Struck Hard Trilogy: Book 1

Chapter 1: Lost In Him

In the year 2008, in the small town of Wallis, TX, two crazy kids disappeared into a secluded meadow where the crisp midnight breeze blew through the trees, teasing at the nerves, leaving goosebumps exposed on their skin. The leaves of autumn fell around the truck bed while a blanket of stars covered the mysterious night sky, temperatures dropping drastically as time went on, causing them to pull closer to each other.

The young man, a dusty brown-haired and blue-eyed cowboy, equipped with a sideways crooked grin, the same crooked grin that his dad had at that age. He had the soul of a rebel, wild and stubborn down to the bone, but one thing that no one could deny was that when he loved, he loved hard to the end. He drove a 1967 Delmonico Red Chevy C10 classic sidestep; it belonged to his dad, who passed it down after losing him in a rodeo accident, making him the owner of the family ranch too. It carried a 350 V-8 crate engine with a 350 turbo automatic transmission with Hedman Headers running through the dual exhaust system, and it took him everywhere he could get lost, but more than anything, it was his chariot to the love of his life, but he didn't know it yet.

Next door lived a country girl who was way too naive for her own good. She had a heart of gold, loving anyone who crossed her path; there wasn't a bad bone in her body. She had auburn brown hair straight and like silk; the way it shined in the sun like traces of gold in the strands, she was a rare beauty. Her eyes were cocoa brown with hints of a smoky haze shining when she smiled. A daddy's girl from the start, yet she preferred her own adventures in the pastures. Momma tried to rope her in, but when you are free-spirited and ready to run, your feet will take you anywhere.

They knew that the feelings of infatuation were there between them, thinking it was love, but they were too young to truly grasp the concept of love. The attraction was there, making it difficult to be apart, always running off just to grab more time together; they were oblivious to what was truly developing between them, an indestructible romance. A pallet was made in the bed of the truck, both of them getting lost in each other. The night carried on without time being present. It was as if they had all the time in the world. She placed her head on his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through his shirt. Immediately feeling safe, she lay an arm across his stomach while his arm lay beneath her head, the only reason the feeling of floating didn't take her over. She was losing herself as she always did as she and Prince Charming looked into the sky, seeing a whole new universe of wide-open spaces like the ones they always dreamed about. The night had a story to tell for itself, but where were those stories destined to take them? The world they lived in was filled with all kinds of directions and places that you could go. The night was quiet and peaceful, except for the buzzing of crickets and the audible roar of the truck. The train would occasionally pass through the countryside, ensembled with the rippling of the water coming off the lake; it was like a lullaby as the wind brushed over the field.

“I wished it would never end,” Gracelynne thought as she tilted her head down, staring at their hands as she felt him pull her closer to him.

“I only wanted her to kiss me like I was her darkest night, full of stars that refused to shine bright. I wanted to be her everything, her lifeline, her rodeo, her wild night, and her calm. I wanted her to find everything in what this could turn out to be,” that cowboy thought to himself, feeling Grace’s presence next to him.

A million nerves were lit throughout the night, and that boy knew from then on that the beautiful girl next to him would come first and last to him. A dark-headed brunette beauty with her warm breath teasing his senses through his cotton shirt. She became his home, his foundation, his wild tailgate party night; she was where his addiction started.

"Please, don’t let these moments come to an end. I need you, and I know you need me too," she thought, hoping she didn't accidentally say them out loud. She didn’t want to wake up from this dream. She watched that boy unlock his heart as he slowly took flight for her; his western wings were a sight to be seen. She was his weakness, but there was only one little problem; they weren’t even together. They weren’t a couple, but they refused to let anyone else in.

There was a little bit of a wild side to that heart-stricken love bug that bit those two that night; who knew what was to become of them? The wild cowboy and the free wildflower, under that midnight starry sky, were hopeless teenagers, struck hard, dying for themselves, and living for each other. There were so many more adventures left for them to discover in that ranch field. The two of them left footprints on each other's souls that night with a cold meadow, soul, and a full tank of gas; the two fell asleep out in the open under that majestic midnight sky. A truck full of wonder and possibilities, the wildflower captivated that teenage and wild-at-heart cowboy because the greatest thing in the world is having feelings and falling for someone you never would've ever thought you had a chance with.