Page 78 of Make Me Crazy (Loco, Texas 2)

Jamie chimed in as she dropped the bags on the couch. “And she heard Red tearing his ear off on the phone for being an asshole.”

Rand stuffed a bite of pastry in her mouth to hide her smile. She loved the big loyal ox.

Tabitha started rummaging through the bags. “So we’re going to give him something to be really sorry about. Aha!”

She pulled out a red halter and grinned, “Nothing gets a man to heal faster than other men sniffing around his woman.”

“That looks cold.” Rand swallowed the last bite and shook her head, “And besides, I don’t want to bring him to heal. I don’t want anything from him.”

The other women looked at each other and Jamie said, “I kind of got the feeling you loved Jake.”

Rand grimaced. “What made you think something so stupid?”

Tabitha laughed. “Cause for a while there you were fun to be around. Mellow and even nice. Only love can make you want to be better.”

Rand scowled. “If I’m so intolerable, then why are you guys here?”

Tabitha pulled out a short jean skirt and shoved them at her. “Cause the three of us have something in common to bitch about. Men.”

Jamie grabbed her arm and added, “And despite your best efforts to be ornery, we like you.”

Rand let her drag her down to her bedroom and Tabitha ordered, “Go take a shower, and be sure to shave your legs.”

“Where are you taking me,” Rand asked as she was pushed towards her bathroom. “And you are freaking nuts if you think I’m wearing this!”

She caught Tabitha and Jamie’s evil grins and swallowed. Hard.

Jake sat at the same table he always did with Rand and Red, drinking his beer and trying to wind down. He couldn’t relax though, when both his friends were missing.

Red had given him an earful yesterday and called him every name under the sun before hanging up on him. And he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Rand since their little talk at her truck. He’d managed to stay away long enough so he wouldn’t see her standing in the kitchen, her pony tail swaying as she made dinner. He’d been able to avoid having to smell the steam from her shower, the aroma of peaches enough to make him say to hell with her wishes and storm her defenses. And he’d even resisted the urge to knock on her door and beg her to let him in.

An idiot he might be, but he wasn’t so stupid he didn’t realize what had happened. He’d fallen in love with Rand.

He never thought he’d feel this way about being with a woman, but with Rand it had been easy. And the thought of spending the next eleven months in the same house with her and never touching her again was looking more impossible by the day.

Red sat down across from him with a beer in his hand. “Hey ya, buddy.”

Jake lifted his brow. “Hey, thought you weren’t talking to me?”

Red shrugged and replied, “What’s the point in being mad at you for being you?”

Jake glared at Red. “Thanks. Appreciate it.”

Red took a long pull of his beer and asked, “So you wanna grab a twelve pack and head over to the ranch, watch a movie.”

Jake looked at his watch and shook his head. “Rand doesn’t go to bed for another hour.”

Red scoffed, “So? She’s not home anyway.”

Unease settled over Jake as he asked, “How do you know that?”

“Ran into Tabitha as she was leaving. Jamie and she were going to take her out for a girl’s night.”

Jake snorted, “Yeah, cause Rand’s going to be into that.”

“You never know. Maybe she wants to avoid you just as badly as you want to avoid her.”

Jake snapped, “I don’t want to avoid her, but I’m not going to pretend we’re just friends or roommates living together and sit around talking about bills and the weather.”

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