Without You (Love Wanted in Texas #1)(68)

Will dropped my hand and pulled Taylor in for a hug. “Tay, don’t rush it. It’ll happen when it’s meant to happen.”

She pulled back and nodded. “I know. I guess I’m just waiting for that one guy who makes a difference. I sure haven’t found him in Fredericksburg or Mason, that’s for sure.”

I let out a chortle. “Taylor, you have plenty of time.”

She smiled weakly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

We spent the rest of the evening just hanging out and having fun. It felt normal yet different. Will and I still needed to talk about me going back to UT and him going to A&M.

I glanced over to Libby. She was listening to something Grace was saying, but she looked a million miles away. I decided I would talk to her tomorrow.

I turned to look at Luke. He was texting someone.

Probably his damn f*ck buddy. I rolled my eyes and continued to watch him.

He seemed upset by something he had just read on his phone. He looked directly up at me. I smiled, and he returned my smile. His eyes seemed so lost and confused.

Tilting my head, I mouthed, Are you okay?

He nodded his head.

Liar.

I was going to talk to Will about Luke.

Libby let out a small scream at something Grace had just said to her, and Luke quickly looked at her as he jumped up. When he saw her smiling, he sat down.

Libby glanced up at me. “Y’all are coming to A&M next year?”

“What?” Maegan yelled out. “So not fair!”

I giggled as Will pulled me closer to him.

“Yep, Grace and I are both transferring to A&M,” I said.

“Ugh!” Maegan sat down and pouted.

“I thought you loved Baylor, Meg,” I said.

She let out a long sigh. “I do. It’s just…I miss y’all.”

“Think how we feel. We still have half a year in high school,” Lauren said.

Colt cleared his throat and looked around. “We need to make each other a promise right now.”

“What kind of promise?” Taylor asked.

Colt looked at each of us with the smile that I knew drove all the girls mad. He looked so much like Daddy with his dark brown hair, breathtaking blue eyes, and killer smile, and Daddy was so handsome. I would dare say that Colt was probably the one who all the girls really flocked to. His Southern charm was both a strength and a weakness for him.

“That we never lose touch with each other. I mean, I know the odds of all of us ending up in Mason like our parents are probably not too good.”

Maegan laughed. “Yeah…no, thank you. I have no desire to live in Hicksville anymore.”

Colt chuckled. “Let’s promise we all get together for a week once a year. No matter where we end up—near, far, kids, no kids—we all plan to meet for a week and just hang out.”

I smiled as tears began to fill my eyes. I looked around.

Grace had originally said she wanted out of Mason. After one semester in Austin, she’d realized her heart would always be home in Mason. When we’d discovered we had a mutual dream of owning our own nursery, we’d decided that we wanted to make that dream a reality, and Mason was the only place to do that.

Colt, Luke, and Will were destined to run the ranch. It was in their blood, and they would talk about it all the time.

I glanced over to Lauren. She loved Mason and helping her father with his breeding company. Since I could remember, she’d talked about taking over and making it even better. Scott and Jessie, Lauren’s parents, would love that.

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.