Crashing Into Tess Read Online Free PDF Page B

the supermarket, the bumper banged up, the
headlight missing. Her eyes narrowed as she watched a thin
girl get out. Long blonde curls bobbing, the girl grabbed a
cart and headed through the glass double doors. Jake pulled
into a parking spot.
    Hah! I’ve got news for you and that little mermaid,
Jake. That police report is my ticket out of here! Once I
show the judge you’re a drunk, you’ll be bankrolling my
new life in sunny California. If you’re lucky, you might see
Cassie at Christmas and Easter. Two weeks in summer, too,
if you’ll agree to cover my cruise.
    Parking in front of the bank branch, Vicki smiled at her
reflection in the mirror as she unclasped the large black
alligator purse that matched her stilettos. She opened a mint
tin, popped two little yellow pills into her lipsticked mouth,
and washed them down with the can of diet Coke in her
console. Breakfast of champions. . .These will hold me until
lunch!
*****
    Idling in the fire lane, Jake watched Tess walk into the
pharmacy , admiring the way her knit pants hugged her
willowy thighs and curvy little butt. Focus, Jake. You’re
getting carried away, here.
    He swallowed, pulled into the nearest parking spot, and
called the ranch. “We’ll have the cattle loaded and be on
the road in the next forty-five minutes,” his foreman Larry
said, “Why don’t you just stay put?”
    It was just what he wanted to hear. Drowsy in the
sunlight, he tilted his hat and leaned back for a nap. He was
enjoying Tess’s company. Two ranches kept him busy, but it
wasn’t the same as being needed, taking care of things, the
way it had been when Cassie was around. I could fall for
Tess in a heartbeat, but she’s only here until spring.
    When Tess came through the automatic doors with a
cart load of groceries, he pulled the truck to the curb.
“Look, just climb in and relax while I load this stuff,” he
offered, opening her door. She rolled her eyes. “What?” he
asked.
    “I feel like my Dad’s mother, Granny Esther. My
grandfather does everything for her. I’m not ancient, you
know.”
    “You’re not ancient, but you are banged up. You’ll need
to take it easy the next week or so, Tess,” he said gruffly,
feeling the blush crawl up his neck.
    They let Rhiannon run in the park, and he took her
down Main Street to show her the library, courthouse, and
the movie theater.
    “So you think I’ll find some good stuff here?” she
asked when he pulled to the curb at the thrift store, , blue
eyes wide.
“Best show in town for a girl with an empty
apartment,” he answered.
    She hopped from the truck, flashing him another killer
smile. “I might be a little while.”
“Take your time, I’ll be here.”
Unable to stifle a grin, he pulled his hat over his face
and leaned back, absently stroking Rhiannon. Twenty
minutes later, the passenger door swung open. Tess’s blue
eyes gleamed with excitement, her hair a shining halo. She
looked like an angel, floating on adrenaline and endorphins.
“I scored big! I got this great set of old restaurant china
from this place called the ‘Halfway Hotel.' The lady inside,
Gertrude, said it came from somewhere up near Pike’s
Peak. There’s a little a pickaxe and miner’s pan on every
piece!”
He smiled as she rambled on, breathless with
enthusiasm. “I found drinking glasses and mugs and a cast
iron frying pan and a tea kettle and a pot or two to get
started, and they’ve got a gorgeous oak dresser and chest of
drawers. Do you mind helping me get it all over to my
place?”
“Might as well load the truck up, while we’re here,” he
said agreeably.
In the store, Gertrude was wrapping at the counter. She
greeted Jake with her sweet, steady smile.
He tied the dresser and chest of drawers behind the
cab, then started on the boxes lining the floor between the
aisles. When Tess was next to him in the truck again, he
cocked an eyebrow. “I sure bet the thrift shop appreciates
your arrival.”
“Do you