Page 35 of Leading the Blind
“Shut up.” He grinned, though, didn’t he? His eyes were wide open right now, moving, trying to see Bax. He hated that the most, that he couldn’t see that face.
“I’m right here, Mini. Stop it. I’m right here.” Bax put one of Jason’s hands on his face.
“I want to. I’m trying.” He took one deep breath, then another. His hands mapped Bax’s face, tracing the familiar shapes, giving his brain something to ‘see’.
“I know. It just looks like it hurts.” Bax always wanted to fix things, even his eyes.
“It’s…stressful. Like there’s no rest.”
“Well, we’ll take a few days off after, huh? Just take the travel trailer to the lake.”
“Then to Oklahoma City. I want the title, Bax. I want to go out on top.” He wanted the money. Now he had it in his heart, that he had a goddamn plan, he wasn’t letting it go.
“We win it, then. God knows, you know how to ride.”
“Yessir.” He knew, dammit, and he didn’t need to be all wishy-washy about it, either. It was time. He either needed to cowboy up or get back in the goddamn truck.
He nodded, because that was that, and Bax chuckled at him. “Made up your mind, have you?”
“I have. All the way.”
“That makes it better.” Bax lifted his hand to kiss it.
It was stupid as all get out, but true.
Now he just needed to ride like he meant it. That much he could do.
“Let’s sit a minute.” Bax pushed him down on the bed. “Gramps and them’ll be here in a second with all advice and shit. I need to be with you a sec.”
“Okay.” He slid his fingers over Bax’s wrist, his breath coming in sharp when Bax bent to kiss him. He did love this—more than anything, more than riding, more than life.
Bax was his damn everything.
“When you’ve won the championship, we’re gonna buy a piece of land and settle. Have a house and shit.” Bax sounded so goddamn happy.
“I’ll keep telling myself this every damn day.” Now that he had that goal… Well. “I want dogs.”
“Anything you want.”
He chuckled. ‘Anything’ was a big field. “Big bed?”
“Yep.”
“A spider monkey?”
“Monkeys are scary, man. And dogs would eat it.” Bax was laughing so hard.
“How about a lemur?” He was managing a straight face, but damn, it was taking all he had. He remembered playing with Bax, and having it back made his heart friggin’ soar.
“Nah. No weird eyes. If we got to go exotic, I say llama. They kill coyotes.”
“Llamas are cool.” He made his eyes go wide. “Ooh. How about camels?”
“They smell bad. You remember when Gramps rode one at that fair?” Bax made a sound that Jason could so relate to the way a camel moved with someone on its back.
“Dude, that was funny as fuck. He looked uncomfortable as hell, didn’t he?”
“Shit, yes. He was all worried it was gonna bite him.” Bax chortled.
