Crazy Little Thing Called Love

by Jess Bryant

  “Zach told me he ran into you on the side of the highway. Said your little sports car had a flat. Lucky he was there I suppose.”

  “Yes, lucky…” She nodded, “He was really helpful. I definitely owe him one for stopping.”

  “I’m sure he’d love to let you buy him a beer.” Riley’s head popped up so fast she didn’t have time to slap her hand across his mouth, though she would have if she’d been quicker, “Hey! Zach! Come over here!”

  Blue blinked at him as several heads in the crowd turned to see what all the commotion was about. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to hide under the table or simply run out of the crowded bar. Neither of those was a suitable option because already she could see the crowd part and she forgot to breathe for the second time that day.

  She hadn’t thought it was possible but he looked better in the smoky bar than he had when he stepped out of that Ford just a few hours ago. He’d changed clothes but the blue plaid pearl snap with the sleeves pushed up his big forearms showed off just as much of his hard frame as the t-shirt had. He’d lost the baseball cap and his hair was shorter than she’d imagined, almost buzzed to his scalp in a militaristic fashion that reinforced her first instincts.

  Bad. Dangerous. Sexy. Her mouth was practically watering.

  “What the Sam Hill are you yelling about now?” He cleared the crowd and got a look at where his little brother was sitting. Those green eyes slowly moved over her and when he spoke her name in that deep rumble she felt the increasingly familiar urge to lick her lips and bat her lashes. “Hello Bluebell.”

  “Zachary.” She managed to only get his name out which was just plain stupid.

  Obviously he wasn’t affected by her since he was standing there with that look of disapproval curling at his mouth. Obviously he wasn’t attracted to her since he hadn’t taken her up on her completely inappropriate offer to drive her car and do a whole lot more. He’d practically run screaming once he got her name and she should remember that before she made an even bigger fool of herself in front of him.

  “My friends call me Zach.” He sauntered a few steps closer to the table.

  Her reaction to him just proved how long she’d toed the line with responsible men. She was just in desperate need of good sex and he looked like he might know a thing or two dozen about that. Men that looked like him always knew their way around a bed, or a couch, or the backseat of a car. Not that she was thinking about him and sex in any of those places or anything.

  “I take it you made it the rest of the way home without incident.”

  “Yeah, I’m going to see Bert tomorrow. I just hope he can get me something permanent before I head out on Sunday.”

  She should not be thinking of sex with Zach West. No sir-ee Bob she was going to stop thinking about it immediately. But damn, it was hard to think of anything else with him standing there looking so sexy in that pearl-snap that’d peel apart if she pulled just hard enough.

  “So you’re heading back to the city in a couple of days then?” His gaze slid across her face before meeting her eyes again.

  “Um, yeah, that’s the plan.” She took a deep swallow of her beer. “I’m not really a Fate forever type of girl.”

  “I caught that vibe.” He grinned.

  “What gave it away the R8 or the stilettos?”

  Oh God why had she brought up the Audi? His green eyes lit up with amusement and she cursed herself. She took another drink and prayed her face wasn’t as red as it felt. Now that she’d mentioned the car all she could think about was her offer to let him drive it and her around if he wanted and his refusal because he had big plans. Yeah, like going to a bar. Her ego whimpered in a dark corner.

  No doubt, Zach was the type of guy that could and probably had been propositioned by most of the female population of Fate. He was too good-looking for a town this size. How he’d managed to get to…well, however old he was she was guessing early thirties, without one of them nagging him down the aisle was a testament to bachelor tendencies. And she was just another of the admiring masses.

  “I was going to say the lack of a car jack but those work too.” He smirked, “Fate’s a small town but we do have our attractions. Plenty of things to do for fun if you know where to look.”

  Her stomach clenched tight again at his flirting tone and easy smile. The man was hazardous with the sexy innuendo’s he kept tossing about. Still, he hadn’t taken her up on her offer last time and she’d be an idiot to keep volleying back.

  “I’m only here for a few days, not much time for fun.”

  His eyes narrowed but a different voice caught her attention.

  “Can’t believe you’re leaving so soon. We all thought you’d stay around a while, look after your Dad.”

  Riley. She’d completely forgotten Riley West was sitting beside her. Wow, that was some powerful mojo that Zach worked over her. She’d have to be more careful if she ran into him again before Sunday.

  “I’m sorry. What?” She politely turned to the younger West brother.

  “I was just saying we figured you’d be sticking around this time to take care of your Dad.”

  Her head tilted curiously. The town thought she should stick around and take care of her father? Since when? And why did they think he needed taking care of?

  “My Daddy’s been taking care of himself a long time. Why would he need my help?”

  Riley shrugged, “He’s just been sick for a while now. We thought you’d come back when that happened. Guess there’s no reason to think you’d stay now.”

  She wasn’t sure if her face was beating red from anger, embarrassment or frustration. She wasn’t sure it mattered. All she knew was that for some reason the town of Fate knew more about her father than she did and they seemed to think she’d been a piss poor daughter by not coming home sooner to be by his side.

