Jared: Red, Hot, & Blue, Book 4

Dedication

For my editor, Heidi, who makes edits
nearly
pain free.

Chapter One

Jared Gordon considered himself a lucky man. He had a steaming hot mug of coffee and a piece of mile-high lemon meringue pie in front of him. The diner’s a/c unit pumped cool air out of the vent just above him, allowing him to forget the beastly southern summer heat outdoors. Directly opposite him sat Bobby Barton, one of his best friends and the town’s deputy sheriff, which was handy in case he ever got into trouble.

Life was good until
she
walked through the door.

“Aww, shit.” Jared slumped down in his seat and shielded his eyes with one hand.

Bobby glanced up from his own plate of Apple Crisp a la Mode and smirked. “You brought that one on yourself, kiddo.”

Just what Jared needed at this moment in time, a smart-ass attitude. “Yeah, thanks. Nice way to be a friend, Bobby.”

Bobby continued to look too amused at Jared’s predicament. “You know damn well I warned you off her. She wants a wedding ring on her finger in the worst way. Hooking a successful horseman like you would have been right up her alley.”

Jared risked a glance at Sue Ann, the woman in question, as she sashayed her shapely hips over to the counter. Those hips had been his downfall to begin with. Sleeping with her was a risk he should never have taken, just like daring to sneak a look at her now. He was punished for both by a wicked glare over her shoulder before she leaned in and started whispering with Misty, the waitress behind the counter. From the way they both looked at him, it was pretty obvious what the topic of conversation was.

He groaned and Bobby laughed again.

“This town is too small, Jared. You can’t go fishing in the local pond if you’re only going to throw your catch back after you’re through with it.”

Pigeon Hollow was a small town, way too small to avoid running into a pissed-off ex. Bobby was right about that much, but Sue Ann had convinced Jared she was in it for the same thing he was. Sex. Armed with that, Jared tried to defend himself. “She agreed it was just a casual thing. Just two adults scratching an itch every once in a while.”

That elicited a rude noise from Bobby. “Yeah, right. Jared, what women say and what they mean are usually the exact opposite in my experience. You better give up on women and stick to horses. At least you know something about them.”

“Hey, I knew enough to get the hell out of there when she started hinting marriage.” Jared wasn’t a complete idiot. He simply hadn’t anticipated her reaction to his maybe-we-should-just-be-friends speech.

“You were lucky. I wouldn’t put it past that one to try
anything
to snag herself a hubby.” Bobby raised a brow knowingly while bobbing his head with a wisdom-filled nod.

“Oh, no. I’m too smart for that. She kept telling me she was on the pill, but I still took care of things myself. With two older brothers, that message has been drilled into my head since long before I hit puberty.”

Bobby looked impressed. “Good to hear. How are Jack and Jimmy anyway?”

“They’re back at the base, happily protecting the country from the bad guys. They call a couple of times a week. It keeps Mama happy. She misses them a lot.”

“And you don’t?” Bobby looked skeptical.

“Yeah, I do. It was nice having them both home for a while.” When Jack and Jimmy had been home on leave recently, it had made Jared realize how much he missed having his brothers around. At least he still had his good old friend, Bobby.

“Well, do me a favor. Next time they’re coming home for a visit, can you give me some notice? It seems trouble follows those two around.”

“I’ve often thought that myself.” Jared laughed. “I’ll be sure to let you know.”

He watched Sue Ann still chatting up the waitress and wondered if he ever dared eat here again. Since this was the only diner around for miles, his choices were pretty limited. Of a more immediate concern, he figured the chances of getting a refill on his coffee today were slim to none.

After glancing into his near empty mug, Jared looked up at Bobby. “What day does your sister, Lizzie, waitress here?”

“Why?” Bobby frowned. His voice held a deep, menacing tone.

