Page 1 of Jax

Prologue

Jax

This was peace.

I was sitting on the fence surrounding the field, warm western winds rustling through my hair, beads of sweat leaving cool trails down the curves of my skin. Purple, blue, and orange water-washed the evening sky as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. Grass whispered between the gentle thudding beats of a gallop hitting the ground.

“JACKSON!” The bellowing screech blew out my ear drums as the fourteen-year-old girl came flying off her mare and into my view.

“Shit!” I hissed, having no time to dodge as the youth came slamming into my chest. My breath lurched from my lungs as I cascaded down from the top of the fence, the faint scratch of my boots scrapping the piece of wood before my body met the ground.

Pain burst up my back, dirt and stones digging into my skin as I toppled down to the earth, dust and dirt flicking into my eyes. It was blinding for a second, then she crashed down like a gavel onto my ribs. Darkness danced across my vision, my body enveloped by so much pain it felt detached and distant from me. Like it wasn’t my own.

The creaking of my spine and the burning across my chest told me nothing good had happened. I dared to open my eyes to the wild mess of brown hair tossed all over my face, in my mouth, and poking me in the eyes. Hair I was far too familiar with.

My voice was guttural as the all too familiar name escaped between my teeth. “Ronnie…”

Ronnie’s body tightened.

“Um… Howdy?” Her meek voice traveled up to me, as the rat’s nest began to move. Her small round face, full of teenage plump, and big, circular eyes faced me with a tight, weak smile.

Guilty as charged.

“Get the fuck off me,” I shoved her aside, her body falling with a thump into the dirt, spraying a cloud straight into my mouth.

“My Momma always said you shouldn’t curse, Jackson,” Ronnie snipped, shaking her head and spitting out the dirt she’d managed to inhale. “And this ain’t any way to treat a lady.”

“You ain’t no lady, Ronnie. You’re as close to a wild monkey as a girl can get. Heck, I’m not even sure if I can call you a girl,” I retorted, watching the familiar pout and cross-eyes sharpen. She threw herself up from the ground, tossing dirt in my face with a vigor I was sure just got knocked out of me.

“I’m a girl!” Ronnie yelled, way louder than she needed to. Her boot stomped on the ground and she propped her hands up on those insignificant hips of hers. “I’m as much a girl as all those other girlies you’ve been dating!”

“It ain’t dating as much as it’s been fucking, Ronnie, and you’re too young to understand such things,” I grunted as I used the fence post as a lever to pull myself up. My trip was short, however, as a sharp nip on my fingers had my hand snapping from the wood, and my pained ass collapsed back on the dirt. “Damn horse,” I hissed, shaking my hand, now covered in splinters, as I glared up at the brown mare huffing hot, moist air in my face with a slight bit too much satisfaction. “See, ya can’t even train a horse properly, never mind catch yourself a man.”

“I—I know what… fuckin’ is!” Ronnie exclaimed with such a bright blush on her face, I was wondering if she’d outshine the sunset.

Pulling myself up from the ground without the help of the fence, I cast a glare to the tall mare who had all but thrown her rider at me and then to the young girl standing at my shoulder. I reached up toward her lit face, the deepening sun having caught her cheeks and making that blush just that little bit redder. My hand cupped her skin, and I saw her breath pause, her little eyes looking up to me with so much hope and….

I pinched.

She jerked back with a hard squeal, snapping her body away from me, and leaving me with vengeful hysterics. I couldn’t help but find hilarity in the shock on her face. Damn this girl, as annoying as she was—and fuck, she was hella annoying—she was also my prime plaything. She had become the little sister I never wanted, nor was related to. She was the horse trainer’s daughter, and I was the owner’s son. I was stuck with her. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little fun.

“Damn you, Jackson!” she cried, holding her cheek with her palm as if I’d slapped her.

Drama queen.

“Don’t curse, Ronnie, or ya momma will be smiting me from heaven.”

“Only angels can smite, stupid Jackson!” Ronnie hissed, stomping her feet the two steps to the edge of the fence.

“Now where’re ya going?” I huffed, watching her pout her way all the way, and then in her lanky tomboy jeans, covered in dirt and hay and torn to shreds, she struggled her way up the wide bars until she was high enough to reach her horse’s saddle. Max, the huge mare she rode, moved further down the fence, just to piss off Ronnie and force her to shuffle down the fence before she could mount her.

“You’ll see, Jackson,” Ronnie huffed, situating herself in her saddle, tossing her own matted mane over her shoulder and grabbing a handful of reins. “I’ll turn into a fine lady one day soon.” She pointed her finger out at me. “And when that day comes, I’ll be coming to get you. And I’ll make you mine!”

I chuckled at her little promise. “Sure, I’ll be waiting,” I said without a thought, knowing such a day would never come as I watched the little girl I’d practically hand-reared since a babe canter off into the field, her little body struggling to keep time with Max’s huge strides.

Little did I know, a day like that would come. And it’d become a day I never wished arrived.

Chapter One

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