Page 35 of Make Me Crazy (Loco, Texas 2)

Rand shook her head as she looked down at the bowl. “It’s still half full. You’re fine.”

Scout’s yellow eyes glared at her, but Rand still walked down the hallway toward her bedroom, ignoring the angry meow that followed her, and yanked her t-shirt over her head. She finished undressing and thought about Jake, leaving her with another long searching kiss at her door, instead of coming inside like she’d wanted. In the harsh light of the afternoon she was thankful, but last night she’d been furious and cursed a blue streak at his retreating back.

She was ashamed of her behavior the last few weeks. She was not someone who got drunk, acted like an ass, and abused her friends.

She showered, dressed, and went to transfer the laundry. She’d decided to just wash all of her grandmother’s

clothes; so far, they’d all been to her taste and she didn’t have to go shopping. Oh, how she loathed shopping.

Maybe she’d call Jamie or one of Red’s sisters and see if they wanted to head over to Longview. That’s what women did right? Got together in a group and went to bars together? It was only twenty minutes away, and it wasn’t too late. She should be able to find a man there without a criminal record and who wouldn’t mind marrying someone they barely knew, with the proper incentive of course.

Picking up the phone, she called Red’s sister Tabitha and got her voicemail. Nervously, she left her a message, asking if she wanted to go bar hopping. As she hung up, she called herself every kind of idiot. Tabitha probably had plans already; it was Saturday night at five.

Oh well, she could just head into Longview by herself. She had survived this long without girlfriends.

She grabbed a floral blouse that had thick straps and a square neckline, with form fitting slacks. She dried her hair and fluffed it over her bare shoulders. Satisfied with her appearance, she started making dinner and turned on the radio.

Dancing around to Jason Aldean, she breaded some chicken breasts and dropped them into her deep fryer. After that was done, she peeled potatoes and boiled peas. It wasn’t exactly a light or healthy dinner, but she had worked hard and was hungrier than a cougar after a long winter.

A shrill sound blasted through the music as her phone rang. Turning down the radio, she picked it up by the third ring. “Hello?”

“Hey, its Tabby! Jamie and I were heading out tonight, and if you want, we would love for you to join us.”

“Really, are you sure? I don’t want to ruin your night-

“Hell no, we don’t mind. It will be fantastic to get you away from my idiot brother and Jake. Want us to get you in an hour? We can ride together?”

“That sounds great, I’m just eating dinner now.”

“Sweet, see you then. This is gonna be awesome!”

Tabby hung up and Rand took a deep breath. Having only ever hung with Jake and Red, she was afraid of what Tabby and Jamie considered fun.

She sat down to eat and was about to take a big bite of fried chicken when someone knocked on her door. “Dad burned and blast.”

She stood up and walked to the front door, opening it with a deep scowl on her face that melted when she got a load of her visitor.

Red stood on the welcome mat, looking spiffy and handsome in a collared flannel shirt and wranglers. He had a bouquet of tulips in his hand and Rand couldn’t take her eyes off the cheerful flowers wrapped in colorful paper.

“What are you doing here?” She squeaked the question.

”I wanted to talk to you,” Red said.

“What are those,” she asked dumbly.

He held them out to her. “They’re for you. Can I come in?”

She blinked at him. Red was standing on her porch with flowers? And he wanted to talk to her?

She stepped back and held the door for him. “Sure. I made fried chicken if you’re hungry.”

“Starving,” he said, handing her the flowers and kissing her cheek. She jumped in surprise, and he just let out a deep chuckle.

Her cheeks burned as she watched him head towards the kitchen. What was going on with him? She wondered as she shut the door and followed him, bumping into his back when he stopped.

“What’s so funny-” She peeked around his broad, shaking shoulders and shouted, “SCOUT! Damn it I’m going to kick your furry little behind!”

Scout growled at Rand from the little cat’s perch above Rand’s plate, a leg of chicken hanging from her mouth. Scout took off with her bounty at Rand’s first angry steps, skidding down the hallway to Rand’s bedroom, presumably to hide under the bed.

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