Already Home by Vicki Lewis Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

might have been better off without her in his life. Wyatt had asked around town, and the guy seemed to be doing just fine.
    Sure, his father had died a while back, but he still had his stepmother, Sarah, and two half brothers, Nick and Gabe. They all owned a part of the ranch and, according to what Wyatt had heard, everyone got along great. Jack was happily married now and had a kid of his own.
    Wyatt planned to keep that last bit of info to himself. He wasn’t sure how Diana would react to finding out she was a grandmother, and Jack didn’t need to have her suddenly appear and claim her grandmotherly rights. She might not care a whole lot about the baby, but she loved being the center of a drama.
    If Jack had a baby, that made Wyatt an uncle. He smiled at the idea. It was kind of cool to think about. Maybe he should have brought something for the baby, especially because he was once again arriving unannounced. But he hadn’t—
    Lightning flashed, nearly blinding him with its intensity. For a split second the road was lit up like a movie set. A crack of thunder followed, loud enough to make his ears ring. But in that brief moment of full light, he’d seen a Jeep Cherokee off on the side of the road up ahead, its right wheels buried in mud, the taillights still on.
    He hadn’t been able to tell if the vehicle was occupied, but he guessed it was if the lights were on. Once he was alongside it, he stopped and lowered his passenger side window to get a better look.
    The driver’s window on the Jeep slid down, too, which gave him his answer even before he saw the pretty woman with the hopeful expression gazing over at him. Her shoulder-length hair was streaked with red and blond, obviously a salon job and not her natural color, but it looked good on her. The Cherokee’s taillights must have been the ones he’d followed down the road.
    “Seems like you’re stuck!” he called out over the sound of the rain.
    “Yep! I was about to phone the ranch. Maybe somebody can come get me.”
    “I’m headed that way, if you want a ride.” He knew what he was suggesting wasn’t a perfect solution. That salon hairdo would be dripping with water by the time she made it into his truck, and her shoes would be covered with mud. But she’d be in the same fix if someone drove out here to get her. Trying to hitch a tow chain to her Jeep in this downpour with lightning flashing all around wasn’t reasonable.
    A couple of seconds went by with rain coming in his open window and hers, too, probably. He had a chance to study her a little, which added to his initial impression that she was pretty—high cheekbones, rounded chin, full lips and very blue eyes. He wondered if she was worried about accepting a ride from a stranger. “My name’s Wyatt Locke,” he said. “I’m Jack Chance’s half brother visiting from San Francisco.”
    “Sarah didn’t mention anyone coming to visit today.”
    Wyatt wondered if Jack’s stepmother would be annoyed because he was dropping in. “It’s a surprise. But if you want to call the ranch and double-check that I’m legit, go ahead. The surprise isn’t that important.” And they couldn’t tell him to leave with this gully-washer in progress, even if they wanted to.
    She smiled, revealing even white teeth with a tiny space in the middle. “I’m sure you’re perfectly safe, Wyatt Locke. Serial killers don’t usually come out in weather like this.” She glanced at the seat next to her before turning back to him. “But I have a couple of bags of stuff I need to take up to the ranch house.”
    “Will it get ruined if it gets a little wet?”
    “Not really, but—”
    “You can’t carry it all in one trip,” he said, making a guess.
    “Right.”
    “Hang on. I’ll help.” Leaving the motor running, he opened his door and stepped out. He was drenched immediately. Cold water soaked his Adventure Trekking T-shirt and hiking shorts, and burrowed into his hiking boots.
    “Wait!” she called