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* * *
“Congrats! We’re so proud of you!” Mom said through the video chat. I’d texted with them but hadn’t had a chance to talk pseudo face-to-face since I got the movie role.
“Thanks,” I said, running a hand through my hair.
It was exactly what I wanted. No more Dr. Dark and Dangerous. No more Shep Barnes.
“This is what you’ve wanted,” Dad said.
I nodded. “Yeah. It’s great.”
Except I turned it down.
“You can celebrate with Aspen.”
“Yeah, um, about that. She, well, we broke up.”
I wasn’t telling them about our arrangement. Or that I’d hurt her, and she’d run off into the night by herself. They’d kick my ass through the video call from Nebraska if they knew about the FBI’s investigation and my part in it. I was pissed enough at myself.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I really liked her,” Mom said.
“Yeah, me too.”
“Then go fix whatever you did wrong, son. Go get that girl.”
I huffed. “What makes you think I did something wrong?”
“Because you’re a man and men are idiots,” Mom said.
“Son, listen to your mother,” Dad added, using his serious tone, and look. “You’re a man. You did something wrong.”
I thought about that. About how right they were. About what Theo had said. That Aspen might be in love with me. Me. Luke. But that scared the shit out of me because I barely knew who I was any longer. So many people recognized me and adored me as Shep Barnes. Others chased after me for photos thinking I was Derek Dashwood. Hell, there were even social media groups about my stupid hair. But none about Luke Graham. The only fan group I had were my parents. My siblings.
“Then I think I need your help.”
If I needed Aspen to know the real me, then she would.
“Oh?” Mom asked.
“I need you to come to Hunter Valley.”
Mom’s eyes widened. “What about the movie?”
“I have something more important to do.”
“In Hunter Valley?” Dad asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. And when you come, bring my baby book.”
48
ASPEN
* * *
“–with three seconds left. The goalie didn’t even see it. We celebrated by making ice cream sundaes from the soft serve machines in the cafeteria and Dex bought gummy bears to add to everyone’s bowl. Even the losing teams because he’s nice like that. We’re going to work on the zone-to-zone passing in practice this week.”
“Wow, it sounds like you had an amazing time,” Mallory said, going over to Sierra and giving her a high five.
