Crazy (The Gibson Boys, #4)

by Adriana Locke

Besides her annoyance, there’s no sign she’s been through something like Dylan described. Dylan. I grin.

Thinking of Dylan with her hands on her hips makes me grin again.

… stupid. A grin splits my cheeks as I imagine the look on Dylan’s face when she realizes her mistake. A chuckle rumbles past my lips as I consider the reaction of that little spitfire when that happens because it will. Linton is too small of a town for it not to.

“I’m happy to see you bringing those by,” I say, clearing my throat. “Even though they aren’t her old ones, they’ll do.” “I couldn’t find the old ones.” “Pawned them.” He fights a laugh. “I’m doing the best I can here, okay?” I lean against the doorframe and take him in. He’s so disarming with his blond hair poking out the sides of his cap and tall, lanky frame. And no man should have lashes that long. It’s just not fair.

“Because if I start giving you answers, you’re gonna feel really stupid, and I don’t want to see your pretty little face all scrunched up in embarrassment.”

He takes his hat off and scratches the top of his head. “But I brought the pans back and paid for the gas. So maybe I’m a good thief like the good witch in the Wizard of Oz.” “She was still a witch,” I say. “But pretty in that pink dress. It was pink, right? It’s been a while.”

The bar is flooded with light. The front door opens, and Dylan steps inside. My stomach flip flops at the sight of her. She has on the same cutoffs that she had on the day she ripped my ass at Dave’s. A T-shirt falls easily off one shoulder. It has a rainbow across the front.

Dylan presses her lips together. Still, there’s a hint of a smile that makes me grin. I don’t know what it is about her refusal to be nice to me that’s so amusing, but it is.

I’ve been waiting to hit Dylan flushes over her face. Her eyes widen before they narrow. The apples of her cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink as she starts putting pieces of things together. I retreat again, quicker this time—

Both of them watch me for a reaction. Navie is mildly entertained, but Dylan looks mostly shocked. If I had the balls to laugh at her pretty little face scrunched up in horror, I would. Buuuut I don’t. Not even close.

“Also,” I add since they’re being quiet. “I’m still the cute best friend here. I won’t relinquish that title.” Still … nothing. I slide my hat on backward again. “I’m going to figure out who is going to feed me tonight. Good night, ladies.” “I heard Sienna made Walker chicken noodle soup today,” Machlan calls as he comes out of the storeroom again.

Leaning against the tractor, I grin as Dylan steps out of the car. “I’m Peck,” I call out. “Just thought I’d start everything off right this time.” She grins. “I got that. Thanks.”

She’s so darn pretty. I take her in as she approaches and realize I’m not even looking at her physical traits. I’m smiling at the possibility of what’s going to come from her mouth. Despite her jazzing me, bantering back and forth with her and having her give as good as she gets is entertaining. I chuckle.

Her shirt glues to her body as she bounces, her hair shifting around her shoulders. It’s playful and fun and fucking sexy, and I’m not prepared when she loses her balance. Her flip-flop must get wet because she slides to the side, her legs splitting apart into a wide stance, and she grabs my arm to steady herself. Her hands wrap around my bicep. They’re small and dainty, but her grip is strong. I flex without thinking, and her eyes light up. She looks up at me, her lips parted. My throat goes dry as I try to keep myself unaffected—or at least something other than grabbing her and kissing that look off her face.

I did buy them so I wouldn’t have to see you like that again. Damn, girl. You can be scary. But I don’t mind seeing you like this.” The corner of her lips twitch, but a smile doesn’t come. I lean against the window that overlooks the shop bay. “Fine. I kind of like seeing you when you’re not pissed, okay? Does that make you happy?” She grins. “Yup. Thanks.”

she says, cutting me off. The spark is back in her eyes. Funny that it makes the pain in my chest evaporate too.

She pulls her hair on top of her head. An elastic comes from her wrist, and in two seconds flat, she’s piled her hair into some messy looking bundle. I wonder vaguely if that’s what it looks like when she gets out of bed.

Even if I wanted to say no, which I don’t, I couldn’t. There’s no way to say no to a woman who looks like that when she’s inviting you to dinner. Plus, I kind of like bantering with her. Plus plus, I love not having to find food on my own.

I cover the meatballs with a lid and try to reason why a woman would blow a guy like Peck off if she knew he was into her. I’d bet double or nothing on my HAS budget that his body is rock hard under all those car company T-shirts. And he’s so damn funny and sweet and kind—so far, anyway. I suppose he could, theoretically, not be her type, but I don’t know a woman who wouldn’t die over him.

Sure, he’s adorable with a heavy dose of subtle sexiness that’s pretty incredible. But he also seems like really good friendship material. He can take a joke. His patience runs deep. Quite frankly, he’s the kind of guy I should make friends with.

“I’m glad she’s gone,” he says. My mouth goes dry. “Why?” “Have you ever seen how much that girl can eat? Now that she’s gone, that just means more meatballs for me.” He winks as he walks by me and into the kitchen area. “Tell me you made garlic bread.” A laugh topples from my lips. “I did.”

“Does it ever occur to you to breathe when you’re talking? Or do you just worry about that if you pass out from oxygen deprivation?”

“Oh, my gosh. That’s so adorable.” The apples of his cheeks turn red. His brows pull together, and he slides his phone out of his pocket. With a finger hovered over the screen, he looks up at me.

“I hate this because your cooking is awesome, and I didn’t quite mind bantering with you either.” He smiles. “But my nana has mixed up all her meds. She had a heart attack not that long ago, and I need to get over there and re-sort her pills before she kills herself.”

