Page 1 of Crazy for You (Loco, Texas 1)

Crazy for You

A Loco, Texas Novella #1

Codi Gary

Copyright

This ebook is licensed to you for your personal enjoyment only.

This ebook may not be sold, shared, or given away.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the writer’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Crazy for You

Copyright © 2016 by Codi Gary

Ebook ISBN: 9781943772629

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No part of this work may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

NYLA Publishing

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http://www.nyliterary.com

Dedication

To my friends, Hope and Deana!

Thanks for all the great memories and for always being willing to Thelma and Louise to my rescue!

Prologue

Deana Sawyer was unlucky. Not just clumsy, not just a few mishaps; somewhere along the line, she had been cursed with the worst luck ever bestowed upon one single person.

It had all started in sixth grade, when she’d been dared on Halloween to grab one of Miz Velma’s jack-o’-lanterns and smash it on the sidewalk. It had been a shame too, because those jack-o’-lanterns were beautiful, carved into intricate scenes that had probably taken hours of precise cuts. But when the most popular girl in school offered to be your best friend if you just do one simple prank, you did it, right?

Well, she had done it, picked up that pumpkin, held it over her head, and heaved it down onto the pavement. Bam. Splat. Orange pieces scattered across the walkway. Deana hadn’t been able to move as she’d stared down at the mess, so transfixed, she hadn’t heard the door open behind her until a horrible screech sounded.

“You vile, brat!”

Deana had spun around, slipped on a chunk of pumpkin and fallen on her butt. Her gaze had traveled up the dark fabric of Miz Velma’s long, ragged dress as the older woman stood over her. They stopped only when she reached the woman’s angry eyes, glaring at her beneath the black witch’s hat.

“Deana Sawyer!” Miz Velma’s voice was breathy with shock, and Deana had wanted to crawl behind the bushes in shame. Miz Velma was the town librarian, and although some people called her a witch, she had always been kind to Deana.

“Miz Velma… I…” Deana stuttered, hearing the sound of retreating feet behind her. It seemed her new friends had already abandoned her.

“I expected this behavior from so many other children, Deana, but never from you.” Miz Velma’s voice was strangled, as if she was holding back tears and Deana’s own tears had pricked with shame.

“Miz Velma…I…I didn’t want to, but—”

“But you were pressured into it?” Miz Velma’s face twisted into a disgusted sneer. “I am about to impart my last bit of wisdom to you, Deana Sawyer. You will never be one of them. You will always be a clumsy, bookish girl who people will tease and ridicule. Until you accept who you are on the inside, you will never like yourself, and neither will anyone else.”

At those last harsh words, Miz Velma whirled around, her black shroud swirling with her, and walked back up the steps of her porch. As she disappeared inside, slamming the door behind her, tears fell from Deana’s eyes and trailed down her cheeks.

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