Jax stared down at his schedule for the next few weeks and mentally calculated how to get in more hours.
“I think it’s going to take quite a bit of work before we could actually begin the labor part,” he replied honestly as he glanced up. “But Livie is confident it will happen and she and her friends know more about these dealings than I do.”
“Do you want the expansion?”
Jax considered Brock’s genuine question. Did he actually want to grow the airport? Whenever the thought or question crossed his mind, Jax immediately considered what Paul would’ve wanted. Ultimately, as long as the doors were open, they had paying customers, and Livie wasn’t gearing up to sell the property, Jax figured this was the most logical step.
“I want this airport to stay open and I want to serve the needs of this town. So, yeah. I want it to grow.”
/> Brock stood straight up and crossed his arms over his chest. “You think there’s something to all those shows and movies being filmed down here?”
“I sure as hell hope so,” Jax laughed. “If this expansion goes off as planned, we’ll be able to add another plane to the fleet in order to bring in some elite clientele.”
“Zach mentioned something about the runway may need to be lengthened.”
Jax nodded. “If we’re going to grow and allow certain size planes to land here, we need to expand the runway to accommodate that.”
He glanced back down to the schedule and rattled off various days and times. Once they had the next few sessions in, Jax closed his book and took a seat.
“If you have free time any other days, just text me. We’ll get those hours in before you know it.”
Brock’s grin widened. “I think I like being in the sky more than I like being on land.”
Jax rocked back in the creaky old chair. “You’ve got all the makings of a good pilot.”
The cell on his desk vibrated and an unknown number lit up the text. He glanced to it and quickly saw it was Jade with some information on the grants.
Anger and a sense of emptiness filled him. Jade would’ve had to have gotten his number from Livie, who obviously had reached a new level of running away.
“I’ll let you get back to work,” Brock stated. “Thanks for everything, man.”
Jax gave a clipped nod. “No problem. I’ll see you Thursday.”
Once Brock left, Jax grabbed his phone and read the text. Apparently, Zach had given them the final costs and she had passed that on to the committee to review for the grants. At least they were keeping him in the loop, but he’d rather hear from the woman he’d spent the night with. He’d rather be in contact with his legal partner in this entire process.
Jax shot off a quick thanks and pulled in a deep breath. Gritting his teeth, he pulled up Livie’s name and sent her a message as well.
Wear old clothes and come to the airport.
No excuses.
There were some minor repairs from the storm that needed his attention and this would be the perfect time for Livie to get her hands a little dirty and learn that he didn’t do games. He didn’t appreciate her racing from his house, he didn’t appreciate her pawning off the latest info onto her friend, and he sure as hell didn’t appreciate how he was so torn up over her. She’d been in Haven such a short time and had this hold over him he wasn’t used to.
Whatever was going on between them wasn’t like what he’d had with his ex-wife. Their relationship had been fiery passion and built on sex. They’d married on a whim and he’d gone overseas. When he’d come home, they’d pick up their affair where they’d left off. One time on leave had produced Piper and that’s when Carly decided family wasn’t for her at all.
Hell, he hadn’t thought it had been for him, either, but there was no way he was going to just walk away from responsibilities . . . especially an innocent child.
His cell vibrated in his hand and he assumed it was Livie coming up with some excuse as to why she couldn’t meet him. But he instantly smiled when he glanced to the screen. He opened the picture that had come in from the sitter. Piper was sitting on the kitchen island at the sitter’s house and she had her hands in some dough and the biggest grin.
Making biscuits from scratch.
Yeah. This child of his was his entire world and he’d give up his military career again in a heartbeat. While he’d always wanted to continue on in the air force, some things were just not meant to be. He’d had several good years with them, but he had even better years being Piper’s father.
Jax spun the chair around to the desk along the wall behind him. The invoices spread across the space hadn’t disappeared like he’d hoped. There was so much behind the scenes that most people never considered for this small-town airport. But he was doing the best he could to keep everything running just as smoothly as when Paul was alive.
Jax reached over to fire up the computer just as the office door slammed open. Throwing a look over his shoulder it was all he could do not to burst out laughing.
“You really take old clothes to heart,” he stated, glancing over Livie in her mussed state.