Page 37 of I Want Crazy (Loco, Texas 3)

“You don’t fish for catfish with worms.”

Staring down at the bag in her hand, horror spiked through her. “It’s not snakes, right?”

“Chicken livers,” he said, too cheerfully for her taste.

Scrunching her nose, she caught up to him. “That is worse than snakes.”

They passed under a canopy of trees and came upon a wide river mouth. The trees were open above, letting the moonlight shine across the water, and Jessie caught her breath.

He set the gear down and took the bag from her. “Don’t worry, California. I’ll bait your hook for you.”

* * *

Red baited his hook and cast his pole, hooking it to a shore anchor before he helped Jessie. She was looking inside the butcher container with a disgusted, tongue-out-of-the-mouth look, and he took her pole and a piece of liver with a snort.

“I have never seen a woman so squeamish. Haven’t you ever made a turkey dinner before, or even gravy?”

“No, I’m not much of a cook. I boil water, and sometimes I even burn that.”

After hooking the liver on her line, he handed her the pole. “I’m going to rinse my hands, and I’ll show you how to cast.” As he turned away, he did an about-face and warned, “Do not try casting while I’m right in front of you.”

Her eyes were too wide, too innocent. “Oh? Why, ’cause I might hook you instead of a fish?”

“Yes, and you don’t want to hurt me, do you? Not after I’ve been so nice so far.”

“Yeah, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop…”

He ignored her and rinsed his hands. He had wanted to get her alone after that kiss, and once he’d seen the moon, he’d known. What better way to test how a woman feels than to show her how to do something that requires you getting up close and personal with her body?

“So you saw me do it, but I figured I’d show you again.”

She held her pole out to him eagerly. “By all means.”

“I thought I’d show you how to do it,” he said, coming up behind her.

“Oh, now I see what’s going on.”

The amusement in her voice gave him pause. “What?”

“Oh, nothing.”

He wrapped his arms around her and started loosening her line. “Doesn’t sound like nothing. Sounds like you think I’m up to something.”

“Because you are. You are pulling some old-school ‘oh, you’re doing it wrong, let me show you’ move so you can touch me.” She glanced up at him over her shoulder. “You can’t fool me. I watch New Girl.”

Red had never seen the show, but since she’d already call

ed him out, he shrugged. “Maybe I was putting out feelers.”

“Feelers for what?”

He held her gaze, refusing to break the connection. “On whether or not that kiss was one-sided.”

She swallowed hard before looking away. “I thought you didn’t feel anything when you kissed me.”

“I’d say I spoke prematurely.” He took her hands and placed them where he wanted on the pole.

“Prematurely? Is that your backward way of saying, yes?”

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