My Texas Sweetheart (book one) (4 page)

Chapter 4 (Jase)

As soon as Heather and I got home from the Summers’ ranch, Mom and Dad ask us about our first day of school and our new friends. “We had a great time with Adam and Maggie, and school was good,” Heather says.

“Yeah, I got to play football with them and some of Adam’s friends, and their mom is an awesome cook. You and Dad should go out there some time,” I say.

I can’t stop thinking about Maggie. She’s
not like girls from New York, that’s for sure. She likes getting down and dirty, and she doesn’t care what anyone thinks. I’ve got to say, that’s refreshing. When I saw that gorgeous girl covered in dirt and found out that she helps her dad on the ranch, I was blown away. I didn’t think girls did stuff like that.  I’m guessing that most of the girls here do the same thing. I know that I will never be good enough for someone like her because I don’t date and, as hot as she is, I could never try anything with her. I like her and respect her too much.

“We are so happy that you two had a good time. Maybe you’d like to invite them over here one night this week so we can get to know them,” Mom says.

We hear footsteps on the stairs, and
see April and her friend, Tina, come down. “‘Bye, Mr. and Mrs. Jacks.” She glances at me and then looks again. “Oh, wow, April. Your brother is hot.” We all stare at her, shocked.

“And he’s too old for you. Besides, I think he has his eyes on someone else,” Heather says and grins at me. Damn, shut up, Heather. Now Mom and Dad are going to ask questions. It doesn’t matter, though. Once she finds out about my rep, she’ll steer clear of me.

“Heather, seriously, why can’t you keep your mouth shut? Anyway, I’m not the only one. I seem to remember someone not being able to take her eyes off of a certain boy,” I point out.

Mom and
Dad look at both of us and are about to say something when April’s friend says,
“She means Madison High’s sweetheart, Maggie, and I’m guessing that the boy you’re talking about is her brother, Adam, right? I’m telling you right now that Maggie doesn’t do one-night stands, and that’s all Adam does.  I’ve known them forever.”

I really want to tell her to shut up
. I look over at April and give her a look that says she better get her out of here. Just what we need is this brat saying stuff like that to our parents. I mean, come on. What the hell is this girl’s problem? Is she just that jealous of Maggie?  I look over at Heather and she looks just as pissed off as I am.
“This isn’t any of our business except to say that I really hope that you’re both careful,” Mom says. I say goodnight to everyone, and head upstairs for a shower and bed.

****

When I arrive at school the next morning, I see Josh walking towards Maggie so I step in front of him.  Was he so dense that he didn’t get that she didn’t want him touching her? Adam gives me a small nod of thanks, and Maggie touches my back. I would really like it if she touched me more. Damn, no, I can’t think like that. “Keep bugging my sister and see what happens, Josh,” Adam says He looks pissed off, but so does Josh. If the guy was smart, he’d leave Maggie alone because she doesn’t just have Adam protecting her anymore.  

“Damn, Adam. How did she put up with this shit last year?” I ask. Everybody laughs. Okay, I’m not getting the joke.

“She didn’t have to because our other brother, Mark, beat his ass the first time he tried it. That lasted most of the year.  Guess he thinks that he’s got a clear shot now.  Looks like I’m going to have to pick up where Mark left off,” Adam says.

We
head over to where the girls are standing. There’s a guy with them but…wait a second. He’s checking
me
out. I smirk to myself. Sorry buddy, I don’t swing that way. I go over and stand near Maggie. Adam has his arm around her shoulders. I really wish I could touch her like that. “Let me guess. You girls were just talking about cheerleading tryouts today, right?”
Adam asks. They smirk at him and nod.

That guy comes up to me and
we shake hands. “Hey, I’m Jeff. I never got the chance to meet you yesterday.”

I’m about to say something
but, before I can, Josh walks up. “Jase, you do know that he’s a fag, right?”

Maggie raises her hand to slap him, but I grab it before she can.  No, pretty girl.  I want that to be
my
job.
“No, Maggie. Josh, why would I care if he’s gay? The only one I dislike right now is you. For one, you can’t seem to keep your hands off of a girl that wants nothing to do with you.  Two, saying shit like that only shows what kind of person you are.” I look at Maggie and she’s smiling at me. God, I’d love to see her smile more.

“Alright, boys and girls. Time to get to class,” Mr. Ward says to us and we all file into the building.

