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Yeah, it's been really good catching up with everyone. Are you having fun?
I actually am. It's been really great to hang out with them. We're just playing cards to kill time now.
We seem to be winding down. I don't think it'll be much longer.
Take all the time you need.
Josh definitely treats me right, and I just hope that’s something my parents will eventually come to see.
Chapter 21
Josh
Iwasn'tparticularlylookingforward to this guys’ night. I know Jenna really wanted to get together with the girls and have her girls’ night, and I was perfectly happy to stay upstairs. But Mac, Colt, and the other guys would not let me.
So here I am in a house across from the ranch, playing cards and talking. A lot of it is ranch stuff. Mac and his brothers are willing to help out the other men in town who have much smaller ranches who have questions or with just about anything that they need.
This is the kind of community that I want Walker Lake to be. I know Jenna mentioned something about trying to start a girls’ night with Sky. Maybe I'll talk to Dash about the days the girls get together. I know that Dash won't want to be far from Sky, and I won't want to be far from Jenna. That way, we could meet at my house, and the girls could be inside having fun, while we would be outside. Even if it’s just at the barn. Then I shake my head and smile to myself. Without a doubt, this is not something I would have considered before Jenna.
"Look at you over here, all smiles. What's going on?" Colt says, sitting down next to me, drawing everyone's attention.
"I was just thinking how it would be nice to have something like this back home. The smile was because I realized I never would have thought of something like that before Jenna," I admit.
"Well, speaking of Jenna, she is one of Sarah's best friends, so that practically makes her family. All of us have heard bits and pieces of what's going on, so why don't you fill us in?" Jason says. He is Mac's oldest brother and also slightly protective, so I can't blame him for wanting to know.
The cards in front of us are long forgotten as I tell the story of how Jenna and I recently got together. How I saw her differently after college, basically everything that I told her dad. Then I tell them about the meeting with her father and what was said, even the phone calls on the way here. I share how her brothers have been completely supportive of her and how grateful I am for that. I go so far as to tell them about the promise I made her in the car on the way here.
"That's a lot. The age gap alone will be hard," Mike says.
"It can be done. Look at me and Ella,” Jason says. "The age gap wasn't our biggest problem. But we did have Ella's family support. I think that your focus should be on smoothing things with her parents. Not for you, but for her. She is going to need them and, later on, even want them in her life. No matter what her feelings are now."
Isn't that what I have been battling with that I haven’t wanted to think about?
"I know. She is angry now, but that won't last. She has always been close to her family, and I refuse to be the reason she loses them. I'm glad her brothers are there to support her. Though I think her mom and dad can come around with their help," I tell them.
"Well, Jenna loves to write. Will you support her on that?" Hunter asks.
"Of course I will. I told her that flat out, she could write anywhere on the ranch she wanted. Whatever she needs, I will set up. However, I did say I wasn't a fan of her working at the diner, but I understood why she does it. Though if she wants to continue, she is more than welcome to, but if she didn't want to, I'd be happy with it."
"Yeah, I don't like the idea of her working there. I know Austin is nice, but she was there when Sarah was, and why she didn't quit then I will never know." Mac says, shaking his head.
"She told me about Lee. She swears his attention was all on Sarah, and she didn't have any issues, so I have to trust her on that," I say.
"With her fighting with her parents, where does that leave her living?" Mac asks.
"Well, I won't force her into anything, but of course, I'd love for her to live with me. She also has the option of the apartment above Sky's garage. She said she will decide on this trip," I say, walking to the fridge to grab another beer.
"Listen, long story short, I love her. Whatever questions you have just know I love her, and I chose her. Whatever that means in all this. If it means I lose my best friend forever so he can fix things with Jenna, so be it. Whatever I have to do, so I don't lose her. I was fighting it, but now that I have her, I can't go back to life without her," I tell them honestly.
They are all quiet and looking around the table at each other.
"I know I, for one, can relate to that. Sage and I had a rocky start. We were worried about losing our friends and family and what the town would think because we were both adopted by Jason’s parents. But when we focused on ourselves and what made us happy and less on what made everyone else happy, it worked out. Keep the people in your life that make you happy, and you don't need the rest," Colt says.
"I think there are many of us at this table who can relate to you in one way or another. We all fell hard and would do anything for our girls," Jason says.
There is a chorus of yeahs and everyone around the table agrees on that point.
"Just know you have us here if you need anything," Colt says, and again, the guys agree.
