by Codi Gary
Red headed back to his trailer since the guys were knocking off for the day anyway. Climbing up the steps, he walked inside and found Jessie sitting at the table, scratching Orange behind his ear.
“Hey,” she said.
Red couldn’t seem to get the words out, he was so surprised. “Hey.”
“I hope you don’t mind. My dad dropped me off.”
“No, I don’t mind,” he said, his heart pounding.
She stopped petting Orange and reached into her bag, pulling out his manuscript. Setting it on the kitchen table, she said, “I read your book.”
He leaned against the wall, and tried to sound casual. “So?”
She did that little hair-toss thing that drove him nuts and smiled. “Well, I have some notes.”
“Of course you do.” He couldn’t stop the heavy beat of his heart that belied his coolness.
“For instance, I hate her name. Really, hate it.”
“What’s the matter with Whitney?”
“Ugh, I mean, kill me.”
“Well, what’s your suggestion?”
“Why not Tambryn or Darian? Something that hasn’t been done to death.”
“What other notes do you have?” He held his breath while he waited.
“The sex scenes are too wordy. I mean, seriously, no one thinks that much during sex.”
He laughed. “It’s a book. Thoughts are the only way to set the tone of a scene.”
“Fine, but really, nix some of the mushy-gushy stuff.”
“Under advisement. Anything else?”
She stood up slowly and walked toward him. When she was a few inches away, she put her hand on his chest, and her voice softened. “The ending is all wrong. He shouldn’t apologize to her. She should be the one apologizing. She shouldn’t have compared him to her loser ex.”
“That wasn’t in the book.”
She looked up into his eyes, her green eyes watery. “You’re right it’s not. That’s real life, and I should have known the difference. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have thought the worst of you, especially after how good you were to me. I let my past cloud my judgment, and I’m so sorry.”
He had a hard time hanging on to any resentment when she was so close, her coconut lotion making him light-headed. “I’m not a bad guy.”
“I know you aren’t. I’ve had a bad guy,” she said, playing with the front of his shirt. Taking a breath, she changed her tone, and he caught the hint of a smile. “You’ve got a bit of a bad temper, and you might tell a few corny jokes but—”
“Hey, I’m funny.”
“Please, people give you pity laughs.”
He reached up and cradled her head, making her smile dim. “I love when you pick on me, but what does all this mean? Why are you here?”
She hesitated, and that millisecond made his gut twist. He waited for her to tell him she was here to say good-bye for real, that she was in town to sell the bar, but she surprised him.
“I’m here to tell you I was wrong”—she took a deep breath— “and that I think I’m in love with you.”
And just like that, he was kissing her, wrapping his arms around her waist and cry-laughing. “Oh God, I missed you.”
“I” —kiss— “missed mm” —kiss— “you too.”
He couldn’t seem to stop touching her, afraid to let her out of his arms. “I thought you were here to tell me good-bye for good.”
She shook her head and cuddled against his chest. “Everything I need is here.”
“What about your dad?”
“Oh yeah, about my dad…”
* * *
“Dad, this is Albert Calhoun. Red, this is my dad, Steve.”
Jessie stood back and held her breath as the two men shook hands, her father’s gaze neutral as he looked him up and down. “You’re a big guy. You played football?”
“In high school and college, until I ruined my knee.”
Before she could blink, her dad was grinning. “I like this one.”
Silvie patted her arm. “You can breathe now.”
Jessie let out the breath she’d been holding and smiled at her stepmother. “Thanks.”
“Well, Jessie, are you going to show me this bar you bought?” her father asked.
Jessie’s heart squeezed at the mention of her bar. “No, there was too much damage to it.”
“Actually, I think y’all should see it.”
Jessie looked at Red in surprise, and a wave of suspicion washed over her. “What did you do?”
“I did nothing.”
Ten minutes later, she covered her mouth to smother a sob.
Rand came over to her and gave her a one-armed hug. “What do you think?”
Jessie couldn’t say a word as she watched the citizens of Loco, Texas hard at work. They had already replaced the wall to the bar Will had burned down, and the charred roof. As she took her first step forward on trembling legs, she held on to Rand’s hand.
“Wait until you see the inside,” Red said, coming up alongside them. “Bubba’s cousin works at an electronics store in Austin and got us new—”
“Shush, let her see for herself,” Rand said, smacking him.
Jessie wasn’t even aware of their bickering or her father’s presence as she walked into her bar. The walls had been repainted, and new flat-screens hung on them. Everything had been replaced, including the photographs, only everything was new again.
Next to Jessie’s Bar and Grill was the picture Red had taken of her holding her sign.
Red’s large arms wrapped around her, and she held on. “Thank you.”
“Don’t tell me, tell them. I had very little to do with this.”
She opened her mouth but couldn’t stop crying long enough to say anything.
When she finally calmed down, she said, “Thank you so much for all of this. I don’t deserve it.”
Ray walked forward. “Are you kidding? You were the only person willing to give me a job.”
“Plus, you didn’t cheap out on the sports package,” Bubba called.
The room laughed, and Finn crossed his arms over his chest, commanding the room. “You’re a part of our town, Jessie, and we take care of our own.”
Jessie wiped her eyes, and Jake shouted, “Jesus, leave the girl alone, or she’ll never stop blubbering.”
