“Leave with me?” Anna whispered, the tradition of attending the dance no longer important.
Drew nodded, interlocking their fingers as he led her to his beat-up red Chevy truck. He opened her door and held the train of their school’s traditional blue queen’s dress to help her slide in.
His spicy Drew scent filled the cab as soon as he closed the door. His chemistry book and an empty Coke bottle sat on the floorboard, their prom picture tucked into his dashboard.
With Drew’s hand on her leg and her head on his shoulder, they passed through the streets of Sage Hill. Minutes later, he turned onto the dirt road that ran behind his parents’ land, threw the truck in park, and got out to open the gate and drive through. He glanced at Anna with a wide grin when he got back in, and a few bumpy minutes later, he pulled into their spot under the oak trees by the river.
They’d spent so many nights there, learning about each other, making plans for the future, kissing, falling in love. It was the place where she’d been terrified to tell him she wanted to wait. But he’d understood, and even more than that, with a kiss on her forehead, he’d promised her they would wait, that he’d make sure of it, just like he’d make every dream she had come true.
Drew jumped out and pulled down the tailgate. Anna watched him through the back window, where STEVENS stared back from his letterman jacket. The sounds of the river rushed behind him, and she couldn’t see it in the darkness, but she knew every dip in the water, every rock jutting out causing ripples in its current. The one giant slab in the middle where they swam and held each other when the night was warm.
Maneuvering over the rocks was impossible in heels, so she slipped them off. Drew grabbed the sleeping bag from behind the seat and swept her into his arms. His intense gaze roamed slowly from her eyes to her lips, then back again as her arms held tight around his neck.
“I can walk, you know,” Anna whispered, the night too perfect to risk breaking its spell.
Drew let out a soft laugh and ran his thumb tenderly along her cheek. Anna’s eyes fluttered closed, leaning into his touch. She loved the way he touched her, but she loved him for so much more than that. He took care of her when she needed it, but he pushed her in times when she needed that too. Their mothers were best friends, and they grew up together, had their first kiss at twelve, saw to the heart of each other’s happiness and pain better than anyone else ever could. They bickered, argued, pushed each other’s buttons, but their love was all-consuming, their time spent together giving a new meaning to the word “joy.”
Drew sat Anna on the tailgate and smoothed out the blanket. He leaned back with his arms behind his head, staring at the sky. Anna snuggled into his chest, and a protective arm squeezed her to him.
She didn’t want to spoil their night, but something ate at her that she had to ask. “So do we need to talk about earlier today so we can get to the kissing?”
Drew chuckled then let out a heavy sigh. “Do we really have to?”
“We probably should, since you were so angry with me.”
“I wasn’t mad at you.”
“You were—”
He leaned up on his elbows, and she sat next to him. “I walked up to see you standing in the batting cages with Josh Murphy’s crotch pressed right up against your ass and his arms wrapped around you. I was pissed as hell.”
And suddenly Anna was too. “I never once questioned you when I found you chatting with a cheerleader hanging on your arm and leaving freaking spirit cookies in your locker.” Her face and neck heated in anger this time. “Josh saw something in my swing, and he offered to help me fix it. He doesn’t want me.”
“He doesn’t want you?” Drew rolled his eyes, and she clenched her fists. “He’s wanted you for a long time. He talks about you constantly, right in front of me. How hot you are, what a lucky son of a bitch I am.” His jaw clenched, hands flexing in and out. “I walked up to find his arms wrapped around you, and I…I lost it.”
Silence hung between them for what felt like hours. The crickets even stopped their songs, waiting to hear more of the performance.
“I saw him touch your bare shoulder before the game. Heard him tell you that you looked beautiful. Luke had to throw me in the locker room to keep me from ripping that douchebag’s entire arm off and beating him with it.”
Anna stared at him cautiously as he sat up, jumped down, and paced. The gravel crunched loudly under his boots while she watched him process his words.
She grabbed his hand to stop him. “Drew, you know I don’t want anyone but you.”
He stilled right in front of her with his hands caressing up and down her thighs. His fingers gripped the silky fabric of the dress, setting her entire body into mad tingles. Their lips were so close, and she knew just how amazing his would feel if he closed the inches between them. The gold flecks revealed the determined spark in his eyes as he lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “I don’t see anyone else, Anna. You’re all I see. I’m sorry for acting like a jackass, but the thought of losing you…damn, it scares the hell out of me.”
Anna nodded, biting her lip. He smiled, pulling it from between her teeth with his thumb. Their mouths brushed together with a feather light touch before he leaned his forehead against hers. “I love you, Sunshine. No one could ever fill your place in my heart.”
Her body shivered with the familiar, incredible warmth of his kiss. Soft at first, then hungrier as his tongue parted her lips, and she settled into the arms of the boy she loved with every piece of her heart.
***
Anna squeezed her eyes tight, wanting to push away one of her favorite memories on the river behind her but at the same time clutch it tight so she’d never lose it.
His words, his kiss that night said they’d always be together, and they’d loved each other for one more amazing year before he ended them. Another piece of her heart crumbled away remembering that day in college when he broke it with no hope of repair.
