Page 101 of Campus Fake

As we prepared to embark on our life in the real world, I knew things would change. Change was inevitable. But I also knew with a certainty I could feel in my bones that the family I’d found here would always be my family.

I didn’t have to fake it anymore.

CFU was small enough that our graduation wasn’t split up by majors like larger universities. We got to sit with who we wanted, and we each had a slip of paper with our name on it that we’d hand to the speaker when it was our turn to walk across the stage. Harry was sitting to my left, Abby on my right, and Foster on her right.

Harry’s hand rested on my knee, his thumb moving in a slow circle that eased some of my nerves. I was excited to graduate, but it was also a little scary at the same time. I’d always been in school, and this was the end of the known rhythm of what came next.

I glanced at him and found him watching the stage with that quiet focus he always had, like he was taking it all in. His gaze shifted to mine, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile.

The future felt a lot less scary knowing he’d be with me.

I squeezed his hand and turned my attention to the stands.

Montana had given us a perfect May day. The sky was a blue so vivid it almost looked fake, and the mountains stood sharp and clear behind the stage. The whole ceremony was outdoors and the sun was out, but it wasn’t so hot that the gowns were completely miserable.

I found our people almost immediately. Drew was in the third row with Rory on his lap, and Harper sat beside him. Mason, Liam, and Ava were next to them. Mason was bigger than the last time I’d really looked at him, and broader through the shoulders. He was also turning out to be one hell of a football player.

Eric and Jordan sat with Viv and Pop in the row above them. Eric caught me looking and gave me a thumbs-up.

I was still amazed that Jordan had flown here for this. We hadn’t talked about my parents at all, but there really wasn’t much to say. They’d made their choice and I’d made mine. Knowing my brothers still wanted a relationship was enough.

Ava had said that she’d happily share her parents with me, which had made me laugh.

The dean gave a speech about new horizons and the future, and then the names began. I cheered for people I didn’t know because we’d all made it through the same four years. Each name called was someone else’s victory, and there was something beautiful about celebrating that with strangers.

Then it was our turn. They tapped our row and we filed toward the stage. Harry was first, standing tall and confident. He’d embraced his decision to open the restaurant with Foster, and once Harry made a decision, he was all in. I’d never realized how much the pressure of his family had weighed him down until he called them and told them about his plans. He didn’t back down when they pushed, not even when they threatened to disown him. Not that it would’ve done much. I’d learned that Harry’s money was all protected and they couldn’t touch it. It was something Pop had insured when he set up all the trusts because he didn’t trust his kids’ greed. Vivienne and Harry never had to rely on their parents again if they didn’t want to. And as far as I could tell, they didn’t want to.

I’d asked Harry if he had any regrets or worries about it, but he’d been certain. Like me, he felt like he had all the family he needed here in Montana.

My heart swelled with love as I watched him walk across the stage, shake the dean’s hand, and then move his tassel and walk off the stage. Our section in the crowd erupted, and Drew whistled loudly. Viv was clapping with a smile on her face. She’d made it clear how proud she was of him, and she’d really put in an effort to maintain their relationship despite how busy she was with getting the new football team off the ground.

It was my turn next.

I handed my slip of paper to the speaker, and then walked across the stage toward the dean. I shook his hand, grabbed my diploma, then stopped to look out across the crowd as I moved my tassel from one side of my cap to the other.

As I stepped off the stairs of the stage, a hand appeared, palm up. I glanced up to find Harry, his gray eyes warm with love and devotion.

God, I’d gotten lucky to find a man who loved me so completely.

“Shall we?”

“We shall,” I said with a smile, placing my hand in his as we walked together back to our seats.

It might’ve been the end of our chapter at Clark Fork University, but I knew the next chapter would be even better.

EPILOGUE

FIVE YEARS LATER

I’d spent five years helping build a football team from nothing, and in exactly forty-seven minutes, fifty thousand people were going to find out if we’d pulled it off.

The stadium was alive in a way I’d only dreamed of up to this point. I’d walked these concourses hundreds of times during construction, hard hat on, dust on my boots, watching steel beams go up while Viv pointed at empty air and described what it would become. I’d been here for the first concrete pour, the first glass panel installed, the day the field was laid. I’d stood in this building when it was nothing but empty bones.

But it wasn’t empty tonight because it was our inaugural game of the season and the team.

The stadium wasn’t quite at capacity, but fifty thousand fans packed the stands wearing brand-new forest green jerseys for our new team. The concourse hummed with energy. There were kids on their parents’ shoulders, college students in face paint, and ranchers in boots and ball caps who’d probably driven hours to be here. The mountains were visible through the glass panels that lined the upper deck, exactly the way Viv had always described.

She’d really made it happen. She’d brought her vision to life.