22. Jaxon
JAXON
This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite days of the year.
We strategically throw it tonight to entice people to get here a full week before the official high season, and that’s been working out well for us the last few years.
We host an entire staff lunch when the full staff is contractually obligated to be here, but everyone knows tonight is the party you don’t want to miss.
Before I know it, I’m standing right inside the door of the event space, welcoming people.
It’s only about fifteen minutes in, but a good crowd is already here.
In addition to the incentive to attend, the party gives our seasonal employees a chance to mingle.
We found that it goes a long way in promoting teamwork, which is the cornerstone of our entire ranch.
Heart of Will is consistently lauded in reviews for the seamlessness of how things work, and we attribute that to how well our people getting along.
Given our employee return rate is astronomically high, it’s important to me that I’m the first person to greet them. Catching up like old friends, and having conversations that center around what happened since the last time we saw each other, sets the tone for the summer.
Looking around, I track the rest of my family; Molly and Hazel are moving together, sizing people up, I’m sure.
Cayson is with his kids by the stage, laughing uncontrollably.
Though he is the type of father I hope to be one day, he has been so stressed out lately that seeing him get this moment with them brings me joy.
Everest and my parents are behind the bar, serving people like they do every year at this party.
Nodding my head to myself, I wouldn’t trade this for anything. I know the group I’ve assembled is going to be remarkable. Plus, I can’t wait to add that social media manager. I wish she could’ve come out to capture this before the storm stuff, but she’ll be here next weekend.
Starting to get a little antsy for Della to arrive, I check my watch a few times. It must have been noticeable because Molly appears out of nowhere to give me shit.
“I’m not exactly sure what’s happening, but you’re looking like a desperate hoe right now,” she announces as she ambles up.
The randomness of the comment has me burst out laughing. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” I smirk.
“I’m sure,” she says. “It’s not like you’re waiting for some bombshell brunette to come strolling through the door. The one you’ve snuck out with every morning for sunrise.”
“Hey,” I say, trying to defend myself. “I’m showing our guest the best Amberheart has to offer.
Could you imagine if she were here in December?
Not so nice. Besides, we are at a ninety percent return rate this year, with only a handful of new faces.
I want to make sure she’s comfortable getting into the mix when she arrives. ”
“Ha,” Molly replies, “Comfortable? Jax, the barn crew already knows her, and other people arriving are seeking her out. Do you know how many people I’ve watched introduce themselves to her this week?
There is a buzz about the hottie from Chicago who is here on a six-week contract.
I’m shocked you haven’t gotten wind of anything. ”
“I mean, I heard a little, but I didn’t pay any mind to it. No one is being obnoxious or anything, right?”
“Obnoxious? No. People are interested because how could they not be? So I’m telling you, if you have any interest, and you’d be an idiot if you don’t because I see you in the morning, the competition has officially arrived.”
“Stop it.”
“Look around. I can point out five dudes right now who have murmured about meeting her, and three who have set their sights.”
My eyes lift to canvas the room. Yeah, I mean, I could see it. She’s new, she’s hot, she’s funny. And in that moment, regardless of what I say, I feel the jealousy coiling in my at the thought of someone else kissing her… touching her… getting what I can’t stop wanting.
“What’s your hesitation, Jax?” It’s like she’s reading my mind.
“What’s it matter to you, Mol? It’s stupid to get involved with someone who has a timeline.” I keep to myself that I pulled her in to kiss her last night before I got cock-blocked by my father.
“Has that ever, and I mean ever, stopped you before? We literally run a BINGO game every year on the kinds of tourists you’ll hook up with, and a box I’ve never missed on is only here for a night.”
“You know you all are the fucking worst for that.”
She just shrugs at me with a shit-eating grin.
“But she’s not like the others. She’s here for a terrible reason. She’s different,” I try to defend myself again.
“All the more reason to show her a good time,” she pushes.
“Do you think she wants her heart broken again?”
“You think pretty highly of yourself that you’re going to break her heart.”
“Fine, try this on then. I’m not lying when I say something feels different about her.
And so right now, I’m damned if I do, and I’m damned if I don’t.
Let’s say I want to explore something more for the first time in who knows how long…
it doesn’t matter because she’s gone. And why would I set myself up for that?
On the other hand, I do nothing, I’ll never know what I was missing in the first place, and she’s gone anyway.
There isn’t a scenario where she’s not gone.
Plus, she’s throwing out serious mixed signals,” I admit.
I’m not sure why I’m pretending with Molly; she has eyes and can watch our interactions.
“Unless there’s a lot of shit happening behind the scenes, the signals are not mixed.
