Wyatt

by Leanne Davis

  Wyatt just doesn’t see it yet. But we’ll have to see how far his ambitions go. Right now, they are soaring very high. Endless overachieving comes naturally to him.

  Since Wyatt graduated, he’s worked with a local youth organization as assistant football coach and that’s lighted a fire in him that is even stronger than his own playing days. He intends to stick with it and grow the membership and scholarship opportunities for the youth he works with.

  He also created quite a stir at his own graduation. He released a letter to the campus newspaper. It was an editorial about what happened to him during his sophomore year. He didn’t name anyone but described in great detail what happened to him and how it affected his life and self-confidence as a man of color. Pride for his guts and honesty in admitting the ordeal filled my heart when I read it.

  The administration tried to pry the perps’ names out of him. The police even questioned him and demanded to know their identities so they could start an investigation. He never pressed charges. But his realistic story and lack of finger-pointing made it more of a sensation than anything on the subject I’ve witnessed to date. It was released locally, then throughout the whole area, and the state and even further, becoming a national embarrassment.

  Wyatt Kincaid expanded his football reputation after telling what happened to him, especially since he was a popular football hero. It was hailed a wake-up call to everyone, but Wyatt just shakes his head and tells me, “I had to keep this as my narrative. If I gave names or sought outside justice it would have become about them. The assholes who did this. It would be about their pasts. Their futures. The story would become whatever the media decided it should be. It would be the media’s narrative. They would have decided what to say about them… and me. My life would have been torn apart. Everyone I love and care about would be dragged through it. And I could never trust how their narrative would portray us. This way? I decided. It’s my story. My experience. My lesson. My narrative. If they believe me? What the fuck do I care. I told it. I might have helped someone. But I can’t give them anymore.”

  I agreed and championed his story, his controlling of the narrative and the guts it took him to stick so firmly to his resolution on how he wanted to handle the traumatic experience that happened to him.

  I believe; however, it is a strong motivator for Wyatt to work both as a youth football coach and see about pursuing a line of work that includes some sort of politics where he could hold real persuasion over real life problems and solutions.

  But for now? This is my first day as a junior at the university. I’m ready to start my major: architectural design. It took me three-and-a-half years to get here. Not exactly a vacation. But Wyatt kept me going strong even when I got discouraged over the years. It didn’t matter how long it took, it only mattered that I kept moving forward. That was his mantra. So I did it. After about a year, I started to close the gap in all the things I didn’t know. I had to learn how to study, and I stumbled through the lower classes and barely passed them, but now I’m pulling As in the harder classes. Once my brain got wired on how to do this, the rest fell into place.

  I’m scared and excited for my first day here as a real student. I prepared a course of study and selected all the classes I need to attend. First up? Math. Turns out I’m actually pretty good at the subject. Turns out I’m good at a whole lot of things I never knew about.

  Glancing down my toes curl in the thick-souled, brightly colored, seriously stylish and awesome sneakers that decorate my feet. They weren’t a gift. They weren’t bought for me or handed down to me. No, I bought them. I paid for them. I jog in them every damn morning. I almost keep up with Wyatt now. I wear them today because when I look down and see them it reminds me, I’m not wearing my dingy, hole-covered canvas shoes that hurt my feet and gave me shin splits. No. Nope. Now, I wear stylish, comfortable, athletically built kicks that I both want and pay for. But mostly it reminds me that while I’m still Jacey Walker, everything about me has changed… and all for the better.

  And those changes? They brought me Wyatt. The Kincaids. Wesley and Dani. But they also brought me to be right here. Right now.

  And nothing makes me grin more as I saunter across campus towards my first class at the University of Northern Oregon.

  Thank you for reading WYATT!

  I hope you fell in love with Jacey and Wyatt as they found healing and acceptance in each other. Read on to discover the betrayal Devon is handed by the woman he loves, and why Claudia believes that isn’t who Devon’s meant to be with. But can she convince Devon of this truth? One-click DEVON now!

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  Keep reading for an excerpt of Devon.…

  Excerpt

  DEVON.

  I lean forward and dangle my hand off my knee. I barely move my wrist and my fingertips graze her knee. We are hooked on each other. No smiles now. No tears. No one else. This strange intensity and look we share is only between us. I shake my head a smidgeon. “I did it all wrong.”

