Without You (Love Wanted in Texas #1) 25

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?”