AlmostHome by India Masters Read Free Book Online

thrilled to be
here.”
    “Tracie wanted to come so I figured I’d tag along. Keep her
outta trouble.”
    Tracie uttered a delighted laugh. “That’s so sweet.” She
accepted the hand of a cowboy asking her to dance and gave him a flirty smile.
“Y’all have fun talking, I’m gonna dance.” She disappeared into the mass of
people circling the dance floor. That was pretty much the way the whole night
went.
    * * * * *
    Somewhere around midnight, and several beers too many, Haley
looked up to see Wyatt pull up a chair beside her. Where had he come from?
    “Having fun?” he asked, an amused twinkle in his eyes.
    “I don’t know as you’d call it fun,” she admitted, voice
slurring. “I believe I’ve had too much to drink, can’t feel my feet.”
    He chuckled and Haley thought it was probably the sexiest
sound she’d ever heard, that deep rumble that seemed to start in the center of
his chest and work its way up. She rested her elbow on the table, chin in her
hand but it slid off and she lurched in her chair. “You sure are pretty,” she
said with a sigh, leaning precariously on the edge of her seat.
    Wyatt gave a shout of laughter. “Come on, sweet pea, let’s get
you home.”
    “Can’t. Came with Tracie. Gotta look out for her.”
    “Tracie’s fine. Ben’s gonna make sure she gets home.” He
pulled her to her feet, which didn’t seem to want to work properly. One went
one way, the other another.
    “Woopsie,” she crowed. “My feet’r tangled up in something.”
She looked down, trying to find whatever it was.
    “Tangled up in beer, I expect. You ain’t much of drinker,
are ya?” She offered up a snorty little laugh and he leaned down, pulled her
over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. “Time to go, darlin’.” She whooped a
laugh. “Say good night to the nice people.”
    “G’nite nice people!”
    * * * * *
    Haley was pretty sure she was dying. The most she’d ever had
to drink at one sitting was two beers. The pounding in her head spoke volumes
about her capacity to hold her liquor. She groaned and pushed herself up to sit
on the edge of the bed, thanking the stars that she had Dooley around to feed
the stock in the morning. A shower was definitely the first order of the day.
Then coffee.
    Oh god, the hot water running on the back of her neck felt
better than anything, ever. She could almost feel the beer coming out of her
pores. If she ever looked at another, it would be too soon. She scrubbed up,
got out of the shower and toweled off, nose going in the air when the smell of
coffee hit her. God bless Maria’s little heart. She dressed in jeans and a
sleeveless cotton shirt, jammed her feet into her most comfortable boots, and
hurried downstairs. She blinked, figuring the beer must have done something to
her eyesight. Was that Wyatt Brody in her kitchen?
    He smiled up at her as she stood on the last step. “How do
you take your coffee?”
    Well, shit. Had she slept with him and not even known it?
She did a quick survey of her body, focusing on the area most likely to be
affected by a sexual encounter. Nope, no soreness. Would have been a damn shame
to miss her first time because she was drunk.
    “I slept on your couch. Didn’t wanna leave you alone in case
you needed help in the night. You were pretty drunk.” White-hot heat rushed to
her face and he took pity on her. “Happens to the best of us every now and
again. No need to be embarrassed.”
    She took the coffee he offered her and took a seat at the
island. “Never gotten drunk before,” she muttered. “Can’t say I understand the
attraction. I feel like I been trampled by a herd of elephants and don’t know
I’m dead yet. I…did I behave myself?”
    That sexy chuckle rumbled and he grinned at her. “Well, you
told me I sure was pretty.”
    Haley groaned and banged her head on the granite countertop.
“Oh god. I’m never drinking again.”
    Wyatt took a seat beside her and sipped at his coffee. “Oh,
I don’t