“Not by myself. There would be freelance fitness instructors working under the Taylor’d Conditioning umbrella.” She turned to him, her eyes bright with excitement. “I have this five-year plan, which is huge for me because I tend to plan things out maybe a week in advance. I guess it’s my friend Samiah’s way of rubbing off on me. But, anyway, in this plan, I go back to school and I start building my empire. I want to create a business model that allows schools to hire instructors part-time, the same way the homeschool consortium wanted to hire me. It would provide schools the opportunity to bring physical education back into the curriculum without having to hire full-time staff.”

Jamar was at a loss for words. She’d just laid out one of the most ingenious entrepreneurial ideas he’d ever heard.

“That’s…brilliant,” he finally said.

“I know,” she said. “As much as I hate the thought of sitting in some lecture hall, I have to get my degree in order to make this happen.”

“I have no doubt that you can make this a reality, Taylor. Once Silas began using the tools they taught him, he became as unstoppable in the classroom as he was on the football field.” He took her hand in his, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. “I have a feeling it would be the same for you.”

Her eyes sought his, as if looking for reassurance.

“I’ve been thinking about maybe signing up to take the college entrance exam next month,” Taylor said, her voice cracking slightly. “I probably need to practice more, but I figure if I sign up for it, then at least that’s one step in the right direction.”

“Just tell me what you need from me,” Jamar said. “I’ve got you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Taylor layered another slice of turkey breast onto her open-face sandwich before adding a dollop of cranberry sauce on top. She wasn’t even all that hungry, but there was something about Thanksgiving that made her want to eat all the things. She sliced the sandwich down the middle and grabbed an extra fork from the drawer, hoping she could convince Jamar to help her eat it.

They originally had plans to spend Thanksgiving with London, Samiah, and Daniel, but at the last minute Samiah and Daniel decided to drive down to Houston to celebrate the holiday with her family. And London had texted that she was being called in to perform an emergency surgery.

Taylor still wasn’t sure how Jamar felt about their Thanksgiving for two, but as for her, she had much preferred today’s quiet, chill vibe over the stressful holiday she usually experienced with her family.