Finding her voice again, she said, “I think this calls for a round on the house.”
Everyone cheered, and once the drinks were passed out, Jessie stood on the counter and held up her glass. “To good friends.”
They drank, and Jessie felt hands on her waist, lowering her down. When Red had her on her feet and looking up at him, he yelled, “To doing something crazy.”
“Hear, hear!” shouted the people closest to them.
As everyone started mingling around, Jessie scoffed, “I’m not that crazy.”
“You kind of are, but it’s okay with me,” he said, pulling her in for a kiss. When the whoops and whistles got too loud, he pulled away and, next to her ear, whispered, “I don’t mind a little crazy.”
“You know, since this is another fresh start for the bar, I think it needs a new name. And since you came up with it, remind me to thank you properly later.”
“Not that I don’t want a proper thank-you, but what do you mean?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “Welcome to A Crazy Little Bar and Grill.”
Red kissed her again and didn’t let her up for air for a good minute. “I think that’s a perfect name. And, it will give the bar another fresh start.”
Jessie reached up to run her hand over his lips. “Are you sure you want to do this? Between my crazy ex, my crazy baggage, and my—”
“If it means I can keep you, darlin’, then I want crazy.”
Grinning like a fool, she threw her arms around his neck. “I’m all yours.”
Epilogue
Nearly six months later…
“You are being ridiculous,” Jessie said, laughing. �
��I’ve seen your house.”
“Shut up and be patient,” Red said behind her. “We’re almost there.”
Red had picked her up from the bar and blindfolded her. His new house had been completed a few weeks ago, but he still hadn’t bought any furniture. So most nights he’d stayed in the trailer or at her apartment. She’d rented the one-room studio from Jake’s old landlady because she hadn’t found anything she liked enough to buy.
She nearly tripped and cried out as Red caught her. “Whoa, watch it.”
“Seriously, I am done with this,” she snapped. “I am tired and cranky, and I just want to—” He whipped off the blindfold, and her eyes adjusted to what was the master bedroom of his new three-bedroom house, only the room she’d been in had been empty. This one had a queen-size bed, two nightstands, and a large dresser. Across all the surfaces were candles.
“Oh…”
“Yeah, oh. You really know how to almost ruin a romantic surprise,” Red said, coming around in front of her. “Check out the dresser. I even saved you a drawer.”
She laughed as she crossed the room and asked, “Which one?”
“The top right.”
“Well, thanks, I think,” she teased as she opened the drawer. “It will be nice to not have to keep a bag in my car…car…”
In the drawer was a black velvet ring box. She stared down at it, her hands shaking as she picked it up.
“Is this—” She opened the box, but it was empty. He laughed behind her, and she whirled around, her temper flaring. “Is this a joke?”
“No, California, it’s no joke,” he said as he pulled something small from his pocket and came to stand before her. He knelt down and held up the ring. “I just wanted to see the look on your face when you opened the box.”
If she wasn’t fighting tears of joy as she stared down at Red holding a diamond ring, she would have said something snarky. “It’s…not funny.”
“No, you’re right. What I’m asking is very serious,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Jessie Jane you already know you have my heart. You already know that I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
“But you don’t know that sometimes I wake up and watch you sleep, because I can’t believe you’re real. When I’m having a shitty day, I think about your smile and immediately feel at peace. And that I think about a future with you a thousand times a day, to the point that I can’t stand to waste another minute without you.”
“You have me all the time,” she said.
“No, I want you here, in our house, sharing my life. I used to think I wanted simple. I wanted easy. But after falling in love with you, I realize that you’re what I was looking for all along.” He took her hand and slid the ring over her knuckle.
She couldn’t speak, so she just kept nodding until he stood up and kissed her, squeezing her tight.
When he finally broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers, she whispered, “So I guess you like all my craziness and bad temper, huh?”
“Well, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t throw any more dishes at my head,” he teased, earning a slap on his arm, “but if I had to choose, I’d want your crazy every time.”
She kissed him again, backing him toward the bed, and when she had him just where she wanted him, she pushed him down on their new mattress
“If you want crazy,” she said crawling onto the bed until she straddled him, “I’ll give you crazy.”
As her hands found the buckle of his belt, he grinned. “I want crazy.”
“Here I come.”
Discover More by Codi Gary
Rock Canyon, Idaho Series
The Trouble With Sexxy
Things Good Girls Don't Do
Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars
Return of the Bad Girl
Bad Girls Don't Marry Marines
Bad For Me
The Men in Uniform Series
One Lucky Hero
Hero of Mine
Holding Out for a Hero
Coming Soon: Hot Winter Nights Series by Codi Gary and James Patterson
A Bear Mountain Rescue Story
Loco, Texas Series
Crazy For You
I Want Crazy
Make Me Crazy
Promise, Idaho Series
How To Be A Heartbreaker
About the Author
An obsessive bookworm, Codi Gary likes to write sexy contemporary romances with humor, grand gestures, and blush-worthy moments. When she's not writing, she can be found reading her favorite authors, squealing over her must-watch shows, and playing with her children. She lives in Idaho with her family. Codi loves hearing from her readers, so be sure to visit her at http://codigarysbooks.com, Facebook: CodiGarysBooks, and Twitter: @codigary.