Warm fingers brushed Anna’s shoulder, causing her to jump. Even after all these years, it set a blaze on the spot and squeezed her lungs until breathing in his presence was almost impossible.
“Hey, Sunshine.” His deep, unforgettable voice came from behind her.
He walked around the bench, and Anna did a quick inventory of every subtle change that had transformed him from the boy she’d loved to the man who stood before her. He’d let his hair grow longer; those arms that once made the rest of the world disappear looked more defined even under his suit jacket. The lines of his face were a bit more rugged, but those eyes had only grown in intensity. Every kiss, every touch, every I love you stared back at her.
Drew’s lips pulled up on one side in a half smile, and she promised herself in that moment he would not see her cry.
***
Drew
“Hey,” Anna squeaked.
Her sweet southern accent was much thicker when she was nervous or upset. Being eleven years out of practice reading her emotions, Drew didn’t trust himself to know which it was.
She stood from the bench with Charlotte asleep in her arms. He’d treated the little beauty for an ear infection earlier in the week, but she seemed to be on the mend. Looking away at the river, Anna nonchalantly wiped away the tears he hadn’t missed.
“Hey to you, too.” Drew reached out and touched the softness of Charlotte’s hair, realizing he had no idea what to say next.
Not one coherent thought would take shape in Drew’s head. Anna far surpassed every dream he’d had about her, but it was the way she’d loved him with her whole heart, made him feel like he could do anything with her by his side that no one else could ever replace.
“So…your sister’s getting married,” Anna said with a weak smile. “Exciting.”
“Yeah.” He let out a nervous laugh. “I gave him the brother speech, so he’s been sufficiently threatened.”
Anna’s gaze darted quickly away toward the chapel entrance. “I hear you’re next. Congratulations.”
“What?” Drew squinted in confusion. Next? Where did that come from?
“I better go. I think Charlotte needs a bottle, and we forgot to bring one.” Anna turned without another word and walked toward the parking lot.
Drew picked up the half full bottle from the bench and knew she was lying. What he couldn’t figure out was why she needed to run away.
And why does it matter if she runs? Why are you even out here?
But he knew the answer, even if he couldn’t admit it.
Drew caught up with her in time to see her place a still-sleeping Charlotte in her car seat. When she turned to face him, those green eyes forced all the air from his lungs. Drew’s sweet Sunshine stared back at him, and he pushed out the words before he could stop them.
“Leave with me.”
Anna stared up at him, shock widening her features. “What did you say?” she barely choked out.
“I…um…” Even he heard the panic in his voice. What the hell was wrong with him? She’d moved on and found someone she thought loved her more after Drew waited too damn long to pull himself together all those years ago.
Drew was well aware he had only himself to blame for losing her; there wasn’t a decision he regretted more than walking away that day, but the withdrawals of living without her had changed him in ways he didn’t often let himself analyze.
She stood, and his arms instinctively caged her against the car so they were face to face, their bodies inches from brushing together. Drew couldn’t bring himself to move away.
Anna closed her eyes, and her teeth sank into that plump bottom lip. “You should go back inside,” she whispered, and with her eyes squeezed shut, she pushed his chest just enough to open the driver’s side door.
She closed it, started the engine, and backed slowly away from the chapel.
“They’re starting to look for you in there,” Luke said.
Drew whirled around, ready to throw a punch at his unexpected presence. “Quit sneaking up on me. You need to wear a bell or something.”
Luke held his hands up defensively. “Was that Anna leaving?”
“Yeah.” Drew stared as her taillights faded into the distance. “She told me…she said I was next to get married. Why would she say that?”
Luke had the nerve to laugh. “Traci probably told the girls at Beth’s beauty shop you went to look at rings.”
“That was months ago. And I didn’t even buy one.”
Luke placed a hand on Drew’s shoulder, turning him back toward the chapel. “Stories always blow up into something bigger.”
“Apparently,” Drew growled.
“After you get back in there and watch your sister get hitched, you should go talk to her,” Luke said, pushing Drew toward the door.
Drew stopped, his hand resting on the knob. “Why should I do that?”
“Well, because you never got over her. After all this time, you’re single and she’s single. It’s not rocket science, buddy.”
“She’s…that was a long time ago. She moved on, and so did I. She married another guy. Did you forget about that?”
Luke pushed Drew through the door to the angry glare of his mother. “You keep telling yourself you’ve moved on. Maybe in another ten years, you’ll believe it.”
Chapter Three
Anna
Anna drove away from the chapel, and the stupid tears came no matter how fast she batted them away. Charlotte’s tiny snores from the back seat reminded her she needed to pull her crap together before she crashed, so she pulled the car over in front of Mr. Collins’ old barn.
But it wasn’t Mr. Collins’ anymore. It was Drew’s. She’d come home a year ago to visit baby Charlotte and realized Drew now lived in between her parents and her sister. In the home they had once planned to share.
But she had a new life plan now. One that didn’t include men. All her focus would be on Yoakum Ridge and the promotion that she’d worked her butt off for.
