Book One In the Lockwood Next Generation Series.
My name is Gracie Matthews and before I could tie my own shoelaces or even ride a bike, I knew I was in love with Wyatt Carter.
I thought he felt the same way.
Turned out I was wrong.
Well, Wyatt, f...
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Aged 17
Everything else became background noise as I hummed to myself, the tune in sync with the gentle rhythm of my hands as I rubbed down our newest arrival at my parent's horse sanctuary.
Mama always told me it had been her dream to have her very own sanctuary, and my Dad was the one who made it a reality, so I'd been fortunate to grow up around these majestic animals and see all the wonderful work she'd done.
"There you go, Hope," I murmured, my voice soothing. Her large, dark eyes watched me with a mix of curiosity and caution. She was a beautiful mare, though her coat still bore the signs of her past mistreatment—rough patches where the fur had thinned and scars that told a story of hardship. We didn't know much about her history, but one thing was clear: she was timid, a soul that had learned to be wary of humans.
But something about me seemed to put her at ease.
Maybe it was how I spoke to her or the gentle touch I used when working with her. Whatever it was, she'd taken a liking to me, and that meant everything.
"Are you listening back there?"
"Huh," I lifted my head, leaning back to stare at my best friend, Nix Chambers, who stood there with his arms crossed and an all-too-familiar smirk playing on his lips.
I had completely forgotten about him. "Pfft, yeah," I bluffed.
Nix raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth twitching like he was holding back a laugh. "Oh really? Then what did I say, genius?"
A soft giggle bubbled up out of my chest, and I shrugged. "Okay, ya got me, I wasn't listening."
He rolled his eyes dramatically, the kind of eye-roll that only Nix could pull off. "I asked how long you gonna be back there pampering that horse's ass 'cause I need to let Jake know if we're goin' over to his?"
Jake was my other best friend. His parents, Connor and Max were my mom's best friends. If I was bein' honest, Jake and Nix were more like brothers to me.
"We need to get some practice in if we're ever gonna get outta this town. Or at least, you know, get a gig that doesn't involve Mrs. Jenkins' latest wedding nuptials," he said.
The three of us were in a band—well, four now, with Matty on keyboards. We mostly covered other artists' songs, but I loved writing my own, and every so often, we'd sneak one of mine into the set. Nix on bass guitar, Jake on the drums, and me? Well, obviously, being the musical genius I was, I could do it all—guitar, keyboard, vocals.
Nix was convinced we were destined for stardom. Me? I had plans of my own.
Big plans.
Big, bold plans.
And they all involved a certain person.
That person was Wyatt John Carter.
It was fair to say I'd been in love with Wyatt since forever, or at least as long as I could remember. I'd even asked him to marry me when I was four. Not that he remembered it, or if he did, he never mentioned it.
