I turned around, and when I saw the tear rolling down his face, I sucked in a breath of air. “Layton, you are my entire world. I love you more than anything. I need you to know something though.”
The smile on his face slightly faded. “Is everything okay?”
I smiled and placed my hand on the side of his face as I nodded. “It’s never been better.” I looked down and then back into his eyes. “Layton, I know that you would do anything to protect Taylor and me, but I need you to know that you can’t protect us from everything. Just always know that the only thing we ever need from you is your love. Your love will get us through anything, Layton.”
He closed his eyes and slowly nodded his head. When he opened his eyes, they were filled with tears. “I never want to lose you, Whitley—ever.”
I reached up and pulled his lips to mine. I kissed him and poured as much love into the kiss as I possibly could. When I pulled back, I smiled and said, “We are going to live a beautiful, long life together, Layton, but sometimes, we will have to experience pain. Just always remember, the pain will make us stronger, and we will learn to fight even harder.”
Layton’s eyes widened as he took a step back from me. “What did you just say?” he whispered.
“Um…that we are going to have a beautiful life together?”
He shook his head. “About the pain.”
I took a deep breath and said, “Life isn’t always going to be happy times, but it will make us stronger. The pain we experience in life will always make us stronger.”
Layton’s face turned white, and he took a few steps back before he hit the bed and sat down. He dropped his face into his hands, and I stood there, frozen. My heart was slamming in my chest, and I was trying to figure out what I had just said that caused him to react the way he had.
I walked up to him, and he quickly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him. I began pushing my fingers through his hair as I just let him hold me. After almost five minutes, he pulled back some and stood up. He placed his finger on my chin until my eyes met his.
“The day my mother died, she told Mike and me that we always needed to remember that our pain would always make us stronger…that the pain and hurt we encountered in life would teach us a lesson and make us stronger.”
I sucked in a breath, and it finally hit me.
Remind him that pain always makes you stronger.
Layton’s father had told me to remind Layton of what his mother had said to him.
“Layton…the letter,” I whispered.
He looked at me as he tilted his head.
I attempted to clear my throat. “Your father’s letter to me…he told me to remind you that pain would always make you stronger, and it just…it just…I know why he told me that now.”
Layton brought me in closer to him, and we both just held each other.
He pulled back and smiled at me. “Are you ready?”
I tilted my head and looked at him. “Am I ready for what?”
He threw his head back and laughed as he glanced back at Taylor. Then, he looked back into my eyes. “This crazy ride we are about to be on.”
I giggled and said, “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life, cowboy.”
Layton placed both of his hands on my face, and right before he kissed me, he whispered, “You’re the love of my life. Thank you for reminding me and for loving me.”
I smiled and said, “I’ll always love you, Layton. Our love will never be broken.”
I watched as Walker and Jase said good-bye to their friends as the last people from the party filed out of the barn. When Walker turned and smiled at me, my heart stopped beating.
I need to stop this and stop it right away.
He’s your best friend, Taylor. Nothing more.
I smiled back and looked over toward Ava and her best friend, Cindy. I slowly glanced back over at Walker and Jase.
Walker had been my best friend since I could remember. Our parents were best friends, so we were always together. Family vacations, birthdays, holidays—whatever it was, and our families did it together. Walker had vowed at age six that he would always protect Ava and me. We were his whole world, and no one would ever hurt his sisters.
The problem was, Ava was his sister, and I was the best friend…who had been in love with him since he declared that first promise.
Jase let out a laugh and looked at me. “How do you think it went?”
I shook my head and said, “If Mom and Dad find out that you threw Walker and me a going-away party in their barn, they are going to be pissed.”
Jase and Ava both started laughing.
“Please. I’ve heard all the stories of Uncle Layton’s pontoon parties. One little barn party is nothing,” Ava said.
Jase looked at Ava and winked. “A girl after my own heart.”
Ava gave Jase the finger and turned to head out of the barn. “Cindy and I are heading home, Tay. See you in a few,” she called over her shoulder.
Jase watched Ava walk out of the barn, and then he turned and laughed. “Good thing I have a girlfriend.” He walked up and shook Walker’s hand, and then he reached down and kissed me on the cheek. “Love you, sis,” he whispered.
“Watch it. Ava is still my baby sister, Jase,” Walker said.
Jase let out a laugh and walked out of the barn but not before saying, “I threw the party. Y’all clean up.”
I stood up and called out, “Jase Morris! You better get your ass back in here right now and help clean all this up!”
Walker shook his head. “Come on. By the time you talk him into coming to help, we can have the whole place cleaned up.”
As Walker and I began cleaning up the empty cups and trash, we talked about college. Walker was going to Texas A&M and majoring in biological and agricultural engineering. I was going to Baylor University and getting my degree in education. My dream was to be an elementary school teacher right here in Llano.
“Are you still thinking of minoring in horticulture?” I asked as I threw the last empty cup away. I wiped my sticky hands on my pants.
