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But before I could go into the specifics, there was a sudden knock on my window.
My heart jumped into my throat, and I sat up sharply, my hand instinctively reaching for the door handle. A shadowy figure in a cowboy hat loomed just outside the truck, and for a split second, my pulse spiked, thinking it was trouble. Then I blinked, focusing through the glass.
Riley Conrad’s grinning face stared back at me through the window.
“What the—” I muttered, rolling down the window.
“Surprise!” Riley’s voice boomed as he leaned in, that familiar cocky smile plastered on his face.
Before I could even process what was happening, I heard footsteps—heavy ones—coming from behind the truck. I glancedin the rearview mirror again, my jaw dropping slightly as I saw not just Riley but all four of the Wilson brothers walking toward us, flanked by Phoebe and... Austin?
“What’s going on?” I muttered, my brain scrambling to catch up. Wasn’t Austin supposed to be in the bathroom?
Instead, Austin stood with them, sheepishly grinning, his hands shoved in his pockets as Phoebe nudged him with her elbow. It didn’t take long for it to click. He wasn’t just texting Phoebe this whole ride.
He was plottingthis.
I cut the engine, throwing the door open as I stepped out, still half in disbelief. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“Nope. We’re really here, and we’re here to help,” Riley said, slapping me on the back like this was some kind of team-building exercise. “Turns out, you’re a hot commodity in Charlotte Oaks. Couldn’t let you skip town without havin’ a little chat first.”
I blinked, still trying to process this bizarre ambush. “What kind of chat?”
Everett took a step forward, rubbing a hand over his chin. “See, the thing is, Charlotte Oaks likes you, Tucker. All three of you,” he said, nodding toward Colt and Austin.
“And Dakota likes you,” Adam added, his voice gruff. “Which means we’ve all got a vested interest in keepin’ you around.”
My chest tightened at the mention of Dakota, the memory of our goodbye kiss still fresh in my mind. I’d convinced myself that leaving was the right call—clean break, no mess. But hearing her name, hearing them say it like she was still a part of this conversation like I was still a part of her world... It made me hesitate.
“She does like you,” Phoebe said, her voice softer than usual. “And so does everyone else in town. We had a meeting.”
I blinked. “A meeting?”
“A town meetin’,” Travis added, his face serious, though I could tell he was trying not to laugh. “You know, we do those sometimes.”
I ran a hand over my face, still trying to wrap my head around this. “You’re telling me the town had a meeting... about me?”
“And Colt. And Austin,” Phoebe chimed in.
Colt raised an eyebrow, glancing over at me.
Everett shrugged. “The town decided you should stay. Become official residents of Charlotte Oaks.”
“AKA Charlotte Oakians,” Phoebe said. “Did you know it was my mom who made that a thing?”
I shook my head at her, bemused, then stared at Everett, my mind still spinning. “What, like... your town decided they can make us come back and become permanent residents?”
Riley grinned, folding his arms. “That town does whatever it wants, trust me. Y’all belong here, Tucker.”
Belong. That word hit different after the last few weeks.
Austin, who had been suspiciously quiet during all of this, finally spoke up. “I like it there, Tuck,” he said, his voice surprisingly soft. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t wanna go back to Mom’s. Not if we don’t have to.”
My chest tightened again, but this time for a different reason. The kid had been through enough in his life. Our mom wasn’t a bad mom, but she had some mental health issues that she was getting treatment for, thanks to me, but it wasn’t easy on him. The last thing I wanted was to make things harder, especially after he’d finally started to settle in somewhere when he never seemed very settled before.
Colt, standing beside me, gave a small nod, his face unreadable, but I knew what that nod meant. He liked it there too. He wouldn’t admit it out loud—not yet because he was still my boy—but he did.
“And we’ve been thinkin’,” Jackson said, finally speaking up, his voice quieter than the others. “If you and Dakota are gonna make a go of it... it’d be easier if you were there and not in Colorado.”
