The Vincent Boys 1 [Extended & Uncut]
Read The Vincent Boys 1 [Extended & Uncut] Online
Authors: Abbi Glines
Praise for THE VINCENT BOYS and
THE VINCENT BROTHERS by Abbi Glines
“I couldn’t put Beau down until I got to the very last page. An addicting read!” Colleen Hoover,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Slammed
and
Point of Retreat
“I devoured every last word of
The Vincent Brothers
. Abbi Glines knows how to write her leading men. I grew up in the Southern US, and clearly so did Abbi Glines. It’s disappointingly rare for someone to nail the Southern temperament, even when they live there.
The Vincent Boys
proves it knows the landscape quicker than a duck on a Junebug.” Tammara Webber,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Easy
“Making the choice between what is expected and what the heart needs to survive, this wonderful young adult novel tests the bonds of friendship, the strength of family, and the desires of young love. It pulled my heart in all the right places.” Tina Reber, author of
Love Unscripted
“I’ll admit I was drawn to the cover and the premise before it was even released. But wow, once I started reading I couldn’t put it down!” Elizabeth Reyes, author of
The Moreno Brothers
series
Contents
Praise for The Vincent Boys and The Vincent Brothers by Abbi Glines
To my son, Austin. The only person
who understands my love for Alabama football
because he just may love it a little more.
Seven years ago . . .
“You noticed anything different about Ash?” my cousin, Sawyer, asked as he climbed up the tree to sit beside me on our favorite limb overlooking the lake. I shrugged, not sure how to answer his question. Sure, I’d noticed things about Ash lately. Like the way her eyes kinda sparkle when she laughs and how pretty her legs look in shorts. But there’s no way I’m confessing those things to Sawyer. He’d tell Ash and they’d both laugh their butts off.
“No,” I replied, not looking at Sawyer for fear he’d be able to tell I was lying.
“I heard Mom talking to Dad the other day, saying how you and me would start noticing Ash differently real soon. She said Ash was turning into a beauty and things between the three of us would change. I don’t want things to change,” Sawyer said with a touch of concern in his voice. I couldn’t look him at him. Instead, I kept my eyes fixed on the lake.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. Ash is Ash. Sure, she’s always been pretty, I guess, but that’s not what’s important. She can climb a tree faster than either of us, she baits her own hook, and she can fill up water balloons like a pro. The three of us have been best friends since preschool. That won’t change.” I chanced a glance at Sawyer. My speech sounded pretty convincing, even to me.
Sawyer smiled and nodded. “You’re right. Who cares that she’s got hair like some kind of fairy princess? She’s Ash. Speaking of water balloons, could you two please stop sneaking out and throwing them at cars right outside my house at night. My parents are gonna catch y’all one of these days and I won’t be able to get y’all outta trouble.”
I grinned, thinking about Ash covering her mouth to silence her giggles last night when we’d snuck down here to fill up the balloons. That girl sure loved to break rules. Almost as much as I did.
“I heard my name. You two better not still be making fun of me about this stupid bra Mama’s making me wear. I’ve had it with the jokes. I’ll break both your noses if it doesn’t stop.” Ash’s voice startled me. She was standing at the bottom of the tree with a bucket of crickets in one hand and a fishing pole in the other. “Are we gonna fish or had y’all rather just stare down at me like I’ve grown another head?”
Chapter 1
Ashton
Why couldn’t I have just made it home without seeing them? I wasn’t in the mood to play good freaking Samaritan to Beau and his trashy girlfriend. Although he wasn’t here, Sawyer would expect me to stop. With a frustrated groan, I slowed down and pulled up beside Beau, who had put some distance between him and his vomiting girlfriend. Apparently throwing up wasn’t a mating call for him.
“Where’s your truck parked, Beau?” I asked in the most annoyed tone I could muster. He flashed me that stupid sexy grin he knew made every female in town melt at his feet. I’d like to believe I was immune, after all these years, but I wasn’t. Being immune to the town’s bad boy was impossible.
“Don’t tell me perfect little Ashton Gray is gonna offer to help me out,” he drawled, leaning down to stare at me through my open window.
“Sawyer’s out of town so the privilege falls to me. He wouldn’t let you drive home drunk and neither will I.”