Jase had promised no alcohol, but I was pretty sure that some people had snuck some in, and the evidence was all over my hands.
Walker let out a chuckle. “I’m not sure. I think I’ll be too busy with my major, and my dad really doesn’t want me pushing it.”
I walked over and rinsed off my hands in the sink at the end of the barn. I made my way over to a bunch of hay bales. I flopped down and let out a laugh. “I think you probably know just as much as the teachers anyway with what all you’ve learned from your dad.”
He nodded his head. “Yeah. My main goal is to help my dad and Layton out on the ranch. I’m itching to get into the racehorse world, but my damn dad won’t even let me go to any more races.”
I threw my head back and laughed. As I pulled my knees up to my chest, I looked at Walker and shook my head. “You don’t think it has anything to do with the fact that he caught you getting people to place bets on the horses, do you?”
Walker gave me that smile that had been melting my heart for years as he sat down next to me. I’d learned to cover up how I really felt about him, but he still did things to the pit of my stomach.
“Tay, can I ask you something?”
I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Of course you can. You never have to ask that.”
He looked away and out the barn door. “Why haven’t you ever dated anyone for very long?”
His question totally caught me off guard, and I dropped my legs and sat up as I cleared my throat. “Um…I don’t know. I want to be with that one person who…who, um…”
Walker was still staring off in the distance as he said, “Makes your heart stop beating when the person walks into a room?” he barely said.
I just stared at him. “Yes.”
“I want the type of love my parents have,” Walker said with a smile as he slowly turned and looked into my eyes.
“Yeah…me, t
oo,” I whispered as I looked away. “What about you? Never found that one girl who makes your heart stop?” I asked as I bumped his shoulder with mine.
When he reached down and took my hand, I sucked in a breath of air and tried to contain the crazy feeling zipping through my body. I looked at him, and as our eyes met, something happened. Something changed between us, and my heart was slamming in my chest.
Walker stood, pulled me up, and brought me closer to his body. When he placed his finger on my chin, his eyes landed on my lips, and I fought to hold in the moan I so desperately wanted to let out. He slowly leaned down and brushed his lips against mine, and we shared our first kiss. It was slow…yet full of passion. Our tongues danced together, and we both let out a moan as Walker pulled me against his body.
When he pulled his lips away, he whispered, “Promise me something.”
I swallowed hard and whispered back, “Anything.”
Walker looked into my eyes and smiled. “Wait for me, Taylor.”
I smiled. “Okay.”
“Say it, Taylor,” Walker said.
I tried desperately to ignore the feeling of him pressing himself into me.
“I promise you, Walker, I’ll wait for you.”
I have to thank God first. If he hadn’t blessed me with the gift of storytelling, none of this would even be possible.
Darrin Elliott—You truly inspire me in more ways than you know. Thank you for loving me like you do. Thank you for putting up with what you do, and thank you for supporting me as I chase this dream of mine. I love you forever and always.
Lauren Elliott—Can I just say the older you get, the more fun it is getting? You are truly your father’s daughter, and if you only knew how many things you inspire me to write about, you would probably just keep your mouth shut! I love you, and I am so proud of you. I’m also glad you got your “smart math” from your father.
Heather Davenport—Again, I have to say it…I would be lost without you. Your friendship means so very much to me. Thank you most of all for being real with me and for not being afraid to tell me when a scene sucks. You truly do rock, girl! Love you lots!
Kristin Mayer—The other Special K! What would I do without you? You keep me sane. You let me bitch when I need to bitch, and you make me laugh until I almost pee my pants at least once a day. I’m so glad we are friends, and I’m so glad you sent me that Bullshit button…oh, and my Magic 8-Ball!
Molly McAdams—I hope you know how it kills me to go more than one week apart for our lunches. Your friendship means the world to me, and I would be lost without you. You make me laugh…you make me GASP…you make me say WTF…and you make my heart feel happy! #PeasAndCarrots
Gary Taylor—Thank you for your never-ending support. Thank you for your songs, too. You and I are like kindred souls when it comes to songs. Don’t ever stop sending them because they almost always inspire a scene. Your friendship means the world to me, and I love you like a brother.
Kathy Bankard—My quote fairy and so much more! I know how busy you are, so I can’t thank you enough for all that you do for me. Most importantly, thank you for your friendship. It means more to me than you know!
Jovana Shirley—How you put up with me and my silly grammatical mistakes that I seem to keep making book after book, I’ll never know, but thank God you do! You are the queen of editing and formatting. You turn my babies into something so wonderful, and for that, I can never thank you enough.
Jemma Scarry—You are an amazing friend, and I could never thank you enough for dropping everything when I send you a book to beta read. Thank you for not being afraid to say something is off or needs to be reworked. Your little notes make me laugh, and you would totally kick ass as an editor…just saying! I can’t wait to see your face in July! Love you, girl!
