BUCKED Box Set: A Bull Rider Western Romance Read Online Free Page A

the focal
point of the community, complete with white gazebo and twinkling lights. In a
word—romantic. Which was why I had no idea why we were stopping.
    “So, you
know this park doesn’t have swings, right?” I asked, trying to get a feel for
what was going on.
    “Yeah, I
know. I just thought we could sit and talk a bit. We probably won’t have any
privacy when we get back to your house. You know how your dad likes to talk.”
    I wasn’t
really sure why we needed privacy. We’d never needed privacy before.
    “That’s
Dad for ya. He’s a talker.” I didn’t know what to say. I admit, I was a little
out of my element. I’d never felt off balance around Mark before. This was new
territory. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
    Mark
turned off the car and got out. He walked around to my side and opened my door
for me, holding one hand out and keeping the other behind his back. Very
chivalrous. He finally started to speak as we walked the sidewalk toward the
gazebo.
    “I got you
a graduation gift,” he said, pulling a small box from behind his back. I was a
little taken back.
    “You
didn’t have to get me anything,” I protested.
    “Well, I
wanted to. Laci, you’ve been my closest friend for as long as I can remember.
When I was struggling to fit in, you reminded me that standing out was more my
thing. When my heart was broken, well, you offered to hunt her down and slash
her tires,” he chuckled.
    “And, she
would have deserved it, too ,” I chimed in
with a smile.
    “The point
is, you’ve been there for me through it all. I just hope you know I will always
be there for you. No matter what. No matter when. If you need me, I will always
come running.” He looked down at me with those green eyes I’d looked into a
thousand times before and smiled that dimpled smile he’s known for. I was
speechless, and he knew it. So, he let me off the hook. “Open it,” he insisted,
referring to the gift in my hand.
    I
carefully tore through the paper to the gift box beneath. When I opened it, inside was nestled a black velvet box. My eyes darted up to meet his, unsure
what to expect. The moment felt a little more intimate than anything Mark and I
had ever shared. Sure, there had been the occasional spark when our eyes met
and for a second something felt a little different, but I always chalked that
up to the fact that he is just a ridiculously attractive guy. Those moments are
going to happen, right? But this…this was something else entirely. He smiled at
me and urged me again. “Go ahead. It won’t bite you,” he laughed.
    I pulled
the black box from its nest and opened it
up. Inside was a necklace with only half of the two masks you find on theater
signs. The smiling half.
    “I have
the other half,” he said, pulling the sad-faced mask from beneath his t-shirt.
“It’s like a best friend charm, only I hope less cheesy.”
    I couldn’t
help but smile. “Oh, it’s definitely a little cheesy, but I love it.” I wrapped
my arms around his neck and squeezed. “Thank you.”
    “There’s
more,” he added as I let him loose. “Turn it over.”
    I quickly
obeyed, flipping the charm over to read the words engraved on the back. Even at 3 a.m. A smile crept over my
lips, and I moved my hand to the charm around his neck. I didn’t really need to
read it; I was fairly sure I already knew what it said. The night before Mark
left for California, we went out to dinner. I went on and on about how far away
he was going to be and that I didn’t know how I felt about him not being a
train ride away. That night, he told me that no matter how far away he was,
his phone was always on. He said he’d always answer, even at three in the
morning. I flipped his charm over to find the words: I’ll always answer . For the second time since we’d arrived at the
park, I was speechless. I smiled and rubbed my thumb over the words on his
charm. Before I could say anything, his fingers were under my chin and tilting
my