  Damn it. Damn him. She’d known something was wrong but had he opened up and told her about it? Had he asked her to come home or even called to let her know he’d been sick? Of course not, because Lyle Carter wouldn’t know the first thing about taking care of family first.

  “I um… excuse me.” She tried to shoot to her feet and knocked over the leftover beer.

  “Whoa easy there.” Riley grabbed her arm to steady her, “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I have to go.” She ducked out of his reach and gave Zach a final glance, “Thanks again for your help with the car.”

  She was sure Riley hadn’t meant anything by his statement. It was completely harmless small-town gossip really but it just confirmed all of her worst fears. Her father was sick. He’d been sick for a while and he hadn’t told her about it. Worse, the entire town seemed to think she knew about it and had abandoned him in his time of need. And she’d been worried about the gossip of coming home single? That was the least of her concerns now.

  Zach watched Bluebell as she grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. Her face and neck were flushed a light crimson. Her big blue eyes looked glassy and he’d have sworn he saw her bottom lip tremble before she steeled her shoulders back and marched out of the bar.

  She was upset. He couldn’t read if it was anger or pain but Riley had obviously hit a nerve. If he was one of the good guys he’d probably go after her, apologize for his dipshit little brother’s rude comments and think of something nice to say. But since nobody had ever made the mistake of labeling him one of the good guys he watched her go and held his tongue.

  Still, he couldn’t help watching her leave. Her blonde hair swinging, that short navy dress swaying around her slim thighs. Those sexy ass heels she’d been wearing earlier on the side of the road clicked on the hardwood floors and he had to adjust his jeans. The woman might be all kinds of difficult but she was damn pretty.

  “What’d I say?”

  He resisted the urge to smack Riley across the back of the head, barely, “And you’re supposed to be the smart one? Her daddy’s sick and you thought that was
a good topic of conversation?”

  “Oh…” Riley looked to where the door was swinging shut, “I was just making small-talk. Should I go after her and apologize?”

  “No.” Zach growled at the idea of Riley chasing her down and then shook away that reaction, “No, let her go. She probably just needs some time alone.”

  “Yeah okay.” Riley lifted his beer to his lips, “Knew I never should have called you over, it was going pretty well up until you showed up.”

  “Uh huh. I’m sure.”

  He’d once had that youthful ego Riley was so good at so he didn’t read a lot into the idea that Bluebell had actually been interested in the kid. Even if she had been, outing her sick Daddy hadn’t done Riley any favors. He’d have grinned at the impossibility of his youngest brother even getting close to a chance with a woman like her if it didn’t also make him irrationally annoyed.

  “I’m going to head out. You want to go?”

  “Nah. Think I’ll have another beer.” He shook his head.

  The idea of going back to the ranch still wasn’t sitting well with him. He’d driven around for half an hour earlier before his anger subsided and he retreated to the house to apologize to his mother. She’d been long gone though so he’d showered, changed and left again as quickly as he could.

  “Trolling? Want a wingman?”

  He snorted. The only woman in the room he’d had even a slight interest in seeing naked his little brother had just driven from the premises in a cloud of tears. He didn’t need any more help in that department.

  “Nah, just a beer and I’ll head that way.”

  Riley nodded and disappeared into the crowd while he sucked down the last of his beer and headed to the bar for another. He needed some time away from the ranch to think. He had no intention of walking away from it but the more he had time to think the more he wondered if it wasn’t the right decision to let his brothers take the reins and guide the future.

  He could climb atop a stool and fend off the advances of women he had no interest in or he could get out of dodge. He ordered a bottle of water, washed it down and headed out once he was sure Riley was long gone. He slipped into his Ford and flipped on the radio at the same time he turned up the music and rolled the windows down.

  There was nothing like the feeling of freedom he got rolling across the highway just a little bit faster than the speed limit allowed. It had always been that way. He liked the freedom, though he’d never really felt free, not since he was a teenager and the world was set in front of him like a pearl.

  It’d closed on him but he didn’t blame anybody in particular for that. People died every day. People lost their loved ones all the time. His dad had died and he’d stepped up. It was just the way life worked out.

  He didn’t hate his life. He loved Fate. He didn’t see himself ever living anywhere else. He never had. But the fact he’d been given less of a choice in it had always irked him.

  As long as he stayed busy, as long as he worked and did what was expected it never overpowered him so that’s what he did. If he was busy counting cattle, branding and working he didn’t have to think about what he’d rather be doing. He liked it that way.

  It was the slower times, times like now when the ranch practically ran itself that he started to question his life plan, that he started to get restless. That was probably a decent enough reason for why he’d started carving up his childhood home. It didn’t have to mean more than that.

  He caught sight of the night sky and felt at home for the first time in a few days. Fate was always going to be his home. This place with its silly gossip and small-town drama was where he belonged. Hitting the road always reinforced that.

  Sometimes, when he set out for a drive in the dead of night, needing to move, needing to be anywhere but sitting still and thinking his thoughts drifted to that day. He’d barely been eighteen and just a senior in high school when the call came over the intercom that the principal wanted to see him. He’d been in that office a half dozen times but he hadn’t skipped school or been caught smoking in the bathroom in a while so he’d wrongly assumed it had something to do with one of his brothers. Principal Rangier had been the one to tell him to collect his things and go to the hospital. It was his father.

