Colt looked at each of us with the smile that I knew drove all the girls mad. He looked so much like Daddy with his dark brown hair, breathtaking blue eyes, and killer smile, and Daddy was so handsome. I would dare say that Colt was probably the one who all the girls really flocked to. His Southern charm was both a strength and a weakness for him.
"That we never lose touch with each other. I mean, I know the odds of all of us ending up in Mason like our parents are probably not too good."
Maegan laughed. "Yeah … no, thank you. I have no desire to live in Hicksville anymore."
Colt chuckled. "Let's promise we all get together for a week once a year. No matter where we end up-near, far, kids, no kids-we all plan to meet for a week and just hang out."
I smiled as tears began to fill my eyes. I looked around.
Grace had originally said she wanted out of Mason. After one semester in Austin, she'd realized her heart would always be home in Mason. When we'd discovered we had a mutual dream of owning our own nursery, we'd decided that we wanted to make that dream a reality, and Mason was the only place to do that.
Colt, Luke, and Will were destined to run the ranch. It was in their blood, and they would talk about it all the time.
I glanced over to Lauren. She loved Mason and helping her father with his breeding company. Since I could remember, she'd talked about taking over and making it even better. Scott and Jessie, Lauren's parents, would love that.
Lord knew where Meg was going to end up. Her spitfire personality matched her red hair. She would never live in Mason or Fredericksburg, not even if someone paid her.
Taylor was the baby of the group, and we all worried about her. She was timid and too sweet for her own good. She was also drop-dead gorgeous, but she didn't know it, which made her even more desirable. Luke had ended up in so much trouble when he'd punched Kyle Derby for talking about Taylor at a party one night. When Uncle Jeff had found out why Luke had punched Kyle, he'd pulled Luke to the side and told him he was proud of him, but Aunt Ari was never to know he'd said that. Taylor had dreams of living in Italy, which scared the piss out of all of us.
"Dude, I think that's an amazing idea. We need to start that tradition this summer," Luke said.
Will nodded his head. "I agree. We've all grown up together, and just because some of us are going to be taking different paths doesn't mean we can't stay friends. Look at our parents. Their friendships grow stronger all the time."
"So, what are we going to do to start this new tradition?" Libby asked.
Lauren stood up and said, "The beach. We've always talked about going to the beach without our parents. Remember we couldn't wait until we were old enough to go down without them? Let's plan on it this summer."
Colt walked up to Lauren, picked her up in a hug, and spun her around. Lauren was completely taken off guard, and the flush on her cheeks showed her true feelings for Colt.
"That is a great idea, Lauren," Colt said as he set her down. "Hell, our parents all own a few houses right next to each other on the beach in Port Aransas. We can stay at one of the houses."
"Perfect! I think we should ask the folks now. Lauren, don't your parents rent their place out sometimes?" Maegan asked.
"Yeah, they do. I say we head back and start making the plans," Lauren said.
Her smile was so big that I couldn't help but laugh.
As we all started making our way to the parking lot, Will held me back.
I turned to look at him and smiled. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head and pushed my hair behind my ear.
I love when he does that.
"I love you, Lex. I'm so sorry I didn't let you explain everything. I feel like all this heartache was my fault."
My heart instantly hurt, and I felt the tears building in my eyes. "No, Will. It's not all your fault. I'm to blame just as much. I came to A&M that day, and when I saw you with that girl, I let my imagination run wild."
The look on Will's face dropped. Then it appeared as if he remembered something.
Oh God. Did something happen between him and the blonde?
///
"Callie? You're talking about Callie. Alex, nothing at all happened between us. She's engaged to another guy, and they do all this mission work. I had just told her I would help them over Christmas break. I swear to you-"
I put my finger up to his lips. "I know. I think I knew then, but I was scared, confused, and angry with myself. It was easier to hide than to face everything."
"Will? Alex? Are y'all coming or what?" Libby called out.
