She’d grown this operation from six horses and twice weekly lessons to thirty mounts and a comprehensive equestrian program for all levels of ability. They had two beefy Clydesdales that pulled Santa’s wagon in the Christmas parade. She was a certified therapeutic riding instructor and taught weekly group classes for a handful of students with physical and mental challenges. And their regular weekly class schedule was bursting at the seams.
She had plans. It was time to think about the next step. A breeding program. They had a few solid mares. The next step would be to find the right stud. She’d start small, build a solid program, and expand selectively.
It would mean more equipment, more hands, more damn paperwork. But it was a smart move and if the stock was good enough, the profits would be pretty freaking great.
She’d started a proposal to give to Carter with projections and timelines. Started it, but hadn’t finished it. She wanted to do some research into studs first before she sprung it on him. It was harder for the man to say no to deep brown animal eyes. And if he dragged his feet, she was prepared to call in the big guns—Summer.
It wasn’t that Carter had ever actually said no. He was smart enough to know that she knew what she was doing. But that didn’t stop Joey from dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. She knew Carter liked to have all the information at his fingertips, mainly so he could dump it all off on Beckett’s desk when his brother asked too many questions.
She wondered if Jax would also be playing a role in the decision-making now that he was home.
And just like that, he was back on her mind.
“Hey.”
And back in her barn. At least he was on the other side of the fence.
“Hey,” she said, keeping her eyes trained on the riders. But it didn’t make her any less aware of his presence.
“I’m here to pick up Evan,” he told her. “You almost done?”
Joey reached over, turned his wrist so she could see the face of his watch. “Yeah, we’re finishing up here.” She started to push away from the fence and paused. “About the flowers.”
Jax cocked an eyebrow.
“They’re beautiful.” She spotted the beginning of a cocky grin. “But you’re going to have to do better than that.”
“Jojo, I’m just getting started.”
--------
He got her a dog.
“Okay, we’re here,” Beckett announced, bringing his SUV to a halt in the parking lot of Furever Home Animal Rescue. “What’s the plan?” he asked Jax.
“We’re getting a dog,” Jax announced.
“Awesome!” Evan squealed from the backseat.
“Whoa, hang on there.” Carter leaned between the front seats. “You live in my house and you didn’t think to mention that you’re getting a dog?”
“I’m not getting a dog for me. It’s for Joey.”
Evan squished under Carter so he could lean between the seats too. “You’re getting Joey a dog?”
“It’s part of my multi-tiered apology plan,” Jax explained.
“What are you apologizing for?” Evan wanted to know.
Jax ignored the smirk that passed between his brothers. “Kid, you’d be driving age by the time I got done explaining. Lets just say I screwed up a long time ago.”
“And you’re just now apologizing?” Evan asked.
“Yeah.”
Evan shook his head. “Man, there better be a lot of tiers to that apology.”
No kidding, Jax agreed.