JoJo Belle—I really wish you would just move to Texas already! Thank you, JoJo, for being such a wonderful friend. Thank you for reading my books when I send them to you and for giving me your honest feedback. I love the notes you leave for me while you are reading. They totally make my day. You make me laugh, girl, and I cannot wait to see you in July. I’m tackle-hugging your ass!
Nikki Sievert— I’m so glad Kristin gave me your name! I know we just met but I can’t thank you enough for beta reading for me!
My Street Team (Kelly’s Most Wanted)—Thank you for everything you do for me! I can’t even begin to say what it means to me that you would take time out of your own busy worlds to spread the word about these books. I hope that I can continue to write stories that you fall in love with, including cowboys who melt your heart!
My HIPPA Girls—Fifty of the most amazing women ever. Most of y’all were on my original street team, and the fact that you stick with me blows my mind. Thank you for letting me bounce ideas off of y’all…for letting me vent…and for just being amazing friends. I’d be lost without you girls!
My Wanted and Broken Discussion boards—What can I say? Y’all make me laugh, you make cry, and you make me want to be a better author and person every day. Thank you so much for your support. You will never know what it means to me.
To All My Readers and Friends—None of this would be possible if it wasn’t for y’all. Thank you so much for your support. Thank you for letting me share the stories in my head with you. Here is to many more to come!
“Ask Me” by Amy Grant—Epilogue
“Kiss Me Now” by Katie Armiger—Reed and Courtney realize that they are going to spend three weeks together.
“The Simple Life” by Drake White—Reed shows Courtney his house.
“Walking on Air” by Katy Perry—Reed and Courtney dancing at the club in Austin.
“Mine Would Be You” by Blake Shelton—Reed kisses Courtney for the first time.
“Everything Has Changed” by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran—Reed and Courtney’s relationship changes after they kiss for the first time.
“Oops! I Did It Again” by Britney Spears—Courtney dances in the kitchen while making tacos.
“Told You So” by Cassadee Pope—Courtney’s brother tells her that Noah is with him in Texas.
“Don’t Let Me Be Lonely” by The Band Perry—Reed waits for Courtney after he makes dinner.
“Cyclone” by Baby Bash—Courtney decides to show Reed how she really feels about him by dancing with him.
“We Were Us” by Keith Urban—Reed and Courtney drive down the country roads late at night.
“Doin’ What She Likes” by Blake Shelton—Reed does all the things that Courtney likes.
“We Both Know” by Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw—Reed and Courtney make love for the first time.
“I’m Movin’ On” by Rascal Flatts—Courtney lets go of her pain and hurt after she tells Reed about Noah.
“Echo” by Jason Walker—Reed holds Courtney after she tells him about Noah.
“I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes” by Dierks Bentley—Reed tells Courtney that he wants to love her forever.
“Better Than I Used to Be” by Tim McGraw—Reed tells Courtney about his past.
“Beneath Your Beautiful” by Shaun Reynolds—Reed and Courtney make love after Reed tells Courtney about his past.
“Adore You” by Miley Cyrus—Reed and Courtney make love after they get engaged.
“Mean to Me” by Brett Eldredge—Reed and Courtney dance at the pontoon party.
“Who I Am” by Chris Young—Reed and Courtney decide to get married in Lake Tahoe after making love in Reed’s truck.
“Good Times” by Cassadee Pope—Reed, Courtney, Layton, and Whitley are in Lake Tahoe.
“Down” by Jason Walker—Courtney runs away from Reed when she thinks he has changed his mind about marrying her.
“Thank You for Loving Me” by Bon Jovi—Reed talks to Courtney before she tells Whitley about Noah.
“Lift Me Up” by Christina Aguilera—Courtney is afraid to tell Reed that she is pregnant.
“Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones—On the night before their wedding
, Reed makes love to Courtney after finding out that she is pregnant.
“God Gave Me You” by Blake Shelton—Reed and Courtney get married.
“Slow Down” by Selena Gomez—Courtney dances with Reed at the club and tries to turn him on.
“Cyclone” by Baby Bash—Courtney and Reed dance at the club in Lake Tahoe.
“If” by Janet Jackson—Reed makes love to Courtney in the club.
“Her Man” by Gary Allan—Reed takes Courtney home and shows her the tree house that he built.
“Survivor” by Destiny’s Child—Courtney is with Noah in the library.
“You Hear a Song” by Cassadee Pop—After Courtney’s run-in with Noah, Reed tells her how beautiful she is and how much he loves her as she looks at her reflection in the hotel mirror.
“She Will Be Free” by Josh Abbott Band—Reed and Courtney together on Christmas morning.
“Little Moments” by Brad Paisley—Reed and Courtney bring home Walker.
“Not Giving Up” by Amy Grant—Courtney tells Reed how strong and true their love is after Reed finds the framed dried flowers.
Kelly Elliott, Broken Dreams
(Series: Broken # 2)
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