  “What?”

  “Us. I did us all wrong.”

  She sucks in a breath of air. “You always do. As long as I’ve known you.”

  I smile and snort. “So I do. I can’t do it right and you know that.”

  “Yes.”

  “Does that mean you forgive me?”

  I barely swipe my fingers over her jean-clad knee. It’s so innocuous, we could be two strangers on a bus touching another, but the power of that contact is as deep and strong and connected as if we were making love. We have that much of a connection. Something makes my skin tremble everywhere, as if a soft breath is being blown over my bare skin. We are so synchronized but barely touching. Our souls, our hearts and our emotions are linked and woven together. Everything that gives me my identity is reflected in all that makes her Claudia. How the hell did I fail to see that?

  Because I was underequipped to deal with it. I realize in that infinitesimal second how naïve I was. Our laughing inappropriately just to make it through the next moment until now, are like her digging inside my body with her bare hands and pulling out my heart. She might as well be holding it up for me to see the truth. I can’t get over how she’s always been there for me. I was too fucking blind to see her, or the potential for us. When I caught my first glimpse of it, just for that night, I rejected it without thinking. I pretended not to care. I was so immature and stupid.

  I don’t want to be that way anymore.

  As I barely lean into her, I reach my hand up and cup the side of her face. Her eyes respond by growing bigger and she stares harder into mine. Her throat vibrates as she swallows. “Forgive you?” She barely breathes out the words.

  “I want us to be right this time,” I whisper as I touch her gently. I am being completely sincere. I hope we can do it for real this time.

  She slowly closes her eyelids and her head barely nods as her shoulders drop. Her entire body melts towards mine.

  Continue reading DEVON.

  Other Books by Leanne Davis

  The Sister Series is about the emotional scars and battles that are often hidden in people.

  Rape. Drugs. Abuse. Violence. Pain. Betrayal.

  And how they can be overcome.

  Love. Joy. Family. Forgiveness. Faith. Hope. Redemption

  The Sister Series:

  The Other Sister

  The Years Between

  The Good Sister

  The Best Friend

  The Wrong Sister

  The Years After

  The Broken Sister

  The Perfect Sister

  The Los
t Sister

  The Remaining Sister

  The Step Sister

  FREE Extended Epilogue of Jessie & Will

  Daughters is a spin-off of The Sister Series about Jessie’s (The Other Sister) daughters.

  Christina

  Natalie

  Melissa

  Emily

  The Son Series is a spinoff of The Sister Series about the sons of Ryder and Tara Kincaid, as well as Chet and Chloe Willapana (The Lost Sister & The Remaining Sister).

  Wesley

  Wyatt

  Devon

  Damion

  Share in the fall, rise and eventual fulfillment of the rock band Zenith’s destiny…

  Zenith Falling

  Zenith Rising

  Zenith Fulfilled

  The Rydell River Ranch is a large horse training, boarding and breeding operation, owned and operated by four brothers who are left in charge of their century old legacy in the small, rural town of River’s End.

  River’s End

  River's Escape

  River's Return

  River Road

  River on Fire

  River's Lost

  River of Change

  River's Destiny

  River's Rescue

  River's Winter

  Poison

  Notorious

  Secrets

  Seclusion

  Standalone Novel:

  Diversions

  Novella

  At the Next Table: A Lover's Landing Novella

  About the Author

  Leanne Davis has earned a business degree from Western Washington University. She worked for several years in the construction management field before turning full time to writing. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband and two children. When she isn't writing, she and her family enjoy camping trips to destinations all across Washington State, many of which become the settings for her novels.

  Leanne loves to hear from readers! Contact her at: leanne@leannedavis.net.

  Connect with Leanne!

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Wyatt

  COPYRIGHT © 2019 by Leanne Davis

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: dvsleanne@gmail.com

  Publishing History First Edition, 2019 Digital

  Digital ISBN: 978-1-941522-56-1

  The Son Series, Book Two

  Edited by Teri at The Editing Fairy (editingfairy@yahoo.com)

  Copyediting: Jeannie Brooker

  Cover Designer: Steven Novak (novakillustrations@gmail.com)