CHAPTER ONE
Garrett
The drive to Oklahoma from South Bend, Indiana, earlier today was long, but it's good to finally be home, even if this town holds both the best and worst memories of my twenty-one years. Right now, all I can think of is the worst memories.
Four years ago, the love of my life left me. That was a brutal night, to say the least. I never got over her, and I never will. I could have let it ruin my life, but instead, I worked harder than I ever have before because I knew I'd be coming back to her. I've lived without her, and I won't do that shit again.
Karlee Foster can bring me to my knees. Only she has managed that. All five foot two inches of her. Her long curly hair is dark and soft, just like her skin. I still remember what she felt like, what she tasted like. She is my kryptonite. Everything I've ever done has been for her.
On paper, we were all wrong for each other. I was the captain of the football team, and she was the president of the drama club. She's everything I never knew I needed. She's my soulmate. We were born to find each other; I genuinely believe that.
We met in kindergarten grew up together. When I first laid eyes on her, she was sitting on the playground death trap known as the spinner by herself while the other kids ran around playing and screaming. That fateful recess brought her to me. I was playing tetherball when I noticed her. I ran over to her in all of my six-year-old awkwardness.
"Why are you over here all alone?" I asked her.
"I’m sad.”
“Why are you sad?” I asked, sitting down beside her.
“My mama went to heaven, and daddy says she ain’t coming back,”
“When?”
“Two days ago. How can I grow up without my mama?” Her tears were my undoing. From that day forward, I was her little protector. At first, we were just friends. We did everything together. Sports, plays, you name it, we did it. Her dad worked a lot, so she spent a lot of time at our house. My parents were nice enough to include her in all of our family activities. My sister, Kristina, is her other best friend. In middle school, she became more to me. We shared everything. We taught each other how to kiss but never practiced with anyone else. I got to watch her grow into the most beautiful girl in the world. I was already in love with her but didn’t know what it was. The summer after eighth grade, I took a chance and asked her to be my girl. She said yes, and I never wanted it to end. On prom night, we took the next step and went all the way. It was fucking amazing; a night I know I’ll never forget. After that, we spent the next three months in each other’s beds. Almost every night, I took her over and over, never once thinking that the last time would be the last time. Then she ended it for no fucking reason. At least no good reason.
She is my alpha and my omega. Everything begins and ends with her. She’s the only woman I’ve ever been with. I have no desire to be with anyone else. College has done nothing but make me love her more. The summer after high school was supposed to be the best of my life, but she broke up with me instead. My full-ride scholarship to college was really just our ticket out of town. I had it all planned out. I was going to marry my girl and take her with me to Indiana. Football was never going to be my career, so I majored in accounting. I was always good with math, and it seemed logical. One thousand four hundred sixty days have passed since I last laid eyes on her. Every holiday from school, she managed to be somewhere else. I demanded to know where she was, but no one in her family would give it up. I could understand why she didn’t want to see me, but I didn’t have to like it, and I didn’t. I was a sullen wreck, which made it easier to avoid women. Women who would never be good enough simply because they weren’t her.
Now that I’ve graduated, I am coming home and opening my own accounting office. As it is now, the residents of Ranchero Plains, Oklahoma, have to go to Tulsa for financial services. Not anymore. Franklin Certified Public Accounting opens its doors first thing Monday morning. I found an office on Main Street, tucked between the only coffee shop and the police station. It won’t be missed, that’s for sure.
The house I bought is right off of the town square. We all thought the old Denton place was haunted when we were kids. Now that I am an adult and own the home, it just might be. This place is creepy as fuck, but I’m not moving in until the renovations are done.