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  Lather

  The Moore Series Book One

  By Nicki Rae

  Copyright © 2014 by Nicki Rae

  ebook edition

  ISBN: 978-1-312-29616-9

  Published by: Nicki Rae

  Cover Art: Photo courtesy of StockFreeImages.com

  Edited by: Anna Coy with AGC Editing

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  June, 2014.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination.

  Please contact the author with any questions at:

  [email protected]

  Dedication

  To my family who always believed in me and never let me quit.

  I have a special group of ladies that have gone through this journey with me seemingly every day: Sara, Timi, Jerika, Jackie, Christi and Monica. Thank you for all of your input; you will never know how much your support means to me.

  I cannot give enough thanks to my fabulous editor, Anna. She was not only an editor but also a friend who guided me anyway she could. Thank you so much!

  Aunt BJ, thank you for giving me the final nudge to start a journey that I have wanted to begin for so long. Your voice in the back of my head is what fueled me to continue.

  Prologue

  *Emily*

  Present day

  The last year of my life has been hell. Has it really only been a year? Everything has just happened so fast that it really, only feels like it has been a short time. I sit in this white, stuffy hospital room, with the smell of death all around me and wonder how our lives have got to this point.

  Lies, deceit, and broken promises are a way of life for me it seems lately. Up until this past year, I never would have thought I would have to second guess anything that anyone tells me. Nothing is as it seems. People you trust and love, they will turn on you in a second and that is a hard lesson to learn; I’m glad that I learned it at nineteen, instead of thirty. I would have hated to go that long looking the fool.

  Truth be told, I should have known all along what people could be like but as a child you want to think everyone is wonderful.

  Ha! Joke is on them, though.

  “Emily.” My mother pulls me from my thoughts.

  I promised I would tell what has happened and how we ended up in this hospital room. But I just can’t pull myself to do it. I need to get out what I want them to know. They need to know that the reason we are in here is because of something as simplistic as a misunderstanding. I shake my head at that thought; I still am in shock myself. Evans will be here soon, so I need to get my shit together and just spill it.

  Just as I start to talk, Officer Evans walks in.

  Damn it! Any chance of me talking with just us is now out the window.

  “Emily, thank you for talking with me,” Evans says to me.

  My mother glares at me; she knows we can’t be alone now, too. I blow out a breath and start to tell the story.

  “Look, this starts even further back than I originally knew. So, I will have to go through the entire story so you will get the depth of this.”

  I look over at my mom with an apologetic stare because some of this is going to break her heart.

  “Ok, Emily. Start whenever you are ready.” Evans says.

  Ready? Is he kidding? I will never be ready to relive the last year of my life. But if I don’t, we can never move on, and that is something that we all so desperately need.

  Chapter 1

  Two years ago

  *Emily*

  “Emily wake up, we are here.”

  I see that we are parked in a giant lot, when I open my eyes.

  I stretch my arms and look around at the beautiful scenery. I can’t believe I slept; I usually get so car sick I can barely stand to drive very long distances but the seven hours we just spent in the car wasn’t too bad.

  I watch as Logan scans the campus. He is so excited to be visiting one of the schools he may be going to next fall. He comes from a family of engineers, the majority of which went to school at Purdue, back home in Indiana. Logan will tell you that he has not made his mind up yet but I see the way his face lights up when he talks about going to school in Virginia. So, we have just driven to Blacksburg to visit Virginia Tech.

  “Em, look at this place.” He says with excitement in his beautiful green eyes and with equally as much excitement in his voice.

  His eyes are darting from one place to the next. I was really hoping he would hate it. I would never tell him this, but I would be just fine with him going to his father and grandfather’s alma mater. At least that way, we could live somewhere in between our schools, and still not be too far away from family.

  When we started dating last year, the thought of one of us going off to college didn’t even occur to us. Now the time is here and I am trying to keep my heart from breaking because I know what his choice is going to be.

  I have one year of high school left, so maybe he will get here, hate it and move back before I graduate. Even as that thought crosses my mind, I know that it is horrible for me to even think. I want Logan to be happy, even if he is seven hours away.

  “It’s really big,” I say with a smirk on my face.

  I glance over at him and his attention has remained on the school.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  He doesn’t even flinch at my joke, and that isn’t like him

  “Well, let’s go in and check this place out.” I say, with a sigh that I didn’t mean to let escape.

  Logan notices my not so enthusiastic reply.

  “Emily, can you just be happy for me? I have wanted to go to this school since I started looking at colleges.”

  I am being completely selfish and it is making me look like an asshole.

  “Of course Logan, I am sorry. It is just a little difficult for me to think you will be seven hours away. I will try to be a little more enthusiastic.” I smile convincingly at him.

  He takes my hand in his.

  “Emily, I know you are worried but we will get through this, I promise.”

