Page 8 of Wrangling a Wild Texan

Sweetie jumped in. “All those in fav?—”

Sunny was so disappointed about the meeting being cut short, she couldn’t help blurting out once again, “But it’s a full moon!” She pointed at the cloudy skies out the open hatch doors of the hayloft. “You can’t see it, but it’s full tonight. I checked. Isn’t it a rule that we have to go skinny-dipping at Cooper Springs on a full moon?”

“We don’t always skinny-dip on a full moon,” Liberty said. “Just when the weather is nice. It’s still a little to chilly for this sister.”

Sunny wouldn’t mind swimming in an ice block as long as she got to do something exciting with the Sisterhood. But she could tell by everyone’s faces that they didn’t feel the same way.

“You’re right, Libby.” She smiled and tapped herself on the head. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Y’all need to get home to your sweet babies and good-lookin’ men.”

When everyone stood and headed toward the hayloft ladder, Noelle came over and gave her a hug. “We’ll go skinny-dipping next full-moon meeting. I promise. And it’s not like we won’t get to hang out together tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night?” Sunny looked at her with surprise. “Are we having a sister get-together?”

Noelle’s cheeks turned pink. “No . . . uhh . . .” Before she could continue, Hallie came over and hooked an arm around her sister—or more like put her in a headlock. “Come on, Elle. It’s obvious we’re both too tired to think straight.”

“Sunny!” Belle called. “We need to get home before it starts to rain.”

Since Corbin and Belle’s new house was only a hop, skip, and a jump from the Holidays’ house, Belle and Sunny had walked to the meeting. Because of the weather, Corbin hadn’t been keen on the idea. So Sunny wasn’t surprised to find her brother waiting outside the barn with an umbrella.

“How did the meeting go?”

Belle lifted up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Didn’t trust us to walk home in the dark, did you?”

“It’s not about trust. It’s about you two running off without being prepared.” He popped open the umbrella before clicking on the flashlight in his hand.

Belle laughed and hooked her arm through his. “My chivalrous, overprotective villain.”

Corbin smiled down at her with a dopey look. “You mean a whipped hero who would do just about anything for his lady?” He glanced at Sunny and winked. “Ladies.” He held out his other arm. “So what mischief did the sisters get into tonight?”

Sunny slipped her arm through his and sighed. “No mischief.”

None at all.

Once they got back to the house, Sunny talked Corbin and Belle into watching one of her favorite movies,The Shape of Water. But before the cleaning lady could fall in love with the amphibian guy, both Corbin and Belle were sound asleep with Gilley and Tay-Tay cuddled between them. Since she had lost interest in the movie too, Sunny turned off the television, tucked a throw blanket around them, and headed out to the front porch.

The storm had passed and the temperature had returned to the moderate night temps of early March in Texas—obviously, Liberty had just used the cold as an excuse to cut the meeting short. Which was weird. Sunny had heard stories of the sisters skinny-dipping in much colder temperatures. And what was the get-together Noelle had been talking about? Had the sisters planned something tomorrow night and Noelle had messed up by inviting her? As much as the Holiday sisters had welcomed Sunny into their fold, she knew she was still the outsider—the one with not a speck of Holiday blood running through her veins.

She didn’t know why she felt so upset. She should be used to it by now. She had spent her entire life being the outsider—the new kid who never quite fit in. When Corbin had been in elementary school with her, it hadn’t been so bad. They’d had each other. But when he had moved to middle school, she’d had to brave school all by herself. Most of her teachers had been understanding and nice. It was on the playgrounds and during lunch when she felt the most alone . . . and terrified.

Bullies preyed on kids who sat all alone looking scared.

So Sunny learned to hide her fear behind a bright smile and her sketchpad. She acted like she was perfectly fine sitting by herself under a tree or at a cafeteria table, drawing away.

She’d done the same thing every time her parents split up and she and Corbin were pawned off with another relative. She had smiled, with her sketchpad tucked under her arm and her trash bag of clothes at her feet, and waved until her mama’s or daddy’s car had driven out of sight. Unlike Corbin, who had grown angrier and angrier each time they’d been dropped off, Sunny had remained cheerful and positive.

There was no use getting angry over something you couldn’t change.

Or holding grudges.

While Corbin refused to even talk to their parents, Sunny called them once a week and sent them money every month. If she ever felt a twinge of bitterness or anger about her past life, she pushed it way down deep and did something exciting.

She glanced at the full moon hanging in the starry sky and smiled.

Like night skinny-dipping.

By the time she reached Cooper Springs, the full moon had risen even higher in the sky. It reflected in the dark pool of water like a rippling sheet of gold satin. Sunny didn’t hesitate to strip off her clothes and dive in.

Liberty was right. The temperature outside might not be that cold, but the water was freezing. She swam vigorously for a few minutes to get her body acclimated before she floated onto her back and looked up at the moon.

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