Riley: Swear he looked so much like Dylan.

Dave: lol.

Riley: So yeah… goes without saying this stays between us.

Dave: Hand on my heart. Speaking of secrets…

Riley: :) I sent them one last Friday.

Dave: You are way too good to me.

Riley: You know I enjoy it.

Dave: Sure.

Riley: I do! I like going to the store and finding stuff to send your family. I had to send two boxes this time. I got Ricky this Minions doll but it was too big so he gets his own box.

Dave: He’d love that, Ry. Seriously. It’s not often that kid gets something of his own. He’s always had hand me downs.

Riley: That makes me so happy.

Dave: Swear, you just got me smiling so big.

Riley: Why not say it’s from you then?

Dave: Because it’s not from me. It’s from…?

Riley: I signed the family one as Rosie and Ricky’s one as Vanessa.

Dave: Nice!

Riley: I’m running out of different handwriting though. Hopefully they don’t keep the letters.

Dave: Nah. Ma would keep them all.

Riley: I still don’t get it, Dave. Why the different names and why from girls?

Dave: Keeps the dream alive.

Riley: How so?

Dave: My ma—she always worries about me. Not so much out here but more when I get home.

Riley: ?

Dave: I guess she worries about how I’ll be when I get back, you know? I mean mentally. She’s always going on about how I should find a girl to take care of me. And since the perfect one is taken, I have to make them up.

Riley: She worries about that?

Dave: Don’t you? About Dylan. Not me.

Riley: I try not to.

Dave: That’s good, Ry. You keep the dream alive too. Besides, he has you to take care of him when he gets back.

Riley: I hope I’m enough.

Dave: Seriously, Ry?

Riley: What?

Dave: When I mentioned the perfect girl was taken, I was talking about you.

Riley: Shut up.

Dave: You take care of him, okay? Promise me.

Riley: You goof. I promise.

Dave: Sleep well, Ry. It’s been real nice talking to you.

Riley: Until next time?

I scroll down, my fingers as frantic as my heart while I look for the next image. There isn’t one. I go back to the last and look for the date they spoke.

My breath catches.

My heart stops.

He planned it all.

He fucking knew.

He knew he was going to die that night.

And he knew what losing him would do to me.

Fifty-Nine

Dylan

“Dude, you need me to drive?” Cam asks from the front passenger seat on the way home. “Why do you keep rubbing your eye?”

Jake pulls over on the side of the road. “It’s fucking itchy as fuck.” Then it dawns on him. “You fucking assholes! I have a reporter coming to the house tomorrow!”

He goes to punch Cam but Logan stops him. “No violence!”

Chuckling, I look out the window while Cam and Jake swap seats, wondering why it is there hasn’t been any retaliation yet. Especially on me.

Fuck. I’m never going to sleep.

“Yo, Amanda just messaged me. She said to pick the girls up from your house, D,” Logan says.

“Well, yeah. They stayed there last night didn’t they?”

“No, I mean at your house.”

“What are they doing there?” I ask.

Cam chuckles as he turns to me. “Mayhem, motherfucker.”

Shit.

There’s no sign of glitter from outside the house, which I guess is a good thing. And there’s no loud High School Musical soundtrack blasting, either. Without the help of the boys, the girls aren’t that creative. But then again, I did fuck the boys over. Individually, too. And that causes three times the panic that’s currently flowing through me.

I stop a few feet away from the garage door leading to the yard, hoping that one of them will go through first. They don’t. In fact, they stand behind me, arms crossed, legs spread, all scowling. “It’s bad isn’t it?” I ask.

Jake rubs his eye. “Fuck yeah, it is.”

I huff out a breath, reach for the bike helmet hanging on the wall and put it on.

“That’s not going to help you in this situation,” Cameron says.

“How fucking bad is it?”

“Remember that time you tried to staple my nostrils shut? Think that. Only a thousand times worse.”

“You sweating, Banks?” Logan asks.

I puff out my chest “No.” Then I wipe the sweat off my brow.

“He’s sweating, all right,” Jake mumbles.

After a few deep breaths, I gain the courage I need to turn the knob and slowly push open the door. I walk out quickly; in case something falls from the roof. Nothing does. In fact, nothing happens at all. Or, maybe it’s because my eyes are closed.

I ball my fists and open one eye first, then the other.

There’s a sea of red, white and blue and a bunch of faceless other people who I’m sure I know but right now all I see, all I feel, is Riley standing in front of me. She’s wearing red shorts, a plane white shirt under one of my blue flannel ones. She looks just like the picture I’d carried with me everywhere when I was deployed—the one I’d pull out when I needed a reminder of the reason I was there. Her hands are clasped together in front of her and she’s smiling. “Happy homecoming, baby.”

I take the stupid helmet off and cover the distance between us. “What?”

She lets me take both her hands before shrugging. “We never got a chance to celebrate you coming home… so…” She steps to the side, revealing everyone else.

My family, hers, the girls and all their parents.

“We didn’t have much time to plan…” Riley tells me.

I switch my gaze back to her. “When did you—”

“This morning.”

I reach up, my hands on her neck and my thumb stroking her cheek. “I love you, you know that?”

She smiles. “You better, Banks.”

And then I kiss her, maybe a little too inappropriate considering Holly groans, “Gross,” and Lachlan, Lucy’s little brother shouts, “That’s yuck!” but I don’t care.

A half hour later, I’ve greeted everyone here. Bryce, Heidi’s boyfriend, Jake’s mom, Cam’s parents, Lucy’s dad and a couple of her brothers and Logan’s dad… who can’t seem to take his eyes off Riley’s mom.

I take a seat on the lawn chair next to him. “Dr. Matthews.”

“Dylan.” He nods, his eyes still on Holly. “It’s good to have you home, Son.”

“Thank you, Sir.” I pause a beat, watching his reaction. “You see something you like?”

His eyes snap to mine. “Excuse me?”

Logan walks up, interrupting us. “He causing you any problems, Pops?” he asks, taking a seat on the other side of him.

“You want me to introduce you?” I ask, ignoring Logan.

Dr. Matthews eyes go wide and he sits up higher. “No!”

I smile.

“Introduce who?” Logan says, looking around.

“Riley’s mom.”