Hell Yeah!: Gun Shy (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read Online Free PDF Page A

left.
    There probably wouldn’t even have been that if the ranch and the house hadn’t been in his mother’s name. She had willed the estate to her two sons. Even if his dad had wanted to drink it away, he couldn’t have.
    A wave of grief and regret pummeled him at the thought. As a kid he’d always imagined himself and his brother working the land together. But now he was the only one left.
    Damn Marcus Grant.
    Damn him to hell.
    At least there weren’t a ton of probate costs and Andy had a healthy savings from the years he’d served as a contractor to the military after he’d retired as a SEAL. So if he decided to stay and keep the ranch, he could afford it.
    He stilled as the thought hit him.
    Staying had never been the plan.
    Now, somehow, it not only seemed possible, but he might even enjoy it.
    In his hatred for his father, he’d completely forgotten how much he’d loved this town. How hard it had been at first to leave all his friends. Now, this unpleasant pit stop on his tour of the Southwest had become something more.
    It all revolved around her.
    A woman who wanted nothing more than friendship.
    Well, hell.
    He was staying.
    At least long enough to explore this.
    Until he was sure there could be nothing more between them, he was here for the duration.
     
     
    Melissa awoke in a warm nest to the smell of coffee and bacon.
    It took a second for her brain to shift into gear and when it did, when she recalled everything that had happened last night, she froze.
    She was in Andrew’s room. In his bed. And he was…humming.
    Cautiously, she cracked open a lid and peeped at the table by the window where he sat reading the paper and drinking from a Styrofoam cup. The paper plate in front of him was empty, but another sat covered on the other side of the table.
    She could only assume it was for her.
    He’d brought her breakfast.
    Her stomach growled and he glanced in her direction. When he saw she was awake, he lifted his coffee in a silent salute and went back to his reading.
    It was the fact he didn’t pin her with any intense scrutiny that encouraged her to sit up and edge off the bed.
    “How’d you sleep?” he asked without glancing up.
    She padded toward the table and sat, keeping her eyes on him the whole time. “Fine.” She carefully unwound the plastic silverware from the napkin and uncovered the plate.
    “It may be cold,” he said. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
    “I don’t mind,” she responded, but it was a complete lie. She hated nothing more than cold eggs. Except cold and snotty eggs. She poked at them with her fork. “Did you go to Millie’s Diner?”
    He did look up at that. His gaze tangled with hers and she struggled to remain blasé. But damn, he had beautiful eyes. “Is Millie’s Diner the one around the corner?”
    She grimaced. “Yes.”
    “That’s where I went.”
    “Well, for future reference, you’re better off going the extra block to the Sunshine Café if you like breakfast that hasn’t been basted in grease.”
    “Sorry.”
    She smiled to take the sting out of her criticism. Because she really did appreciate his thoughtfulness. “Willie was a short order cook for the Navy and old habits—”
    Andy chuckled and held up a hand. “’Nuff said. I spent half my life in a chow hall. I didn’t even notice that the eggs were bad. But the coffee’s good.”
    “Mmm. The coffee is always good at Millie’s.” She took a sip and moaned as the rich flavor warmed her.
    “Do you eat there often?”
    “Never,” she said on a laugh. She knew better. “I work there.”
    “Wait.” He put down his paper and fixed his attention on her. “I thought you worked at Hardbodies.”
    “I do.”
    “And Millie’s?”
    “Yep.” At his astonished expression, she added, “I’m saving up. For a place of my own.”
    “Ah. I see.”
    She almost believed he did.
    “Well, thank you for breakfast. It was very thoughtful.”
    He lifted an enormous shoulder. “I was getting