The young man turned around and Jax recognized him as Brock Monroe. Brock was part of the family who had opened the women-only resort and spa in Haven. He’d been a runaway, then adopted, and blended in perfectly with the family.
With Haven being a small town, and Brock being added into such a prominent family in the area, everyone knew who he was.
“I wanted to talk to you about taking lessons.” The young man started across the open hangar. “I’m Brock, by the way. I should’ve called first.”
Jax held his hand out and greeted Brock. “I know who you are.”
Brock gave a lopsided grin and shrugged. “Do you give lessons? I’ve done some training on the Internet, the book stuff, but I wanted to try to get some hours in and I didn’t really know who to talk to.”
“How old are you?” Not that it mattered for flying purposes. Jax was just curious.
“Just turned nineteen.”
Young and eager. Perfect pilot material. Jax loved getting the younger generation involved in this dying sport. With Brock already doing much of the training, he was going to be a great student.
“You in college?” Jax asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Yeah. I help at the resort and take online classes.”
“What do you want to study?”
Brock shook his head. “No idea.”
That was common for someone fresh out of high school. “Thought about the military?”
A wide smile spread across Brock’s face. “All the time.” Jax reached out and slapped Brock on the shoulder. “You got somewhere to be?”
“Not for a few hours. Why?”
“Let’s take a ride and talk.”
When Jax started heading toward the plane to do a preflight check, Brock came up beside him. “In this?”
Jax laughed. “Do you object?”
“No, man. I just . . . I didn’t expect to fly today.”
Jax propped his hand on the wing and stared at this young man who had his whole future ahead of him. He was at a crossroads and if Jax could help him through to the next journey, he damn well was going to. Hadn’t Paul done that for him?
And now Jax found himself at his own crossroads. The only problem was, Livie was wanting to go one way, and he wanted to go another. Somehow, they were going to have to meet in the middle.
Chapter Eleven
“You can’t possibly paint the kitchen something called Yellow, Is It Me You’re Looking For.”
Olivia held up the paint swatch and met Jade’s horrified look. “I think it’s pretty. This place is too beige.”
“It’s bright yellow,” she reiterated.
Melanie pulled a sample from their pile on the island. “What about this one?”
“What’s the name on that one?” Jade asked, examining the colored square.
“Blonde. James Blonde.”
Olivia laughed. “The names don’t matter. It’s the tone and the entire house is drab.”
“Do you want to sell this house or make it about what you like?” Jade asked. She took a seat on one of the barstools and started sorting through the colors. “You need to keep things neutral because most likely whoever buys the place will put their own touch on it anyway and repaint.”
“Then if they’re repainting, I’m doing the bright yellow,” Olivia confirmed.
Jade groaned. “Can I at least choose the color of the master bedroom?”
Olivia glanced through the shades. “As long as it’s a color and not another shade of beige.”
“Your condo is full of color,” Jade argued. “Why are you making this house about what you like?”
Olivia shrugged. “Maybe because it’s still mine for now and I want to see the change.”
Quite possibly there was some deeper meaning she wasn’t ready to face yet. Which was even silly to entertain considering she didn’t like being back, she didn’t want to be here. But she couldn’t help but feel the nostalgia in each and every room. She’d have to be completely unfeeling and dead inside not to have all her emotions stirred with each picture she came across.
“I’ll do this one, then.” Jade pulled up a swatch. “Shades of Summer.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Even the name is boring. It’s a cross between tan and yellow.”
“Then get bright curtains if it makes you feel better.”
Dollar signs kept racking up in her mind. She knew she’d regain her investment once the house sold, but she also didn’t want to get out of control with the amount she sank into this place. She truly only wanted to do the necessities. And so far, the kitchen was going to be the biggest money suck.
“Fine,” Olivia conceded. “Mel, do you want to choose a room color?”
“Sure, but if you want me to paint, you should know I’d rather go see the dentist and gynecologist in the same day.”
Jade’s brows rose. “Well, then. We’ll just count on you to fix lunches and make sure we’re well supplied with drinks.”
With a nod, Melanie reached for a color. “Sounds like a deal. I’ve been looking at this color. I think it would look nice in the living room.”
“I wasn’t going to paint the living room,” Olivia stated.
“Honey, every room needs some love.” Jade took the sample from Melanie. “Olive-ia Newton John. I like it.”
The pale shade of green was beautiful and would look nice in the living room with the wide bay window letting in the morning sunlight. Since Olivia wasn’t changing out the furniture, that color would be perfect with the dark brown leather sofa and dark tables.
“Fine,” she told them. “Now that we have this done, who’s going to Knobs and Knockers to pick all this up?”
Knobs and Knockers was the town hardware store now owned by the third generation. Macy Hayward Monroe had taken over her father’s business, but she was now married to Liam Monroe.
Everything in this town seemed to circle back to the Monroe boys and that resort they opened. Maybe Olivia should go and chat with Macy and see if she could squeeze in some massages at Bella Vous. They’d need their muscles worked out once all the painting was done.
Well, Melanie wouldn’t, but
