He placed his hand on my face and whispered, “I’m sorry, too. He’ll never love you like I love you. You’ll soon see that.” He brushed his thumb along my cheek before dropping his hand, turning, and walking away. He quickly got in his car and drove off.

I sat back down and sighed as I rested my head against the back of the chair, staring up at the night sky. I closed my eyes and a single tear escaped, leaving a hot trail on my cheek. When I opened my eyes, I just watched the sky. Someone pulled out a chair and sat down. I knew it was one of my parents, but I wished like hell that it was Walker. I brought my head forward only to see my brother Jase at the table.

“Did you break up with Keith?” He asked as he messed around with a twig.

I nodded. “Yeah, I did.”

He took a deep breath as he sat back in his chair. “I never did like that guy.”

I giggled and looked away. I wasn’t sure why I laughed—my heart felt heavy. But I wasn’t sure if it was because of what had happened with Keith or if it was the haunting look in Walker’s eyes earlier this afternoon.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, reaching for his hand.

He smiled and I couldn’t help but smile back. He had the most amazing smile. His dark hair and blue eyes made him a mini version of my father. Jase had a sensitive heart. He cared so much about people, and I wanted him to find him a girl who would make him see the man he really was.

He rubbed his thumb back and forth across my hand. “I came to tell you that Walker was going to leave Llano.”

My smile dropped and I sat up straight. “He just came back home, where is he—”

Jase put his fingers up to my mouth and said, “Liza, let me finish please.”

I nodded as I leaned back and tried to calm my accelerated heartbeat.

“Walker wanted to leave for a couple of days only. He didn’t want to be in town with you and Keith here together. He was pretty messed up, sis, when he called me. He wanted to head to South Padre, but I talked him into the hunting lodge.”

I scrunched my eyebrows together and said, “The hunting lodge? Here? On our property?”

Jase smiled and nodded. “Yeah, the one Dad used to take us too to camp out. He always said that was the place where he and mom finally realized they loved each other. I couldn’t think of a better place for you and Walker to get your damn shit together.”

I jumped up and hugged my brother. “I love you, Jase and I owe you so big for this. Does he know you’re telling me?”

Jase laughed. “Hell no. He made me swear to keep quiet until you and Keith left. I figured, with the breakup, Walker would be okay with me sharing this with you.”

I kissed Jase on the cheek and started toward the ranch Jeep. I was thanking God that my father kept the keys in it all the time. I didn’t want to have to go back and tell my parents what had happened and where I was going.

As I started the Jeep, Jase called, “I’ll tell Mom and Dad you won’t be back tonight!”

I smiled and waved as I took off toward the hunting cabin. My heart felt like it was slamming against my chest. My hands were sweaty and I was trying to remember if I’d shaved my legs this morning. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I reached down and ran my hand along my leg. Smooth! I did a little fist pump as I drove toward my future.

I DIDN’T WANT Walker to hear the Jeep, so I parked it about a half a mile down the road. Opening up the glove box, I smiled when I saw a flashlight. My father was obsessed with flashlights, so I never doubted that there would be one in the Jeep to light my way to the cabin. I grabbed the flashlight and hopped out of the Jeep.

I made my way up onto the small porch of the cabin. The lights were all on and I heard music. Putting my ear to the door, I heard “Just a Little Bit of Your Heart” by Ariana Grande playing. I closed my eyes, placing both hands over my mouth to hold back my tears. When I felt my emotions were under control, I turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. I was immediately hit with the smell of a fire burning in the wood stove. I entered the room and found Walker sitting in a chair with his back to the door, watching the fire. The music had covered the sound of the door opening and closing. He hadn’t heard me come in.

The hunting cabin barely had any furniture in it. There were two beds with a small dresser next to each one and a small table with two chairs.

Closing my eyes, I placed one hand on my belly, covering my mouth with the other. I loved him so much. I prayed to God I hadn’t messed things up. I opened my eyes and dropped my hands. Slowly, I approached him. He sat up straight. He knew I was here. Biting my lip, I walked over and stood in front of him. He looked up at me, and our eyes met. I sucked in a breath. When I saw a tear slide down his cheek, a sob escaped my lips.

“I’ve always loved you,” I said, wiping my tears away and smiling. “I’ll love you forever. Only you.”

I stood there, waiting for him to say something. When he pulled his mouth into a grin, I couldn’t help but grin back.

He blinked slowly as he said, “I can’t live without you, Liza.”

Dropping to my knees, I laid my head in his lap. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Walker. I was so confused and…and...” I looked up into his eyes. “I’ve always wanted you. Only you. I was going to tell you today, but then Keith showed up.”

He placed his hands on my arms and brought me to him. I sat on his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck as I leaned down and kissed him. The kiss was sweet and gentle, filled with so much love. Walker put his hands on my hips and moaned as I pushed down on his hardness. I rocked against him as he pushed his hand through my hair and pulled me in to deepen the kiss. I could feel the buildup moving through my body. I’d never been able to have an orgasm like this with anyone but Walker. He made my body desire him in ways I couldn’t understand. I wasn’t sure if I ever would.

I pulled my lips back and looked into his eyes. “Walker. Please make love to me.”

He stood up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He smiled as he moved us to the bed and gently laid me down. My heart beat like I was a virgin. In a way, I was. This was my first time with the man I’d been in love with for my whole life.

He leaned down and placed gentle kisses all over my neck and face. Between each kiss he’d speak: “I. Have. Never. In. My. Life. Loved. Someone. Like. I. Love. You.”

For once the tears building in my eyes were happy tears.