He chuckled, sending a shiver of pleasure down my spine. God. He even laughed sexy. “Thanks, beautiful, but I can handle this. Once Nic stops puking I’ll throw her in my truck. I can drive the three miles to her house. You run on along now. Don’t you have a Bible study somewhere you should be at?”
Arguing with him was pointless. He would just start throwing out more snide comments until he had me so mad I couldn’t see straight. I pressed the gas and turned into the parking lot. Like I was going to be able to just leave and let him drive home drunk. He could infuriate me with a wink of his eye and I worked real hard at being nice to everyone. I scanned the parked cars for his old black Chevy truck. Once I spotted it, I walked over to him and held out my hand.
“Either you can give me the keys to your truck or I can go digging for them. What’s it going to be, Beau? You want me searching your pockets?”
A crooked grin touched his face. “As a matter of fact, I think I might just enjoy you digging around in my pockets, Ash. Why don’t we go with option number two.”
Heat rose up my neck and left splotches of color on my cheeks. I didn’t need a mirror to know I was blushing like an idiot. Beau never made suggestive comments to me or even flirted with me. I happened to be the only reasonably attractive female at school he completely ignored.
“Don’t you dare touch him, you stupid bitch. His keys are in the ignition of his truck,” Nicole, Beau’s on-again-off-again girlfriend snarled at me, lifting her head, and slinging her dark brown hair back over her shoulder. Bloodshot blue eyes filled with hate watched me as if daring me to touch what was hers. I didn’t respond to her, nor did I look back up at Beau. Instead, I turned and headed for his truck, reminding myself I was doing this for Sawyer.
“Come on then and get in the truck,” I barked at both of them before sliding into the driver’s seat. It was really hard not to focus on the fact this was the first time I’d ever been in Beau’s truck. After countless nights lying on my roof with him talking about the day we got our driver’s license and all the places we would go, I was just now, at seventeen years old, sitting inside his truck. Beau picked Nicole up and dumped her in the back.
“Lay down unless you get sick again, then make sure you puke over the side,” he snapped while opening the driver’s side door. “Hop out, princess. She’s about to pass out, she won’t care if I’m driving.”
I gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“I’m not going to let you drive. You’re slurring your words. You don’t need to drive.”
He opened his mouth to argue then mumbled something that sounded like a curse word before slamming the door and walking around the front of the truck to get in on the passenger’s side. He didn’t say anything and I didn’t glance over at him. Without Sawyer around, Beau made me nervous.
“I’m tired of arguing with females tonight. That’s the only reason I’m letting you drive,” he grumbled without a slur this time. It wasn’t surprising he could control the slurring. The boy had been getting drunk before most the kids our age had tasted their first beer. When a guy had a face like Beau’s, older girls took notice. He’d been snagging invites to the field parties way before the rest of us.
I managed a shrug. “You wouldn’t have to argue with me if you didn’t drink so much.”
He let out a hard laugh. “You really are a perfect little preacher’s daughter, aren’t you, Ash? Once upon a time you were a helluva lot more fun. Before you started sucking face with Sawyer, we used to have some good times together.”
He was watching me for a reaction. Knowing his eyes were directed at me made it hard to focus on driving.
“You were my partner in crime, Ash. Sawyer was the good guy. But the two of us, we were the trouble makers. What happened?”
How did I respond to that? No one knew the girl who used to steal bubble gum from the Quick Stop or abduct the paper boy to tie him up so we could take all his papers and dip them in blue paint before leaving them on the front door steps of houses. No one knew the girl who snuck out of her house at two in the morning to go toilet paper yards and throw water balloons at cars from behind the bushes. No one would even believe I’d done all those things if I told them . . . no one but Beau.
“I grew up,” I finally replied.
“You completely changed, Ash.”
“We were kids, Beau. Yes, you and I got into trouble and Sawyer got us out of trouble but we were just kids. I’m different now.”
For a moment he didn’t respond. He shifted in his seat and I knew his gaze was no longer focused on me. We’d never had this conversation before. Even if it was uncomfortable, I knew it was way overdue. Sawyer always stood in the way of Beau and me mending our fences. Fences that crumbled and I never knew why. One day he was Beau, my best friend. The next day he was just my boyfriend’s cousin.