Adam
and I are sitting in math class when I notice that he’s texting someone. He keeps looking up at me, grinning. God, I hope he’s making plans for football after school and not
talking to his sister. He put his phone away.
“Dude, your sister told mine that you’re a player, just like me. I’d kick her ass if I were you.”

Fuck
, Heather, why would you do that? So much for sister loyalty.  “I guess she hates me now, huh?” I say.

Adam looks at me for a minute
, thinking about it. “No, man, she doesn’t hate you. What she hates is what we stand for. Maggie doesn’t like anyone getting hurt, including herself. What gets me is that she usually doesn’t listen to what others say.” I’m not sure what to say to Adam. I wonder when Heather talked to her about this. Probably yesterday sometime. Maybe I can talk to Maggie later on today, just the two of us.

“So why is she listening now?” I ask.

“I have no fucking clue.  I’ll talk to her about it at lunch.”
I just nod. He does know her better so I’ll just have to trust him at this point.

After the
bell rings at the end of class, we all file out of the room and head to our next one. I see that Maggie is already sitting with Jenny. I walk over and sit beside Clay, a guy on the football team. Jenny and Maggie are sitting right behind us so I turn around. “I heard that my sister told you some things. Can we talk about it later?” She looks surprised. I hate what Heather did and I want Maggie to understand.

“Um, yeah, sure. Whenever you want,” she says. We’re both getting weird looks from Jenny and Clay. Fuck them. I don’t care what they think.

After class, we all start going down to the lunchroom.
Maggie and Jenny walk by me and I reach out and grab her arm. She turns around, looking confused.
“Can we talk while we walk to lunch?”

“Sure,” she says and we start walking.

“Listen, about what Heather told you…yes, I’m a player.  But I wouldn’t even think
of
doing that to you, no matter what. I think you’re the hottest girl in school, but I also respect you too much to hurt you. Can we just agree to be friends? I’m still in high school. I don’t want to change the person I am until I graduate.”

She smiles at me, looking relieved.
“Sure, Jase. We can be friends.” I smile at her.

She makes her way to the lunch line,
and I walk over to Adam, who’s sitting with Pete and Jake. “I don’t need to talk to her anymore, I guess,” Adam says with a smirk.

“No, dude, did it myself. I told her that I’m not going to change who I am until after high school so we agreed to be friends.” He smiles and nods.

****

After school, all of us guy’s head out to the field to kill some time while Adam waits for Maggie to be done with cheerleading tryouts. “Adam!” we hear. We all look over to see a guy that looks a lot like him walking towards us. God, how many brothers does this guy have?

“Shit. Hey, Mark. Why aren’t you at school?” Adam asks. Oh…Mark, the one that beat the shit out of Josh. I glance around and see Josh hiding behind Pete. Dumb ass.

“I gotta talk to you and Maggie. It’s about Gabe,” he says, grimly. I look back over at Adam, who’s gone pale.

He walks
over and puts his hand on Mark’s shoulder. “What’s wrong with Gabe?” he whispers.  

M
ark shakes his head. “Where’s Maggie?”

Adam points towards the gym
. “Tryouts.” They start walking that way, the rest of us following behind them. Guess I’m not the only one that wants to see what’s going on.

We get
there in time to see Maggie up in front of the judges. Amy turns and sees Mark, then comes running over to give him a big hug. “Hey, Mark. How come you’re here?” Mark just shakes head, leaving Amy looking confused. She’s not the only one. We all look at each other, shrugging, as Mark walks towards Maggie.

“Hey, baby girl!” Mark calls out.

Maggie turns around with a huge smile on her face
…until she sees Adam’s and Mark’s grim expressions. “Mark, what’s going on?” Maggie asks, biting her bottom lip. Whatever this is about, it can’t be good and I’m starting to get worried. Everyone starts gathering around, and I don’t know if we should stay here or leave.

“Mom and Dad sent me to get you two after I got home. There was a shooting at a store that Gabe was in. It doesn’t look good.”  You could hear his voice breaking. Maggie starts shaking her head and the tears start falling. Mark grabs her and wraps her in a hug, motioning for Adam and Amy to join them. Gabe must be one of the other brothers. The rest of us just stand there, wondering what to do.

“Come on. We better get home,” Mark says, wiping the girls’ tears. We watch the three of them leave. They all look so heartbroken. Hell, I’m
heartbroken. Heather and I don’t know Gabe, but news like that is still hard to hear. I can feel the pain of our friends.

