Page 46 of I Want Crazy (Loco, Texas 3)

“I still can’t believe your sister missed church. It just isn’t like her,” his mother griped.

Red smirked, wanting to say something about MJ taking a walk of shame this morning according to Tabby, but he couldn’t do that to her. MJ was always pretty straitlaced—well, at least out of the four of his sisters—so she was allowed to cut loose and have some fun.

“People can miss church, Mom. She’s a grown woman, and if she wants to sleep in on a Sunday, she should be allowed.”

“But she didn’t come home last night,” she said, sounding worried. “What if she’s dead in a ditch somewhere?”

“Or she’s sleeping off a headache at a friend’s house. Just give her a few hours before you go all ‘crazy mama’ and start tearing the town apart.”

“You children act like I’m some unreasonable ogre. I just worry about y’all.”

A few beats went by, and just as he was about to tell her they appreciated her worry and fretting. “Red, you need to start building a house. You are almost thirty years old, and you were the one who wanted land instead of buying a house in town. And no woman wants to get serious with someone who doesn’t want to move out of his bachelor pad.”

And just like that, all his exasperation was back. “My mobile is comfortable.”

“I’m sure it is for you, but you have to think of what a woman sees. She sees a man who isn’t willing to commit.”

“Well, good thing I’m not dating anyone, so that’s not an issue.”

“Come on, Albert. I can tell you like this girl. Don’t you want her to take you seriously?”

Red didn’t like her tone, like he was seven and she was telling him to wash behind his ears. “I’m an adult, and when I am serious about a girl, I’ll tell you.”

“Fine, I was just trying to give you some motherly advice. Whether you take it or not is up to you.”

Red dropped his mother at home, stewing over what she’d said. He had bought and paid for his land. He had hauled the trailer over from the next county. He bought his car outright. He had signed contracts for his books and even agreed to several due dates for his books. See, he committed to things. She was crazy.

Still, as he walked into his trailer, he pulled out the blueprints he’d ordered for the home he’d wanted to eventually build. He had a nice down payment for a construction loan if he wanted…

To his surprise, he wanted to pick up his phone and ask Jessie what she thought of his future house. Which was crazy, because they’d only known each other two weeks. It was too soon to start planning a future, wasn’t it?

Regardless, he found himself pulling out his phone. He dialed her number, and it rang twice before she answered.

“Hey, handsome,” she said softly in his ear.

“Hey, there. I was seeing if you had plans for dinner?”

She was quiet for half a beat. “Actually, I was just going to go to the bar and do a few things, maybe grab some of the leftovers Ray left in the freezer for me.”

Red tried not to let the worm of jealousy take hold. He didn’t like that Ray had seemed to endear himself to Jessie, and not just because he left her food, but because he checked up on her. That was Red’s job.

“Okay, well, I was just thinking, I’d like to take you out on an official date.”

“An official date, huh? What does one do on official dates?”

“Anything the lady wants,” he said, adding quickly, “barring getting arrested.”

“What day?”

“Wednesday?”

“Any activity?”

“Anything you want, except for getting me arrested.”

“Hmm, I’ll have to think about it. In the meantime, maybe you’d wanna come over after dinner with your parents?”

He swallowed hard. “Oh, yeah? What are we gonna do?”

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