I turned around and called back to Reed. “Five?”

“Five, it is. I’ll call the normal gang!” Reed yelled back as he took out his cell phone.

By the time I got Whitley back to her car, I wanted to rip off her damn clothes and finish what we’d started earlier.

She walked up to her car and threw her bag into the backseat before shutting the door and turning to face me. “Is it weird I’m going to miss you?” She looked down at the ground.

I used my finger and moved her chin up until her eyes captured mine. “Why would that be weird?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s just…I don’t know. I promised myself I wouldn’t fall in love again, that I wouldn’t need someone, but…all I want to do is be with you. I don’t want to leave your side, and that…that scares me.”

I leaned down and gently kissed her soft lips. “Whitley, please don’t be scared. I promise you, I’ll never hurt you. Ever. I’m going to miss you, too, so please hurry. And pack a bag to stay with me for a few days,” I said with a smile.

I watched as her cheeks filled with that beautiful rose color.

She barely whispered, “Okay.”

I opened her door and smiled as she got it. I leaned in to kiss her good-bye once more before watching her pull down the road. My heart was pounding in my chest as I thought about what she’d just said. I was just as scared by the intense feelings I was having for her.

“I promise not to hurt you. I pray to God you make that same promise to me,” I said as I watched her car pull out of sight.

I practically ran out of the house when I saw Courtney’s truck pulling in. I walked out onto my front porch and watched them both jump out and grab bags out of the backseat.

My heart was pounding.

“Motherfucker. What in the hell is she wearing?” Reed said.

I turned and looked at him. “Which one?”

Reed shook his head. “Courtney! Could her shorts be any shorter? And those fucking cowboy boots with those shorts? What in the hell?”

I glanced back at both girls. They both had on jean shorts, T-shirts, and cowboy boots. They were both carrying bags, and when I looked at Whitley, she had the sweetest look on her face.

“Her shorts aren’t that short.” I looked Whitley up and down.

Courtney leaned over and said something to Whitley that caused her to blush.

“Motherfucker,” I whispered.

“Yep…that’s what I said.” Reed turned and walked back into my house.

Kevin, Richard, and Mitch were already in the house, taking all the food I had and loading it up into my truck.

“Hey,” I said.

Whitley made her way up the porch steps. “Hey, yourself.”

I looked over at Courtney and smiled. She smiled back and shook her head.

I held up my hands. “You look like you want to give me the third degree.”

She laughed. “Nope, I just wanted you to know I have not seen this girl this happy in a long time.” She started walking by me and stopped. “You’re either really fucking good in bed, or you used your Southern charm to bewitch her.”

I stood there, just looking at her. “Can I say both?”

She looked me up and down and then turned to Whitley. “I’m going with the well-endowed junk and a Southern charmer.” She spun around and walked into my house.

I slowly turned back to Whitley, who was laughing.

“Holy shit. Is she always so…open?”

She nodded. “Yep! That’s Court. She doesn’t sugarcoat shit.”

I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms. She was biting on her lower lip, and I used my finger to pull it out from her teeth. I leaned down and gently started to suck and bite on her lip. She let out the sweetest, softest moan, and it moved through my body like a warm sensation.

I barely moved my lips from hers. “Whitley, I want you, baby.”

“Layton…” She pushed her hips into my dick.

“Um…Layton, we got everything packed up. Dude, don’t forget to open the gate for people to come in,” Kevin said from behind me.

“Okay, Whit and I will take the ranch truck. Y’all can head on down.”

Whitley smiled as she shook her head. “Layton, I can’t leave Courtney alone with all your friends. She’ll be pissed at me.”

Just then, Courtney came out. “Hey, Whit. I’m driving down with these guys, okay?”

Whitley peeked around me to look at her best friend. “Court, are you sure?”

“Jesus, Whitley, I think I’ll be fine. If one of them makes a move, I’ll junk-punch their asses. Don’t be too long!”

I took Whitley’s hand and pulled her into the house. The moment we were inside, she dropped her bag and jumped into my arms. I pushed her against the wall and moved my hand up her shirt.

“Fuck, Whitley, I want you so damn bad that I can hardly stand it.”

She threw her head back against the wall. “Yes, I missed you, Layton.”

I put her down and was just about to unbutton her shorts when my fucking doorbell rang. I closed my eyes, and then I looked at her. I could see the disappointment in her eyes, but she was also giggling.

I walked over to the door and opened it up. I shook my head as I saw the guy who delivers my hay standing at my door.

“Mr. Morris, I just need you to sign for your delivery.”

“Yep, sure thing.”

“Your gate is open, sir. Were you aware of this?” he asked.

“Yep. Having a party.” I signed the form and handed it back to him.

