About
Ten years ago he walked away.
Callie gave herself to Beau when she was seventeen years old. The high-school football star was everything she’d dreamed of.
They had their whole future planned. College, marriage, babies, a life full of love and happiness. Then, suddenly he left. No reason. No phone calls. No contact. He became a ghost of her past.
Haunted and alone, Callie was left broken and forced to carry a burden no seventeen-year-old should bear.
They say that time heals all wounds, but truth is she grieves her loss every single day.
Seemingly healthy and happy. Callie is a month away from her dream wedding to the small-town’s wealthiest bachelor. Any woman would be lucky to have such a man.
But now he’s back. Her first love.
Will she be able to resist Beau’s charm this time? Or will she succumb to the draw of the one that got away?
Come on, come on, come on. Seriously, I’ve never known three minutes to take so damn long. I’ve drowned out what Mr. Eifler was saying about fifteen minutes ago. It’s the last class on my last day of junior year. Most of my classmates have already skipped at this point, but not me. I think my parents and granddaddy would kill me.
It’s not that I don’t like school, I love it, I just want to spend as much time this summer with Beau. I can’t believe he leaves at the end of the summer. He’s worked so hard for his scholarship, and of course, I’m happy for him, but he’s going to Auburn.
Then, in a year, I’ll join him just like we’ve always planned. Until then, it’s only a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Daphne. He deserves to get out of this town. For the past three years he’s been working to rebuild his image, but the town still suspects he’s one move away from dragging down his whole family.
Not that his parents have done anything to help their family name. His nana started bringing him to our church about eleven years ago after his mom’s accident, and as unfortunate as her death was for his family, I don’t know if we’d be where we are today if it weren’t for that.
And where we are is amazing. For the past two years, Beau has made me happier than I even thought possible. As hard as it will be to be so far away for an entire year, I know it will be worth it. Beau is my soulmate, and I’ve known it since I was fourteen years old.
“Now, don’t forget about your summer assignments, and have a great break,” Mr. Eifler says just before the bell rings. Collecting my things and shoving them in my bag, I wonder how the man does it. He’s always able to get his last nugget of information in just seconds before the bell rings. He’s the type of teacher I want to be one day. That’s the dream—teaching and Beau.
Shouldering my backpack, I walk out to meet Beau in the parking lot. He worked all last summer to pay for old man Watson’s Ford truck that’s older than Beau and I combined. But it runs, and it gives us someplace to be alone. Not that being alone has been important until recently. My Granddaddy is the town pastor, and in a town of a little over twenty thousand, he’s one of the most respected men. He also taught me sex is to be practiced with the man you’re to marry. And while Beau and I may not be married, I know that is our future. After two years of abstaining, we chose to take that step at prom two weeks ago.
“Woah, there.” A voice pulls me from my thoughts as arms wrap around me to keep me from falling.
Righting myself, I step out of the arms that don’t belong to my Beau and look over to find Mason Aldridge reluctantly letting go of my shoulders. Why is it that he always finds me when I’m alone and have no one to save me?
Mason is nice enough, but he’s always found a way to put Beau down. He was the running back before Beau got his grades up and was able to cinch the spot out from under him. Then it was homecoming and prom king, which Beau couldn’t care less about, but everyone could tell how much it irked Mason that Beau had won. Now, it seems to be me. Mason has made it very clear that if I were to ever want to test out the waters with something new, he’d be ready and able to show me what it’s like to date someone that didn’t grow up as ‘trailer park trash’. As if insulting my boyfriend was the best way to win me over.
Money speaks a different language, I guess, and while my family has never been hurting Mason’s family may as well own half the town. And apparently that makes him entitled to anything—and anyone—he wants.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry, Callie? Want to grab a coffee?” he adds the second question before I can answer the first.
“I’m sorry, Mason, but I have plans already,” I say, trying to sound apologetic. He knows who my plans are most likely with, there’s no point in rubbing it in his face.
“Well, maybe sometime this summer you’ll finally let me take you out.”
“Mason, you know I’m still dating Beau. He leaves for Auburn soon and I want to spend as much time with him as I can before he leaves.” I smile sweetly trying to ease the truth.
“You know, I’ll be headed to Auburn, too. And from what I heard, I’ll be seeing a lot of playing time, but I’ll let your man fill you in on that. And just remember, I’ll be here when he fucks up. And he will fuck up.”
I turn on my heel and try to make it out of the school before I get stopped again.
Just as I push the door to walk outside, the door beside me swings open and there he is. All six feet seven inches of him. He’s taller and more muscular than any guy at our school and I never get tired of looking at him. Whether he’s running down the field catching one of my brother’s impeccable throws or just as he’s standing in front of me wearing jeans and a flannel.
“There you are,” Beau says.
“Sorry, I was headed out, but got stopped by—” my words die in my throat as he looks behind me and catches the eyes of Mason. If there were ever two people more opposite it would be those two. Mason is all clean-cut, good boy and Beau is rough and tumble but with a heart of gold. It’s no competition, who has my affection.
“Don’t even look. Where were you going to take me?” I ask trying to pull my boyfriend away from his arch nemesis. “Beau?” Finally, his light green eyes meet mine and everything else fades away. “Where to?”
“I thought I’d take you to your Grandad’s deck,” he says taking my hand and leading me to his truck. The gentleman he is, he takes my bag and opens the door for me to slide in. Once he climbs in, I scoot over on the bench seat to rest my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around me as he cranks the engine.
The farm is quiet as we make our way to the southern edge where the deck my dad and brother built jets into Mobile Bay. There are two beautiful weeping willow trees that have been the views for many brides in our congregation. Not that my Granddaddy bought this property with the idea of holding weddings, but it’s been a bonus.
“How was your last day of junior year?” He asks, pulling me out of the car through his door. He grabs a blanket from under his seat as we walk around his truck to the coverage of the Willow tree.
Beau releases my hand to spread out the blanket then situates himself in the middle. Holding out his hands to me, I sit between his open knees and rest my back against his front, his chin lowering to my shoulder.