Big Bad John (Bigger in Texas Series) Read Free

grimaced, but Caroline wasn’t looking in her direction. “Yeah, I know. It’s weird.”
    Not weird so much as perfectly timed. For all their sakes…but mostly for her own. She liked keeping her past and present separate, and she had been determined to keep her sex life private from her brother. She didn’t want him to know that she was thinking about teaching other people how to use rope for bondage scenes, or that she liked to be controlled and spanked. That she really got off on watching. She wasn’t ashamed of her kinky preferences, but it wasn’t something she wanted to share with him or anyone else in the outside world. It was hers. Her outlet. Talking about it outside of the club or outside of the online community she was a part of only tarnished it for her.
    Caroline was very involved in it all, truly in the lifestyle, and very open about it, so it was inevitable that the subject would come up when she and Jefferson got together. And like any older brother, Jefferson would subtly—or not so subtly—give her hell for it. While she trusted Caroline’s discretion absolutely, Trudy didn’t want to put her in the position of having to lie for her, which meant keeping the two of them apart for all their sakes.
    That was easier to do when Jefferson came to see her—then she could control the situation, avoid discomfort.
    There would be no avoiding it now.
    Trudy paused for a moment before following her lead, peeling off her damp jeans to replace them with a pair of longer cutoff shorts that she wore around the house for cleaning.
    Why she hadn’t heard horse hooves she’d never know. Maybe it was all the guilt and nerves buzzing in her ears.
    “Trudy? Gertrude Adams, is that you, girl?”
    Her hands momentarily froze before she hiked the shorts up over her lace underwear with a sigh. She knew that voice.
    “Mr. Giese?” She turned around and saw the old man clinging to his horse…and he wasn’t alone. “And Tommy. Look at you, all grown up.”
    The Giese’s owned the neighboring land, and Tommy Giese had been fourteen when she left home. He’d followed Trudy around everywhere she went, no matter how she tried to shake him. She did the math. He had to be twenty-seven now. He’d finally grown into his arms and legs. He was more handsome than she’d expected…though the leer on his face was still juvenile and familiar.
    He licked his lips and nodded his head. “I wasn’t expecting to see you, Trudy. Certainly not so much of you. Aren’t you some kind of rock star by now? Cute tattoo by the way. Is that a flying bunny on your hip? And those purple streaks in your hair…you do that on purpose too?”
    The older man glared at his son for a moment before tipping his frayed baseball cap toward Caroline and Trudy. “Pardon his manners, ladies. He gets them from his mama’s side, I’m afraid. Those people are rude to the bone. It’s good to see you again, Trudy. After your daddy’s funeral everyone in town laid bets you wouldn’t come round again until Jefferson’s. Has your brother taken a turn for the worse?”
    Tommy snorted. “He broke his leg being an idiot for the cameras, Dad. He’s not dying from the damp lung.” He eyed Caroline and studied her legs in a way that made Trudy uncomfortable. “Who’s your friend, Gertrude? I’d like to get an up close look at her tattoos.”
    Caroline responded before Trudy could, walking toward the horses to reach up and politely shake the older man’s hand.
    “It’s nice to meet you, Mister Giese.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I have family that enjoys embarrassing me, too. A cousin who can’t resist pinching every behind that gets within touching distance and talking to any tabloid reporter in a ten-mile radius. Luckily, high doses of medication, a few stints in rehab and years of therapy have worked wonders. I highly recommend it.”
    Mr. Giese laughed, loud and chainsaw rough. “No surprise you two gals are friends,” he