Yes You: The Reed Brothers, #16

By Tammy Falkner

This short story was originally published in the anthology 12 Christmas Romances To Melt Your Heart

This is not a full length novel.  It's a short story that was requested by readers who wanted to know how Reagan's parents met. It's about 12,000 words.

You might remember them. They have two children named Reagan and Lincoln. Find out how their love story started in Yes, You.
One bad boy, one good girl.
The question - Who? Me?
Yes. You.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tammy Falkner
• Release date: Dec 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781524211721

Book preview

Madison

He leans against the side of the building with a cigarette dangling from his lips. His boots are crossed at the ankles as he leans against the brick wall. Scrunching up one eye to keep the smoke out, he looks almost unapproachable, and the thought of actually going up to talk to him scares me to death. Yet, I’m going to do it anyway.

He comes out here every day and sneaks a cigarette, glancing furtively left and right like he’s afraid someone will see him.

I see him.

I see him everywhere I go, it seems.

He doesn’t really fit in here, with his tattoos and his perpetual bad attitude. I know from class that he would rather grunt than speak in full sentences. And people let him, mostly because they’re afraid of him. But the only thing I’m afraid of…

Well. The only thing I’m afraid of is that I won’t get to meet him. That he’ll turn away and refuse to talk to me.

I take a deep breath and start in his direction, but just as I do, he drops his cigarette butt to the ground, grinds it under the heel of his boot, and then he throws his backpack over his shoulder and starts walking in the other direction.

He’s walking away. Seriously?

Excuse me, I call to his retreating back. I sound like I swallowed Kermit, so I clear my throat. Excuse me, I call again. I run to catch up with him and tug on his backpack. He looks back over his shoulder, but then he keeps right on walking. Wait! I say, trying to keep up. "Damn it, would you stop?"

He stops very quickly and I slam into his back. He rocks forward and I grab onto his pack to stay upright, feeling like I have two left feet. I am usually more graceful than this. My mother would kill me if she saw me right now, making a public spectacle of myself in the quad.

He turns, grabs me by the shoulders and steadies me, then he bends down to look into my eyes. His are bright blue and full of questions. Are you all right? he asks, his voice gruff. I’ve never heard him do more than grunt in class, so hearing him make a full sentence, albeit a short one, is startling.

I’m fine, I gasp, a little winded from chasing him. You’re really fast.

He grins. Sweetheart, you haven’t seen fast.

My heart skips a beat. I am in such big trouble. I don’t know why I thought I could approach a man like this, but I did, and now I don’t know how to ask for what I want.

Cat got your tongue? he asks. A grin tips one corner of his lips. He’s pretty enough to take my breath away. His blond hair flops across his forehead and he shakes his head to swing it back from his eyes.

I open my mouth to speak, but only a squeak comes out. He looks around the quad, looking behind me like he’s trying to figure out where the hell I came from.

When he sees that no one is chasing me, he takes my shoulders