Breathing

Epilogue 2:

"Mom, Jessa's being mean to me." Jax called as he stomped into the living room. His dark hair moved just like his father's. His normally light blue eyes were dark with anger. What were the chances I had two kids and neither one of them looked anything like me?

"I am not!" Jessa screeched from the other room.

"She is too." Jax frowned, looking at me. Jax was tall for an eight-year-old; he definitely got Ezra's height. In another year, I was going to be the shortest person in the house again. Jessa passed me in height when she was eleven. She was going to be taller than me, but probably a bit shorter than the rest of the Miller clan.

"Jessa, get in here." I called from the kitchen. I laughed a little, remembering when JD and I used to fight like this too. My Mom used to call us to this kitchen the same exact way.

A few months after Ezra and I were married, my Mom decided she needed a new start. She packed her bags one day and headed to Florida for warmer weather. She couldn't stand selling the house, so she asked if Ezra and I would keep it so it would stay in the family.

At the time, Ezra had just signed a new contract at the biggest studio in the area, which brought us in a pretty huge paycheck. He began producing more often than playing, but he was able to sneak in sometimes to record. He still loved to play every chance he got. A few times, Jessa went with him and would bring me home the most amazing cuts of the two of them together. Jessa started playing the piano at six years old and then followed in Ezra's footsteps and picked up a guitar. If her Dad was a brilliant musician, that would make her a prodigy. She had the most amazing voice. The studio wanted to sign her on their label, but Ezra and I turned them down. She was too young to be tossed into that world. She was angry with us for months after she found out we told them no.

Everything in our lives fell in place so perfectly it was like we planned it, except the daughter with the raging attitude like her father. I had been doing the books for the five bar locations Jules now owned and was able to start working from home. Jax was a baby when I first started and I could stay at home with him and Jessa. What was once so complicated became so easy, well, until the kids started getting older.

Jessa stormed into the room. Her long curly dark hair was thick and wild; she was all attitude with little sense. Ezra had threatened to send her to boarding school a thousand times in the last few months. I tried to remind him they were a lot alike, which was why she pushed his buttons so much. Jessa was thirteen now and thought she knew everything. I wished I could tell her more about our life, but I was trying to keep her on a better path. I had a feeling if I told her what I went through, she would rebel harder.

"What did you do to Jax?" I asked her crossing my arms over my chest. She rolled her eyes at me. I knew this was payback for all the eye rolls I had dished out over the years.

"I didn't do anything to him!" She screamed at me and pulled at her hair. "You never believe me!"

I turned to Jax. "What happened?"

"She hit me with her music book because I told her that her boyfriend looks like a cheese puff." I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. That was the most ridiculous argument I had ever heard and I have heard a lot over the last few years.

"He's not my boyfriend!" She screamed. "And he doesn't look like a cheese puff!" Jessa stomped and clenched her fists at her sides.

"Well, glad he's not your boyfriend, but I do agree with Jax. He does look like a cheese puff." Ezra walked in and leaned against the doorway. He pulled his mouth in a little half-smile as he watched her face darken. He moved his hand over the stubble on his chin in thought.

"I hate you all!" Jessa grabbed a bowl and began to throw it across the room when Ezra reached over and snatched it out of her hand.

"No need for that." Ezra said in his best calm Dad voice. I could see him buzzing on the inside. He was trying not to lose his temper with this wild girl.