“Same location, sir?” he asked.

I saw him look behind me and smile. I turned around to see Whitley there. I glanced back at the delivery guy and took a step to my left to block his view of her.

“Yeah, same place. Thank you.” Fucker.

I shut the door and turned around to see Whitley smiling at me. She slowly hooked her fingers in her shorts and began to slide them down. When she stepped out of them, I walked up, grabbed her, and picked her up.

As I brought her into my bedroom, I said, “I love how you drive me so crazy, Miss Reynolds.”

She yelled as I threw her down onto the bed.

Before I knew it, she was whispering my name into my ear as we both came together.

I couldn’t get enough of her, and it was beginning to scare me. I’d never felt this way about anyone.

“I don’t want to, but I think we better head down to the lake,” I said as I moved my fingertips up and down her side.

“Courtney is probably ready to beat my ass!” She jumped up and started to get dressed.

I smiled, thinking about how I was about to make a clear statement to every one of my friends.

I was in love, and Whitley Reynolds was officially off the market.

Chapter Seventeen: Whitley

By the time Layton and I finally got down to the lake on his property, there must have been at least fifty people there.

“Holy shit! Where did all these people come from?” I looked around at all the parked trucks.

Layton let out a laugh and grabbed my hand. I glanced over at him, and he had the goofiest smile on his face. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“You ready?” he asked with a wink.

“Yep!” I gave him a wink back.

He jumped out of his truck and ran over to help me out. I was never going to get used to his Southern charm and manners. I glanced around, looking for Courtney. She was so outgoing that I wasn’t worried about her feeling left out.

I looked around to see where the music was coming from. Gesh, it almost sounds like a DJ is here. I turned and saw about five huge speakers.

“Wow! Do y’all have parties here often? That is a major setup you guys have there.”

Layton laughed and threw his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. “Mike used to be known for his parties. He would go all out. We called them pontoon parties. We haven’t had one in a long time.”

“How come?” I asked.

“I haven’t had a reason to party…until now.” He stopped me and pulled me closer to him, and then he gave me the most passionate kiss ever.

I let out a small moan, and I couldn’t believe that my body was aching for him again. “Layton,” I whispered.

“Layton!”

I turned and saw about three girls walking up to us. They all had huge smiles on their faces, and one girl with short blonde hair walked right up to me and hugged me.

She leaned down by my ear and whispered, “I don’t know what you did, but thank you for bringing my cousin back.” She pulled away and gave me the sweetest smile.

I grinned back and felt my face blushing.

Each girl took a turn giving Layton a hug and a kiss, and then they turned their attention to me, each thanking me. We stood there for a few minutes, talking. I found out they were all sisters and Layton’s cousins. Each was married and had at least one child. I absolutely loved talking to them and had not laughed that hard in so long.

We made our way over to a fire pit with a huge grill next to it. Kevin was manning the grill, wearing an apron that said, Kiss the Cook. I saw hot dogs, hamburgers, and sausages. A nearby table had buns and all the fixings.

“Hey, Kevin,” I said with a chuckle.

“Hey, Whit! Glad you made it to your party!” he said with a wink.

I let out a giggle and shook my head. “How in the world did y’all plan this so fast?”

Kevin laughed. “Oh, baby girl, we are pros at throwing together a party. Mike and I used to be known for our parties. As soon as Reed called and said Layton wanted to have a pontoon party, that was all I needed to hear to spring into action.”

I smiled as I glanced over toward Layton. He was talking to a few guys I’d never seen before. At least ten kids, all under the age of six, were running around. One little girl ran by, and I swore she was the spitting image of Layton. I laughed as I watched them play.

I turned back to Kevin and gave him a slight smile. “Um…Kevin, what did you mean when you said this was my party?”

Kevin’s smile faded for a quick second. He looked around for Layton. He grinned when he saw him. Layton turned toward me, and his smile about knocked my socks off.

“Whitley, Layton lost a part of himself when Mike died. Then, that bitch of a girlfriend walked out on him the night after Mike died. We were all worried about Layton. For a while there, he didn’t even seem like he wanted to live. We tried like hell to throw a party. Layton and Mike loved having parties. We’ve all seen a change in Layton since the very first day you showed up.”

I looked down to the ground, and I could feel my face getting hotter.

“Whitley, he’s having this party to show everyone that he’s okay. He’s letting us know that he found you. I also think that bastard is trying to tell all these horny country boys that you’re his.”

I laughed as I peeked up at Layton. He was taking a drink of his beer and looking right at me. My heart stopped, and my knees felt like they were going to buckle out from under me.

“Whitley?”

I didn’t even take my eyes off of Layton’s. “Yes, Kevin?”