T.R.O.U.B.L.E. #7
Jax Ray, the second oldest of Bucky Ray's boys, was a walking contradiction. At sixteen, he was brilliant, easily one of the smartest kids at school, but the classroom was his personal purgatory. He'd been on the brink of expulsion more times than his parents cared to count, preferring the wide-open spaces of the Triple R. At the ranch, he was "good as gold," a natural hand who absorbed knowledge like a sponge. He looked up to his older brother, Logan, for guidance, especially when school felt like a trap. Homeschooling wasn't an option; his parents, Bucky and Ali, were too deeply entrenched in the daily demands of running the ranch to manage it.
Across town, Mikayla was hoping for a fresh start. As the oldest of three, her life had been marked by early loss; her mother had died when Mikayla was very young. Now, her world included a stepmother, Katherine, and two younger twin brothers, alongside her steadfast dad. The move to Marshall was supposed to wipe the slate clean, to offer a new beginning away from whatever ghosts lingered in their old town.
How do Jax and Mikayla first encounter each other, given their different circumstances and personalities? Does their meeting happen at school, in town, or perhaps through some unexpected event related to their families?