Page 97 of Reckless and Rooted
I smile at the idea. “I like it.”
He looks at me then, smiling softly, and I crinkle my nose. “What?”
“I can’t just look at you?” Jax teases, rubbing a finger over my cheek.
“I’m all sweaty and gross and not wearing makeup.”
“You look gorgeous, Mama,” Jax whispers to me, and I feel my insides pull.
I absolutely love when he calls me that.
He presses a soft kiss to my cheek, then grabs at my gloves, taking them off. I hear Law babble in his baby talk from the ground and look over at him, watching him play with his foot, and I let out a soft laugh. “He’s getting so big, so fast.”
“He is.” I look back at Jax and see him staring at me intently. “Which is why I need to ask a couple of things.”
I furrow my brows, a confused smile on my face. “What things?”
He grabs my hand and kisses the fingertips. “Well, first, I want to know how you feel about me going on tour with you?”
Gasping, I grab his face in my hands, my eyes wide with excitement. “Are you serious?”
He nods his head, grinning. “I am. I know it’s your thing, but—” I pull him to me, cutting him off with my mouth on his.
The thought of him coming with me on tour has every single doubt and uncertainty I have about leaving drifting away. It is exactly what I wanted, without me even realizing it.
I pull back with a smack of our lips and study him. “What about the rodeo school?”
Jax smiles at me and lets out a deep breath. “Funding is tight. While we wait on that, Bonnie took some freelancing jobs, so she’s gonna be traveling for a bit. When we get back from the tour, we’ll get it going.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, not wanting to push him away but also wanting to help him. “I can?—”
He places a finger over my lips. “I know what you’re going to say, and I appreciate it, but I’ve got this. It’s just going to take time.”
I nod my head, already knowing that’s what he would say, and smile broadly at him. “I’m so happy you’re coming with us!”
“Me too, Mama. Which leads me to my next thing.” He grabs my hand, and without me realizing something was even in his hand, he slips a ring onto my ring finger. My eyes broaden at the sight of it, and I feel instant tears well in my eyes.
My heart thumps loudly in my chest and through a thick throat, I say, “Jax, you wanna marry me?”
“City Girl, I’ve wanted to marry you since the moment I asked you to be my girl in middle school.” He shakes his head, resting his forehead against mine and smiling at the sounds of our son below us. “It’s always been you, City. I never had any doubt.”
Letting the tears fall from my eyes, I lean forward, pressing my lips to his again and relishing in the moment. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Does this mean you’ll marry me?” His eyes hold a smidge of teasing, but also a bit of apprehension that I want to banish away.
“I would love nothing more than to be your wife, Jaxon Cash.”
Jax then bends down, picking up our son out of his seat and holding him between us. His eyes look deeply into mine, and I let myself breathe in this most perfect moment.
“This is all I need, City. This right here.” He looks from Lawson to me. “My family.”
epilogue
Jax
A squeal leavesthe woman next to me, and I laugh loudly at the excitement in her voice. This is exactly what we needed.
Felicity and I just got home with Lawson from a two-month tour, and man, was I glad to be home. The tour was exhausting, but watching the woman I love sing her heart out, with songs that meant something to her and brought her back to her roots, was something to behold.
