“It's… complicated.”

  “That’s what people say when it really isn’t.”

  Now it was Keira’s turn to snort in amusement.

  Keira had kept all this to herself, hadn’t even told her parents. They’d been so wrapped up in their own lives they hadn’t seen her moping around the house this whole time.

  Molly laid down next to her. “I may not know Reese, but from what I’ve seen, how he’s acted, especially with you, and how his home life is, it’s not hard to say he’s a tortured soul.”

  Keira looked over at Molly. “I’m all about giving him time, but I can see how much you’re hurting, and when I saw him at school… Keira, he’s a guy with a broken heart.”

  “When you saw Reese and I together, what did you see?”

  Molly’s face softened, and she smiled. “You and these damn deep questions.” She chuckled softly. “I’m going to tell you exactly what I think, but I want you to really listen to me, okay?”

  Keira nodded, not really knowing where this was going. “Before you and him were… whatever it is you guys are, I noticed he kept to himself, always had his head low, and didn’t engage unless confronted. He only had Nate as a friend, so that should tell you a lot.” They both laughed. “Then you came around, and the change in him was evident. The whole freaking school was talking about it. You were too engrossed in each other to realize what was going on.”

  Molly but kept her eyes on Keira. “I think the way things turned out sucks in a big way, but ask yourself if you can go off to college without a backward glance. Can you put what you and Reese had behind you just because he did what you asked, because fucking BMA drama got in the way?”

  Molly pushed herself up and sat cross-legged on her bed, facing Keira. “I saw how happy you were. For as long as I’ve known you, there has never been a time when you were like that. You always use your head, Keira, but this time you went with your heart.” Molly gave her a smile, but when her phone chimed with a text, and after she read it, she got off the bed and grabbed her purse and keys.

  “I have to meet my mom for lunch. She’s going through a breakdown with the idea of me going off to school.” Molly gave her another small smile. “Just remember what you could have, and not what might happen if you gave yourself a chance with Reese. You’re stubborn, and it’s clear so is he.”

  Keira sat up, gave Molly a hug, and really let her words sink in.

  After Molly left, Keira played her best friend’s words over and over again in her head. She needed to talk to Reese, to corner him, make him look at her, listen to her.

  She felt a renewed sense of hope at what she planned on doing. It may not solve anything, but they both needed to hash this out.

  A knock on her bedroom door sounded before it was pushed open. Alex stuck his head inside and said, “Is it okay if we talk?”

  She nodded and watched as Alex stepped into the room before sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. He’d come back since the last time, which was unheard of since he’d started college. And she knew it was because he was worried about her and how things had gone down with Reese.

  The room grew quiet as they sat side-by-side.

  “You’ve been so sad, princess,” he finally said and glanced at her. “I can feel it around you all the time.”

  She whispered, “I know.”

  Alex nodded and dropped his head again. He stared at his hands, and she followed his gaze. They were big and tanned, like their father’s. After a moment, he exhaled and lifted his head to look at her.

  “That day he came over,” he said and cleared his throat, “he said some things to me.”

  She felt her brows pull low. “Said some things? Like what?”

  He lifted a hand and rubbed his nape. “I told him that if he ever came near you again, I’d kill him, that even though I didn’t know what he did, I didn’t give a shit how minor or big it was. I’d kill him.” Alex took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

  “That was extreme, Alex,” she whispered.

  He nodded. “Yeah. I know.” She shook her head. “I’ve never seen you like that, and I guess it sent me off the deep end. I was so pissed, Keira. All I wanted was him to hurt the way you were hurting.” He stared deeply into her eyes, this strange expression covering his face. “He told me he loved you, that you were the only thing in his life worth something.”

  Her heart raced wildly at those words.

  “I wanted to believe that he just said those things because I was going to kick his ass, but then he just kept saying it as I pounded the fuck out of him. And he wouldn't fight back, just took every hit.”

  Her brother's words had everything around her disappearing until she couldn’t focus on anything but what he said. “W-What?” she stuttered out. “He said that? He told you he loved me?”

  Alex shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, the stupid bastard.” He chuckled then, an honest one filled with amusement. “I don’t know what he did, but you’re a smart girl, the smartest one I’ve ever met, princess. Here I was, letting him have it, and the asshole was telling me he was in love with my little sister over and over again.” Alex chucked her under the chin. “And as I look at you, as I remember how you were when you were hurt, I knew you felt the same too. You love him too.”

  She nodded, unable to lie about her true feelings.

  The tears came fast and strong, but this time she didn’t brush them away. Then the flood gate opened up, and she told Alex everything.

  She told him about their relationship and how fast and consuming it was.

  She told him about how much she loved him.

  Then Keira told him about the pictures, the misunderstanding, how she believed Reese with everything in her.

  Things had gone downhill so fast, and she shouldn’t have told him she needed time and pushed him away. It had been erratic, made from emotions. He was doing what she wanted, and she hadn’t told him how she felt before he was gone.

