A/N: To be honest, I think I'm crazy for starting a 4th story right now, but this one has been in my head for a while. One of my New Year's resolutions is to write for a little while everyday, so hopefully that will keep me on track with all four stories.

I'm still going to ask you in advance to be patient with me. My health is getting better, but it's still a struggle everyday.

For Islaboe, this is the story I have been promising you for over a year. I hope you like it.

Thanks always to my Beta itsmecoon

The Letter:

Jax looked at the envelope in her hand and back at her eldest brother who was standing at the counter of the mercantile paying for supplies. Why was Adam getting a letter from a finishing school all the way from Boston? One thing was for sure, she didn't like it one bit.

She slowly walked back across the street pocketing the letter, wondering if it was a good idea. She knew Adam would be furious if she didn't give him his mail, but she needed to know who this letter was from and what it said before she gave it to him. Adam wasn't like Hoss and he wouldn't tell her if she just asked him straight out. And if this was about her, she needed to have a plan of attack.

"Anything good?" Adam asked giving the fifteen year old a smile.

"Nope, just the usual," Jax said handing her brother the stack of letters minus the one from Boston. "Can I stop by Billy's for a few minutes?"

"Sure, Hoss wanted to grab a drink anyway. How about we meet in an about an hour?"

"Sounds good," Jax said, giving him a hug before running towards her best friend's house. For the second time that day she wished Joe was here, but her brother's mouth had cost him two days restriction and there was nothing she could do about it.

Billy was sitting outside his father's office reading a dime store novel.

"Hey lazy bones, I need your help," Jax called as she rounded the corner.

Billy smiled brightly and jumped off the chair.

"What are you doing in town?"

"Adam and Hoss had some errands to run, so I decided to come with them. Are ya going to help me or not?"

"What did you do?" Billy asked his voice full of disapproval. He loved Jax, but she always was in some kind of trouble and he had vowed after Joe's accident at the mill last summer that he would help keep her in line.

"Why do you always assume I'm in trouble?" Jax asked giving him a lopsided grin.

"Because you are," Billy said with a smirk, "Where's Joe by the way?"

"Oh, the whole school thing came up again and his mouth kinda started running, so he ended up on restriction after having his backside tanned three shades of red. I swear that boy doesn't know when to shut his mouth. He's never going to convince Pa to let him quit school," Jax said shaking her head.

"Just like you're never going to herd cattle or work the ranch the way you want to."

"I'll have you know, I was out working with the cattle just last week," Jax said proudly.

"You mean sitting on the fence line after a few rounds with Adam?" Billy teased.

"Not Adam."

"Hoss?"

"Nope."

"Don't tell me your Pa caught you out there. If he did I'm surprised you're able to sit a horse," Billy laughed.

"My brothers and Pa don't know a thing about it, Charlie caught me after I wrangled three calves."

"What did Charlie do?" Billy asked in shock. He knew the foreman loved Jax like a sister and usually covered for her, but sometimes that came at a price.

"He took his belt to me, but he didn't tell Pa or Adam, so I'll call it a win. Are you done with the twenty questions? I really need your help."

"I guess. What do you need help with?"

"I would like to open this without Adam being any of the wiser," Jax said with a wicked smile handing Billy the envelope.

"He'll kill us if he ever finds out," Billy said with a shudder. He knew if Adam ever found out, nothing would save him from the man's wrath, something he wanted desperately to avoid.

"Then we better make sure he doesn't find out."

"Alright mastermind, how do you open a letter and seal it without anyone finding out?"

"Where's your Pa?" Jax asked not wanting Dr. Martin to hear what they were planning.

"The Hanson Ranch. The twins have the chicken pox."

"Poor little buggers. Good, let's go and make some tea."

"Tea?" Billy asked walking into the office.

"Yep, the steam from the kettle will loosen the envelope and we should be able to get the letter out," Jax said as she watched him light the stove and put the kettle on.

"What so important about this letter?"

Jax took the letter out and said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world,

"It's from a finishing school from Boston."

"And?"

"Do you know what a finishing school is?"

"Not really," Billy said honestly.

"It's where girls go away to learn how to live like young ladies."

"Wait, they're sending you away?" Billy asked outraged. Jax couldn't leave, it would ruin everything.