Bobby was very protective of his little sister. Jared couldn’t really blame him. Lizzie Barton was the single mother of a nine-year-old son. Jared also knew—hell, everybody did—that there was a bit of history between the Bartons and the Gordons. Jared’s brother Jack and Bobby’s other sister, Mary Sue, had had some wild times back in high school. However, Mary Sue was not the sister in question here and as far as Jared knew, no Gordon man had ever messed with Lizzie Barton.

“Relax. Jeez, Bobby. You know she’s like a sister to me too. I just figure it may not be safe to come here for a while unless Lizzie serves me since you-know-who is so chummy with the other waitress.” Jared kept his voice low and cocked a head in the direction of Sue Ann. She turned from the counter and walked past their table with a withering glare.

Bobby’s face broke out into a grin again, which was as bad as an I told you so, maybe worse. Bobby’s eyes followed Sue Ann out the door. “Be afraid, Jared. Be very afraid.”

Jared rolled his eyes. “Thanks a lot. You’re so helpful.”

Bobby scooped the last of his pie into his mouth, slurped one more sip of coffee and stood. Digging into his pocket, he threw some cash on the table. “If it’s safe to leave you unprotected from the woman scorned, I have to get back to work now.”

Jared scowled. As if Bobby didn’t take hour-long coffee breaks all day long, but actually he should get back to the farm himself. Jared nodded, finishing the last of his own pie.

“All right.” He longed for another sip of hot coffee to go with the last few bites of pie but knew he wasn’t going to get it. “Check on Lizzie’s schedule for me.”

He heard Bobby laughing as the door swung shut behind him.

Jared added more money to what was already on the table and was about to leave when he thought better of it. He wouldn’t put it past Misty, as one of Sue Ann’s closest friends, to accuse him of not paying his check. You never knew what a woman would do for another woman to get back at a man. It was practically a global conspiracy.

He gathered up the check, Bobby’s cash and his own, and carried it up to the cash register. What had this world come to that a man couldn’t enjoy his pie in peace without fear of retribution?

Jared had been so involved with his paranoia over Sue Ann that he’d failed to notice the stranger who now stood at the counter, tapping her foot like a jackhammer against the faded linoleum floor.

He raised a brow with interest. They didn’t get many strangers in Pigeon Hollow. By the looks of her, she didn’t come from any of the towns nearby either.

Firstly, she was dressed in a suit, long-sleeved jacket and all, in spite of the summer heat. Just from that he could tell she was someone who usually spent her days in an air-conditioned office somewhere. Secondly, she was so impatient she was practically vibrating. Locals knew things moved at a different pace in the South, especially in the heat of the summer.

The stranger was huffing and puffing and shooting dagger-filled looks at the waitress, who bused his table while she ignored them both at the counter. Jared was the reason they were being ignored, so he did feel a bit responsible. Being a Southern gentleman, born and bred, he decided to step in and help the stranger in need. It didn’t hurt his decision that she was sexy as hell and new females were nearly non-existent around here.

Jared adjusted his cowboy hat and took a good look at her ass in that skirt as he did. “What do ya’ need, darlin’?”

She spun to look at him. “You work here?”

“No, but I’ll yell to Mac back there. He’ll get it for you.” The owner of the diner was in the kitchen cooking. Jared could see him through the opening in the wall.

“All I want is a cup of coffee to go. Since I haven’t seen a Starbucks anywhere, I’d hoped I could get one here.” She glanced one more time at the waitress who still hadn’t acknowledged their presence.

Thinking more caffeine was probably the last thing this tightly strung babe needed, Jared nodded. “You surely can. Best coffee in town.”

He didn’t add that it was also practically the only coffee in town, if you didn’t count the McDonald’s. Fast-food coffee that came in one of those squashy Styrofoam excuses for a cup didn’t appeal to him. He liked a real mug. Something a man could wrap his hands around. Come to think of it, that was the quality he looked for in a woman too.

Jared leaned over the counter. “Hey, Mac. This little lady here wants a coffee to go.”

“Where’s Misty?” Mac’s growled response came from the back. Looking hot and cranky, he peered out of the pass-through between the kitchen and the counter.

