Page 6 of Wrangling a Wild Texan

It was the same answer she gave Reid every time he asked. While Reid would usually nod and go on about his business, Corbin didn’t let it go.

“It’s tough adjusting to a new school, isn’t it? Everyone is already in their friend groups and you feel like the odd one out.”

To Reid’s surprise, Sophie nodded sadly. “Yeah.”

Corbin sent Sophie an understanding look. “Believe me, I get it. Sunny and I are experts on moving to new schools and feeling like the odd ones out. So if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”

Sophie shared one of her rare smiles. “Thanks, Mr. Whitlock.”

Corbin winked. “Call me Corbin. I’ve told your uncle the same thing, but he refuses to listen.”

“He’s stubborn like that.”

Corbin laughed and glanced over at Reid. “I’m figuring that out.”

On the drive back to the trailer, Reid had planned on lecturing Sophie about taking his truck without permission. But now he had a bigger concern.

“You feel like the odd man out at school?” He glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

She huffed and flopped back in the seat out of his line of vision. “Please don’t make it into a big deal.”

“But if you’re feeling ostracized at school, it is a big deal, Soph. You told me everything was okay.”

She kicked the back of his seat so hard that he jerked forward and his seatbelt tightened. “Well, it’s not okay. Nothing is okay. But I’m not going to talk about it with someone who never understood my mom and will never understand me.”

Reid wanted to deny it, but couldn’t. She was right. He hadn’t understood her mom. And he certainly didn’t understand Sophie. He had spent his life being an introvert who preferred his own company. He’d had friends, but never close ones. The same was true with girlfriends. He’d dated, but never seriously. When women got to close, he’d broken things off.

Now he had this person he needed to get close to. And he just didn’t know how.

He squeezed the steering wheel in frustration and said the only thing that came to mind. “You want frozen pizza for dinner?”

Chapter Three

The Secret Sisterhood meeting was usually held in the hayloft of the Holiday’s big ol’ red barn. As far as Sunny was concerned, it was the ideal spot to cozy up with all six sisters and share secrets. Being that she was the newest member, Sunny felt obligated to be the first sharer. She definitely had a lot of secrets she’d been keeping.

Unfortunately, once Sweetie, the oldest sister and president of the club, called the meeting to order and asked if there was anything that needed to be discussed, Sunny struggled to reveal the sad truths about her own life and instead blurted out someone else’s.

“Sophie Mitchell stole her uncle’s truck and ran me off the road today!”

The sisters looked stunned—and probably more by Sunny’s sudden outburst than the actual information—before Liberty laughed.

“That sounds like something I would do.” She glanced at Belle sitting next to her in the hayloft. It still boggled Sunny’s mind how much the Holiday twins looked alike. They were both gorgeous with their raven hair and Holiday green eyes. Although, interestingly enough, as their pregnancies progressed,their bodies were starting to look different. Liberty’s hips had widened and she had a noticeable baby bump while Belle was barely showing. “Remember when we stole Daddy’s truck and went for a joyride, Belly?”

“You stole Daddy’s truck,” Belle corrected.

Liberty huffed. “Po-ta-to po-tah-to. You were with me.”

“Only because you needed a voice of reason with you—not that you listened to me when you ran straight into that ditch.”

“You were lucky neither one of you got hurt,” Cloe said. Clover Holiday Remington was the soft-spoken, protective sister. Her green eyes filled with concern when she turned to Sunny. “Are you okay?” Once Sunny gave the sisters all the details, Cloe looked even more concerned. “Are you sure you got it across to Sophie the seriousness of what she did?”

Sunny had spent the entire afternoon worried about the same thing. Which was probably why she’d blurted the truth out. “I tried to, but what if I didn’t? What if she drives and texts again and gets in a serious accident? It will be all my fault because I didn’t want her to get into trouble. But maybe she needed to be severely disciplined by Reid.”

“Severely?” Hallie laughed. “Reid? He’s a big ol’ pussycat.”

“He doesn’t seem like a pussycat to me. He seems more like a grumpy lion with a thorn in his paw.” Or a sexy panther who made Sunny weak in the knees.

“He’s just quiet and a bit of a loner.” Hallie tossed Sunny a can of Sprite from the mini cooler she’d brought up to the hayloft. Since they now had two nursing mothers and three pregnant women in the group, they no longer drank Mimi’s homemade elderberry wine at the meetings.

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