Somewhat composed, Anna pulled back onto the dirt road and drove to her parents’ house. She rocked a sleeping Charlotte on the wraparound porch while she waited for her mom and sister to find their way home.
The sound of gravel crunching woke Anna from a light snooze sometime later as Mrs. Bishop pulled down the long driveway. Beth stepped out of the car with a scowl and thanked their neighbor for the ride. She secured her chestnut hair in a messy bun then rubbed her eight-month pregnant belly.
She and her husband, Kevin, had been together since the day ten years ago when he came to work for their father on the farm. They were married four months later. Kevin still helped their Dad but also managed his own horse breeding business.
The green eyes they’d both gotten from their father searched for a reaction as Beth stepped onto the porch.
“How was the wedding?” Anna asked, placing Beth’s daughter in her arms and pushing through the screen door into the house.
Anna paced the living room, interrupting the view of the giant flat screen her dad and brother, Max, were currently staring at. The very same television Mason had meticulously picked out for them to pitch in on and give her dad for Christmas two years ago.
Both men’s wide eyes found hers, and she glared as Beth followed her in.
“It was beautiful. Mom stayed, but I left before the reception,” Beth replied. “Thanks for leaving me without a way home.”
Anna shrugged. Guilt seeped in and replaced the anger as she stared at her clearly exhausted sister.
Beth blew out a heavy sigh. “Mom and I should have given you more warning, but we wanted the two of you to see each other. Maybe talk a little? All these years we both thought you and Drew shared a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love.”
Anna stepped back with a gasp, adrenaline flooding every part of her body. “What are you talking about? You’re the one who told me he’s engaged.”
“Yeah, well, he was looking at rings in Traci’s store one day, but word is they split up months ago.”
That stopped Anna’s pacing. Her gaze darted to her dad who nodded in confirmation.
Beth let out another long sigh and lowered her very pregnant body on the couch. “Every time I cut Drew’s hair, he asks me about you. Every. Single. Time. He tries to be sneaky about how he works you into the conversation, but every five weeks for over ten years I’ve basically given him a recap of what’s going on in your life.”
“You never told me that,” Anna whispered.
“Because he broke your heart and then you fell in love with someone else. But now…”
Anna cut her off with a hand in her face. “That doesn’t mean anything. We grew up together; he’s asking about a friend.”
“No, he’s not. The look on his face, the way he says your name, it’s not the look of a man who is talking about his friend. It’s been eating at me since I heard you were coming home that the two of you should sit down and talk, but I knew you’d never go for it.”
Beth was right. Mason’s actions had Anna questioning her ability to ever love or trust anyone again. She hadn’t seen her marriage falling apart until it slapped her in the face. “No, I wouldn’t have.”
Max growled from the couch. “Beth, why are you pushing her to that little jerk? Don’t you remember how sad she was for months after he broke up with her?”
“Because you have soooo much healthy relationship experience to contribute to this conversation? Wait. No? So shut up. Besides, that was years ago.” Beth turned her attention back to Anna as their dad grunted from his chair.
Anna knew she had to tread lightly on her next question, but her heart still screamed she needed the answer. “So…Drew’s not engaged?”
Beth had the nerve to roll her eyes. “I kept thinking Drew would come talk to you himself, but since he hasn’t, I decided I had to do something. I asked Mom to help me get you there today. So did you see him? Did you talk?”
She saw him, every gorgeous inch of him.
“He was standing in the parking lot when I
left,” Anna mumbled.
“In the parking lot! How did I miss that? What did he say?”
“He asked me to leave with him.”
“I’ll break his face,” Max snarled, looking to their dad for support he wasn’t going to get. Their father had always loved Drew, and now they were BFF neighbors.
“So why are you here?” Beth shouted, standing and shaking Anna’s shoulders.
Anna rubbed her temples to push away the headache forming. “It doesn’t matter. Even if he wanted us to try again, like you say he does, it would never work. Too much has happened. You know that. If he knew everything, he’d never want it to.”
“It’s in the past, and you should leave it there. All of it. The feelings you have for Drew are still there. That look he gives me when he talks about you…you have the matching one right now,” Beth said gently.
Anna had no response. She wasn’t even sure her heart was capable of the emotions Beth described anymore, so she simply walked past them all to her room and closed the door.
***
“He what?”
Anna drove toward her first day at Yoakum Ridge as she gave her best friend, Layla Weber, a play-by-play of the exchange with Drew.
Layla and Anna immediately bonded at college move-in day. Anna had just watched Drew and her parents drive away, doing her best to hold in the tears. Her mom was sure to sob the entire way home, and Drew looked so agonized about leaving her that she put on her big girl pants, kissed him hard on the mouth, and told him to go kick ass as her sexy college baseball player. She held it together until she walked into her room; then the tears wouldn’t stop. Layla grabbed her hand and pulled her to the nearest Sonic, introducing her to the glory that was a blended Dr. Pepper float.
She and Layla now worked together at Green & Russell, and although happy for Anna’s big career break, Layla was none too happy to be missing her office moral support.
“He asked me to leave with him,” Anna confirmed.
When It Was Us (Sage Hill Series Book 1) Page 2