I stand in the middle of the driveway and breathe in the clean air in hopes it settles me a bit. I’ve fought myself all morning not to get here too early. After I drank my coffee slowly, I took the longest shower of my life, then checked on Nana, left Vincent a voicemail, and did a quick scope of Crank to ensure Walker didn’t need me.

Dylan is just … cool. Easy to talk to. Pretty to look at. Funny as hell. Wanting to spend more time with her isn’t the craziest thing I’ve ever had to justify. I head up the driveway and enter the garage.

All night, I wished I could’ve stayed. It was like hanging out with Walker’s girl, Sienna, or Machlan’s girlfriend, Hadley. Being around both of them feels like being with family. Like I can say or do anything without it being held over my head—in a bad way, anyway. My family roasts me for years over every stupid thing. At least I know they care. Dylan is like that. But more … exciting.

This could be a terrible idea. It’s probably a terrible idea. I try to talk myself out of saying what I’m about to say because … well, because of a lot of things. Because of that old saying not to fix what’s not broken. Because she’s so pretty. Because it would be an invasion of my personal space, and I’d be asking her to do it so I can’t even get mad when it happens.

She wants to argue with me, but she can’t. I’m her only option, and I’m not upset about that. “Fine,” she says with a grin. “I would love to stay with you for a while.” I look at the sky and sigh. “Like you’re doing me some big favor.” “Oh, but I am,” she says cheekily. “Only if you cook a lot. Can we add that to your rent? Like you have to make dinner when you can so I don’t have to go find it every night.”

“That’s a waste.” “It was. Now I have you.” We exchange a smile. The air between us picks up, and a gentle breeze carries the scent of cat pee our way. We both make a sour face.

“Hey, Peck.” “Yeah?” She smiles. “Thanks for this. All of it.” “Yeah. Of course.” There’s more she wants to say, but she doesn’t. She climbs in her car instead. It’s for the best. I need to figure out what the fuck just happened anyway.

“If I had known you were a hoarder, I wouldn’t have invited you to come here,” Peck says. He wipes his brow with the back of his head. “If I see another box labeled ‘Not Sure’ …”

I brush a strand of hair off my forehead. Peck watches me like he has all the time in the world and doesn’t have anywhere else to be. I’ve noticed this is a thing with him. When he’s with you or talking to you, he’s with you or talking to you. It would be unnerving except for the fact that he seems like he cares.

“Trash.” I gasp. “You did not just call my life’s treasures trash.” “No,” he says, his blue eyes sparkling. “I called some random shit you just rattled off trash. But if the candle holders were made outta gold or something or if the ornament had your dog’s paw print from its first Christmas with ya, then that’s obviously not trash.”

“You walk too fast.” His smile touches his eyes. Leaning against the rail, he waits on me to catch up.

His brows pull together. He’s even cuter when he’s serious. Damn it.

His laugh is quick and loud and, even though I know it’s at me, I laugh too. “I might just cancel my home security with you around, Hawkeye,” he chuckles. “A saltshaker? Really?” “It’s all I had.” “Just a helpful hint—knives are in that drawer,” he says, pointing behind me. “Unless you have some super skill I don’t know about, they’ll come in handier than a damn saltshaker.”

“I like it,” I say. “Well, good, because there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.” He looks at his watch. “Anything else? Or are you sure I’m not a murderer?”

“And you’re pinning your safety on that? My name?” No, I’m pinning it on that smile. “Yeah. You got a problem with that?” “Nope. Your life.” He grins. “Now come on. We have somewhere to be.”

The light fills the room as he pulls the door open. He stops with his hand on the knob and looks at me. He grins. “There’s not a damn thing wrong with how you look. Now come on before dinner gets cold.”

Either I’m way too easy to read, or she’s making a stab in the dark, but she’s not altogether wrong. I’ve never done this.

Like bringing a lady to meet the most important person in my life would be the moment I knew I’d found the person for me. Yet here I am, sitting in the driveway with a girl I barely know.

but the longer I take in her button nose and the spray of freckles across her cheeks, the more I kind of want to take her into Nana’s with me.

Dylan eyes me carefully with a smidgen of trepidation in her eyes as she walks slowly up the wooden planks. I follow, gazing at a trail of dirt down her right side. It bends at the curve of her hip and slides down the back of her shorts.

She turns and looks at me. My chest rises and falls so quickly that I’m aware of it. So many things are running through my mind, and I can’t sort them all. Especially knowing Nana has undoubtedly seen us by now and is waiting on us to come in—probably loaded with a hundred questions and even more presumptions.

take in her rosy cheeks and the soft curve of her lips. I’d be damn proud to walk in there with her hand in mine. It would thrill Nana to death. Probably literally. I make a mental note to be this sure of the woman I do take to meet my grandma someday.

I cough like I’ve been knocked in the gut. And in the balls. They both ache like a motherfucker.

The contact doesn’t help. At all. Cringing, I take a step back. “Please behave,” I almost beg. “Define behave.” “Why do you have to make everything hard?” She fights back a laugh as I realize the innuendo she just ran with. “I make things hard. Good to know.” The inside of my cheek burns as I bite down on it. “Sorry.” She clears her throat. “So I should make it clear that we aren’t screwing?” “Can we not talk about us screwing on my grandmother’s back porch?”

My attempt at adjusting myself doesn’t go by unnoticed. She doesn’t even pre...

My lips part when a tapping sound rings out from the sliding glass door behind Dylan. Nana stands on the other side, her face lit up. This is gonna be fun.