Chapter 53: College Acceptance Letters

When the large, official manila envelope finally arrived in the mail for Lily from the state university in Austin, proudly offering her a full academic scholarship in literature, she sprinted all the way down the dusty street to James's house without even pausing to grab her jacket. James was working in the driveway beneath the open hood of his truck with greasy hands, but seeing her run toward him waving the letter, he dropped his wrench and caught her in a spinning embrace that nearly knocked them both into the gravel.