Page 6 of Crazy for You (Loco, Texas 1)

Deana told her no and ended the call with a groan, then threw the phone on the couch. She straightened the dress and went to check and see if it could be salvaged for the night.

The dress was tight, low-cut, and showed a lot of leg. Definitely not something she’d ever worn before, but maybe that was a good thing. Cocking her head to the side, she reassessed the situation. So her hair was a little brighter than she’d wanted. It was eye-catching, an

d she could always say it was part of her costume. The dress definitely screamed, “Hello, men, I’m available.”

No, this was not a look for Disaster Deana. When she went walking into the Halloween Haunt Fest, people were going to sit up and take notice. And later, when she attended the big Halloween bash at the Watering Hole, she was going home with someone. Anyone.

Well, anyone but Finn Meyers.

Chapter Two

Finn hated Halloween.

The costumes, the pranks, the crappy movies… Everything about the holiday pissed him off. Why he’d agreed to start his first shift on the Loco Police Department on Halloween, he had no idea. He had spent five years in Atlanta, and he’d seen some of the worst crime, shit that still haunted him. Which was why a holiday that glorified people dressing up as evil monsters made him sick. There were too many real monsters out there; he just didn’t understand celebrating the fake ones.

He came around the bend four miles from town and saw a white car on the side of the road, smoke pouring out around it. The trees that lined the road into town gave a spooky, shadowy scene. A lone figure stood off to the side, kicking and stomping like a three-year-old having a tantrum. As he pulled up behind the car, his headlights illuminated a woman in a skimpy Little Red Riding Hood costume, with bright pink hair. He tried not to laugh as he saw her turn toward him, shielding her face from his headlights.

After turning his cruiser off, he stepped out of the car. “Miss, are you all right?”

She squinted at him in the light, her red mouth turned down in a frown. “No, I’m not all right! Does it look like I’m all right?”

Finn’s eyebrow rose at her hostility, even as a niggling familiarity ate at him. “Can I call you a tow or something?”

“No, thank you, I already called. Bubba can’t come get it tonight because he’s already hammered, and I’m supposed to be at the haunted house in fifteen minutes. I just can’t believe this is happening to me tonight of all nights! First, my hair, then the costume, and now this! I swear it’s like some greater force is mocking me.” She stepped out of the high beams, so she wasn’t covered in shadows anymore. “I mean, do you know what it’s like to be called Disaster Deana and have people cross the street when they see you because they’re afraid some horrible mishap will befall them if they stand too close?”

Finn’s jaw dropped as he looked her over again. “Deana? Is that you?”

She stopped her rant, and her face turned sheet white in the dark. “Who are you? I can’t see you with the light in my eyes.”

Finn put down his flashlight. “It’s Finn Meyers. We just bumped into each other earlier—”

“Fan-fucking-tastic. Of course it’s you.” Her tone was angry and bitter, a far cry from the sweet, fun girl he remembered. “What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were living in Georgia with your perfect girlfriend and kicking the crap out of criminals? And now you’re a cop here? Awesome. My night cannot get any worse, unless some great, hulking beast decides to step out of the trees and eat me.” He watched her twirl around with her hands out, yelling, “Come on, beasties! Suppertime!”

He took a few steps closer, and she stopped. Her chin rose defiantly, her eyes flashing in the high beams, and he couldn’t fight his grin at the sight she made. Her hair was a riot of hot-pink curls, her lips were wetly red and full, and her breasts rose so high above the square neckline of the dress, he thought they would pop out at any moment. She definitely wasn’t the plain-jeans-and-T-shirt girl he remembered.

“You sure have changed, De.” Without thinking, he reached out to finger one of her curls.

She jerked away from him. “Of course I’ve changed. People are always changing. It’s not like you’re the same arrogant, thoughtless jerk you used to be, right?”

Shame, guilt, and anger brewed inside him, and he dropped his hand. “I guess you’re still pissed at me about high school.”

“No, of course not. That would be ridiculous and petty. I was just stating a fact. You most likely aren’t the same jackass you used to be, and I’m not the same naïve simpleton.” And with that, she spun on her heel and headed back toward the smoking car.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he called after her, nearly swallowing his tongue when she opened the passenger door and bent over, her garter belt and half her black-lace-covered ass showing as she rummaged through her car.

Standing back up, she slipped her purse over her shoulder and slammed the door. “I am walking to town.”

The stubborn, irrational woman actually started doing just that, looking a little wobbly in her high heels. “Wait. Why don’t I give you a ride?”

She didn’t even bother to turn around and answer him, just tossed over her shoulder, “Because I’d rather be gutted by a machete-wielding maniac than ride in a car with you!”

Finn watched her fluffy skirt sashaying away from him, and tried to ignore the tightening in his pants. Whoever she was now, there was no resemblance between her and the sweet, bookish Deana he’d fallen for in high school.

Damn. He’d really liked Deana, with her soft blond hair that always fell forward as she read, and her expressive gray-green eyes that seemed to be constantly smiling. He had been an inconsiderate ass when he’d kissed her and then told her he couldn’t date her because she wasn’t popular enough. He’d been a punk kid, and he’d regretted it, but every time he’d tried to talk to her afterward, she’d ignored him. When he’d left for college, he hadn’t had time to think about her, his life had been so crazy.

One thing was for sure, though: He was no longer the eighteen-year-old kid just trying to survive his senior year. He was a grown-ass man who had changed and matured, and Deana Sawyer was going to see that. Even if he had to follow alongside her all the way into town to prove it to her.

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