Page 65 of Reckless and Rooted
But I’m proud of you.
It couldn’t have been easy to leave, and I’m still hurt you didn’t want me to be part
of your plans, but I’m still proud.
I miss you every minute, City Girl.
Every damn minute.
Love,
Jax
I close my eyes, leaning my head back against my desk chair, and take deep breaths. This man is too perfect, too good for me.
But I will spend the rest of my days earning the love he so freely gives me.
31
jax
My phone rings,interrupting the meeting we are currently in the middle of, and I apologize to Jet, silencing the phone before setting it face down.
Bonnie and I finally have our meeting with the mayor after getting our last meeting canceled due to a family emergency.
“Sorry about last month. It turned out to be quite hectic,” Jet says, thumbing through the rodeo school proposal that Bonnie and I worked on over the last two months. I was getting more and more excited about the prospect of having something tangible of my own to work with.
There was even an offer from Three Rivers to use their facility for the school, eliminating the need for use of city property, which had been one of the hiccups Jet had mentioned in his long email, along with liability insurance, transportation, and use of rodeo animals in an unsanctioned area.
All of which should be covered if we use the ranch for the school.
“No problem. It’s a busy time of year,” I say, leaning forward on my elbows on the conference table. “We just want to geta jump on establishing this before spring hits, get some kids signed up, classes scheduled and the like.”
“This offer from the ranch is a good one,” he mentions, slipping the papers back into the folder. “So why do you need me?”
I shift in my seat, meeting Bonnie’s eye, and watch her shoulders straighten. My brother’s girl is a little shy at times, but I’ve noticed that when she is faced with business things, she handles it with a no-nonsense attitude.
“Financing, actually,” she says, looking him straight in the eye. I can tell Jet respects that by the way his lips twitch. “We no longer need your permission to start the school, though it would be nice to have the support of our mayor,” she says, unfolding another folder and slipping out a piece of paper. “But as you probably realize, Jax and I don’t personally come from money, and we would need someone to help invest to get the school going. Here”—she slips the sheet across the table—“are the projected ROIs for the school. We realize it will take some time,” she continues, taking charge of the meeting, which I’m perfectly content with. “But we want to make this affordable for all.”
“Maybe you remember.” I start, getting Jet’s attention. “That you and I survived because of rodeo school. I certainly did.” I shake my head, thinking about what a dumbass teen I would have been without it. “It gave me stability when shit got hard. I want to offer that to the kids in our community, give them something to work toward, somewhere to get their adrenaline high where they can be safe.”
Jet lowers his brows. “It’s not always safe, Jax.”
I pause, remembering the story I heard about his brother’s accident a few months ago. His brother was a rodeo star, a bull rider who went all the way to the top, only for it to end in tragedy. “I know, Jet.”
“I’m just not sure it’s something I want to contribute to.” He starts, the doubt creeping into his expression.
“Think on it,” Bonnie says, interrupting the plea I was about to give. “Take the rest of this year and get back to us in January. That will still give us time to get everything together for an early April start.”
I glance from her to Jet again, wondering if he’ll go for it. I can’t blame the man for not wanting to be a part of this, but I was hoping that he was going to be able to look at the bigger picture.
A sigh leaves him, and he adds the financial report to his folder before standing and buttoning his suit jacket. “Okay. I’ll give you a call in January.”
I smile and stand, following him out of his conference room and into the hall where his receptionist is. I see the boy that was here last time and gather that he must be Jet’s nephew. A girl I’ve never seen before is sitting with the boy, seemingly going over homework with him, and Jet clears his throat before holding out a hand to me.
“Good to see you again, Jax.”
“Yeah, man. We’ll have to catch up soon.” I throw a thumb over my shoulder. “We’re heading to Bottle Grounds for a drink tonight. You should join.”
