Page 43 of Make Me Crazy (Loco, Texas 2)

She heard him rustling around behind her, but rushed out of the room without peeking, worried that it was Andy coming by to tell her the cows had gotten out.

Reaching the front door, she yanked it open, and found Red, looking furious.

“Where is he,” Red asked, his whole demeanor threatening.

“Ummm…” Rand stuttered, and felt Jake’s warm body at her back as he widened the door. She looked at him, shirtless in a pair of jeans and wanted to die.

“You son of a bitch!” Red shouted, moving her out of the way to shove Jake. Rand fell back against the wall as Jake landed on his ass, and Red jumped on top of him. “Nothing going on huh? I knew something was up when you left the bar last night.”

Rand rushed forward to grab Red’s arm and pulled. “Damn it, Red, get off him.”

Red jumped up and the full force of his temper focused on her. “And you! I offer to marry you and instead of just being upfront about this,” he waved his hand, “whatever this is, you tell me you’ll think about it.”

“Because this wasn’t happening when you asked me,” she yelled.

“So you’re telling me that last night he just showed up and you thought, ‘gee, I think it’s a great idea to sleep with a guy who screws anything that moves,’” Red said, sarcasm dripping from him voice.

“Red, you asked me, and I love you for it, but I told you I needed time because I wasn’t sure what I wanted,” she said, her gaze falling heavily on Jake. “And I do now.”

Jake’s face and ass hurt equally, but Rand’s words made him grin like an idiot.

Red’s face was an angry scowl and Jake broke in, “I wasn’t trying to be a dick, man.”

“No, you just think with one,” Red snapped.

“Now look, I’m not saying what I did was right, but she,” he said, standing up and pulling Rand against his side, “chose me. She’s gonna marry me, and that’s it.”

“Wait. Wait,” Red said, holding up his hands. “He actually asked you to marry him?”

“More or less,” Rand said, receiving a pinch from Jake for her smart mouth.

Red just stared at them, open mouthed and disbelieving. Then, without warning, a gurgling of laughter bubbled up and erupted from his mouth.

Jake looked over at Rand, who was scowling at Red, and couldn’t help feeling a little insulted.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry but…oh this is too good,” Red heaved as he leaned against the back of the couch.

Rand just shook her head. “I’m going to go take a shower. Can you handle this?”

Jake was tempted to pick Red up by the seat of his britches and toss him out the door, but he had stepped in on Red so he cut him a little slack. “Are we okay?”

Red straightened up, wiping at his watery eyes, and he looked toward where Rand had disappeared. “You know she’s not just one of your conquests, right? You do realize that if you screw this up, you’re going to lose her.”

“We’re both walking into this with our eyes open. Even if it doesn’t work out, when the year is up, we’re going to stay friends,” Jake said, and Red’s expression held a touch of pity to it.

“Yeah. Good luck with that,” Red said, making his way towards the front door. Looking back for a second, he added, “We’re okay for now. But if you hurt her, I’m going to do more than the love tap you just got. Understand?”

Jake nodded, and as Red closed the door behind him, uncertainty and dread made Jake break out in a cold sweat.Was he doing the right thing? Was Red right?

God, he hoped not. Or else he was going to lose the two people who

meant the world to him.

Chapter Eleven

Rand stepped out of the shower, unsure of where they went from that point. Red knew. Jake had announced they were getting married, and they had…well been intimate. Did they go to the courthouse?

She walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel to find Jake sitting on her bed, the side of his face ugly, purple, and swollen.

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