Without You (Love Wanted in Texas 1)

I stood there, stunned. “I’ll never understand that man—ever,” I whispered.

I walked up to Luke and Colt, who both held out their hands to shake mine. I felt happy for a few minutes until we all began working on repairing the fence.

My m

ind kept going back to Lex and how sad she had sounded while walking toward the barn.

I just need some time alone.

I closed my eyes. God, please don’t let her slip away from me. Please.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I pulled it out. My heart skipped a beat when I saw it was a text from Will.

Will: Hey, sweetheart. Would you like to go to dinner and a movie tonight?

Yesterday, I had gone to talk with Janet about my fear of giving myself to Will. I felt dirty, thinking what I shared with Will had been tarnished, and I was so afraid Will would look at me differently now.

It had been three weeks since I came home from the hospital. I’d managed to keep myself surrounded with a lot of people, or I’d spend time alone with Banjo. Will and I had been alone only twice. Both times, I’d panicked for some reason. I wasn’t sure why. When I’d asked Janet, she’d helped me to understand my thoughts. I was so afraid of what Will thought of me now that I kept pushing our relationship aside. She told me how important it was for me to talk to Will about my feelings. I just couldn’t. Not yet.

Will had been so patient, but last night, he’d told me he was ready to have some alone time to reconnect. It hurt my heart so much to know I was hurting him. I closed my eyes and decided I was ready to be with Will again. I needed him even though I was just so afraid.

Me: How about a picnic at the clubhouse with just you and me?

Will: I’d love that, Lex. I’ll take care of everything. Pick you up at seven?

Me: Perfect. Will, I love you.

Will: I love you more, Lex.

I smiled as I tucked my phone away.

“That smile must mean you were talking to my brother?” Libby raised her eyebrows and smiled at me.

“Yep. He wanted to go to dinner and a movie, but I mentioned a picnic at the clubhouse with just us.”

Libby’s smile faded one second before she smiled again. “That sounds amazing, Alex. Y’all deserve some time together.”

Grace walked back into her room and sat down on the bed.

“What’s wrong, Grace? You look like someone just shot your horse,” Libby said with a giggle.

Grace let out a gasp. “Bite your tongue, bitch. How could you say such a thing?”

I laughed as I went back to flipping through a book I had picked up from the library.

“So, what’s bugging you, Grace?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

Libby tossed a pillow at Grace. “Bitch, please. You haven’t been yourself ever since that night you came back from your fling during spring break.”

I sat up as my mouth dropped to the floor. “What? What fling? You had a fling? Oh. My. God. You had a fling, and you didn’t tell me. What the hell, Grace? We’re best friends.”

Grace glared at Libby.

Libby shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry. I thought for sure that Alex knew about it.”

I shook my head. “No, Alex didn’t know anything about it. Grace Johnson, spill the beans right now.”