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Wells shrugged and tossed a fry into his mouth.“It was hard to turn down the chance to play for the most successful coach in college football history.”
Storm looked as if he disagreed.“Not yet.He needs more wins before he gets that title, and he’s not won Bama’s fourteenth national championship yet.”
Wells just grinned and ate another fry.“He will.This year.”
“Let it go,” Sebastian Shephard said from the other end of the table.“He wants to go to Alabama.Leave it be.”
Storm cut his eyes to Sebastian.“Says the guy who turned down all offers to stay home.”
“Some of us have other plans for our future.You know, our birthright,” Sebastian drawled, leaning back in his chair as Jade Davis, the head cheerleader, came and sat down on his lap.
Sebastian might not be the football star, but he owned the title as the sexy bad boy.Jade leaned down and whispered something in his ear.Sebastian winked at her, then patted her butt, causing her to giggle.
“Let’s change the topic,” Wells suggested, and I realized his body had tensed.
What had Sebastian said that bothered him?Was it the birthright comment?I knew the Shephards owned racing horses, and the Jones, Kingston, and Salazar families had something to do with racing horses too.The Shephards had one of the biggest houses in Madison that sat on a huge ranch.It was one of those built in the 1800s,Gone with the Wind–looking mansions.Which added to Sebastian’s bad boy appeal.He was a rich bad boy.
I felt like it had more to do with the whispers, the bits and pieces of when the adults gossiped.I knew from overhearing people whispers at church that their fathers did things folks in town believed were illegal, but no one wanted to say it aloud or call them out on it.I was almost positive that what I had heard about their families were all bogus.
“What about the fact that your cousin is back in town?What’s up with that?”Storm asked, looking back over his shoulder toward the entrance of The Doghouse, everyone’s go to place for food after a game.
“He’s here to see me play.”Wells glanced back, and his tension eased.“Hey!Wilder!”he called out.
It was then I turned to see this cousin I had never met.There were two guys, but only one swung his gaze toward Wells.A smile spread across his face, and I found myself mesmerized by his dark, deep-set eyes, classically straight nose, high cheekbones, and full, sculpted lips.The way his mouth softened when he smiled made my stomach feel funny.Even if he wasn’t smiling at me.He was older.There was no boyish charm that clung to him.He was tall with broad shoulders and a man’s build.The thick, corded arms that his black T-shirt strained to contain weren’t from lifting weights in a high school gym.They were from something much more intense.
The door opened behind him, and in walked another man with a dark brown cowboy hat on his head.I knew that face.Thatcher Shephard.Sebastian’s older brother, who had been accused of murder five years ago, but he’d been found not guilty.The dangerous gleam in his eyes always made me wonder if the jury had been wrong.There was something sinister about Thatcher Shephard.His name always seemed to be spoken with a certain amount of fear and perhaps respect in town.He was so much older than me.I knew very little about him.Just what the news and social media had shared.
“Great.Looks like they’re all here,” Sebastian drawled.He sounded annoyed that his brother was among the older guys.
I turned my head back around and glanced over at Sebastian, who was whispering in Jade’s ear now.His eyes met mine, and he winked.I dropped mine to stare at my half-eaten burger.Sebastian was a flirt, and I was used to it.At first, I’d thought I’d date Sebastian.But Wells was the safer choice.
“He came to watch you play tonight,” Wells said to Sebastian, then reached over to take one of my fries now that his were all gone.“Don’t be a dick.”
“He was only there because Wilder and King were,” Sebastian replied.
The air around us seemed to grow warmer, as if it radiated electricity.I lifted my eyes to look up at the three men standing in front of our booth.While Thatcher stopped at the chair Sebastian was in with Jade to smirk down at his younger brother, Wilder stood directly in the center.His gaze on Wells.
“Dad said you were at the game, but I didn’t see you,” Wells told him, looking pleased by the older guy’s appearance.
“I had to come see what all the talk was about,” Wilder replied.“You definitely got all the athletic talent in the family.”
“Easy,” the guy to his right said.The one I assumed was King.I had only ever heard of one guy named King, and he was a Salazar.“Let’s not forget my time as the Bulldogs QB.”
The Salazars weren’t as wealthy as the Shephards, but they were a close second in town.
Thatcher chuckled.“We haven’t.You won’t fucking let us.”
King rolled his eyes, but my gaze went right back to Wilder’s face.He was hard not to look at.I kept looking for a flaw, but I had yet to find one.
“How long are you here for?”Wells asked him while putting his arm back around my shoulders again.
Wilder shrugged as his gaze shifted from Wells to me.Nothing could have prepared me for the punch having those intense brown eyes locked on mine caused.For a moment, I was afraid I had gasped, but when Wells didn’t seem to notice, I realized my reaction to Wilder had been successfully hidden.
“Oh, Wilder, this is Oakley, my girlfriend.Oakley, meet my cousin, Wilder,” Wells said as he squeezed my shoulder.
Wilder nodded his head once as those eyes held mine.“Nice to meet you, Oakley,” he replied, and then those dark pools released me as he turned his attention back to Wells.“Until Monday.”
“Great!Come to the house tomorrow night.Mom and Dad are headed to Ocala for the weekend.I’m having some friends over.”
