Good Time Bad Boy Read Online Free PDF Page A

annoyance.
    Wade said, “You gonna arrest me in my own home?”
    His youngest brother, Deputy Chris Sheppard, scowled as he returned the gun to its holster. “The alarm company called, said there was a possible break-in.”
    “My truck’s parked right outside, moron. How did you miss the thing?”
    Chris raised a hand. “That’s not the same truck you had last time.”
    “It damn well is. I’ve had it for years. You’ve driven it.” Wade shook his head. The fact that his idiot brother had managed to become a deputy did not give him faith in local law enforcement.
    “Well, why didn’t you call Mom or somebody and let us know you were here? Or were you planning on just passing through on your way to Nashville and not seeing us?”
    Wade flinched. He’d done that very thing too many times in the past, in his worst days. He softened his tone and said, “I just got here ten, maybe twenty minutes ago. I was going to drop my stuff off and be waiting at the house when Mom got home from work.”
    Chris rested his hands on his utility belt and looked around the living room. “So how long you back for?”
    “Not long.” Wade was damned if he was going to tell Chris about getting fired from the casino gig. “Just taking a little break.”
    “I’m sure everyone will be super excited to have Brittain’s biggest star back in town.”
    “Your ass is showing, and so is your jealousy.”
    “I for one am so glad to have you home.”
    “Can we not do this? For once, can we try to get along?” Wade knew the answer to that but he had to ask anyway.
    “Sure, why not?” Chris shrugged. “I’m not dating anybody right now, so it’s not like I’ve got a girlfriend for you to steal.”
    Wade stood stone-faced and let the old guilt hit him like he knew he deserved. During the worst of his drinking and partying days, after the divorce, he’d come home for the holidays one year. Chris had been dating a girl from a neighboring town and according to their mother, was starting to feel pretty serious about her. She didn’t feel the same, though, and Wade had been doing his best in those days not to feel anything. Chris caught them in her apartment. It hadn’t been pretty. The brothers had never gotten along well but after that, Chris hated him. Not that Wade could blame him – he’d done a terrible thing and hated himself for it for a long time. He’d tried apologizing a few times since but Chris wasn’t interested in forgiveness.
    Wade let the silence hang between them for another minute before speaking. “How’s Mom and Daddy? I call her but I know she doesn’t tell me everything.”
    “Why should she? We all know just how much you care about family.”
    This particular merry-go-round with Chris had gotten old years ago. “Okay, we’re done. You’re on duty and I’ve got things to do.”
    Chris shook his head. “Still such an arrogant prick, think you have the right to just dismiss me like that.”
    “You dismissed me a long time ago, Chris. Let’s just do our thing where we play nice in front of Mom and Daddy, and stay the hell away from each other otherwise.”
    “Sounds good to me.” Chris headed for the door. “Try not to trip your own alarm again, moron.”
    As the door slammed, tension bled out of Wade’s body. Why the hell could he never say the right thing to Chris? Even when he tried, the words got tangled up in all their ugly history and came out a mile away from what he meant.
    Coming back to this house, back to his hometown, was starting to feel like a mistake. What did he have here, other than the house itself? His youngest brother couldn’t stand him, with good reason. Their middle brother Hank was stationed on the other side of the planet right now. Mom loved him, of course, and would be glad to see him. But Chris was the one who lived in town, the one she saw all the time. He was her favorite too, whether she liked to admit it or not. Wade may have once been a star to everyone else, but he