"I don't know, that's why we have to get this letter open and maybe even get rid of it," Jax said.

"Won't Adam know if we get rid of it?"

Jax shrugged her shoulders. At that moment it hit her, her father and brother wanted to send her away. That thought had tears traveling down her face within seconds. Billy pulled her into a hug and said,

"You don't know anything for sure. Maybe there's a girl Adam likes at the school or something."

"Maybe," Jax said giving him a watery smile.

"Let's open the letter and see," Billy said pointing to the steaming kettle.

Jax and Billy diligently opened the letter. Billy shook his head as he read and snaked his arm around his best friends waist pulling her into a side hug. He knew one thing, if he didn't calm her down, things were going to get bad fast.

"Take a deep breath and think."

"THINK! WHAT IS THERE TO THINK ABOUT? YOU READ WHAT IT SAID!"

"Did you?" Billy asked talking to Jax as if she was a dangerous animal and refusing to let her go even as she pulled with all of her might. In fact he pulled her towards a chair to sit down, pulling her on his lap as he did. Thanking god that she was so small.

"OF COURSE I READ IT!"

"No Jax, take a deep breath and read it again," Billy waited a few seconds and said, "It's an invitation, just an invitation for you to come and see the school. If you read the first two paragraphs this school would help you get into college. And I don't care what you say, you love to learn, I know it and Adam knows it."

Jax just leaned back into her best friend's arms. She honestly didn't know what she wanted to do.

"Why didn't Adam and Pa talk to me first?"

"You would've broken every dish in the house at the very least. Jax, your temper gets away from you more times than not," Billy said with a chuckle.

"Even if they bring it up now, I don't know what I'm going to do about it."

"You could listen and you can try to keep your temper under control."

"I…" Jax's thoughts were interrupted when the front bell rang. She jumped up and Billy was up right behind her.

"I hope that isn't Adam," Billy whispered.

"Billy, Ma wanted… Hey Jax…What are you two up to?" Tim said smiling at his little brother's guilty look.

"Nothing," Billy said quickly.

"And you look like the cat who ate the canary, why?" Tim teased. He wondered if his little brother finally told Jax that he liked her.

"I don't. What do you want?" Billy said defensively.

"Alright, don't get snippy. Ma told you to be home fifteen minutes ago and was getting worried. So tell Jax goodbye and come on," Tim said deciding to give his baby brother a break.

"Can you give me a minute?" Billy asked.

"I'm feeling generous, so I'll give you two," Tim said smiling.

The second Tim walked out the door shaking his head. He was going to have a blast teasing the life out of his kid brother tonight.

"You're so lucky that Tim's like Hoss," Jax said giving her friend a smile.

"He has his Adam days. Actually he's more like Joe and he's going to tease the devil out of me tonight."

"About what?"

"He thinks I have a crush on you," Billy said with a shrug as he walked over to his father's desk to hand her paste for the letter.

Jax just smiled, because Joe said the same thing.

"Here," Billy said. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to hold onto it for a few days. I need to talk to Joe about it first."

"I'll see ya Monday, right?" Billy said giving her a smile.

"Adam and I have to go out to the gold mine early, but probably at the end of the day," Jax said as the walked out of the office together.

Tim and Billy watched as Jax walked towards the center of town. The second she was out of sight, Tim pulled his little brother into a head lock and teased,

"Did ya kiss her? Did ya? Did ya?"

"NO! Tim, let me go! Stop it! Come on!" Billy said struggling against his older brother.

"I'll let you go, when you tell me what you two were up to."

"Do you promise not to tell Adam?"

"As long as it isn't dangerous," Tim said as he let his little brother go.

"Adam got a letter from a finishing school and Jax kinda found it. She brought it over and we opened it."

"If Adam ever finds out you're behind's going to be in a sling, with not only him, but Pa as well. You know opening someone else's mail is against the law right?"

"No," Billy said going pale.

"Don't worry, Adam won't prosecute you or anything. He'll just take a strap to your sorry hide. What did the letter say?"

"It was just an invitation to an open house in a couple of weeks."

"Where?"

"Boston."

"Jax at a finishing school in Boston," Tim said shaking his head, "Never thought I would see the day."