Reckless - Candace Wondrak Page 0,152

parents and their guests, and I took my time in finding Ollie, Jacob, and Dante. Archer came with me, as did Vaughn. None of Vaughn’s family came, and Archer… well, we all knew by now he didn’t have anyone. Melinda had woken up, but Markus had paid her off and sent her away. Money could fix almost everything.

If only that same money could bring my mom back. Me graduating Midpark was something she would’ve liked to see.

Though I’d never hiked around the high school, as it turned out, there were a lot of nice places to take pictures. A few statues to pose by, a few big trees to lean on and look contemplative while making your boyfriends roll their eyes. All jokes aside, we took so many pictures my cheeks hurt from smiling.

I didn’t want to smile, not really, but I knew Mom would want me to move on. I still had my whole life ahead of me, so many things left to experience.

After what felt like hours of picture-taking, Dante pulled me to the side. “Guess who called me during your ceremony,” he said, giving me a devilish smirk that made my legs quiver. One look from him and I was a goner; that much hadn’t changed.

I seriously had no idea. “Who?”

He plucked my cap off my head and placed it atop his. His brown hair had recently been cut, the tattoos on the sides of his head visible. “Dear old daddy.” He caught himself, suddenly serious as he glanced around. “Almost like he knew…”

My dad called him? My heart skipped a beat as I looked around, half expecting him to be here, not that I’d know what he looked like.

Dante laughed, tossing the cap at my chest, which I somehow managed to catch. “I’m kidding, babe. He called me a week ago. He said I could come back.”

Oh, I could smack that one. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I figured it would be best to wait. I mean, now you have the whole summer ahead of you.” Dante shrugged. “What else are we going to do, run around Midpark more? Nah.”

I must’ve worn such a speechless expression, I garnered the attention of my other boyfriends. Two of them, anyway. Archer and Vaughn strolled over, wearing the same cap and gown I did, only theirs fit them better. I looked like a blob.

“What’s up?” Archer asked, glancing between us. Dante still wasn’t his favorite person in the world, but I think the psycho was growing on him. Vaughn remained quiet, staring solely at me.

“My dad called Dante back,” I said, having already informed the guys of everything a while back. “I think we’re going on a trip this summer.”

Was it wrong to be excited? Meeting my dad wasn’t something I ever thought I’d do.

Archer and Vaughn looked at each other, while Dante could only laugh.

“What’s this about a trip?” Jacob asked, his hands in his pockets as he strolled over. Ollie was right beside him. Both men looked good, but of course Jacob drew my eyes more. He didn’t wear a suit, but he did wear a nice, new button-up shirt with its sleeves rolled up.

Yeah, rolled-up sleeves were a surefire way to get me all hot and bothered.

“You, old man, aren’t invited,” Dante deadpanned, causing Jacob to scowl.

When Ollie glanced at me, I said, “It’s my father.”

Oliver Fitzpatrick knew everything about me, now. I guess we were both lonely, searching for a family. He ran a hand through his hair. Its black lengths were cut short, speckled with grey. “That’s your decision to make, Jaz, but if you want to go, go. I’m not going anywhere, and you know you’ll always have a room at the house.”

Maybe it was corny, but I felt the need to hug the man, so that’s what I did: I pushed past my guys and threw my arms around him. For a man who drowned himself in his work, he was surprisingly solid beneath his suit.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “For everything.”

Ollie was slow to hug me back. He refrained from telling me he didn’t do much—that seemed to be his usual go-to response when I thanked him for anything.

I pulled away from him, turned my gaze toward the sky, and breathed in deeply. Things wouldn’t be easy from here on out, but Midpark had made me strong, molded me into who I was today. If anyone was strong enough to meet a guy named Skull, a guy who just so happened to be their father and the leader of what sounded like a gang, it was me.

Together, me and my guys would go on. The curtain hadn’t been closed on me yet. I’d live my life, I’d make Mom proud, and you know what? I’d do it with four sexy as hell boyfriends, and if I came across someone who didn’t approve…

They could kiss my ass.

Well, that was another doozy, wasn’t it? I really hope you guys enjoyed Midpark High and its colorful cast of characters. Please leave a review if you can, even if it’s a short one. They really make us indie authors happy (and let us know that people are actually reading our work). Twenty words and a star rating—that’s all it takes!

Especially since this book was soooooo long. Like, super long. Reviews let me know someone’s actually reading it and help new readers discover the series.

Also, I love talking about books (not just mine. Any book. I LOVE books!) in general on my Twitter: www.twitter.com/CandaceWondrak and on Instagram: www.instagram.com/CandaceWondrak

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If you’re interested in reading about Celeste and the twins, you can find them in Sins. If you want to read about the Angel Maker and Stella, you can find them in my Cruel Black Hearts series. And, of course, Markus makes another appearance in my Hillcrest series.

Happy reading!