Weston Hayes

Chapter Nine ~Adventures~

Chapter Nine ~Advntures~

Jay James

Jay lazily looked out the train window as it sped away from the beautiful mountains of Colorado. As he thought back on the last nine years, Jay sighed in melancholy since he left his sleepy little town of Loke, Texas. For three years, he spent locked away at Harvard University, as he chased a degree in finance that would make Jackson proud.

When Emma was hurt and nearly died, Jay only had six months left before his graduation. Initially, Jay's goal was to come home from the university with a diploma in his hand. Well, that seemed a waste. Jay realized how precious life was. How any minute your life could be gone forever, and all he would have to show for it was a diploma. Jay decided after graduation; he would follow his dream and explore.

When Jay graduated, he wasn't surprised that Jackson didn't attend his ceremony. No, Jay was glad that he wouldn't have to explain to Jackson that his plans had changed.

It wasn't that Jay didn't want to go home and see Emma, he did, but he knew if he went home right then that he would never leave. Emma was the only one who knew how much he wanted to explore. She encouraged him to go before he went to college, but he promised his parents that he would go to college right after he graduated from primary school.

Was there a part of him that couldn't bring himself to see Emma broken and battered? Yes. Jay had received a telegram from Jackson, but it only said she was injured, and he needed to finish his studies before he returned home. Jay had to read in the paper, weeks later, what had happened in detail. From then on, Jay decided he would start his journey in Canada, backpack his way through the beautiful country before he would send Jackson a telegram.

For six years, Jay traveled alone only occasionally would he join other families who were in search of a better life. Those were the times he missed home and his family. Other times, Jay would stay for a while in one town or another just long enough to receive a telegram from Jackson with an update on Emma.

In six years, Jay hiked from Canada through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. It was in Colorado City, where Jay decided to end his journey. It wasn't until he met up with Weston at the jail, he learned the true extent of Emma's injuries.

Weston invited Jay to stay at his house for a few days. Since Andrew moved out of the house, there would be plenty of room.

Later that evening, over dinner, Weston and Jay laughed over a shared memory of Emma, "She tried shooting a target while she was mounted on two horses and riding at full gallop."

Weston held his stomach and laughed with Jay and said, "I remember that day because Jackson took Emma and me to that wild west show that came to town. Emma was in awe; she looked at me and said, 'I'm gonna do that one day,' and true to her words, two days later, she did. She fell off more times than she nailed it, but eventually, she did it. I thought Meg would have a heart attack when Emma started shooting at targets."

Jay looked at Weston as he laughed and could only see a small part of the carefree young boy he used to be. Now, he had a hard edge to his face. His warm eyes now had a cold glint to them; his mouth was set in a stern line as if Weston hadn't laughed in years. Jay always knew Weston would grow up to be a handsome man; he didn't expect that he would look so much like his dad. They shared the same dark hair, high cheekbones, sharp jawline, and dark eyes; they shared the same broad shoulders and long legs.

For the first time since he learned that Emma was blind, Jay was happy because Emma would never have to see that monsters face on the man she had loved for as long as he could remember.

Jay heard a knock at the door and went to answer it when an overly eager woman walked in and shoved him aside; Jay shook his head and shut the door. When Jay neared the kitchen, he heard excited moans followed by laughter; Jay entered the kitchen and stopped in the doorway as he took in the scene. Weston was locked between the legs of the woman; he pinned her against the wall with his hips as he devoured her lips in a deeply passionate kiss.