Jared glanced at the waitress and decided not to dig his own grave any deeper with her by telling Mac she was ignoring him on purpose. “Uh, she’s busy.”

Mac grumbled his way to the front and poured coffee into a to-go cup, shoving a plastic lid, the cream and the sugar at her.

As citified and impatient as she’d acted at first, Mac’s gruffness seemed to put the stranger on her best behavior. “Thank you so much. How much do I owe you?”

“Just the coffee?” Mac asked.

“The coffee and directions, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Coffee is seventy-five. Directions are free.” Even gruff old Mac started to warm up to her.

She was a looker, in a perfect, polished, city sort of way. Sleek blonde hair, cut in what he supposed was a fashionable style. Pretty blue eyes. Perfect nails painted in pale pink with the white edges showing.

“Seventy-five cents?” She looked surprised. Jared noticed she had four single dollar bills in her hand. Four dollars for one cup of coffee? She was definitely a city person. She put one bill down on the counter and pushed it toward Mac. “Keep the change.”

“Thanks. Now where do you need to go?” Mac shoved the money in the register.

Jared took that opportunity to slide his own bill and cash onto the counter, but his hand stopped dead for a second when he heard the woman say, “Gordon Equine? It’s a horse farm. Do you know it?”

Mac raised a brow and glanced sideways at Jared. “Sure do. And what business do you have with the Gordons, pretty lady? You in the market for a stud?”

Now it was her turn to raise a brow. She pursed her lips, as if considering. “Perhaps.”

Mac laughed boisterously in his gruff voice and cocked his head in Jared’s direction. “This here fella can give you directions. I got something on the stove.”

Hmm. What could this tough cookie from the city want with him?

Jared decided not to tip his hand just yet. He gave her directions all right, the long way to the farm, which would give him just enough time to arrive right before her.

Sure, it was juvenile, but hell, you had to make your own entertainment around Pigeon Hollow. Who better to make it with than a pretty blonde stranger who might possibly be in the market for a Gordon stud?

Chapter Two

Mandy Morris opened the door of her rental car and got a face full of viciously hot air. The interior had gotten hellishly hot even during the very few minutes she’d been in the diner.

Holding her breath to fend off the unbreathable hot air, she got in and turned the key in the ignition. She flipped the a/c on high but it would take a while before the car reached a tolerable temperature. She rolled down the window while she waited, not that outside was any less stifling.

With her hot coffee securely stashed in the cup holder, she grabbed her pad and pencil from the passenger seat and started scribbling, ticking off the ideas aloud to herself as she wrote.

“Pigeon Hollow. Interesting characters. Cook at diner, Mac. Cutie that gave directions—need to investigate him further.”

She laid the pad back on the seat next to her so it would be accessible in case an idea came to her while she was driving, then gripped her coffee and took a sip. Not bad for seventy-five cents. What a difference from Los Angeles. You couldn’t get the empty cup in LA for seventy-five cents, forget about the coffee inside. She shook her head with amazement.

After rolling up the window, Mandy easily pulled the car out of the parking space and onto the main road that led out of town. Again she was amazed. You couldn’t drive anywhere in LA without getting bogged down in traffic either. Pigeon Hollow, the quintessential small town, was proving to be a nice change in many ways. Including the hot cowboys who hung around in the diner.

On Main Street—yes, that was the actual name—an antique-looking spinning red, white and blue pole announced the local barbershop. A little farther down, Mandy spotted a salon. If she did get stuck here for any length of time, at least she could get her nails done.

On the outskirts of town, she saw a typical small-town honky-tonk bar, neon beer signs and all. Right next door, conveniently located for both drunks and lovers, was the Hideaway Motel. She supposed if she decided to stay, this would be her only option for lodging. That was a bit frightening. Judging by the looks of it, the Beverly Hills Hotel it wasn’t. Oh, well. If it was really horrible, she could just get drunk next door and then pass out, oblivious to any horrors the room may hold.