Wesley

by Leanne Davis

  Wyatt tosses a pebble into the woods. He rises back up. “All right, brainiac, simpler question. Do you want to leave? Yes or no? Gut answer.”

  “No.”

  It’s immediate. I spit it out. I stare in surprise, and Wyatt does the same in the glow of his flashlight. He nods and smiles. “Good. Then pack your precious shit up and come on. Get in my truck. Let’s go for a ride.”

  And I do.

  I feel detached from what I’m doing and have no clue why. I don’t care what might happen at the end of the car ride. Or what I might feel. I try to pretend I’m not doing it. I feel dumb as shit. It’s been less than a day. It’s only eleven o’clock at night. I haven’t made it through a day. Not a single day.

  And yet, Wyatt comes after me? Wyatt of all people?

  I glance at him as he starts down the highway, crossing the bridge over the Columbia River. He grumbles. “Was this some kind of test? You wanted someone to retrieve you?”

  “No. I was going away.”

  “I think it was a test. Just for future, these people are all respectful and shit and they won’t force stuff on you. They think you know what you need. I think you’re full of shit. So, don’t be anymore.”

  I stare out the window, somehow shored up by Wyatt’s gruff words and yet… he came after me. I smile as the road curves this way and that with the river and landscape and lights dotting my view and then there it is. The farmhouse set in the woods. The only place I’ve ever felt at home.

  I start for the door and pause. I don’t look at Wyatt. I just mutter, “Thanks… for…”

  “Yeah,” he interrupts me. “You’re welcome.”

  He’s out of the truck. The porch lights flip on. I get out of the vehicle, too, feeling like a jackass, all sheepish and confused like this is the biggest moment of my life and Wyatt shoves me and smiles. “By the way. Dani’s here.”

  There in the front door appear Ryder and Tara and Jacey. I reach the bottom steps. “I can’t believe it. He said he’d go ask you because we hadn’t… I just thought…oh, I thought you knew. Stay here, Wesley. We want you to. All of us do.”

  “See? I think you just wanted everyone to give you the props,” Wyatt says behind me. It lightens the awkwardness for me to turn and shove Wyatt. But not in the heated way of a few weeks ago. Then I see Dani. She steps out from behind Tara. Her eyes are bloodshot and swollen from crying. That’s made more obvious in the bright light. She looks tragic and doubting me even.

  Everyone falls quiet as she looks at me. “I thought—I thought Wyatt was crazy. That we didn’t just ask you.” She breaks off as sobs fill her throat and voice.

  “He is. I wouldn’t have. But then… he…”

  “Saved the fucking day!” Wyatt rubs his hands as he passes me and shoves me forward. “Go inside. Enough with the big-assed pronouncements. You know where your bedroom is. Go put your shit in it and give my ex-girl a kiss. You made her cry enough for one day.”

  Wyatt goes through the door, grabs his mom’s hand and pushes everyone inside. I stare at him in utter bewilderment. He made it possible for me to be here, and now this? And so easy? I mean, shit! There are a million details and warnings I need to give Tara and Ryder. I need to ask. Really? Stay here? What will I do? How will I do it? Will I just stay here in my room? My room. What do I think of my own room? How—

  “You’re a clueless jerk.” Dani. Her voice cracks. She pushes my chest, but it doesn’t budge me. I grip her wrists gently in my fingertips.

  The panic stops. “I am.”

  She pushes again and then pulls on my shirt, fisting the material in her hands. “You’re really here?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. I guess I want to try. I don’t know how this will—”

  She suddenly throws herself at me and shuts me up with a kiss. “It’ll work like every other relationship out there, one day at a time. You’re not that special, you know? That’s how it is for all of us.”

  I hold her and close my eyes. Everything feels like it’s spinning but also solid under my feet for the very first time in my entire life. The. Very. First. Time. It’s both confusing and makes me want to start running and also hold her back.

  She wriggles out of my hold. “Let’s go inside. They won’t let me stay the night. So, there are those annoying rules to contend with. You know parents.” She rolls her eyes, but then she smiles at me with her soft, genuine understanding, and I know she knows that I don’t really know. Something sharp jabs me in my chest. No. I didn’t know parents. Or brothers. Or friends. Or girlfriends. I have a lot to learn about all of them. But it’s the first time I’ve ever seen them up close to learn from them. It’s the only time anyone has ever permanently wanted me in their house as part of their family and part of their lives.

  I twirl her back to me as she starts inside. “I don’t know. But I want to learn. I want to know and mostly because I think I love you. But I don’t know how, and I want to learn how. I want to be with you… I want you.”

  “Well, duh. Why do you think you came back? And I know. You love us all. Now try not to forget it. And this, Wesley? It’s all the very beginning…” And with that, we enter the house with people who truly want me. All of me. For real. Maybe even forever.

  But first I start with dinner. Despite the late hour, I immediately fall on the plate of food Tara’s made while Dani and I were outside. They burst out laughing at the indelicate grasp and pushing of food into my mouth as fast as I can. “Good God, Abbott, there’s no way you can go back out on your own. Look at you. It’s only been a few hours.”

