Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Jess Bryant Read Free Book Online Page B

trouble. A flat out near the
city limit. Sorry I’m late.”
    She hugged him, closed her eyes and breathed
him in. He smelled the same as he had when she was a little girl,
like dirt and outdoors and Texas. He gave her one firm squeeze and
released her. There was no such thing as holding on to her
father.
    “You get it fixed wearing that?” He looked at
her skeptically and her cheeks heated red.
    “No Daddy. A man from town was passing by and
stopped to help me.”
    “Lucky you didn’t get abducted.”
    She tried to contain an eye roll. She’d been
safe. She’d called in the information, or at least she’d started
to. She sighed instead.
    “I got his information and left it on the
answering machine in case something happened to me.” A half-truth,
not quite a lie though he didn’t seem appeased.
    “The world ain’t what it used to be, you need
to be more careful. It ain’t safe on the roads for a woman to be
talking to men these days. You got a gun or something you’re
carrying?”
    In a strange way, it was his way of asking if
she was protected. It warmed her heart. Still, she didn’t need a
gun to deal with Zach West, a gallon of water to pour over her head
to cool off maybe but not a gun.
    “He lives in Fate. I recognized his name. It
was one of the West boys, Zachary.”
    “West.” He harrumphed but didn’t continue,
“You hungry?”
    “Not really.”
    “You should eat something. You look skinny as
a bean pole.” He was already grabbing a plate and putting some
extra meat on it so she simply sat in an empty seat next to him and
took it.
    “You’re one to talk. You look like you forgot
what food is.” She gave him a pointed look so he’d know she hadn’t
missed his change in appearance.
    “I’m getting old Bluebell.” He shrugged as if
that was all the answer she’d need and continued to stack too much
food on her plate.
    The tightness in her chest nearly strangled
her as she watched him. Something was wrong and he hadn’t told her,
wasn’t going to tell her what it was. Fear was a lead ball in her
stomach.
    What if it wasn’t just getting older? What if
he was sick? Dying? What would she do if she lost him too?
    “West’s a good guy. It was nice of him to
stop and help ya but you could have called. One of us would have
been happy to come get ya.”
    Blue gave Billy Pickens a smile of gratitude
not just for offering his assistance but for taking her mind off
her worries for a second. She couldn’t think of losing her father.
She wouldn’t.
    But what if she did? What about the Oaks? She
didn’t know a thing about running a ranch this size, or any size
for that matter. Being a girl, her father had never taught her more
than the basics.
    And she’d been gone ten years.
    A dark, traitorous part of her soul screamed
at her to get back in the Audi and head for the border. Get out
before she got trapped here with the man who’d never wanted her by
his side to start with. She wished she’d never driven back into
town, never seen her father looking so frail, never known so she
wouldn’t have to face the truth. This might be home but she hadn’t
felt like she belonged here in a long time.
    “I went to school with his brother Devin. His
other brother Riley was your age right?” Rusty Pickens added.
    “Yeah, I remember him but not the other two
really.” She shrugged.
    She wasn’t sure how that was even possible
considering how good looking the one on the side of the road had
turned out to be. She vaguely remembered Riley West but as hard as
she tried she had zero memories of the eldest West son from when
she was a girl. Still, the way her body had reacted to those soft
green eyes looking down at her told her all she needed to know. She
needed to steer clear until Sunday and then get the heck back out
of town.
    “No real reason to I suppose, they quit
extracurricular’s to help out at the Triple Star when their dad
passed away. Zach took over and helped raise his brothers even