Page 33 of Make Me Crazy (Loco, Texas 2)

“Wait, you two were faking,” Red asked, and she nodded. “It looked real to me.”

“Nope. All an act. We were going to tell you, but Jake thought your expression was hilarious.”

“Yeah I bet,” he said, his eyebrows lowered in a scowl.

Maybe she had lost her mind (or just all hope) but she reached out and wrapped her arms around Red’s waist, looking up at him with fluttering lashes.

“Oh come on. Don’t be sore. Remember that time you and I convinced Jake that Warren Duffy had been the one to hot-wire his truck and put it in the field? He was so mad at us after Warren popped him one.”

She had surprised him, hopefully in a good way. She was new to this flirting business, but if she was going to lose her life and livelihood, she might as well lose her mind too.

Finally, Red’s arm wrapped around her waist and he squeezed her. “Want a beer?”

“Yep. I would very much like a beer right now,” Rand answered, letting him lead her over to the bar.

“Hey Rand,” Wilson Taylor called to her as they approached. He let out a low whistle, his hazel eyes twinkling. “You look real good.”

Why hadn’t she thought of Wilson? He was good looking, one of the good guys in town, and drove into the city during the week for work.

“Thanks, Wilson,” she said, giving him a wide friendly smile.

When he smiled back, she noticed the tell-tale bulge in his lip where his dip had been stuffed.

Which wouldn’t have phased her two weeks ago when she was still thinking about marrying a man and living platonically. But now that she’d been kissed…

Maybe she only liked kissing with Jake because they were friends?Her gaze shifted to Red as he ordered their beers.Would she like Red’s kisses?

Red handed her the bottle of Bud and tapped the neck of his to hers. “To the future husband, whoever he may be.”

Rand pushed down the panic in her throat and took a long pull from the beer.

Walking intoThe Watering Hole, he found Rand standing on top of a chair with Bob Haskins beside her, shouting out numbers quickly. Red was laughing as he tried to pull her down and Jake felt the pulse in his temple throb with rage.

Making his way over to them, he tapped Red’s shoulder. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Jake!” Rand cried, smiling as she noticed him. “Bob’s going to find me a husband.”

“Like hell he is.” He reached out and pulled her off the chair. “What happened to never drinking again?”

She leaned against him and looked up at him through her lashes. “I’m not really drunk. Not like last time.”

“She’s fine, Jake. I was handling it,” Red said, and Jake wanted to punch his best friend’s dopey, grinning face.

“If you were handling this, then you wouldn’t have let her drink and she wouldn’t be making a fool of herself,” Jake snapped, grabbing her arm. “Come on, I’m taking you home.”

Jake noticed Rand’s bulldog expression as she ripped her arm out of his grasp. “You aren’t the boss of me.”

“Hey, Hansen, we weren’t done.” Jake felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to face Branson who had an angry scowl on his face.

Jake shook his hand off. “Yeah you are. I’m taking Rand home now.”

Branson’s scowl bled into a sneer. “Jealousy doesn’t become you, Hansen. Obviously there’s a lot more to Miss Miranda than we all thought. Now, why not step back and give someone else a turn? I want to get a better look at what she’s been hiding all these years.”

Jake looked down at Rand and realized she was wearing a black dress that showed off her creamy round shoulders. The tops of her beautiful breasts could be seen from his vantage point and his scowl darkened. “Where did you get that dress?”

“It was my grandmothers. Why are you acting like this?”

Jake shrugged out of his jacket and laid it over her shoulders. Not because her dress was really so immodest but because he didn’t like Branson ogling her. He turned back to the other man and said, “I catch you looking at her again and I’ll break every bone in your pretty face.”

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