  “I may not like that my baby sister is in love with a guy, that he’s rough around the edges, and how I didn't miss the scuffed-up knuckles he sported. But I can’t stand to see you like this. The guy loves you, and you love him.” He grimaced after he said that, and she chuckled. “I only want what makes you happy.” He held her face in his hands and leaned forward to press a light kiss in the center of her forehead. “But if he ever makes you cry again, I will break his arms and legs.”

  Keira laughed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Thank you, Alex.”

  “For what, princess?”

  “For being on my side. For understanding me. For loving me and wanting to make me happy.” She pulled back and smiled genuinely for the first time since everything happened. “And also for letting me use your SUV.” He chuckled and reached into his pockets to give her his keys. Keira didn’t waste another minute as she slipped on her shoes and raced out of the house. She needed to find Reese.

  Keira didn’t know where to start in her search for him. It was a Saturday afternoon and knew he worked at the tattoo parlor on occasion, so that was where she’d start.

  She parked in one of the open spots in front of the parlor. There were a few cars parked outside the small, rundown-looking establishment, but she knew that it was a well-known and respected tattoo shop in Black Mountain.

  She didn’t see Reese’s truck but thought it might be parked in the back where she couldn’t see it. Or maybe that was hopeful thinking. And if he wasn’t there, maybe someone inside could point her in the direction of where she could find him.

  After getting out of the car and making her way to the front door, she realized she felt lightheaded from her nerves. She was scared. She was terrified that once she spoke with Reese after all this time, he’d have realized the distance had been for the best.

  Keira shook her head, not wanting to go there. She’d worry about that if or when the time came.

  33

  A bell jingled above the door, announcing her entrance into the tattoo parlor. Classic rock music played softly overhead, and the buzzing sound of a needle along with the murmurs of conversation blended together.

  “I’ll be with ya in just a few,” an older man with a long white beard called out from where he was seated, hunched over a middle-aged woman’s back.

  From the distance, Keira could make out the image of a koi fish he was tattooing on the small of her back.

  She sat down on the black, ratty vinyl couch and grabbed a magazine. The cover showed a heavily tattooed woman in nothing but a few strips of fabric covering the important bits. After ten minutes of Keira flipping through the pages, the man with the white beard stepped in front of her.

  “What can I do for ya?”

  Keira stood and set the magazine on the table beside her. She had to assume this was Max, the man Reese was fond of.

  “Uh.” She looked around in hopes Reese would magically appear from the back room so this would be so much easier. “I’m actually looking for someone. Thought he might be here.”

  He didn’t say anything, just lifted an incredibly bushy eyebrow and waited for her to continue.

  “Is Reese Trenton working today?”

  A flash of surprise washed over the man’s face, and she wondered if it was because someone in general was looking for him. That thought made her feel incredibly sad.

  “Reese?” He slowly said his name, and Keira nodded.

  “He, uh… he told me he worked here, but not his schedule or anything.” Keira had tried calling, of course, but he’d been avoiding her ever since their last conversation, and her call had gone right to voicemail.

  “Yeah, he works here, just not today.” He didn’t move from right in front of her, just continued to watch her with dark, knowing eyes.

  “Oh.” She licked her suddenly dry lips and nodded. “Okay, thanks.” She turned to leave, but he called out to her. She stopped and faced him.

  “You’re that ‘someone special,’ right?”

  She felt her brows pull down low. “Excuse me?”

  “The girl Reese talked to me about. The one he said was somethin’ special.”

  Her heart hiccupped in her chest. She nodded slowly.

  “I could tell for the last couple weeks somethin’ has been bothering him, but he’s a pretty private person. I assumed it was female trouble.” Max turned and walked over to the front desk. He stood behind it for a moment, clearly contemplating what to say next. “I shouldn’t be saying this to you, because it ain’t my business, but I have a piece of advice for you, since he clearly won’t see reason.”

  She didn’t know what that “reason” was. Maybe they’d talked about her, about the situation? Maybe he just knew.

  “Never take something that makes your heart race or your gut clench for granted. There are not too many things in life worth fighting for, but when someone opens up your world, makes your head spin, and has your heart aching for more, it’s only then that you walk to the ends of the world to make it work.” His words hung in the air between them, and emotion struck Keira fast and hard.

  She nodded slowly, because she wasn’t sure what to say after that.

  He gave her a tight nod. “But as far as telling you where he’s at, I can’t help you with that, ‘cause I don’t know where he is.”

  “Thanks.” Keira gave him a small smile and left the shop, not sure where to even look next. But the longer she stood there, the more she realized where he might be. The one place he said he went to get away and think.

  She got back in the SUV and started heading for that lone structure where he’d first touched her, where her heart had really raced for the very first time.

  Once on the private property, she pulled into the small strip of dirt off the side of the road and cut the engine. Keira chewed her bottom lip, nervous to be here. She didn't have the cloak of darkness around her now. If she got caught, she could get in serious trouble, no matter what connections her parents had.

