Page 1 of Reckless and Rooted
1
jax
“Jax! Heads up!”I spin, reaching up to snag the water bottle that comes sailing through the air from where my little brother, Stetson, threw it.
“Thanks.” I open the bottle and down half of it. The end-of-summer heat was still working its way through the barn and giving me the effect that I was melting.
We spent our morning shuffling cows from one pasture to another, and even though I was born and raised on this mountain, sometimes the heat and altitude still got to me.
“What are you guys up to tonight?” I ask my brothers, who both take seats to let themselves cool down. It was oddly refreshing to be here, working the ranch with my brothers after I spent the past ten years on the rodeo circuit and basically hiding from the small town that burned me.
“I don’t know. I think Bo wants to hit Bottle Grounds.” Stetson mentions his girlfriend, Bonnie. They haven’t been together long, but long enough for all of us to know that Bonnie was family now.
“Thea is making dinner, so we’re staying home.”
I roll my eyes at Logan’s answer because somehow, I knew it would contain something along those lines. “Come on. Come out and hang with us!”
Logan shakes his head, a smirk on his face. “Hey, if my wife doesn’t want to be at her work on her night off and would rather spend the night in with me, I’m not going to say no.”
Thea is my sister-in-law and owns the bar and restaurant Bottle Grounds with two of her sisters. I don’t know her all that well, but I’ve been working on it. Being gone for so long means you don’t get to keep up with your family as well and have to make more of an effort once you do decide to come back home again.
I have my work cut out for me. With Logan now being married, Stetson already in a serious relationship, and, well, I don’t know much about Mitch anymore, but he is home as well and living a life I couldn’t predict.
“Where’s Lue gonna be?” Stetson asks him, referring to Logan’s teenage daughter and my niece, Luella. Logan was a single dad for such a long time before he finally got together with Thea, and now they were this perfect little family.
I wasn’t jealous. Not at all.
He can keep his perfect little family.
“She’ll be at the bar. She’s assisting Annmarie and learning how to waitress.”
I frown. “She wants a job?” Last I heard, when my niece wasn’t helping at the ranch, she was avoiding getting another job so she could spend her time rehearsing for musicals.
“She wants a car,” he replies with a smirk, the fine lines near his eyes crinkling. “I told her I’d pay for half of one if she comes up with the other half.”
“A car? She can’t drive.”
The thought of my baby niece behind the wheel of a car sends a shiver of unease down my spine. Every time I picture her, sheis still the sweetest little kid who is always trailing me around, asking me a million questions, and begging me to play with dolls.
“She’s about to turn sixteen, Jax.” Logan shrugs, taking a sip of his water. His leg is crossed over his knee, and he keeps hitting his spur with his finger absentmindedly. “She has her permit but wouldn’t let me teach her.” He shakes his head. “She wanted Thea. And now she wants to be sure she can have her own car when she’s sixteen.”
I shake my head, wondering how this all happened. How did my niece become legal enough to drive a car? It just sends another pang of regret through me, knowing that I missed out on so much.
Bottle Grounds is a cool and fun place. I had to hand it to my sister-in-law for her ability to liven it up. When I was a teen, this was just some random bar that didn’t allow for families because there was no food aside from nachos that equated to the version you might find in a gas station and some bar condiments that didn’t get switched out often enough for them to be sanitary.
Now, there is a glowing pink neon sign that reads “Bottle Grounds” hovering over the menu behind the bar. There is a drink specials menu that is written in chalk that seems to change every time I come here, and it seems, judging by the almost completely full tables in the dining area, that this is a hit for people of all ages.
To the right is a big alcove that holds a dart board area, and from what I gather from my brothers and cousins, there are now a bunch of dart league teams that meet up once a week or more to play.
In the back of the bar is a small stage setup for a band and a dance floor that is already filling up with people. Then, there is the new back patio, if you want to call it that. It’s really just a patch of concrete with some cornhole games set up.
“Uncle Jax!” I turn and see my niece making her way through the crowd. She’s got an apron tied around her waist and a serving tray in her hand. Her bright smile hits me in the chest, and I fight back the sense of loss at not watching her grow up more.
I should have been here.
“Hey, sweet pea.” I return her hug, holding her tight for a minute before pulling back and putting my hands on her shoulders, frowning at her. “You look too grown up.”
She grins and shrugs. “I am about to be sixteen.”