“Are you ready to go home, Heather?” I ask, somberly, and she nods. For the first time, I notice that my sister is crying. I put my arm around her shoulder and we walk out of the gym.

The ride home is quiet, neither one of us quite knowing what to say.
We walk into the house and mom knows that there is something wrong. Maybe our faces give it away. “What’s wrong?”

“Maggie and Adam’s brother showed up at school today and said that their other brother was involved in a shooting. It doesn’t look good,” I said.

“Oh, my. What that poor family must be going through,” Mom says.

****

The next day at school, neither Adam nor Maggie are there. “Hey, Amy, do you know what’s going on?” I ask. 

“No, I don’t. I tried calling Maggie a few times this morning, but I didn’t get an answer.” Of all people, I thought she would know, but it doesn’t look like anyone does. We will just have to wait until we see them, or one of them calls somebody, I guess.  I hope everything turns out okay. Amy and me, start walking towards the school and the rest of our friends. The rest of the day goes by in a blur, I can’t stop thinking about Adam and Maggie, what they’re going though and weather their brother is okay. I haven’t known them every long but I can tell their close family and I’m guessing this would tear them apart if they lose him! That night at dinner dad says prays for them.

Chapter 5
(Maggie)

I was so happy to see Mark… until I really looked at his and Adam’s faces. Right away, I knew something was very wrong, but I never thought it would be about Gabe. He’s one of my big brothers and my hero. Oh, my god. This can’t be happening. When we get home, Dad says, “Okay, kids. We’re heading to Dallas in an hour so go pack a bag.” Adam and I head upstairs.

Within an hour, we’re all in the truck and ready to go.
Mom turns around from the front seat and tries to smile. “Don’t think the worst. We didn’t get much info so let’s just wait until we get to the hospital.”

Nobody says anything on the drive. We’re all paying like there’s no tomorrow.
Once we get to the hospital, Mark says, “One of us should call Chase and let him know what’s going on.  Even if he can’t leave and come home, we need to tell him.” They had already called Creed and Jade, who are on their way home from an event.

Mom shakes her head. “I don’t want him to know just yet. What
if something bad happens to him because his mind is on home?” Dad looks at her and nods.

We make
are way into the hospital, and see that Creed and Jade are already there. They gave everyone a hug. Mom and Dad walk over to the nurse’s station and say who they are.  The nurse pages and doctor, who comes into the ER a few minutes later. “Mr. and Mrs. Summers, hello. Your son pulled through surgery. Over the next few days, we’ll make sure there’s no damage from the bullet, but it looks good. He’s still unconscious but, once we get him in a room, you can go see him.” My mom breaks into tears and my dad puts his arm around her, shaking the doctor’s hand.  Creed, Jade, and I volunteer to go get everyone coffee, and make calls to other family members.

****

Over the next few days, Gabe gets stronger. The doctor says that he’s going to be just fine, and will be able to finish collage and play football. We also find out the he has a girlfriend, whom he’s serious about. Wow, if Gabe can change, maybe there is hope for the rest of my brothers…Jase, too. “So, baby boy. When do we get to meet this girl?” Mom asks.

He smirks
at her. “As soon as she gets here, mom. It should be any minute now,” Gabe laughs.

Just then
, a beautiful girl with short brown hair and big brown eyes walks into the room. We all turn to look at her and she stops short, looking as if she’d like to run the other way. Mom is the first to say something.
“You must be Gabe’s girlfriend. I’m sorry. He didn’t say what your name was. I’ll smack him for that later.”

She smiles. “I’m Kara. It’s nice to finally meet his family.”
  She seems really nice. I’m wondering how Gabe kept this from Mark, since they are going to the same college.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, sweetheart. This is Maggie, my only daughter; her twin, Adam; this is Creed and Jade…they are bull riders; and this is Mark. I’m not sure how you haven’t met him since he and Gabe go to the same college. My other son, Chase, is in the Navy SEALS. You’ll get to meet him one day. I’m Lily and this is my husband, Brad.” 

She acknowledges us all, and I walk over to her and give her a hug.
“I’m so happy one of my brothers has found somebody. Now to get the others to give up their ‘playboy’ ways,” I say with a smirk.

