Love Is All Around Read Free

she even had time to date.”
    Patsy’s fist tightened around the top half of her beer bottle. “I don’t think Will’s interested in what I did in high school.”
    “No, probably not. But being a tomboy can make keeping a man a challenge.”
    Patsy ran her thumb around the circular ridge of the bottle neck. “You know much about keeping a man? I thought stealing was more your specialty.”
    “It isn’t stealing if he’s already lost.” Jessica’s voice had a slight tremor. Remorse, from the bimbo? Couldn’t be.
    Ruthann placed a cold hand on Patsy’s free arm. “You need another beer?”
    Seeing Ruthann’s tense face, Patsy relaxed her grip on the beer bottle. “That’s true, you can’t steal what’s already lost, and I guess every town needs a lost-and-found. Nice to know you’re doing your civic duty.”
     “How about a drink, Jessica?” Ruthann leapt from her chair, almost knocking Will down.
    As Ruthann tugged Jessica toward the bar, Will stayed next to the table, analyzing Patsy with an inscrutable light in his eyes.
    Patsy said, “Excuse me, Will. It was nice seeing you again, but I think I need to take a trip to the little Tomboys’ room.” She pushed herself away from the table and walked toward the restroom.
     o0o
    Will watched as Patsy Lee Clark sashayed away from the table. She was something. Little and cocky, that was the same. What was different was her looks. Her blond hair used to look like her mother cut it using a soup bowl as a guide, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen her without a film of dirt covering most of her. Now, green eyes competed with full lips. Her hair was still short, but it flipped out in a random manner that gave him the urge to run his fingers along her scalp to try and calm it. And the back view as she walked away—well, it gave him thoughts the earlier dirt-covered version of Patsy Lee never had.
    He needed a beer. Free of Cindy less than twenty-four hours and already scoping out replacements. Not this time.
    Refocused, he scanned the crowd. Normally, he avoided scenes like this. Crowds, especially loud, jostling crowds, set his teeth on edge, but Jessica had assured him she could reintroduce him to a couple of men he’d known as beer-guzzling teenagers. Somehow they’d grown into big shots in the community. The profits from selling Consult.com weren’t going to last forever, and if he wanted to stay in Daisy Creek, he needed all the contacts he could muster.
    o0o
    Patsy leaned against the pool table watching Randy Jensen line up a shot. Dwayne had caught her on her way back from the bathroom. There was no way to avoid him and Randy without being obviously rude. Plus, Patsy had nowhere to go. Ruthann was still standing at the bar with Jessica, and Will Barnes had taken over their table. He sat there now, laughing and talking with a couple of Gordie regulars. One was the assistant DA, and the other owned the local paper.
    They were both rednecks, rednecks with fancy jobs and impressive titles, but rednecks all the same. They were the types who got a little money and suddenly thought they were operating on a higher plane than everybody else in town. They were probably sucking up to Will though. He had everything they respected—pedigree, connections, and money. The little issue of his past would be nothing when weighed against that, especially the money.
    Carrying a frothy pink concoction, Jessica returned to the table. The DA made a production of wiping the table for her, but she barely seemed to notice. She placed the drink in front of an empty seat. She was too busy eyeing Will. The DA pulled out a chair and her eyes still on Will, she slid into it.
    Patsy wondered where the DA’s wife was. Probably at home with their two kids. Annoyed with all of them, she turned her attention back to the pool game.
    “Hell, Dwayne, that’s two in a row. I don’t need to lose any more money tonight.” Randy placed his cue back in the rack that hung on the wall.