“I don’t give a shit if you’re twenty or forty, I’m still gonna be ready to handle it.” He turned his truck up the lane that led to Gran’s house. It never failed; this ranch always felt like the best slice of heaven to me. There were so many memories of my Pop, but not only him—my mother too. It was that strong, amazing feeling of home the moment it came in to view. Like no matter what happened or how bad I might be feeling, this just made it all safe again.
“His name is Keeton Pearce, Daddy, and he wasn’t making fun of me,” I assured him “He’d actually observed me blowing off some jock who was making an attempt to ask me out. I sorta called that guy out on the bullshit he was feeding me, and Keeton witnessed the whole thing. He was real sweet and I was a complete fool. There really wasn’t more than that.”
I pushed open the door and jumped out as he began mumbling. “Keeton…what kinda name is that, anyway?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Keeton could have been named Ryan and my father still would have had an issue with him.
I chose to ignore his grumbling words and jogged toward the back entrance of the house instead. The moment I pushed open the door and stepped inside, I heard the happy squeals of my little brothers. It was another joyful escape, because I adored them.
Rogan was first as he rounded the corner and slid on the linoleum floor in his socked feet. He was a little tank, all chubby cheeks and bright eyes. Directly behind him Rory followed. He was the shier of the two, but he was a tricky little stink. You couldn’t let that look of innocence fool you because he knew just how to use it to his advantage.
They both dove at me and I barely caught them as I rolled backward and took them both with me. “Hey little dudes; I missed you.”
Repeated squeals of my name over and over, mixed with their laughter, was music to my ears. Going away to school was hard when I knew I would be leaving them behind. I was missing so much and I hated it.
Chapter Two
Keeton
“Well, would ya look who decided to grace us with his presence?” I could hear the slur in his voice and the smell of smoke was so damn potent it almost knocked me back out the front door.
My father’s words used to affect me. For years, I spent so much time trying to find a way to impress him, to make him proud. Then I finally figured out the son of a bitch was so damn miserable with himself that no matter what I did, it wouldn’t amount to shit. He would always find something wrong, regardless. I had grown immune to the garbage he threw at me. My older brother was the same; they were both assholes.
“College boy,” Karver snarled. “You finally figure out that you’re trailer trash like the rest of us? Giving up on that imaginary life of greatness?”
“I’ll never be anything like you sorry sons of bitches. You’re both pathetic.” I walked past them both and their laughter echoed throughout the small space. I was focused on only one thing—to get the last of my things and never return. Every other time I had attempted to remove my possessions, Dad and Karver were either gone and the place was locked up, or we got into a fight and I didn’t even make it past the living room.
I was more than ready to put this hellhole behind me for good.
I didn’t like the person I became when I was around them. Their toxic behavior only brought me down and I refused to allow them that pleasure any longer. They both knew how to get to me and they thrived on it. They were sick fucks like that.
You would think a father would be proud of his son getting a scholarship based on academics alone. I busted my ass throughout school, knowing I wanted something better for myself. I didn’t allow much time for parties and bullshit; I knew they would only lead me down the same path my father and brother were on. I wanted more. Karver took the other route and followed in my father’s footsteps. He’d become just like our dad. Drunk and worthless, with a nasty streak of anger. It was one of the biggest reasons my mother chose to leave.
I was the only one she still maintained a relationship with. She was living someplace up north with a man she met a few years ago, and she was happy. For the first time that I could remember, she laughed and talked about life freely. We weren’t real close, but it was a nice feeling knowing she finally found a man to take care of her. I didn’t focus too much on how little we talked but appreciated the times we did.
After the life I had led, the things I had witnessed, I found it hard to believe in long lasting love. I just hoped this one turned out for her much better than the first.
As I entered the small eight by eight room to which I had been confined during my youth, I looked around, trying to remember even just a small sliver of happiness in that place, and came up empty. This trailer had always been the one place where I felt useless, and I was ready to leave that feeling behind.