Honestly, if I had to guess, I bet it feels very weird for her to be navigating whatever the hell is happening between you two.
She hasn’t talked too much about her past, but it sounds like the only person she’s dated in five years is the guy she stood up at the altar.
And he blows. So I say help her out and make the time that she’s here fun.
I’m sure she’s not looking to settle down here, champ.
Not even the illustrious Jaxon Wills can derail someone’s entire plan. ”
“Shut up,” I playfully nudge her. But Molly brought up a point I hadn’t even considered yet; the fact that this probably feels foreign to her. I’ll have to be the one to try to reach across again, literally and figuratively.
“Seriously, Jax. Have you thought about the fact that a stupid fling might be exactly what she needs? Your sister would never suggest that to you, Cayson’s too caught up in his shit right now, and Everest’s head is down in full prep mode, so it’s up to me to tell you.
And you better decide fast, because she’s walking this way, and the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker are all checking her out,” she nods in the direction of the door.
My head whips around, and though she’s still thirty paces away, she's passing people who have stopped in the hall to catch up with each other. Sure enough, the chef, the head baker, and one of our trail riders have essentially halted whatever conversation they were having to track Della as she walks past them. I can’t blame them.
How dare she look this good?
She is wearing a cream-colored halter sundress that makes her look like a dream, and a pair of cowboy boots that she didn’t have a week ago.
Maybe they are yet another pair my sister lent her.
But what sends me is her face. Those brown locks cascade down, and she’s wearing the same cowboy hat from the other night.
Her makeup is minimal, doing nothing but enhancing her natural beauty.
I turn to say something to Molly, but she’s run away and left me with her words pinging around in my head as I watch Della approach. Maybe a stupid fling is what she needs… everyone has been murmuring about her… You'd better decide fast.
Fuck it, she’s right. There’s something to explore while she’s here.
Every interaction is loaded, whether we speak it out loud or not, and that ever-present awareness spills into the very air around us.
If my father hadn’t cockblocked me, I would have kissed her last night, and I almost begged her to stay after my migraine, so why am I posturing to Molly about not wanting this?
Plus, making assumptions about what Della does or doesn’t want isn’t fair to anyone.
I catch her eye, and the second her face lights up when she sees me, I’m done for.
Doubling down on my fuck it, when she gets to me, I wrap her up, and pull her body flush into mine the way I did on her porch.
Though we’ve both been dancing around the line, the gesture explicitly jumps over it when I find her temple and press my lips to it.
When she pulls away, her eyebrows contort into a curious face as she tries to figure out what just happened.
“Hi?” she says with a question.
“Della Tatroe,” I say, grabbing her hand from her side and encouraging her to spin.
“You look… stunning.” When she turns, I realize that the back of her dress exposes her entire back, and looks to be held up by a string.
I have to stop myself from biting my fist because… she went from gorgeous to sexy as fuck.
“Thank you!” she beams before shimmying her shoulders. “I look like I fit in, right?” Her insecurities show.
“I’m pretty sure the room stopped when you walked in,” I respond.
Her head tilts again, picking up on the blatantness of how I’m talking to her, but before she can respond, some hires who have been with us for five years interrupt the moment.
To some degree, I get it. Tonight, excitement lingers in every corner of the room. It’s a fun place to work, and this pre-season hype is a thing, so I’m sure they think nothing of cutting in, but dammit, I just want to talk to Della.
It’s futile because after I introduce her, and we all chat, we get interrupted again.
She smiles and touches my side before walking away, and I can’t blame her.
But now my attention is split between the people parading in, and watching where she goes.
Everest and my mom playfully elbow each other to see who gets to serve her when she bellies up to the bar, and when my mom wins out, it’s impossible not to notice how easy and playful their interaction is.
I get distracted by another trio of people, but when I look back over, I see Della talking to my pack trip lead, Zach.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people come to Heart of Will, pay extraordinary amounts of money to be in our cabins, and then want to camp.
But since we’re in the business of giving people what they want, Zach is in charge of that experience.
I actually really like the guy. He’s good-looking, smart, funny…
all the things that would make him a catch.
And he’d have a glowing endorsement if he were hitting on anyone else.
But the way he’s looking at Della, it’s not like so many of the other people here tonight who have looked at her like she’s fresh meat.
Zach isn’t that person; he’s genuinely engaging with her, and the way she’s looking back at him is making me pissy.
A few more people join them, and she’s shaking hands and doing what looks like introductions, but he hasn’t taken his eyes off her.
When the group of them do a shot together, and I watch his fingers graze over the back of her hand as she’s steadying herself, I’m done.
For the first time since I took on my role years ago, I leave my greeter position and head into the party.