In unison,
Jade, Creed, Mark, and Adam say, “HELL NO!” we all laugh and if looks could kill Gabe would be dead right now, every last one of my brothers are glaring daggers at him.

We spend the rest of the day getting to know Kara
. She tells us where she hails from, and that she is an only child. Kara, Mom, and I decide to go get coffee and muffins. “What’s it like being the only girl in a family full of brothers?” She asks.

“Sometimes it sucks. They pick on me and are
very
overprotective, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I say and smile
.
She nods.

When we get bac
k to the room, Adam’s standing in the hallway and I walk up to him. “Hey, did you get as many texts as I did?” I ask.

“Hell, yeah, too damn many.  Everyone wants to know what happened, if Gabe is okay, how we’re holding up, yada yada,” he says.

“Yeah, same here. I’m not sure I want to return any of them yet, though. I kind of just want to enjoy time with the family right now.”

“I agree,” Adam says and we both put our phones in our pockets. We head back into the room.

Dad is
telling Gabe and Mark how the ranch is doing, and that we have new people in town.
“Adam and Maggie are friends with the kids, but we haven’t met their parents yet,” Dad says.

****

That night, mom and dad tell us that they’re going to stay with Gabe for a few days, but that we should head back home. Dad says that he’ll keep us updated, and they will be home in a few days. We say our goodbyes to them, and the four of us head for home.

****

The next morning, I get up and grab some clothes before I head to the shower. I put on a mini-skirt, a black dressy tank top, and black heels. I curl my hair, put on some make-up, and head downstairs for breakfast. Adam, Creed, and Jade are already eating so I go and grab some cereal. “Are you riding to school with me?” Adam asks. I nod.

As soon as Adam and I pull into
the parking lot, Amy, Jake, and Pete run up to the truck. “Where were you two?! Why didn’t you answer your messages?!” Amy yells.

“Calm down, Amy. We were at the hospital. Gabe’s going to be okay. We didn’t answer your texts because we were with family and enjoying our time together,” I say.

Jas
e, Heather, and Jenny start heading over to us. “They didn’t answer their messages because they were enjoying being with family,” Amy snaps. I smile and shake my head at her, and Adam laughs.

“Gabe is going to be fine. He’s getting stronger every day. We also met his girlfriend.  They’re really serious,” Adam says with a smile.

“Which makes me have hope for the rest of my brothers.” I smirk at Adam, who rolls his eyes.

“dream on sis… it’s never happening” I smirk at him cause I know that one day it will and he won’t know what hit him.

“Wow, that’s cool and I’m glad he’s okay,” Amy says and everyone else nods.

****

The next few months fly by. I can’t believe that it’s almost Thanksgiving. Adam tells me that he and Jase are taking some girls to the lake tonight. “What are you up to tonight, Mags?” Adam asks.

“I’m heading over to a bonfire at Jenny’s,” I tell him, heading upstairs to change into a pair of jeans and a sweater.

Coming out
of my bedroom, I run into Jase. “Hey, Maggie. You heading out?” he asks. I nod at him, smiling, and head to the bathroom.

As soon as I get to the bonfire
, Amy runs over to me, grabs my arm, and drags me to the fire. “What the hell, Amy?” I say.  She looks back at me, then across the fire. I follow her line of vision. “Who’s that?” I ask.

“That’s Jenny’s cousin.  He lives here now and will be going to school with us.” Damn, he’s really hot. I really look at him. He’s not as hot as Jase, but he’s definitely good looking. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, a sexy body, and he’s staring at me while he’s talking to Pete and Jenny. She says something to him and starts walking over to Amy and I. Amy hands me a beer.

“Hey, Mags. Glad you made it. Where’s Adam?” Jenny says.

“Hey, girl.  He and Jase are out with their one-night stands.” She and Amy both roll their eyes. I really wish Jase wasn’t that way, but he is so there will never be anything between us.

We take our drinks and
go find a blanket near the fire to sit down on. Jeff comes over and sits right beside me. “Hey, Bestie. How’s your night going?” I ask him.

He smiles
and winks at me. “Awesome! That piece of man candy over there can’t take his off of you, baby girl,” he says. I look over and see Jenny’s cousin staring at me.

Jenny
looks between us, and giggles. “Wow, I’ve never seen Christian that interested in anyone before,” Jenny says. I don’t care if he is or not. I don’t want to get involved with him. There’s only one guy that I want, but it will never happen. Maybe Christian can be someone to keep my mind off of Jase.