  She climbed out of the vehicle and started making her way toward the barn. She kept to the trees but stayed parallel to the dirt road. And then she saw the structure and her heart raced. Remembrance from their last time here filled her mind and made her move quicker. Once inside, she stopped and stood there, listening. Everything was so still and silent that she almost turned around, assuming she was alone. But she went in deeper and headed toward the little room Reese had taken her to that first night.

  And when she rounded the corner, she froze, seeing him sitting on an overturned crate, his head lowered, his forearms resting on his thighs.

  He had his eyes closed and headphones covering his ears.

  For a moment, all she did was stare at him. It seemed like so long since she had seen him last. He was big and strong… yet so sad-looking in that moment.

  The urge to go to him, wrap her arms around him, and hold him close was so strong that she started to do just that, but even with his eyes closed and his hearing blocked by the loud, angry music coming from his earbuds, he must have sensed her.

  He lifted his head and opened his eyes, looking right at her.

  For long seconds, she didn’t move, didn’t even breathe. Slowly, he stood and pulled his headphones off. His throat worked as he swallowed, and she could hear the force of it from where she stood. Now that she was so close to him, she didn’t know what to say.

  “Keira,” he said her name in a broken pitch. “What are you doing here?” He swallowed again.

  “I wanted to talk to you.”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “I didn’t. I hoped you were. I stopped by the tattoo parlor and spoke with Max, but he didn’t know where you’d be. I figured maybe I’d try here.” Surprise filtered across his face at her explanation. She was twisting her hands together. “I…” The words stayed clogged in her throat, and she took a steadying breath. “I’m sorry, but please don’t shut me out anymore. I know you think this is what I want, and I know I made you feel that way.” She took another step closer, swore she saw and felt his nervousness. “I was stupid for thinking I needed time to think about things and work through whatever it was that bothered me.” Emotion was so strong in her that she couldn’t breathe. “This time away from you has been so hard for me—”

  “It’s been hell,” he finished.

  She nodded. “It’s not what I wanted,” she said again. She took another step and another until she stood a foot in front of him. She saw his big body shudder as if her very presence affected him so deeply he couldn’t control himself.

  “I wanted to call you so many times,” he whispered. “I wanted to talk to you… hold you.”

  “God, Reese, I love you so much.” She hoped he could see her words meant so much more. They held all of her emotions, all of her feelings, and most of all, all of her love for Reese Trenton.

  “What?” He exhaled, that word coming out broken. “You love me?” He closed the foot between them, and she nodded.

  “I love you, Reese, and I should have told you that before you left.” His gaze lowered to her lips then rose to her eyes once more. “Alex told me today what you said that day you came to my house, how you—”

  “Are in love with you,” he finished.

  Her palms were sweaty, and she rubbed them on her jeans. He stared at her for long seconds. “Say something, please.” She drew his scent into her lungs and waited with bated breath to hear what he’d say, if he still felt the same way for her.

  For several seconds, all he did was stare at her. Then his hand lifted, and he cupped her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

  “Look at me.” His words were low. She opened her eyes and did what he asked. “I thought giving you space and time to think was the right thing to do. I fucking hated it though. I was so fucking miserable not talking to you, forcing myself not to even look at you.”

  “I hated this time apart too,” she admitted, whispering. “I should have never let rumors or pictures ruin what I knew in my heart—that I trust you. I knew you’d never hurt me. But the shock at seeing them clouded everything, and I just reacted emotionally.”

  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and she crashed into the hardness of his chest seconds later, unable to stop herself. She just needed to be close.

  “I can’t tell you how sorry I am about everything and how I acted. I hate that I let Lindy, the school, and doubt get between us like it did.”

  “You never have to apologize to me. I should be the one saying sorry. For everything.”

  She shook her head and held him tighter. A second later, he pulled back, and she tipped her head to look in his face.

  “I love you, Keira. I love you so fucking much that I can’t breathe at the thought of you not in my life.” He cupped her cheeks and leaned in close so they were eye-level. “I have never been surer of anything in my life than I am that you’re mine.”

  Her breath caught at his declaration. His eyes were deep and meaningful, and his words moved through her like a wave of electricity.

  He lifted her hand and placed it over his heart. “I now understand what it means to have the world at your fingertips, to know that without the person you love more than anything else in the world, you’re nothing but an empty shell. I now realize the depth of emotion the one person you love creates inside you.”

  He pulled her in, kissing her deeply, soundly.

  And just like that, in a matter of minutes, all the pain and heartache, all the loneliness and worry, vanished. The world righted itself, and she felt whole once again.

  He was right. They were young, and everything had moved at lightning speed, but there was no doubt in her mind or her heart that this was exactly where she was meant to be.

  With Reese.

  Epilogue

  One year later

  Twelve months. That’s how much time had passed since everything had gone down, since her and Reese had professed all the deep things they felt for each other… twelve months since things felt perfect.