Page 75 of Tee’d Up For Trouble

“That’s where Plan B comes in,” he said, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Plan B?”

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “We buy land…strategically.”

I blinked, my stomach dropping. “Jax, I couldn’t even pay the taxes on my land until you helped. How the hell are we supposed to buy anything?”

“That’s whereIcome in.”

I stared at him. “Jax, no. You’ve already done enough—more than enough. I can’t let you?—”

“Dee, this is about saving Ballybeg,” he said, cutting me off. “If the developers get their hands on this village, they’ll destroy it. But if we can help pay everyone’s taxes—and even buy up any land I can that they’re relying on for the resort—they won’t be able to build. It’s as simple as that.”

“It’s not simple.” I was freaking out. “You’re talking about spending God knows how much money on a place you don’t even belong to. Why would you do that?”

“To repeat myself because I love you. And you love this village and your home. I’m not going to stand by and watch it get destroyed when I can do something about it.”

For a moment, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Who the hell was this man, and what had I done in a previous life to have him lay down himself and his money for me?

“Jax Caldwell, you’ve earned yourself the nastiest, dirtiest blowjob known to man,” I promised.

“Argh, can you not talk about blowjobs,” this came from Ronan, who stuck his head out from the kitchen. “You’re like a sister and I don’t need that mental image, you understand?”

“Then stop eavesdropping.”

“I wasn’t dropping no eaves.” Ronan winked at me and came into the bar, wiping his hands on the towel he kept on his shoulder while he cooked. “You gonna pay everyone’s taxes?”

“I am,” Jax confirmed. “I spoke to Paddy and Mickey, and they’re not able to pay their land taxes because Cillian increased the land value assessment to the point that it’s unaffordable.”

“It’s a waste of your money,” I whispered.

“Dee, it’s not. I have way too much of it, and I can’t imagine a better way of using it. And if you’re worried about how much we’ll have once you marry me, I can assure you, we’re not running out for a few generations to come.”

I slapped his shoulder. “I’m not interested in your blasted money.”

“Sounds like you are since you keep asking me to save it.”

Did he just say marry? Shite!

I made an exasperated sound and saw Ronan smiling at us.

“You both are a very cute couple,” he remarked.

“I’m a woman of thirty. I’m notcute,” I dissented sharply.

“Well, woman of thirty, we need to present this to the villagersandI need to talk to Brad and get his social media people to start working on putting out some stories.” Jax looked me straight in the eyes. “So, we’re doing this?”

I looked at him and thought about how he held my hand when we went for a walk. I remembered how he made love to me, gentle and demanding. I thought about how he couldn’t cook if his life depended upon it. And I smiled. “Yes, we’re doing this.”

CHAPTER29

Jax

The past week had been a whirlwind, but I was a man on a mission, and when I had a mission, there was no backing down. Not on the golf course, and sure as hell not here in Ballybeg.

The first thing I’d done was track down every scrap of information I could get my hands on about the developers and their plans. Emails, phone calls, late-night research sessions with my new trusty mobile Wi-Fi (because the pub network wasshite)—I’d been living and breathing this battle. Turns out, the project Big Gil and his posey of bastards had set up had more loopholes than a broken fishing net, and I was determined to use every single one of them to throw a wrench in their plans.

I’d spoken to Paddy, Mickey, and half the landowners in the area—good, hardworking people who were being squeezed to their breaking points by inflated land assessments and impossible taxes. Cillian had been clever, I’d give him that, but his greed left a trail so clear even an amateur could follow it. I wasn’t an amateur.

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