Jeff and I
go grab some more beers. “Are you interested in Christian at all?” Jeff asks.

I look at him
, thinking about what to say, when I see Adam and Jase arrive with their “dates”. I want to go slap the chick with Jase but, instead, I turn to Jeff.
“Yeah, why not? He’s hot,” I say and Jeff looks at me funny.

Adam comes over and sees my face. “Hey, sis. What’s with the mood?”
Adam asks. I look back and see the girls hanging all over them. Oh, my god. Disgusting!

“No reason at all,” I grumble. I hear Adam sigh, but I choose to ignore him.

Jeff and I head back over to the fire
. Jenny’s cousin is there, talking to her. “Christian, this is Maggie, Amy, and Jeff,” she says.  I wonder if he is a player, too, but I smile at him. I look over at Jeff to see that he is staring at me. I just shake my head.

“Jeff, want to take a walk?”

He’s still looking at me. “Sure,” he says, raising an eyebrow.

After
we walk for a while, we came across my brother and Jase, which just seems to piss me off more. Jeff pulls me off to the side. “Alright, that’s enough.  What’s wrong with you?” he demands.

“I’m just tired of seeing that shit. Why can’t those girls have more respect for themselves…and Heather won’t talk to me,” I say and his eyebrows raise.

“Adam,” he says and I nod. I tell him that I’m just going to head home and we hug.

As soon as I’m home
, I head upstairs to brush my teeth and grab some gum so Mom and Dad won’t smell the beer. I head back down to make some hot chocolate. Jades in the kitchen, on the phone. I wave the package in front of him and he nods. I start making the cocoa and can hear him hang up. “Alright, baby girl. Why are you home already?” Oh, goody.  Someone else wants to know what’s wrong.

I look at him
. “Do you ever get tired of just having one-night stands? Why don’t you want to find someone?” I ask. He looks taken aback. I finish making our hot chocolates and sit down at the table, waiting for him to answer.

He sits across from me.
“Yeah, I do, Maggie, but most of the girls I meet up with are only looking for that right now. I find that the ones that want more aren’t worth it. What brought this up?”

“I don’t know. Every time I see Adam and Jase with a new ‘conquest’, it makes me want to slap them. Heather isn’t talking to me so I’m pretty sure that something happened between her and Adam,” I grumble.

Just then
, Mom and Dad walk into the kitchen.
“
I’m sorry, baby girl,” he whispers. Mom and dad look between us, confused. We tell them it’s nothing.

Jade walks over and gives me a hug before he goes to grab cards so
that we can play rummy. I hear my phone beep, letting me know that I have a text message. Looking down, I see that it’s Adam. Great, just what I need:

Adam:
Where did you go?

Me:
Home.

Adam:
Why didn’t you tell me? I was worried.

Me:
Yeah, right. I doubt you even noticed until Amy asked you where I was.

Adam:
Alright, what’s wrong?
             

Me:
It doesn’t matter. Just go back to your girl.

Adam:
She isn’t my girl…just an easy lay.

Me:
Maybe that’s the problem, Adam. Did you ever think of that? Maybe I’m getting tired of seeing you with all those ‘easy lays’.

I turn off my phone
. I just can’t talk to him right now. Maybe playing rummy will take my mind off of things. After a while, I tell them I’m heading to bed and give them all a kiss.  After putting on my shorts and t-shirt, I crawl into bed.

****

My alarm goes off at seven. I’ve decided no more letting what Adam and Jase do bother me. If they want to be dumb with their lives, that’s up to them. I get up and grab my yellow dress, underwear, and a bra, and head to the shower. After I’m clean, I pull my hair into a ponytail and put on make-up, then head down for breakfast. Yum, Mom made eggs and ham. She smiles at me.
“Glad to see you’re in a better mood, baby girl.” I smile.

I pull up
at school and see Jeff and Amy waiting for me. “Oh, my god.  You got to school before me?” I laugh.

Amy
sticks her tongue out. “HAHA, smart ass. You feeling better this morning?” she asks and I nod.

We all head over to
Jenny and Heather, and I notice Josh coming my way. Damn it, why him?
“Good morning, girls,” Josh says and keeps walking.

Um
, okay, what just happened here? Everyone is laughing at my confusion. “That’s a first,” I say.

Adam walks over and grabs my arm
. “What was last night about?” He demands.