  I briefly close my eyes to try to catch my breath. When I open them, I see his glassy eyes looking back at me and it takes everything I have not to just throw my arms around him and cry like a baby. But I have to be strong and get through this.

  “I know, Logan. I am happy for you, I really am.”

  He brings my hand to his lips and gently kisses the back of it sending chills all the way to my toes.

  “Let’s get going, I don’t want to miss anything.”

  He winks and I think my heart skips a beat. I am amazed at what this man can make me feel, even after the time we have been together.

  ***

  We tour the entire campus. We see the student housing dorms, which I decided are far too small for me. I’m pretty sure that my closet back home is bigger than this entire dorm room. Not to mention the tiny beds they are equipped with. How are both of us supposed to lie in them?

  “Logan, I won’t have room for my things in this tiny room if I want to visit you for any extended amount of time.” I whisper in his ear.

  He glances at me with a smirk on his face and puts a finger to his lips, effectively shushing me.

  I laugh to myself as we continue.

  Logan asks our guide every question known to man but in his defense, his parents are not with us and neither of us knows how this works. After seeing where he would be living and visiting some of the lecture halls, Logan is adamant about seeing the gym. He has wrestled sinc
e before I can remember, so having a great workout facility is very important to him.

  We walk in the gym and I see pure bliss in his beautiful green eyes.

  “This place is amazing.” He says to himself as he looks around at all of the equipment.

  That is when I knew I lost him.

  He looks to me and his smiles falls. He sees the look of disappointment when realization hits us both that he has just made his decision. He pulls me to him; he puts his arm around my waist and kisses me.

  All it took was a three hour visit for me to know that I had a year left with Logan. That he would be leaving me after that.

  Even though I already know the answer, I ask, “So?”

  He looks over at me with a side smile and says, “I love this place babe.”

  He is trying not to show how excited he is just as I am trying to hide my disappointment. I am trying my best to be happy for him.

  “That is great, Logan! It really is a beautiful campus; even if it does have tiny dorm rooms.” I add with a shrug to try to lighten the mood. Or, lighten my mood; I’m not sure Logan’s mood needs lightened.

  He reaches his hand over and puts it on my knee.

  “It will be ok, Em. I promise. Nothing will change between us.”

  I feel a lump forming in my throat. I know he will only be seven hours away but DAMN IT! He will be seven hours away.

  “I know, Logan.”

  I have to change the subject.

  “Missy is having a bon fire tomorrow, do you want to go?”

  Missy is one of my best friends. She went to school with us until high school then moved a few towns over. Her parents travel frequently, so she was practically raised by her aunt. Usually when she has a get together, it means her parents are out of town.

  I usually only go if Logan is with me, though. As we get older, the people that are at her parties aren’t my kind of company.

  “Sure.” He says but I can tell he isn’t overly thrilled with the idea.

  Missy has always openly loved Logan. At first, I think he liked the attention. Since Logan and I have been dating, she has backed off. But I still see the subtle glances and the way she sometimes tries to inconspicuously rub his arms or back. I always tell him that if she makes him feel uncomfortable we don’t have to be around her. He always tells me that he is confident enough in our relationship that it doesn’t bother him. Hearing that always makes me love him that much more.

  I turn the radio on and start switching from channel to channel, looking for something to take my mind off everything.

  “You can’t move here Logan. They only listen to country music.”

  I see Logan smirk and he glances over at me briefly. Everyone always makes fun of Logan and my love for eighties hair band music. Although I am a fan of music in general, give me a band full of guys who play their own instruments, have big hair and wear eyeliner any day over these scrawny guys with floppy hair.

  “I’m sure if you keep searching, you will find something.” He says with a chuckle.

  As I continue searching the channels, I hear the sweet guitar riff of one of our favorite songs “Sweet Child of Mine.” I instantly get goose bumps. Logan has sung this to me many times while under the star filled sky. He must be feeling the same because he puts his hand on my thigh and starts singing to me again.

  “Emily, let’s take a walk.” Logan says to me as he grabs my hand and we make our way out of his parent’s house.

  “Let’s take a walk,” is code for we need to be alone. And I am giddy with excitement, every time I hear it.

  His parents have a lot of land; land my grandparents used to own before the Moore’s bought it from them. We have found this beautiful clearing, about a hundred yards from the house, lined with the most beautiful red maple trees I have ever seen. In the fall, the leaves turn to some of the most beautiful shades of red. We have made it our own. No one ever comes out this far, so no one knows about it.

  We make it out and I look up into the night sky, it’s lined with stars. Logan pulls his phone out and I see him move it about in the air. I assume he is probably trying to find reception. He must find the perfect spot because he slowly kneels, keeping the phone in the same line and placing it on the ground. He plays around with it a minute more before I hear music playing through the speakers. It’s so quiet out here that the music is actually a little loud.

