Page 29 of Return of the Bad Girl (Rock Canyon, Idaho 4)

Quickly, she headed for the closet to grab her shoes. She needed to get the hell out of there before she did something she’d regret.

Chapter Nine

“For some reason, Buck’s Shot Bar is a breeding ground for drama and stupidity. Oh, wait—maybe because it’s a bar and there’s alcohol. Oh, and the Coulter brothers. Not a night goes by that they aren’t there, getting into whatever trouble they can. And yet, charges never seem to stick . . . Could they have a GET OUT OF DRUNK-TANK FREE card? Police corruption in Rock Canyon . . . Hmmm, suddenly I feel like Veronica Mars.”

—Miss Know It All

“WAIT, YOU’RE DITCHING me?” Ellie said loudly.

Caroline rolled her eyes. “No, I’m just going to talk to Eric about doing some consulting for Buck’s. I’ll be right back.”

“But the whole point of us going together was so guys wouldn’t think I was here trolling!”

“Ellie, I’ll be back before any guys notice you’re alone,” Caroline said, although her sister’s sheer top with the hot pink bra and tight jeans didn’t really give off the “not interested” vibe.

As if reading her thoughts, Ellie crossed her arms over her stomach. “Fine, but hurry up.”

Caroline pushed her way to the back of the bar where she’d seen Eric Henderson, pulling down the light fabric of her simple black dress. Her dress was conservative enough to be business casual but had an understated sexiness that hugged her curves and said, “Howdy, boys. I’m available.”

She was surveying the crowd, checking out a few men over by the pool tables, when she saw Gabe leaning over to make a shot, his muscular arms taut as he sent his stick into the ball, spinning it across the green to sink in a corner pocket. He stood up with a pleased look, and she noticed a blonde jumping up and down next to him, squealing.

Irritation shot through her as the blonde jumped on Gabe, throwing her arms around his wide shoulders. Gabe wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her close, whispering something in her ear. The woman laughed, and Caroline finally got a good look at her.

Kirsten Winters. Why was she even surprised? Gabe was hot, and the one thing Kirsten was drawn to was a good-looking man. Caroline would never call another woman easy—having heard the word connected with her name way too often—but she would say that Kirsten had enjoyed plenty of guys in high school.

So why do you care if she enjoys Gabe?

She didn’t. Caroline was only irritated that Gabe seemed to be everywhere. In the apartment, here at Buck’s . . . It was too small of a town not to realize she was going to see way too much of him and his gorgeous black eyes.

Suddenly, she crashed into a hard body and opened her mouth to apologize, but Marcus Boatman spoke first. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

Yes, they certainly did. The last thing she wanted was to give Marcus any sort of encouragement, especially since he was obviously dating Shelby. She could deal with the animosity from her past deeds, but no way in hell was she going to hook up with Marcus again. He hadn’t exactly been mind-blowing in high school, and somehow she doubted he’d improved with age.

“Hey, Marcus, sorry. I’m on my way back to talk to Eric—”

“What for?” Marcus interrupted.

She caught the narrow-eyed look he was giving her. It was none of his damn business, and she was just about to tell him so when she was pushed from behind. Stumbling forward on her heels, she would have gone down hard if Marcus hadn’t caught her.

“Get your hands off her, Marcus!” Shelby squawked over the blaring of the opening band.

Caroline couldn’t believe she was getting this twice in one day and that the bitch had the audacity to push her. Twisting around to face her assailant, she resisted the urge to shove her back. She was here on business, after all, and it wouldn’t do to get

thrown out of a bar she wanted to work with. “You really should look into some anger management courses.”

Shelby’s face turned purple, and she snapped, “Stay the fuck away from my man.”

Okay, this was too Jerry Springer for her. A small crowd was already taking notice of them. “Shelby, I’m not interested in Marcus. I bumped into him; that’s it.”

She’d tried to speak slowly and calmly, but that seemed to just irritate Shelby more. Caroline realized too late that the woman had already consumed a few too many drinks. Before she could get out of the line of fire, Shelby launched herself at Caroline, and all she could do was brace herself for the first blow.

A blow that never came.

Instead, Shelby screeched with outrage, and Caroline opened her eyes to find Gabe standing next to Shelby, his hand clasping her arm in a tight grip.

“Maybe you should get her out of here before she does something stupid.”

Gabe’s suggestion was directed at Marcus, who almost looked like he was going to argue, but in the end, he took Shelby’s arm from Gabe, saying, “Come on.”

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