Page 27 of Fresh Tracks
I guess Jake answered my question for me. I swear he can read my mind.
Outside of him and my small inner circle, I’ve never cared about other people’s opinions of me. People can think what they want. It’s never stopped me from doing my own thing. With her though, he’s right. I clearly do care what she thinks and my own brother can see right through me enough to know it.
“Fuck off, Jake,” I chide, stepping back over to the desk and straightening it up. “I hired her because I think she can help us. Sure, did she need a job? Yes, and I wanted to help. But that’s it.”
That’s a lie and I know it.
Would I do anything to make her smile? Probably.
I know I’ll take every excuse I can to be around her because I like her, way too much. I can keep it professional though. Or at least I hope so.
“You sure about that?” he says, knowingly.
“If you were here, I’d punch you,” I grumble, not answering his question. “Now can you make yourself free tomorrow morning so you two can video chat?”
He snorts a laugh. “Yeah, that’s fine. You said she worked for a non-profit and has experience?”
“She worked for a non-profit back in Utah. They did stuff like getting kids into outdoor activities.” My mind goes back to when we first met in Bend with her brothers. She was so thrilled to talk about her job and what she did. Her excitement practically radiated off her.
“Oh, perfect,” he says, sounding pleasantly surprised. “We’ve given to some places like that before.”
“Great. Well, you two can chat all about that tomorrow morning. Now I need to finish cleaning.”
I’m tired and, yeah, I guess I’m stressed too. Telling Jakesuddenly makes this entire arrangement very real. She’s going to be in my house, working with me, learning details about my business and finances that very few people know.
“Whatever, old man. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
“Three years, Jake. I’m only three years older than you. You know that, right?” I shake my head. “Anyway, goodnight, little brother.”
“Night, TJ,” he says, and I can hear his voice soften before he hangs up.
Tucking my phone back in my pocket, I look around the office. She’s welcome to use it, but maybe she’ll want to hang out in her van instead or work from Cowgirl Coffee. I realize we have discussed no real details about what this arrangement will look like.
My heart warms though when I remember how sure she was when she said yes. She’s definitely free spirited, but also so confident and sure of herself.
If she’s so sure about this, then maybe I am doing the right thing.
CHAPTER 12
GRACE
HOT DADDY BOSS
As far asfirst days on the job go, today has been interesting. Not that I really have much to compare it to.
When I met TJ at his house first thing this morning, I was glad to see that he’s a morning person like me. I sort of already knew that from when we were all in Bend and he was up at the crack of dawn to fish, but it’s winter now and I wasn’t sure if that was a year-round thing. He also reminded me of that last night when he texted me what time to come over today.
As soon as I arrived, he insisted that I'm welcome to use his home office, despite me offering to stay out of his hair and take the video call from my van. He welcomed me in and said to let him know if there’s anything I need.
The point was made before he disappeared somewhere into the depths of the house and I haven’t seen him since, leaving me to spend the rest of the morning on a video call with his brother,Jake. He was less than thrilled about the early morning video chat because he’s an hour behind us in Seattle, but he was still nice about it.
The call was productive, not just because I spent it learning about the business and getting access to the files andshared drives I’ll need, but I feel like Jake gave me a peek into TJ’s life.
I already knew he was generous, but there are so many lasting scars and traumas that come from growing up the way he did in foster care. I’ve seen it firsthand with the kids in the programs at Wasatch Wishes.
Now I find myself trying to picture a twenty-something year old TJ dealing with his newfound fame and fortune, and still having the wherewithal to put his brother through college. That’s a bond and level of dedication not even some biological siblings have.
So, after spending the better part of the day going through the intimate financial details of this part of his life, I’ve realized two things. First, he’s given to so many different charities over the years. I started as far back as their records went. I figured what better way to learn where he’d like to make an impact than by seeing where he started giving first and how that’s changed over time.