I was ready to let go.
I began gathering the small amount of items I wanted to keep. A small box hidden in the closet filled with pictures of me and my mother when I was a baby, a time before all the hate. Mixed within the photos were a few other items that reminded me of good times. A few CDs that were my favorites growing up, and a watch that was my grandfather’s. I took it from my father’s dresser one night when he was passed out on the couch. I didn’t want to chance him taking it to some pawn shop in need of money for a new bottle of whiskey. It was the only thing I had to remember my grandfather. A man who, if still alive today probably would have beat the hell out of his sorry ass son for being such a disappointment.
Loading my duffle bag with the last of my youth, I threw it up over my shoulder and took one last look around. Once I walked out of this place, I never had the intention to return.
I was ready to move forward without the weight of this life holding me back from being happy.
***
I hadn’t been able to get Olivia Sawyer out of my head.
That feeling I got when I watched her sass Landon Murphy was something I hadn’t felt too often. There she stood, all reserved and unimpressed, as the campus jock-off attempted to woo her. It was something that didn’t happen to him very often.
But the moment I talked to her, she froze. It was cutest damn thing. It was like pulling teeth to get her to tell me her name. The thing was I already knew her name, but that was all I knew.
I was the guy who sat in the back of the class. Most people looked at me like I was some kind of trouble. What they didn’t take the time to find out was that academically, I was at the top of my class. There was no reason for me to waste time trying to impress those who felt they were above me. I would be someone someday, and I didn’t need any of them to help me get there.
But having Olivia around might make things a little less lonely.
She was like a breath of fresh air on a cool morning, that clean feeling just after it rained.
She was so pure you could feel it, and that was something I had not often been around.
Chapter Three
Olivia
I missed home.
I missed my family, even with all their craziness.
I’d been back in Montana for five days and this was the first time I had the chance to sit back and relax.
Between Amber and my aunts, I was pulled in all directions. But I’d enjoyed every moment of it. If I was surrounded by cousins and my brothers, it was home. And home gave me peace.
Aunt Bailey was about to pop with the devil’s spawn. I was sure that mini Jackson would be just as crazy as his daddy. Throw in Bailey’s fiery attitude, and the Tasmanian devil would soon grace the Sawyer family. Little Belle was so sweet and gentle; it was amazing she had been created by Uncle Jackson.
Tonight Uncle Noah invited us all over for dinner so there would be no time to rest or recover. All the Sawyers trapped together in one house would be anything but peaceful. But I looked forward to it. I would have time to rest when I got back to campus on Sunday. For now I would just allow them all to drain me dry.
***
“So I hear there’s a guy that actually made the Sawyer Sass stumble a bit.” Gran sat down beside me on the couch. She spoke a little too loud, because now all eyes were on me.
The women of the room were smiling, but the guys were scowling.
Three sets of eyes narrowed and I just rolled my own at them, choosing to ignore their distaste.
“I was just taken aback a little is all.” I shrugged as if it was no big deal, but Gran saw right through me; she always had.
“Well, tell me about this boy that stumped ya.” She sat back and got comfortable. I knew I would have to get this out if I planned to move forward from it. I was on display before every adult within our large family as the kids ran around in the game room like a pack of wild beasts.
“Fine,” I groaned. “You people are ridiculous when it comes to your inability to allow me to have a life, or privacy for that matter.”
I didn’t miss the nods of Amber, Alena, and Bailey. They all knew just how pushy the Sawyer pack could be. But those with Sawyer blood running through them only remained in place staring back at me as if there was nothing wrong with their pushy ass ways.
“Landon Murphy is a full blown ass,” I began.
“Do you have to cuss?” my father asked.
“If you want to hear every last detail of my life, then you’re gonna have to deal with the occasional ass, damn, and so forth.” I arched my brow and just waited for his stubborn butt to argue. Amber hid her laughter behind her hand when he slouched back against his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.