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This book is dedicated to all the Wanted fans out there. The entire time I wrote this book, I was thinking back to where it all started. With a football player named Gunner and a lost young woman named Ellie.
This book is for y’all. Happy reading.
STANDING BEHIND LAUREN as I pushed on her back lightly, I watched the swing take her up higher. “I hate high school,” Lauren said.
Smiling, I asked, “Why?”
Dragging her feet on the ground to slow herself down, she came to a stop. Twisting the metal chains of the swing, she turned to face me. “Boys.”
My heart dropped. If someone did anything to Lauren, I’d bash their head in. “Did something happen?”
A part of me was scared to hear her say that she liked someone. Holding my breath, I reached out and spun her some, twisting the chains even more. Letting go, Lauren began spinning as she laughed and dropped her head back. Coming to a stop, she looked at me. Her blue eyes danced as the sunlight hit them. We had both just started our sophomore year of high school, and I hated the way some of the guys stared at Lauren.
“No, nothing’s happened. That’s part of the problem.”
Swallowing hard, I asked, “Is there anyone you like?”
The air between us seemed to spark with something I’d never felt before. Lauren slowly smiled as she tilted her head. “Is there someone you like, Colt?”
Allowing my grin to grow bigger, I said, “Oh yeah. There’s this blonde, blue-eyed beauty that has this thing for skipping around instead of walking. Also has a fondness for swings.” Lauren’s face turned from amused to something different. For a brief moment, it felt as if we both shared a connection that I’d never experienced before. My heart felt like the wings of a hummingbird; it was beating so fast. “I kind of think she’s into her horse more than guys though.”
Lauren’s eyes turned dark as she broke our stare and looked to the ground. “Smart girl. I’d pick my horse over a guy any day.” Glancing back up, she winked at me.
Reaching my hand down to Lauren, she closed her eyes as if anticipating my touch. My stomach dropped like always when I thought about kissing Lauren. I did what I always did though. I ignored my feelings and chickened out. Pushing a loose curl back behind Lauren’s ear, I whispered, “Lucky horse.”
Dropping her mouth slightly open, Lauren was about to say something when her father called for her.
Closing her eyes, she stood. Opening them back up, I saw nothing but sadness. I wanted to see the sparkle that was there a few moments ago. Giving me the sweetest smile ever, Lauren said, “I um . . . I guess I’ve got to go help with dinner. Thanks for helping me with the new horse.”
Nodding my head, I grinned. “Anytime.”
“See you tomorrow then?” Lauren said as she walked backward.
“Yep, see ya tomorrow, Lauren.”
Standing there, I watched Lauren skip over to her back door. Pushing my hand through my hair, I walked back over to the barn. Climbing on top of my horse, Samson, I took in a deep breath of air. A cool fall breeze was blowing and the birds were chirping away in a nearby tree. Opening my eyes, I smiled as I thought about Lauren skipping to her back door. Letting out a chuckle, I headed for home. Glancing back over my shoulder, I noticed Lauren looking out her kitchen window. Lifting her hand, she smiled and waved. Raising my hand, I waved back to her as I whispered, “Someday, Lauren Ashley Reynolds, someday I’m going to ask you to be my wife.”
GLANCING AROUND, I smiled when I saw Luke and Libby kissing as the waves crashed around their feet. Their wedding had been thrown together in record time and was probably the most romantic wedding I’d been to yet.
Leaning against the rail, my eyes caught sight of Colt. I watched as he talked to one of Libby’s cousins. The way she was flirting with him turned my stomach. I’d like to pull her by that tight bun on the top of her head and slam her against . . .
“Lauren? Are you okay?”
Pulling my eyes from Colt and the blonde, I turned to face Grace. “Yep. I’m fine. Why?”
Grace gave me a knowing smile. “Well, to start with, you look like you want to kick that blonde’s ass from here to Timbuktu. Second, you’re gripping that bottle so tight your knuckles are turning white.”
Glancing at my hand, I loosened the grip on the bottle. Sighing, I looked back to Colt an
d the blonde. “He drives me crazy.”
Grace chuckled. “Why? Because a hot girl is attracted to him? Poor Colt can’t help it if he is a mini version of his daddy, Lauren. Girls are going to flock.”
Rolling my eyes, I looked away. “He sure looks like he is interested in her.”
Grace sucked in a deep breath and let it out. “You know what I see, Lauren?”
Turning to look at Grace, I asked, “What?”
Not taking her eyes from Colt, Grace smiled. “I see a guy who is being polite and talking to one of his friend’s cousins. I see that every time she takes a step closer to him, he takes a step away from her. His smile isn’t touching his eyes, and he looks bored out of his fucking mind. I think you need to go save him from what clearly is a conversation he doesn’t want to be in.”
My head jerked as I looked to Colt. It was then, for the first time, I noticed he was wearing a fake smile. When the blonde threw her head back and laughed, she took a step closer and Colt turned his body away from her and took a small step back.
Lifting his Coke bottle to his lips, his eyes caught mine, and I couldn’t help but smile. I wasn’t smiling because Colt looked at me. I was smiling because I saw how miserable he was. Colt didn’t want to be talking to the blonde and in that moment of realization, I was ecstatic. Okay, so maybe I was also smiling because Colt looked at me.
“See what I mean?” Grace said as she nudged me with her shoulder.
Colt smiled back, and this time it reached his eyes. They lit up for the first time in weeks, and I loved that it was because of me smiling at him. Ever since he moved into the house we were all sharing, all we did was argue about the stupidest things or avoid each other all together. I knew my frustration toward Colt was from him turning me down the night I asked him to make love to me.
Then, of course, there was the fact that my father seemed to think I couldn’t take over the family business without Colt’s help. Part of me knew I was being unfair to him. Colt’s love and knowledge of horses would be an asset to our breeding business and my father could see that. And Colt explained his reasons for not making love to me that night. He said he wanted to make the first time we made love special and the back seat of his truck was not how he was going to do it. Even with that explanation, it still didn’t lessen the blow when he turned me down. The embarrassment from that night still clung to my heart and was the main reason I avoided Colt. That, and the fact that anytime I was near him, I wanted to jump his bones.
Well, I’m not going to avoid Colt anymore. Tonight I would be a good friend and save him from the blonde who clearly wanted more than just a casual conversation.
“Excuse me, Grace. I can’t pass up this moment. I’ll be able to rub it in Colt’s face later how I rescued him from this situation.”
Grace laughed as I walked toward Colt. His grin turned to a full-blown smile as his eyes never left mine. His smile had always been my weakness. My heart raced faster the closer I got to him. Seeing the blonde out of the corner of my eye, I glanced to her. She was staring at me with daggers as I made my way over to them. Frowning, her eyes moved over my body. I knew I looked good. The chiffon, platinum-colored bridesmaid dresses that Libby picked out for us to wear fit me like a glove. Even Meg said my breasts looked killer in the dress. Colt couldn’t keep his eyes off of me when I walked down the aisle.
Walking up to Colt and the blonde, I smiled bigger. “Hey, Colt.”
