Page 171 of In Spades

Logan thundered down the stairs first.

“Need help with your tie?” I asked.

“Nah, I got it,” he said as he grabbed his cap and gown off the kitchen island. “Can I take the Stingray?”

“Kris wanted us all to ride together. You gotta ask her.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, smirking. “That’s why I’m asking you.”

I snickered as I took a bottle of water out of the fridge and unscrewed the cap. “Yeah, and that’s why I’m telling you to ask her. I don’t wanna piss her off.”

“Come on,” Logan groaned. “Y’all are basically married, and since she’s my legal guardian and gets to tell me what to do, that means you do too.”

“Nice try.” I chuckled. “We’re engaged, not married. And she’s your legal guardian for two more weeks. You get to put up with her until then.”

It had been a crazy six months since I proposed to Kristin. We settled into an arrangement of school nights at her place and weekends at mine. Spring break was spent at my place. With summer break starting next week, I was excited to hit the beach with the Boyd crew as much as possible.

After late nights of studying and doing as much extra credit as he could convince his teachers to give him, Logan was graduating from high school today.

His eighteenth birthday was right around the corner, and I had never been so happy to buy out a department store’s worth of stuff for his new dorm room.

He got his acceptance letter to East Carolina University all on his own, and I was proud of him for sticking to our bet. Part of me hoped he’d still want to come back and work for me after graduation. ECU was only an hour and a half from Beaufort, but I knew he was itching for independence.

So damn proud.

“Okay, okay! Everyone ready?” Kristin said breathlessly as she rushed out of our bedroom while fastening an earring. “Where’s Kylie? Ky, hurry up! We’re going to be late!”

Kylie closed her bedroom door and floated down the stairs in a light blue dress.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw how short the dress was.

Logan and I shared a look, then simultaneously crossed our arms and said, “No.”

Kylie threw her hands up. “Seriously? One older brother was bad enough. This is just impossible.”

Kristin snickered and shook her head. “You look beautiful, and the dress is fine.” She pointed her last comment in our direction.

Logan shook his head, muttering, “These women…”

“Alright,” Kristin said, clapping her hands together. “Everyone in the truck. We’ve gotta go.”

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The June sun was ruthless as we took our seats on the football field at Havelock High School. The poker club turned out in full force to watch Logan get his diploma.

Steve and Erica sat together at the far end of the row. Aly, their daughter, was on Steve’s lap while Erica cradled their new baby boy, Eli. Maddie and Luca were beside them.

Hannah Jane and Isaac, now engaged, sat beside Kristin. With the craziness of their schedules, Hannah Jane had planned their wedding long before Isaac proposed. It wouldn’t be long before they were walking down the aisle.

Chase sat beside me with Mel to his right. Bridget’s chair was empty.

Hunter, Zoey, and Kylie were sitting in the row in front of us. Kylie’s stalker… Fine—Kylie’s boyfriend, Josh, was sitting beside her.

He kept his hands to himself. I was convinced that was only because I was sitting behind him and kicked the back of his seat whenever I saw his fingers so much as twitch.

Kristin kept shooting me dirty looks. These women were going to be the death of me.

The Pomp and Circumstance Marches played, and the graduates filed in. Kristin smiled like a proud parent and waved like an absolute lunatic as Logan walked to his seat.

I passed her a tissue and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “You did it.”

---