She’s Gone Country Read Online Free PDF

for a shoot today. Said they’d been trying to reach you since last night.”
    I walk around the truck to the driver’s side. “How’d they find you?”
    “I guess I’m an emergency contact. Anyway, you need to call them and then hightail it into Dallas.”
    “I’ve got to take the boys to school.”
    “I’ll take them. You need to do this. It’s always great money, and it’d be good for you to get off the ranch for the day.”
    “I’m okay here—”
    “Mama’s thinking about moving back home.”
    “What?”
    Brick tips his hat back. “She thinks you need her, that you’re in over your head and can’t handle the boys—”
    “That’s ridiculous! I’m doing fine. Everything’s fine.”
    “That’s not what she says.”
    “Because Mama’s a busybody!”
    Brick gives me a long look. “Yes, she is. And if you don’t want her taking up residence with you in the next couple weeks, you better pull it together and look like you actually enjoy life.”
    “I do.”
    “Aw, Shey, you’ve always been thin, but you’re downright puny now. The only thing I ever see you put in your mouth is coffee. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were smoking again—”
    “I’m not.”
    “You’re not taking any pills? Calmers, tranquilizers like Valium, Xanax, anything?”
    “No!” I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him. “I’ve never taken anything. You know how I feel about stuff like that, especially after Cody’s problems with substances.”
    He reaches out, pushes a long blond tendril from my face. “Do you know you shake, hon? You can’t even hold a pen without your hand trembling. Mama noticed. Charlotte’s noticed. Even I’ve noticed.”
    His protectiveness touches me. “I’m just tired, Brick. I don’t sleep like I used to.”
    “Maybe we need to take you out of the office and away from the books and put you in the barn instead. A day or two of hauling hay and mucking out stalls might help you with the sleep problem.”
    I crack a smile. “Maybe.”
    The front door opens and the boys come tumbling out of the house, voices raised in anger. “They’re at it again,” I groan.
    “You can’t be soft,” Brick answers.
    “I’m not.”
    He gives me another long look before laying on the horn. The horn shuts the boys up. “Get in,” he orders, “I’m taking you to school today. Your mom’s got something to do.”
    My boys look at me with surprise. “What are you doing, Mom?” Cooper asks, at my side for a good-bye kiss.
    I kiss Cooper’s cheek and answer that I might have a modeling job.
    “Modeling what? Tractors?” Bo snorts.
    “You’re such a jerk, Bo,” Hank mutters as he climbs into the truck to ride shotgun.
    Cooper grimaces at me as Bo jumps past him to get into the cab’s backseat. “Have a good day, Mom.”
    “I will. You too.”
    I lift my hand in farewell as the truck door closes and Brick drives off. Cooper turns to wave good-bye from the back. I shake my head. My boys. Hellions, each of them.
    With the boys gone, I go in search of my cell phone and find it on the floor of Pop’s old truck. As Brick suspected, the battery is dead, and I have to plug it in in the kitchen to retrieve messages. One from Mama and three from Joanne at Stars.
    I call the number Joanne’s left for me, which must be her cell since the agency doesn’t open for another two hours. Joanne answers right away. “You finally got my message?” she asks.
    “I did, sorry, the phone was in the truck.”
    “Are you available?”
    “I could be. Where do I go, how long is the shoot?”
    “It’s for a Dillard’s newspaper insert the day after Thanksgiving. They’ll pay you your hourly rate. You’re to be on location in Highland Park in an hour—”
    “Oh, then there’s no way. I’m two full hours from Highland Park. My brother lives there and I’ve never made it in less than two hours, and that’s without traffic.”
    “I’ll tell them you’ll be there as soon as you