Chapter two of Family Roots

1. Family Roots Generation 1 Chapter 1.2

2. The days between his meeting with Jenna and their next date seemed to pass quickly. The tomatoes finally came into season and thankfully so, as he had made plans to take Jenna to dinner at The Dusty Saddle. The night of their date he found himself holding his breath as the ringing on the other end of the line sounded off in his ear. He wasn’t sure how he was going to handle this situation, he knew he hadn’t outright lied to Jenna but telling her he was an entrepreneur, however true it was, seemed to be stretching the truth.

3. Jethro spent the next couple of hours trying to decide what to say. He tried to convince himself there was more on his plate than worrying about slight stretches of the truth, but as he entered the building nervous excitement had his stomach in unfamiliar knots.

4. He needn’t have worried. Jenna had gotten held up working a second shift when the other bartender called in, and hadn’t even had the time to change out of her uniform. She was self-consciously loitering near the pool table, waiting for him. “Jenna,” he said with a smile, catching her hand as she spun around to greet him. “Jay.” The nickname held a sting. “About time you showed up, I was beginning to think I was going to have to convince one of these other guys to shoot a game with me.” Her coy tone concealed her nerves and eagerness.

5. “No need for those types of extreme measures,” he flirted as he took a pool cue from the wall. He felt that he had a lot riding on this date. Frankly, he was ready to buckle down and start fulfilling the terms of his legacy contract. Holding her own pool cue, Jenna was admiring his focus as he took a shot. “I hope you’re good at this,” she said, trying to play it cool. Her nervousness about this date had continued to grow since he’d left her at the bar. She had been watching legacy documentaries since she was a teenager, dreaming of what it would be like to be free of debt, bound only to raise a family. She was barely making it as a bartender.

6. “Well, depending on what it is we’re wagering for here my game could be magnificent.” He grinned at her playfully as he rather artfully landed two more balls in the far corner pocket. “Just what are we wagering for here?” “Hmm…” He scrunched his face into a frown as he pretended to be deep in thought. You, he was thinking, besotted as he was with her smile and her golden curls, but not wanting to be too forward. “If I win, I’d like you to go on an adventure with me.”

7. Her heart pounded. An adventure? Already, she thought that she would follow Jethro anywhere, but she didn’t want to lay all her cards on the table just yet – she hardly knew him! She’d never felt this way so soon before. Jethro seemed, at first, kind of like a womanizer, but beneath that façade lay a surprising genuineness. She tried to talk herself down, hoping that her interest wasn’t only because of her fascination with legacies and increasingly distressing financial situation. “Deal.”

8. He landed two perfect shots from across the pool table and grinned cockily, calling the left corner pocket for the cue ball, before sinking it cleanly into the designated pocket, winning the game.

9. Jenna had been so flustered by his wager that she hadn’t even realized he was three shots away from winning it. She came around the pool table, placing her hand in his, up for anything. “I guess my fate is in your hands now.”

10. He pulled her closer, hoping that she wouldn’t think he was taking advantage of her or being pushy. Hoping that his sincere interest in her showed through.

11. Ready to take things to a more intimate venue, Jethro led the way out of the pool area, greeted the maître de, and they were seated at a table for dinner.

12. He feigned intense interest in the menu, taking the opportunity to formulate a plan. Jethro had always been a man inclined toward procrastination, but he wanted to turn over a new leaf here in Crystal Springs. His father had been a man of action, a champion of the motto “When you know, you know.” Jethro aspired to become the same kind of man.

13. And, sneaking glances at Jenna as she read her menu, he felt sure that he knew.

14. “Would you like to dance?” he inquired, after dinner. Still trying not to come on too strong, Jenna nodded and followed Jethro to the hardwood dance floor.

15. Their chemistry on the dance floor was undeniable. They whirled, twirled, and spun around the room.

16. When Jethro dipped her low for a kiss, Jenna knew that she would say yes to any adventure he proposed.

17. “Are you ready to make good on your promise?” Jethro asked, taking both of her hands in his. Jenna nodded, and let him lead her out of The Dusty Saddle.

18. Jethro asked her to trust him and take a cab with him to her apartment, assuring her that his intentions were pure, and she agreed. As they walked up to the lobby doors, they were both filled with nerves and excitement, only one of the knowing what was to come next.

19. They stood in the light of a street lamp, and Jethro knew that it was now or never – if he lost his nerve, it could be months before he found it again. “Jenna.” he began, “I know that this is going to sound crazy. I know that we hardly know each other, but I – well, my father always said that when you know, you know. And I feel a connection to you that I just can’t ignore.”

20. He dropped to one knee as she stared at him, stunned. How many reasons were there for a man to assume that position? she thought, but a more reasonable part of her mind protested that she must be horribly misinterpreting somehow. “Jenna,” Jethro began, without pausing to think through this crazy plan, “will you marry me?”

21. For a long moment, she was silent, and he feared – knew – that he had far overstepped his bounds. Finally, she said, quietly but decisively, “Yes.”

22. She was giddy and stunned as he slipped the diamond ring on her finger. “Now, you know that this means that you’ll also be bound to my legacy contract…” he began, feeling sneaky for sliding that in after she’d already said yes. “I know,” she said, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

23. As the two of them left in the cab the ride back to Crystal Springs was anything but relaxing. He knew there was no going back for either of them now, saying ‘yes’ to a legacy marriage was binding and had no loophole or scape goat that she would be able to use. Part of him was glad that her after thoughts would matter little, but part of him screamed to let her know now that she wasn’t marrying into a well developed line.