I giggled. "Come on. If Lib's forced to ride with Luke, Lord knows what will happen."
Will laughed and put his arm over my shoulders as we made our way to Libby.
Finally, things felt like they were going to be okay.
Three Months Later
The door to my dorm room sprang open, and Luke came barreling in. He looked pissed, beyond pissed.
"What in the hell is wrong with you?"
He spun around and looked at me. "What?"
"You just came storming in here. You look like you're about to rip someone's head off."
Luke glanced around the room. He walked over to his bookshelf and moved a book before pulling out a bottle of whiskey.
"Where in the hell did you get that from?"
He shrugged and opened it up as he looked for a glass. The moment he found one, he poured some whiskey into the glass and downed it. He held the bottle out for me. "Want some?"
I shook my head. "Luke, dude, you have to talk to me. I've never seen you like this before. What in the hell is going on with you?"
"Nothing. I just need to release some steam. Too much fucking bullshit on my mind."
"Want to talk about it?" I asked.
Luke walked up to the window and stared out. His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. "Hey, Abigail. Are you free?"
I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.
"I'll be there in a few minutes." Luke shoved his phone into his back pocket and walked over to the shelf. He put the whiskey back and then walked into the bathroom.
"Why are you doing this, Luke?"
He poked his head out of the bathroom and asked, "Doing what?"
"Going to Abigail."
He walked out and looked at me like I had two heads. "I'm going to Abigail because I want to get laid. What's wrong with that?"
"What about Libby?"
He turned and looked at me. "What about Libby?"
I instantly got pissed off. Lex had talked to Libby over Christmas break, and Libby had finally told Lex what had happened last summer between her and Luke. The only problem was that Luke didn't remember what he'd said to Libby, and it was tearing Libby apart.
"Do you have feelings for my sister?"
Luke swallowed hard. He shook his head and looked away.
"Luke?"
He snapped his head back and looked at me. "I can't. I mean, I won't do that to her. She means everything to me, and I'll fuck it up, Will. I already broke her heart with the dick move I made on her before I left for college. What if I can't … I mean, I don't think I can … I'm not good enough for her, Will. She deserves someone better, and she found him."
My eyes widened as I stood there, shocked. "Wait-what do you mean, she found him?"
He let out a gruff laugh. "I mean, she's dating someone. I saw them just now. I was going to ask her if she wanted to see a movie when I saw her leaning against a building. Then, some dick fucking kissed her." He turned away and whispered, "She looked happy."
My head was spinning. I knew for a fact that Libby was in love with Luke, but even Lex had said that Libby wasn't going to wait around for Luke to stop acting like a jerk. Even Grace had tried to talk to Luke.
"So, because you see Lib kissing a guy, you run to Abigail?"
Luke reached down for his jacket and grabbed his truck keys. "I haven't been with a girl in months. I need to get fucked."
I grabbed his arm. "Don't do this, Luke. If you want to be with someone … " I closed my eyes and couldn't believe what I was about to say. "If you want to be with someone, be with the person you love. Luke, Libby loves you."
His eyes widened in horror as he took a step away from me. He began shaking his head. "No … she doesn't love me, Will."
"Luke, for Christ's sake, will you just admit you love her? Libby was already your best friend once. Stop pushing her away. She cares about you, and you-"
He held up his hand. "I've gotta go. Abigail is waiting on me."
"Don't do this, Luke. I swear to God, you'll regret it."
///
He turned away from me and headed out the door. I took in a deep breath as I took my phone out and sent Libby a text.
Me: Lib, are you dating someone?
Libby: Why?
Me: Luke said he saw you kissing someone, and he is out of control right now, Lib. He really cares about you, but he thinks he's not good enough for you.
Libby: Luke only cares about himself and his fuck buddy, Abigail. She made sure to tell me how much they hook up. I seriously doubt he cares about me when he has her. I'm heading into a movie.