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The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

–Lao Tzu

Hospitals are always such frigidly, sad places. The happy pictures mounted on the walls with lake side images representing happy days full of sunshine and fun were nothing but a lie. Cold, leather blue chairs connected at the legs took up most of the space in the waiting room. A muted television hung in the corner, subtitles running across the lower screen. Fake smiles dazzled the nurses’ faces when they made eye contact, but he could see right through them. It was such a deceiving environment that it made his skin itch.

Next to him sat Alyssa. She squeezed his hand giving him support, but John didn’t have the strength to squeeze it back. He was utterly empty inside.

Alone.

Vacant.

Not a feeling left to give.

No one in the hospital could possibly be thinking of days with endless sun. Not a chance. And if they were, they were flat out liars. In reality, their moments were full of gray clouded skies with unknown answers swirling in the air. Misery. Open ended questions. No one knew what lay beyond those walls. Seconds ticked by, turning to minutes, turning to hours.

A quick glance down at the phone and that’s all it took for his world to change.

If he blinked his eyes, it would have been over. And thinking back on it, he wished he had because the images replaying in his head would forever be seared into his brain. He’d do anything to erase them.

As Alyssa threw open the front door to her new home, a blast of heat smacked her

cheeks. It was hot as Hades, the humidity causing her platinum blonde hair to frizz. Stepping outside, she stared at the ground as she walked down the ugly red dirt road. Who knew there was red dirt? She’d only ever seen the normal, blackish brown kind. South Fork was a small town of only a few thousand people, by far the smallest town she had ever lived in, and she’d lived in many.

Cursing under her breath, little pebbles dug into her feet with every few steps she took. The humidity was high, even the dirt was hot. Alyssa was not used to this kind of living. Back home in California, all the roads she’d lived on had been paved. In fact, she couldn’t remember ever seeing a dirt road, especially not a deep red one.

“Son of a bitch,” she muttered when a tiny, sharp rock dug into the ball of her foot. Balancing on one leg, dirt wedged between her toes, she swiped away the imbedded stone and continued to the mailbox at the end of the driveway.

So this was her new life—a remote bumpkin town in the Deep South, forced to leave the beautiful Pacific Coast because her mother had found love, then lost it. Again. For the hundredth time now.

Okay. Maybe she was exaggerating a bit, but it sure did feel like it.

Alyssa had been shuffled around often as a child. Thankfully, her mother had stayed in the same country for most of her life, but in the last three years they had moved up and down the California coast. It was the most she had ever moved, and it made eight moves that she could remember. She attended two different high schools and now, she was about to start her second semester at a new college. Alyssa was tired of moving and craved stability. She wanted friends to talk to and hang out with, but that was a difficult feat when they were always on the go. So she kept her friends at arm’s length and didn’t get attached. It was easier that way.

Flipping down the mail door, Alyssa grabbed the stack of envelopes lying inside. As she read the front of the credit card bills her mother would probably never pay, the roaring sound of engines caught her attention. Glancing over her shoulder, a heat mirage glistened in the middle of the road when she spotted two guys riding four wheelers at the end of the street. A large cloud of dust flew up behind them until they slowed to a stop right in front of her.

Alyssa stood, quietly assessing them. Typical looking country boys, she assumed—barefoot, no shirts, and basketball shorts. Blackened fingers gripped the handlebars. Both guys looked similar except one had toffee colored eyes, and the other had the deepest green eyes she had ever seen. They reminded her of the rich green color of ivy leaves in the spring. The backwards hat he sported allowed the sun to display the specks of yellow in his eyes. They were vibrant, alluring, and she found herself staring at them longer than she should have.

“Hey there, sugar.” A crooked grin tugged at his mouth, his lazy southern drawl moving something deep inside of her.

Well, shit. She wasn’t expecting her stomach to tighten from it.

“You new to the area?” the brown-eyed one asked.

She nodded. “I just moved in about a couple of weeks ago.”

“Where did you come from?”

“California.”

“All the way from the golden coast … That’s a pretty big move. What brought you to our neck of the woods?”

“You could say my mom wanted a change of pace.”

Both guys nodded.

“So you’re here with your mom, then?” brown eyes asked.

“Yes. I probably should’ve stayed since I was in the middle of the semester, so I’ll be starting in the spring here.”

“Where at?” he asked.

“What are you putting her under the spotlight for?” his friend asked.

“I’m not! I’m just curious.”

Alyssa smiled. “At the community college nearby.”

“I’m Jace, and this idiot,” he pointed to his friend, “is John.”

Alyssa’s eyes widened as John threw a leg over his seat and stood. When he reached out an open palm, all sensible thoughts left her brain.

Sweet Jesus …

His dirt covered shorts sat low on his waist, exposing the black lip of his boxers. His lean stomach didn’t have an ounce of fat on it, and the slight V indents on his hips caught her eyes when he let out a breath of air. It was almost as if they were hidden, and the only way to notice them was to stare, like she was doing now. The sudden urge to trace her fingers along his skin took her by surprise, and Alyssa began to wonder if this was how all the guys dressed down here, because despite his scruffy appearance, this was something she could get used to.

John took a step toward her, and she couldn’t help but notice his silky, smooth skin or the ripples in his stomach as the sun shined down on him. He was surprisingly good-looking, but it was his green eyes and flirtatious smile that struck a nerve deep inside her belly.

Alyssa glanced down at his opened palm. She stepped forward and slid her hand along his rough skin. She inhaled, and unlike the expensive cologne guys wore back in California, John smelled earthy and rich. Like fresh cut grass on a sunny day. It was an interesting combination that she couldn’t believe she found appealing. Jace followed suit and reached out an open palm to her.

“If you need anything, let us know. We’ll ride on over.”

Her brows angled in confusion at John. “So you’ll ride over on those things,” she pointed to the four wheelers. “And do what exactly?”

“Those things,” Jace teased. “Have you ever ridden on one of these things, princess?”