  I glance at Jacey as she says my name out loud. Jacey grins at my raised eyebrows. “What? Dani told them, not me. No more secrets.”

  I glance at Dani. She doesn’t duck her head but holds my gaze long and steady. Her eyebrows rise as if to challenge me. I nod. I chew. I swallow. I drink the water. “No more secrets. She’s right. Yeah. Hey, Kincaids. My name is Wesley Abbott.”

  Thank you for reading WESLEY!

  I hope you loved reading about traveler Wesley and how Dani’s love becomes the only thing that could turn Wesley’s life around and give him the motivation to finally stay put.

  Now read on to see what happens to Wesley’s friend Jacey Walker and to figure out exactly what has happened in Wyatt’s life to cause so many changes in him?

  One-click WYATT now!

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  Keep reading for an excerpt of WYATT…

  Excerpt

  WYATT.

  She squeals as she pushes hard against my chest. “Damn it, Wyatt! That’s not fair.”

  I let her go and she wobbles around, trying to peel herself off me and get back onto her feet. In a lithe jump, I spring up behind her. She grinds her teeth at me. “Yes, we know how agile you are, athletic god, but did you have to tackle me?”

  “Did I hurt you?” It’s a rhetorical question because I know I didn’t hurt her.

  She’s fuming now and she wipes off her jeans as if I dirtied them. She never even made contact with the ground. “No. But you have no right.”

  I nod, staring at her. “I was wrong to mock your reading books. I love our books. And I always miss you when you leave the apartment after spending the weekend with me. And I miss you period whenever you’re not here. And I was jerk. No, an asshole.”

  She stares at me, her eyes growing wider and filled with concern. “Why? Why did you do that?”

  “Because you’re right. You are my best friend.”

  She stares at me. I try to hold her gaze, but I’m so ashamed that I have to avert my eyes.

&n
bsp; “What happened back there anyway? That definitely wasn’t you.”

  I sigh. “No. It wasn’t. I just freaked out.” I steel myself as I suck in a long breath. My ragged nerves make my palms sweaty. I’ve never felt nervous with a woman before. It’s a first for me. The butterflies rumble and twist all around in my gut. I don’t know what is happening or how I missed it before but I feel all jumbled up and it seems to be more than just Hans.

  “Why would you freak out?”

  I step forward, getting right into her space. She barely tilts her head to keep eye contact but her eyes grow larger as her gaze slides up and down my face. The pulse in her throat hums and she appears suddenly breathless. “Wyatt?”

  “I was jealous.” I stare right into her face. I scan her forehead, her eyes, her nose and her mouth. I stare at her gorgeous mouth. “I was fucking jealous of you being with another man. Because I’m not your friend. I mean, I don’t want to just be your friend.”

  Her tongue comes out to wet her lower lip and she sniffs before replying, “You… and me?”

  “Don’t tell me you never thought of it?”

  “Sure, I thought of it, and swiftly dismissed it about twenty minutes after I thought of it. Last August.”

  “Why?” My heart dips as I stare at her confused, wide-eyed and dazed gaze.

  She snorts and shakes her head. “Because you’re Wyatt Kincaid. You’re a football hero and an academic whiz. You’re smart and pulled together and you have a well-respected family. You are everything I’m not so you’re way too good for me. Duh! That’s why, of course that’s why. Everyone knows that. Everyone.”

  I can only watch her. My thoughts are scattered and confused so I keep my hands fisted at my sides. “I didn’t know you thought anything about me. Except that I’m a privileged jerk whom you just happened to encounter.”

  “I try to rely on the facts. But I felt…”

  My breath stalls and she feels it. She’s intimidated by our differences, and I know there’s a lot to unpack here. I’m not above her or as wonderful as she seems to think. Far from it. And I’ll tell her that… after we decide if something is brewing between us.

  “Felt? What did you feel?” I breathe the words and barely speak them out loud. Why am I so paralyzed? With Dani, I had no problem touching her affectionately and we did it all the time. We held hands, we hugged, I rubbed her back and legs when we sat together, and we easily reached out to one another with ease and candor. But Jacey? I feel immobilized. Is it fear of rejection? I don’t know. It’s just impossible for me to touch her. It’s too critical, and too important.

  “Things,” she whispers back. Her gaze is fixed on mine and we stare, untouching, but I have pinpricks all over my skin from her close proximity.

  Continue reading Wyatt....

  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 Lost 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.

  The Son Series

  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@aol.com

  Publishing History First Edition, 2019 Digital

  Digital ISBN: 978-1-941522-56-1

  The Son Series, Book One

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

  Copyediting: Jeannie Brooker

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

  To Joyce Stuhr

  Strength. Love. Hope. Joy.

  You were all this and more.

  As you always said:

  ALL MY LOVE,

  FOREVER AND ALWAYS

  RIP 1-30-19