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“I happen to love them,” her mom said, rounding the corner, eyeing Alyssa. How long has she been there?

“See? Someone likes my shoes.”

He smirked. “Hey, I never said I didn’t like them, just that they’re not fit for mudding or hanging out in an open field.”

Lauren extended her arm. “I’m Lauren, Alyssa’s mother. Why don’t you come in for a minute?”

“Thank you, Ms. Winters. It’s nice to meet you,” he shut the door and followed her into the kitchen.

“My daughter tells me you give her a ride to school. That’s very generous of you to do. Please, let me pay for your gas—“

“Thank you, but that’s not necessary, Ms. Winters. I’m not going out of my way to give her a lift, plus that’s what friends are for,” he said, looking at Alyssa. Her cheeks flamed under his gaze.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. It just gives us time to get to know each other anyway,” he winked at Alyssa.

“If you say so, but I hope to repay you for all that you’ve done so far. It’s very unexpected of you, but appreciated.”

John smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“So what are you studying in school? Same as Alyssa?”

“Actually, we only have a few classes together, just the prerequisite ones. I’m going for business right now, but I’ve been thinking about enlisting in the Marines. My father and his father both served, so it’s in my blood.”

Lauren smiled in approval. “Do you have any siblings?”

He nodded. “I have an older brother—“

“He’s a country rock singer on the radio,” Alyssa chimed in.

Lauren’s brows angled toward each other. “He is?”

“Sure is. His name is Luke Jackson. He lives around here, but I think he’s away on tour, not sure. He’s busy a lot. I also have twin brothers. They’re younger than me.”

“Wow. Your mom is a busy bee.”

John smiled so big it was clear he was proud of his mom being able to handle four rowdy boys.

“Mom, are you done with the interrogation? We have somewhere to go.” Lauren chuckled. She leaned over and kissed her daughter’s head, “Be safe, both of you.”

“Always.”

Jumping into his truck, he cranked the ignition. There weren’t many streetlights lit up at night in the small town they lived in so he backed out of her driveway slowly.

As John began driving toward Whiskey River, he turned on the radio. Take your Time by Sam Hunt streamed through the speakers and he caught Alyssa lip syncing along. He smiled to himself over the fact that she knew a country song. Looking at her, he said, “I meant what I said, you look beautiful, Alyssa.”

Blood rose to her cheeks. “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself. Am I overdressed or something?”

John chuckled. “No.”

“Good … So who is going to be here tonight?”

“The guys, Jace and Ford, and some local friends we grew up with. Nothing big or anything. We’re just hanging out. This is something we do like once a month or so. Not really much else to do here.”

“Cool.” Cool? Who said cool anymore? Her nerves were getting to her. She could smell John’s spicy, alluring cologne surrounding her in his truck. He didn’t usually wear it, but when he did, sweet Jesus, he smelled incredible. Almost as if he had two sides to him, fun and flirty during the day but once the sun set, his impish and sexy side came out. What was it about cologne that enhanced the appeal in guys? Like it produced pheromones or something and girls came running.

Alyssa rolled her bottom lip between her teeth as they pulled onto a darkened dirt road. Would she see any familiar faces where they were going? Would John stay by her side or go off and leave her? It was bumpy as they drove about a half mile in to the large clearing in the woods. Roughly ten trucks were lined up, some with their lights shining on, others with the tailgates down. John found an opening and backed his truck in. They stepped out and made their way to the medium sized fire pit. Thick flames of orange, yellow and blue crackled under the starlit sky. The pit was surrounded with heavy gray blocks to keep the fire from spreading. Coolers were placed sporadically about and a few trucks had music playing.