Fallen Crest Forever (Fallen Crest High #7)

Heather and Channing were third in line, and we shared hugs all around. Mason was my best friend. Logan after him, but then it was Heather for sure. No girl, not even Taylor, would ever fill Heather’s shoes, and this hug wasn’t really a “I’m unsure how this will affect us in the future” hug, but one that said “I love you to death and call me when you wake up so we can laugh about everything all over again.”


As Heather and Channing left, I knew we’d be seeing each other or talking very shortly. They were lifers with us.

Then there were five.

Nate (his date had slipped away to their hotel room for the night already), Logan and Taylor, and Mason and me.

I don’t know who started it, but we all stood and moved out to the lobby. We stopped there, and I curved into Mason’s side, his arm around my waist. Taylor had curled into Logan, and Nate’s hands were in his pockets. Their tuxedo jackets were long gone, as were the slim black ties they’d worn, and the ends of their shirts had untucked from their pants.

Mason’s eyes were tired, but alert, and his hair had been raked through so it stood up a little bit. It suited him. He could’ve been a CEO after an all-nighter, and one day, I was sure he would be.

I knew he would eventually tire of football. He and Logan were already talking about business ventures, starting up a tentative idea, and I had no worries about it. I was certain that eventually they would be CEOs, rivaling their father. Until then, they were going their planned routes. The NFL for Mason, and law school for Logan.

“This is it.” Nate glanced around the group, a twinge of sadness in his eyes.

I wasn’t sure what Nate was going to do. He’d followed Mason to Massachusetts and was working in a business there, but he’d kept quiet about his plans for the future. I had a feeling that wherever Mason was, Nate would be too.

Mason’s hand tightened around my waist; I felt good and anchored, and I needed it. The tiredness was getting to me. I yawned.

Mason nodded. “This is it.”

Nate looked at Logan. “I’m going up to wake my date. You’ll be at the house later?”

That house was the one I’d moved into and started this whole process. James and Analise had kept their promise. They’d moved out, and it was left for us to use whenever we wanted. Everyone had stayed there this past week, but some got hotel rooms for tonight. And I knew Mason had plans for us.

We were heading to Europe for a month of backpacking. We’d stay in hostels unless they were too nasty, then we’d spend the money for a nice hotel. But we had plans to stay as grassroots as possible. I was excited about the honeymoon trip, but I knew tonight Mason was intending to take us somewhere else completely.

“Yep. We’ll be there,” Logan told Nate. “We’ll see you later.”

Nate nodded and pointed toward the elevators. “I should get up there before I can’t wake her up anymore.”

There was another round of hugs, but we’d see Nate tomorrow evening.

Nate was family. He’d never venture far from our side.

Logan and Taylor walked beside us out to the parking lot. Once we got to Mason’s Escalade, Taylor didn’t linger. She broke from Logan’s side, coming to hug me and whisper, “He’ll stay forever if I don’t do something. Love you, sister, and I’ll see you guys tomorrow for dinner.”

We hugged once more, then she hugged Mason and turned to Logan. “I’ll be in the car. Not too long, okay?”

He nodded, and their hands swiped as he handed off the keys.

Then there was three.

We looked at each other, and Logan blinked back a few tears. A crooked grin showed, and he sighed, “The Threesome Fearsome.”

He looked at Mason, then me, and I matched his crooked grin, saying, “Always.” I slipped my hand back into Mason’s, but I gave him some space.

This was it. This was the final hug goodbye. In some small sense, things would be different after this. Mason was my husband.

I grinned up at him, feeling the same breathlessness I always did when he entered a room. But I also felt flutters in my chest and stomach today for the same reason Logan was trying not to tear up.

Mason was my husband now. My real family. It was him and me. Husband and wife. God, I was someone’s wife. I was Mason’s wife. I felt a whole new tingle at that thought. I’d never get used to it. It was all so surreal, but that was our Twosome Fearsome.

The Threesome Fearsome would remain, but it was different. Logan had always been on Mason’s other side, but after this, he would stand behind us. It would be Mason and me, side by side. We’d follow our own trail, and eventually Logan would start off on his own path with Taylor.

Logan cursed. “Fuck. Why am I sad all of a sudden?”

“Logan.” I opened my arms, and he moved in, hugging me tightly and burying his head in my shoulder. I smoothed a hand down his head and brought him closer.

Then he turned, and Mason gripped him in another hug. They stood together for a long time. When they stepped back, both wiped a hand over their eyes, and Mason reached for me again.

He flicked a finger up to the corner of his eye, looking away as he said, “I knew getting married would be emotional, but shit . . .”

I laced our fingers, and he took another breath and seemed to calm a little.

We waited another moment, and he looked back to his brother. He had steadied again. “I fucking love you.”

Logan nodded. “Same for you.” His eyes found mine. “You too.”

I felt punched by what I saw there.

He was like a little boy again. There was no wall. He wasn’t flirting with Taylor. There was no sarcastic joke on his tongue. His eyes weren’t flashing from mischief or the need to fight. He was just simply there, staring at us like we were the two pillars he’d been leaning on the last six or seven years of his life, and we were crumbling around him.

It wasn’t true.

“Logan.” I reached for him with my free hand and tugged him close to us. “We’re not going anywhere.”

He nodded. “I know.” He squeezed my hand, and the three of us formed a circle. We stood like that until Logan finally broke away.

He went to his Escalade, and I waved at Taylor inside. She waved back, her face streaming with tears. When Logan got in he leaned over, and I saw her reach for him. After a moment, he wheeled the Escalade out of the parking lot.

Then it was two.

I looked up, leaning back against my husband’s chest. A smile curved my mouth. “Husband.”

He looked down at me with an answering smile. “Wife.”

No other words needed to be said.

I got my happily ever after one night when I parked at a gas station with two drunken friends. I just hadn’t known it then.

He leaned down for a kiss, and I sighed as our lips met.

It was perfect.



ONE LAST RACE



“Kade!”

I heard my name barked out next to me, and I jerked.

“What?” I snapped my head up, irritated, but I already knew who it was and relaxed right away. I quieted my tone. “What is it, Coach?”

I half-snorted at the name. He was my coach, trainer, sadistic torturer, and grudging father figure all rolled into one. He was my Olympic trainer, and he gestured out to where the other runners had started to congregate.

“You ready?” he said.

I nodded, but I wasn’t.