  With a look of tenderness in his eyes, he moves toward me. He takes me in his arms and we start to dance. We are not only dancing though, Logan is also singing to me. I have to sniff back the tears that are forming in my eyes. What a sweet, sweet guy Logan Moore is.

  We are pulling into my driveway after what seems like days that we have been gone and I am exhausted. Logan reaches an arm behind me as I start to take off my seat belt.

  “Leaving so soon?”

  “I was going to wait a minute, Logan. This wasn’t just a quick drop and run.” I answer, laughing.

  “Ok, just making sure.”

  He leans his entire body toward me until his lips are almost touching mine. I close my eyes in anticipation for what’s to come. After a few seconds of cool breeze on my lips, I open my eyes. Logan is staring right in my eyes with a smirk on his face.

  “What the hell?” I say as I smack his shoulder.

  “Just wanted to get you riled up, babe.” He says and this time he smashes his lips to mine, with no hesitation.

  After a few minutes of heavy breathing and lots of wondering hands, he pulls away from me. I really wish we could just stay like that forever.

  “I’m sure your mother doesn’t appreciate me making out with her daughter in the driveway.”

  “It’s dark, Logan. I’m sure no one can even see us.” I say as I am checking my appearance in the visor mirror.

  “You had better get inside; I don’t need the wrath of Diane at full force after me for keeping her daughter out too late.”

  With one last kiss, I get out and wave at him as he pulls away. I turn to walk up the stairs of our home and am glad to see that all the hard work we have put into the yard is finally starting to show. We have mums of every color blooming. I say WE as though I actually had any value in the project. My mother and two sisters have the greenest of thumbs. Me on the other hand, I just look at a plant and it dies. My poor mother has tried and tried to educate me on the ins and outs of growing flowers and plants, I have just concluded that they don’t like me.

  My mother opens the door as I walk up to it.

  “Well?”

  “Well.” I sigh. “I guess I will have to enjoy Logan while he is here because once he graduates, he is going to be leaving me.”

  “He has made his decision, then.”

  “If you ask him he will tell you NO. But I saw the look on his face as we moved to each part of our tour and I know him well enough to know that he is going.”

  “Well, sweetheart, you wouldn’t want him to ask you to stay home from a school that you absolutely love.”

  “I know, I know. But that doesn’t make this any easier.”

  “Of course not, dear. Like you said, enjoy what time you have with him that is all you can do.”

  I did not need to hear the last part. As soon as the sentence left her mouth, the tears started rolling. I see the apologetic look in her eyes as she pulls me in for a hug.

  I just want the next year to go slow but I know we will both get busy with school and the end of the year will be here way before I want it to be. The thought makes me cry even harder. I pull away from her and run up the stairs to my bedroom. I pass both of my sisters and my mom’s room to get to mine. I step in and close the door. Actually, the door slammed, which is not what I meant to happen. I run to my bed, pull out the picture that I have on my nightstand of Logan and me at a Skynyrd concert this past summer and cry into my pillow. With the picture of us still in my hands and the tears still falling down my face, I fall into a restless sleep.

  Chapter 2

  One year later


  *Emily*

  I am sitting in the crowd of people with Dee, Charles and Tyler Moore, watching as Logan is walking across the stage. He is beautiful. His six feet two frame is topped with dark close cut hair. He is wearing a black gown to the girls’ red proudly representing our school colors. Under his clothes, he has on slacks and a long sleeve button down shirt. I know he is hot as hell in all of those clothes but we went last night and he got a tattoo and he didn’t want his parents to see it, yet.

  Principle Lawry hands Logan his diploma, and he looks out at the crowd towards his family and me with a smile spread across his face. I smile back at him to show him how proud I am. He winks at me and walks back to his seat.

  After the ceremony is over, we meet Logan in the hallway. He walks directly toward me but his mother intercepts him.

  “Congratulations, son! We are so proud of you.” Dee says to him as she hugs him.

  His father shakes his hand; Tyler does the same.

  “What a good day! We are happy for you!” My mother hugs him and my sisters, Rebecca and Celeste follow.

  Once he finally gets to me, he wraps his arms around me and kisses my lips.

  “Hey, beautiful!” he says with excitement in his voice.

  “Congratulations, Logan!” I say equally as excited.

  He sees one of his buddies out of the corner of his eye.

  “You going to be at the house tonight? We are having a big ass graduation party.” He says to him as he punches him in the arm.

  “Yeah, man. See you later.” He shouts back walking backward away from us.

  Logan looks to me and pulls me in for another kiss before we head out of the school.

  “You ready for tonight?”

  The past year has been full of insecurities. Logan did everything he could to ease my mind. I must say, I am doing much better with the idea of him leaving. It still sucks but I know this is what Logan wants, so I am dealing with it. There are a lot of people in this world dealing with situations much worse than their boyfriend going off to college.

  “Of course, Logan. We are going to have a great time.”

  “I mean are you ready for what tonight is representing. Will you be ok?”