Page 55 of Reckless and Rooted
I gasp as I take it in, looking in shock at the obvious flowers that are growing inside of it.
I walk over, open the door to the greenhouse, and gape at the amount of flowers. They are all in pots, lining the shelves and floor to the point that you can only walk down the narrow aisle. “Peonies,” I whisper, my eyes stinging with tears at the sight of my favorite flowers.
There is a note on the far side of the wall.
Hello City Girl,
I know we were just kids, but I remember you telling me how, when you had your own house, you would have a greenhouse full of flowers.
This is your greenhouse full of your favorite flowers. I wanted to give you a flower for every day we were apart, but 4,537 days is a long time. Instead, I’ll just say this. I never want to go that long without you again. I know this is new again. I know we have a lot to discuss. Just know, I want to have that (and many other) conversations.
Until…forever.
Love,
Jax
Tears fall freely from my eyes, and I text Jax immediately, asking him to come over. If I needed a sign of when to tell him everything, the things he’s done for me here, at my home, are more than enough.
27
jax
I rush through town.With dinner in my grocery bags and my heart in my throat, I am ready to be at Felicity’s now, but I had to get what was necessary.
Her text had come through right as I’d gotten back down the mountain from moving another herd of cattle, and I have never moved through night chores faster than I did tonight.
My brothers were giving me so much shit, but I didn’t care. I want to be there with her. I want to see how she felt, seeing my note, seeing where I was with her. I should have waited to give her the note, but I thought I would get more notice of when Graham was showing her the house. He thought another few days and hadn’t given me any warning.
I would have killed to be there when she saw my heart on the line, when she saw the flowers and the greenhouse. I would have loved to see that.
The next best thing would be being there now, helping her get her house together, and hoping she was open to me being a part of it.
“Jaxon.” A voice behind me makes me stop and turn, my gaze landing on none other than Gerald Vogel.
“Mr. Vogel,” I say, shifting the groceries to one hand and holding out mine politely. “Nice to see you, sir.”
He nods and glances at the grocery bags, the loaf of bread sticking out of one, pointing to my making dinner for his daughter. It’s not terribly obvious, but it’s not a secret that I’ve been dating her the last month.
“Son.” Mr. Vogel swallows uncomfortably and looks down the street. Several residents are wandering the streets, popping into shops at the last minute for dinner items and things for the weekend.
Everyone is gearing up for this next week, with everyone having friends and family plans for Thanksgiving.
“I wanted to ask you something, something that you may not be happy to hear.”
I stiffen my stance, already having an idea of where he is going with that. “All right.”
Knowing what he was going to say didn’t help lessen the sting any. “I want you to stay away from Felicity.”
Gritting my teeth, I force my jaw to relax so I can speak without sounding like an asshole. “Could I ask you why, sir? I’ve never done anything to hurt her before.”
Maybe the reminder that his daughter left me would be enough to get him to see reason.
But no. Of course it doesn’t.
“She’s got a lot going on right now, Jax.” He looks at me, trying to implore to me the importance of what he is saying without saying it. I don’t reply, waiting for him to spit out whatever he wants to say. “She’s moving home. She’s got an album to record.”
“I won’t do anything to hinder that process. Hell, I want her here,” I say, laying my honesty at my feet. I want her here morethan anything. I want that life with her. I want the house, the kids, the future. I want to watch her write, listen to her sing, make her dinners, rub her feet at night, and have movie nights.