  The rest of that day was a blur. Riley crying in the hallway of the hospital. His mother collapsing when the doctor gave them the horrible news. Devin turning to stone before his eyes and simply sinking into a chair, staying silent for what felt like days.

  The next thing he’d known he came to not knowing how much time had past but feeling the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders. His college scholarship was forgotten. He got his diploma and got on the tractor. He made sure his mother remembered to eat and his brothers did their homework. He’d gone to bed a kid and woke up an adult.

  Now he was thirty-six years old and his brothers were adults too. They wanted to take control. They wanted to call the shots for once. He wasn’t sure he knew how to let them.

  For the first time since he was that eighteen year old kid he felt lost. He hated that feeling, hated feeling weak and useless. He needed a purpose, a distraction.

  So he’d done the only thing he could do. He tore apart his house and set about fixing it. He could control the construction, the demolition and the rebuilding. It gave him something to do with his hands and a way to turn his brain off for a few hours. He enjoyed it but that didn’t mean he was turning his back on the ranch or his family.

  Still, the idea of leaving behind the rancher’s world did have its appeal. He didn’t have to leave for good. Fate was his home, the ranch was his home. But if Devin and Riley wanted to take over the day to day operations maybe that wasn’t such a terrible thing.

  Zach was good at taking care of people. He was good at making sure things got done. Maybe it was time to take a step back and see if he was good at anything else.

  Chapter Five

  “You may kiss your bride.”

  Blue watched Molly’s new husband bend her over his arm and lay a big smacking kiss on her. Something tightened in her chest. Not jealousy, just a small twitch of envy.

  Someday she’d like to stand in front of a minister and a room full of gossipy people that’d known her since she was born and promise to love a good man forever and ever. Watching the newly married Molly flush and giggle and beam was just a reminder of how far she was from her own happily ever after. She painted her best fake smile across her face and followed the happy couple back down the aisle.

  She’d been using her fake smile all day but nobody seemed to notice. Today wasn’t about her and despite the occasional whispering she’d noticed as Woody led her down the aisle to stand at the front of the First Baptist Church, she’d mostly gone invisible. For that much she was thankful.

  She’d felt eyes on her the entire time she stood at the altar but she’d managed to keep her chin up and her attention on the happy couple. It helped that Molly’s younger sister Maddie had been crying her eyes out. She kept sniffling and muttering something about happily ever after. Blue tried to console the girl but she’d insisted they were tears of joy, whatever that meant. As it was she took some of the spotlight off Blue and for that she liked the girl.

  The tangerine disaster of a dress was hideous. She was tucked into it the best her strapless bra would allow but even still her cleavage was on full display. She’d never considered herself well-endowed. She had a decent set that matched her frame but she rarely hung out of clothing and despite pulling the top up repeatedly she was definitely hanging out.

  It was a small victory that the other bridesmaids seemed to be having the same problem. The prom dress from hell didn’t look good on the voluptuous cousins or the stick-thin sister either. If she hadn’t known Molly was the least vindictive person on the planet she’d have thought the dress was some sort of payback for kissing Todd Lovett in the eighth grade knowing full well Molly had liked him.

  “Ready for the party?” Woody asked as they
cleared the back of the church.

  “Oh yeah.” She nodded and kept her fake smile firmly in place.

  She could use a glass of wine. That was the only part of the party she was looking forward to. The rest of her wanted to race to the back room where her purse was waiting, burn the God awful dress, grab the Audi keys and get out of town.

  Which she couldn’t do, she reminded herself for the thousandth time. Even if she didn’t have to play the doting bridesmaid for another hour or so at the reception she wasn’t leaving Fate until she cornered her father and made him talk to her. Lord knew how long that’d take.

  By the time she got back to the ranch house the night before he’d been in bed. When she woke up he was already out in the barn working with Lucy and the stud from Fort Worth. She’d demanded answers, had stood her ground, even yelled a little but he’d given her that disapproving scowl, told her they’d talk on Sunday and that he was busy. Damn the man.

  “Honey, you did so good!” Woody’s wife appeared, taking his arm and pulling him away from Blue.

  She tried not to roll her eyes. It wasn’t like she was trying to steal the man. She didn’t want him but apparently being single meant she might pilfer husbands. She’d noticed more than one of the groomsmen’s wives clutching their men a little tighter when she was around. Like she was that desperate? Hardly!

  Her chest squeezed again, reminding her that she had a full night of loneliness to look forward to. All around her the couples were pairing off again. Even the crazy cat lady Anna Louise Sanchez seemed to have a date for the big event. She was one of the only women in attendance flying solo which was just peachy since they’d started taking pictures and she was standing on the outskirts all alone.

  After the pictures, as they made their way over to the reception hall Molly grabbed her in a tight hug, “Oh you just look so pretty Bluebell.”

  “Thanks.” She flashed her real smile, “You look beautiful Molly. Truly. Congratulations.”