Page 28 of Redemption

“You didn’t know?” My brother tilts his head to the side.

“I had no idea.” I sigh. “You two are still close, I take it?”

“Yeah, we are.”

I look my brother right in the eye. “You can’t tell him what I went through, Clayton. I don’t want him to know.”

My family got the extremely watered-down version of events, but I’m sure they’re smart enough to fill in the gaps. Allowing anyone to witness my shame was hard enough to stomach... but for some reason, the thought of Beck knowing what happened—what I put up with for too many years—makes it so much worse.

Clay opens the door to his truck and hops on the running board. “It’s not my story to tell, Pres. The same goes for the demons he’s living with.”

As I watch my brother drive away, I can’t help but replay our conversation in my head. The idea that Beckett Armstrong is still in love with me after all these years is ludicrous. It’s been twelve years. I’m probably nothing more to him than a girl he used to know. Yet... part of me can’t help but wonder if it is possible. Because the thing is... that same part of me knows I never stopped loving him. That when I walked away from this ranch all those years ago, he was holding a piece of my heart that I never got back.

Chapter Seventeen

Presley

– Age 18

“Oh, honey, you look beautiful!”

“Thanks, Mom,” I say.

My senior prom is tonight. I won’t be engaging in the post-prom bonfire/drink fest that all of our friends will be at, though. I convinced Beck to keep the pregnancy a secret until after graduation. Neither one of us are big partiers, but we’ve definitely had some alcohol during get-togethers and such. Since I don’t want to explain why I’m not drinking, we’ve avoided those types of gatherings. I’m fortunate that I’ve had minimal morning sickness, so I haven’t raised suspicion in that respect either. I know it will be a shock, especially to my parents, because I waited so long to tell them. Call me crazy, but I just wanted to get through graduation feeling like a high school student, not a mom-to-be.

“That dress looks absolutely perfect on you. I’m glad you went with it.”

She doesn’t know that I chose this dress because the eggplant color and layered chiffon hide imperfections well. Or, in my case, a small baby bump.

I touch up my pink lip gloss. “Thanks, Mom. Beck should be here any minute, so get your camera ready.”

Her eyes light up as she grabs her Nikon off the table. “I can’t believe this is the last time I get to do this! How are you about to graduate high school already?”

Or become a mom.

“Hello?” Beckett calls from the other room.

“In here!” I say.

I turn as my mother gasps, and I do the same. Beck never fails to take my breath away, but holy hell, Beck in a tux is a magnificent sight. I can feel my skin heating as my eyes travel over his purposely messy hair to his broad shoulders down to his toes. Then I do it all over again in reverse. These damn pregnancy hormones aren’t helping either. I thought I was bad before, but all I want to do lately is have sex. Of course, Beck doesn’t seem to mind, and it’s not like I need to worry about getting pregnant, right?

“Hey.” He smirks, obviously picking up on my ill-timed arousal.

“Hey.” I smile. “You look incredible.”

He steps into me and grabs my hand. “You’re stunning, Pres.” He turns to my mom. “Hello, Mrs. J.”

She smiles. “Hello, Beckett. You two are so gorgeous! Go on over by the fireplace so I can get some pictures.”

We deal with my mother’s exuberance for a good twenty minutes before she finally lets us out the door. When we get to school, we walk straight to the gymnasium. Navy and gold balloons float through the air, and fairy lights are twinkling from every available surface. It’s impressive what dimmed lighting and a few decorations can do to completely transform a space.

“Wow, the prom committee did an excellent job.”

Beck jerks his head toward the dance floor. “Care to dance?”

“I’d love to.” I smile. “But I thought you didn’t dance.”

He smiles. “For you, I dance. Just don’t be mad if I occasionally step on your toes.”

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