Bradley

Before we knew it, the boys' senior year ended with prom and graduation. They had finished their final baseball season with Oakridge High School winning the championship.

Dallas and Braydon talked Jace into attending their senior prom. Jace took Charlie to prom as friends and spent a few hours explaining to Julia about it. Julia had no issue with it and wondered why Jace was explaining himself. Hazel and I facepalmed ourselves.

Caspiam took it a little harder. Odin spent time explaining the situation to Caspiam. Caspiam still didn't like the idea of Jace and Charlie attending prom together. It turns out Caspiam was still possessive of Charlie. Odin hoped the distance between Caspiam and Charlie would help Caspiam move on.

I hate to break it to Odin, but it wouldn't.

The boys worked at the construction site during the summer before leaving for school. Jace still spent time with Julia when he wasn't working. I wasn't looking forward to the day we would take the boys to school. 

That day had arrived sooner than expected. I packed the boys' bags in the car's cargo space. The boys were riding together in their vehicle while Hazel and I drove separately with their belongings.

We gave Jace time to say goodbye to Julia.

******
Jace

While Dad loaded our stuff into his car, I figured out what to say to Jules. I didn't want her to forget me when I was away at school.

I looked at my bedroom with pictures of my family and friends. I pulled a picture of my folks and me on the day they adopted me. I remember meeting them at the center. I sat at the table on my best behavior, hoping they would choose me. My lips curled into a smile when I called Dad Bub because I couldn't pronounce his name. It eventually morphed into Dad.

I slid the picture into my back pocket to take with me. Then, I pulled a picture of Jules and me from a corkboard. We were dancing at Rafe's wedding. She was three, and I was seven. At the time, we were friends. But the more time we spent together, my feelings started changing into something more. I tucked the picture away in my wallet for safekeeping.

"Ready?" My dad asked from the doorway of my bedroom.

"Yeah. I need to talk to Jules."

My dad nodded in understanding.

We left the house and came outside. I saw Jules sitting on her porch, looking in my direction with her arms wrapped around her knees. I walked over to her and sat beside her.

"So, you're really leaving, aren't you?" Jules asked in a sad voice.

I nodded. "Yeah. I have to get settled before classes start."

"Will I see you again?"

"I'll have breaks from school." I smiled slightly.

Jules averted her eyes. "Yeah."

"It's not goodbye."

Jules snapped her face to me. "What?"

"It's not goodbye. I'll be back."

"Pinky promise?" She held up her pinky to me.

I wrapped my pinky around hers and shook. "Pinky promise."

Jules nodded.

I removed my pinky finger from hers and stood up. "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you."

I shoved my hands in my front jeans pockets and walked away, knowing I would break my pinky promise because of Dad's rule. It sucked.

******
Bradley

Jace climbed into the backseat of the car without saying anything. Dallas climbed behind the steering wheel while Braydon sat in the front passenger seat. Hazel and I climbed into our car and pulled out with the boys following us.

"Is it wrong to feel terrible about Jace leaving Julia?" Hazel asked.

"No." I shook my head. "But the boys have an opportunity at a future. I don't want them to have regrets."

"Julia looked so sad."

"I know, honey. But this will give Julia time to grow up without Jace confusing her. She needs the same chances that Jace had while she had to wait for him. Now he can wait for her."

Hazel's brows lifted in surprise. "What?"

My lips curled in a knowing smile. I watched Julia's disappointment when Jace talked to another girl. Now, Jace could wait for Julia as she spoke to the other boys.

*******
Julia

My lips turned downward as I sat on my porch and watched Jace leave. An ache settled into my chest, knowing Jace wouldn't keep his promise. Why would he?

The screen door opened and closed. Mom sat down beside me. "Did Jace leave?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"Are you okay?"

I glanced at Mom with furrowed brows. "Why does everyone leave?"

"Sweetie."

"It doesn't matter. Jace will meet someone and leave me behind." I got up, ran into the house, and upstairs past Dad.

It didn't matter what anyone said. Jace would find someone while I was left with a broken heart.

******
Dexter

No one prepares you when your teen suffers their first heartbreak. I called Dad and had him come over. He didn't hesitate and showed up with Ma. Jas got excited when Ma arrived and confiscated her attention. Marla visited with Ma while I talked to Dad.

"Suffering your first heartbreak is part of life," Dad said.

"But no one told me what to do when it happens to your kid. How do I help Julia?" I asked.

"Listen to Julia when she needs to talk. I regret not listening to you when you were younger. If I did, you wouldn't have felt so alone when you got into trouble. Don't make the same mistake I did."

"Can you talk to Julia?"

Dad nodded. "Yeah." He headed upstairs to talk to Pumpkin. Hopefully, it works.

******
Nash

I made a lot of mistakes with Dexter when he was a teen. The biggest one was not listening to him. He needed my help, but I let my anger get in the way. Now, he needed it as a father. This time, I learned from my mistake.

I knocked on Julia's bedroom door and opened it to find her sitting on the side of her bed with her head down. I entered, closed the door, and sat beside her.

Julia lifted her head with tear-streaked cheeks.

"Hey, sweetheart." I smiled.

Julia released a strangled sob while her body shook. I wrapped my arm around her as she buried her face into me. Her body shook as she cried. I let her. Sometimes, we need to know people care.

I let Julia cry for a while before we talked.

"I don't understand." She shook her head and sniffled.

"What don't you understand?"

"Why would Jace make a pinky promise when he didn't mean it?" She looked at me with furrowed brows.

"I don't think Jace would make a pinky promise and not keep it."

"Grandpa, Jace is in college. He'll meet someone and forget about me."

"Or maybe it's a chance to figure out who you are."

"What do you mean?"

"Your dad was a few years older than you when he was trying to figure out himself."

"Oh, you mean when he met my jerk of a birth mother and had me?"

"Your dad told you, didn't he?"

Julia nodded. "Yeah."

"Your nanny and I didn't like your birth mother. But instead of listening to and talking to your dad, we made a mistake and pushed him towards her. I was so angry when he told me about the pregnancy. I didn't make things easy for him. But your dad took responsibility for you. I have never been prouder of him."

"What does this have to do with me? It's not like I plan to have a kid any time soon."

"No, but we make choices that alter our lives. Julia, you have plenty of time to figure out how you feel about someone. Don't think you need to make the decision now."

"What if my feelings don't change?"

"Then your feelings are real. Love differs from a crush."

"Did you ever have a crush on someone?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"Was it Nanny?"

"No. I didn't meet your nanny until I was older. In fact, I met her in a grocery store and talked about ice cream. Some girls were being mean to her. So, I helped her out. It was the best decision I ever made."

Julia smiled.

"That's the smile I love to see."

Julia giggled and reminded me of Dexter when he was her age. Damn, Julia carried a lot of Dexter's features.

"Don't you have a birthday coming up?"

"Yeah."

"I guess we'll have to celebrate it. Plus, your uncle Grayson wants to have a picnic at the park with the family."

"Will Uncle Max be there?"

"Yep."

"Cool."

I couldn't help but smile. Julia adored Max. Plus, the family needed to celebrate after everything that had happened. Dexter, Keaton, and Kacey were married with families. Max and Travis were in college. Sometimes, you need to celebrate family and cheer up a teen from saying goodbye to her crush.

But Julia was fierce and resilient. She would bounce back and find her happiness. Although it would take four years, she would.

This chapter gave insight into a chapter in the Harper Family Weddings near the end of the book. Wilson weaved around The Harper Family Weddings.

Get ready because you will discover what happened after the infamous meltdown while Jace is experiencing college life.