I grinned and I shook my head. “Nothing, just an old memory.”
Courtney laughed. “It must have been a happy one with the way you’re smiling.”
I looked back toward the tree house and said, “Yeah, it was.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder. My mother knelt down and smiled. “Do you love him?”
My eyes darted over to Courtney, who was giving me that look. Like she thought I knew something and wasn’t sharing it.
“Who?”
“If you’re really asking me that, Liza, then this talk is long overdue.”
My heart was beating harder. “What does that mean, Mom? You could be talking about anyone. Jase, Dad, Keith…”
“Walker,” she whispered as she looked at me intently.
I looked away. No one said anything for a few minutes and, when Courtney came and sat down on the ground next to me, it was all I could do to hold back my tears.
“When I first met Reed, I swear it was love at first sight.”
I looked into her eyes. “Was it?” I asked.
She chuckled. “Oh yes, it was. The moment he looked at me, my body turned to Jell-O. But I fought it like hell.”
I cocked my head and asked, “Why?”
My mother and Courtney shared a look. “It’s a long story that someday we’ll talk about. Let’s just say that I pushed my feelings down for so long that I started to feel like I was losing myself.”
I knew the feeling.
Courtney let out a sigh and said, “Sweetheart. You’ve always talked about your dreams, what you wanted. I know dreams change, and plans change. But when a guy slips a ring on your finger, you really shouldn’t need months to think about your answer.”
I could feel my lower lip trembling. I blinked slowly and felt hot tears running down my cheeks as I glanced over to my mom. “I don’t want to hurt either one of them, Mom.”
She nodded. “It’s not just about them, Taylor. This is also about you. Who do you want to be with? Who’s arms do you want to wake up in every morning?”
I already knew that answer. I was about to say so when we heard someone coming down the driveway. Courtney looked up and smiled. She started walking toward the driveway. I wiped away my tears and stood up. I smiled when I saw Walker’s truck.
My mother put her arm around me and pulled me closer as she whispered, “I knew he couldn’t stay in Austin that much longer.” I laughed as I wiped another tear away. I looked back at the truck and noticed someone in the passenger seat.
“Who’s with him? That’s not Jase.”
The sun was hitting Walker’s windshield just enough to hide the person in the passenger seat. The truck parked and my mother and I walked toward it. The closer we got, the better I could see. My breath caught. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
Walker got out of his truck and shut the door. He looked directly at me, even though his mother was walking toward him. I could hardly breathe. He was wearing his backwards baseball cap with jeans and a tight A&M T-shirt. My desire for him bloomed in my stomach.
“Look who I found at your house when I stopped by to talk, Liza,” Walker said.
Keith stepped out of Walker’s truck.
“Oh, shit,” my mother said, holding me closer.
“Keith,” I whispered as he smiled at me.
I glanced back at Walker. His mother was saying something to him, but his eyes were glued on me. I’d wanted nothing more than to run into his arms less than a minute ago. Now my feet felt cemented to the ground. Keith seemed confused as to why I was just standing there. I went to talk, but nothing would come out.
“Liza?” My mother said, giving me a friendly push in no particular direction.