3.5 Tortured Stars! 
 Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of William Morrow via Edelweiss 
 Finally the HEA 
 ending to the story of Gavin Garrison and Dixie Lark. After the ending of Leaving Amarillo, we are left waiting for Gavin and Dixie to get their shit together so they can finally be together. Then book two is Dallas's book, which prolongs the wait for Gavin and Dixie 
 Within stories we find many damaged characters but poor Gavin takes it to a whole new level. As much as I understood his brokenness, I also at times just wanted him to grow a pair and take what he wants and needs. Instead he tortures himself to the extreme until he finally gets it through his thick head that he too deserves some happiness and goodness in his life. 
 ~I am still a wreck of a human being. I'm still a lost, hungry, 
 fucked-up kid confused about the way the world works and where I belong 
 in it. ~ 
 ~I don't deserve her.~ 
 ~She is capable of so many things, so much more than being held back by a bartender with a record and a junkie for a mom. ~ 
 ~Dixie deserves so much better than this.~ 
 Don't get me wrong, Dixie too can hold a mean grudge, as well as she has her own baggage. So between these two it was quite the journey for them to find themselves back together. 
 Dixie Lark, has always loved Gavin, but enough is enough already where he is concerned. Especially when she finds out that he didn't go on tour and is working down the road from her without any notice at all. 
 ~ Life doesn't always turn out how you expect and sometimes parts of you get broken along the way, but there is always hope and even broken pieces can be rebuilt into something beautiful. My heart is a piece of mosaic art at this point. ~ 
 Gavin has a plan, but not a well thought out plan where it comes to Dixie's emotions. 
 ~Damn it. In my quest to get my shit together, I've all but shut her 
 out of my life completely. It seemed like the best idea for everyone 
 involved, but now I'm wondering if I've made a colossal mistake.~ 
 But Gavin's poor tortured soul is playing havoc with him. He know what he wants, but is trying to be what she needs. If only he realized that all she needed was him, then there would have been so much less heartache for these two. 
 ~ She is perfection personified and in my heart she's mine. Always has been, always will be.~ 
 Instead of talking these two take the cake with assumptions and miscommunications. 
 " . . . But this game you are playing, you and Dixie," she clarifies. "It won't end well if you aren't honest with each other." 
 "Am I? Because if memory serves, that girl was pretty honest about what she wanted. It's this new one that seems to keep her true feelings on lockdown. But that's why I came by." 
 Thankfully, this stubborn duo have people at their back, to help guide them to where they need to be. 
 "Gavin has demons, little sister. He just does. He battles them every day and some days he doesn't win. I know you love him, and I am your brother and it's my natural instinct to protect you." 
 And then with the help of another broken boy, these two find their way back to each other. 
 I love you, Gavin. Bigger than your mistakes and bigger than the pain you cause me. 
 It's this beautiful, tortured man in front of me that I want more than I want air or water or food. 
 "I know, Gavin. I know you better than you think I do. I want all of you. The light and the dark and the broken parts." "I am all broken parts," he says into my ear. "That's all I am." "We are all broken. That's how the light gets in," 
 Gah! These two, went on quite the painful journey to find their happiness, but it was so worth it in the end. Sure could I have had less of the stubbornness and brokenness but it's also what makes their story so tragic yet beautiful. 
 "Tell me what you want, Bluebird," 
 "You," she answers softly. "All I've ever wanted or needed is you, Gavin. Just you." 
 It's a bit bittersweet to see the end of this story, but it feels complete. Especially with the unconventional HEA, but so perfect for these two. 
 ~I don't know why it took me so long to see, why I got caught up in the short term and failed to see how powerful what we had was, or the kind of future our love is capable of providing. ~