jude
Six Months Later
“Cade, you can’t be serious?”
One look at my new boss, there’s no waver in his demeanor. It’s unbelievable what I’m looking at. It’s a million-dollar home on the beach, and he’s actually letting me live here?
“Are you sure? I don’t want to put you or Tristan out.”
Cade Carsen, my boss and the man who most likely wanted me behind bars, begins to laugh. “Isn’t this funny? Originally, I had wanted to have you carted off by the cops for tormenting me for months by hacking into my system simply because you could. And now, I’m offering you a place to live for the time being.”
Cade is a good guy, and he’s right; I tormented him for months to prove the quality of my computer skills. I’d never recommend my approach to others, it was risky and iffy whether I’d make an impression on him, but all the pieces fell into place selling my skills for the company I now work for.
“Don’t forget I caught the man who tried to kill you,” I remind him, and it’s the little piece of information that helped me obtain the job.
“Yes, Jude, you certainly will not let me forget that.” I laugh as he hands over the key to the beach house he shares with his husband, now spending most of their time in their downtown L.A. high-rise.
