The Devil in the Saddle by Julia London

Author:Julia London
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2019-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

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Luca had Hallie drop him at Ella’s when they were done. Hallie drove Grandma home. When they pulled into the long drive down to the ranch house, Hallie’s heart did a little bit of a jump—Rafe’s truck was parked in the drive of the storage shed. She could see Rafe, too, wearing a canvas jacket and cowboy hat, loading things into the back of the truck. Was he home from Chicago so soon? Was she supposed to be pleasantly surprised, or mad that he hadn’t told her?

She was going to go with pleasantly surprised.

“I guess he’s going to put up that porch swing I got at Walmart after all,” her grandmother said. “I think it will look nice over on the east lawn. Sometimes Mary Gruber gets a little dizzy when we’re doing our tai chi and needs to sit down for a bit.”

Hallie coasted to a halt behind Rafe and rolled down her window, prepared to show him she wasn’t mad, that in fact she was sorry. “Hey!” she said, perhaps a little too brightly.

Rafe whipped around. And then he grinned, ear to ear. But it wasn’t Rafe grinning at her. It was Rico.

Hallie squealed, threw the gear into park, and hopped out. “Rico! You’re home!”

“Hey, girl, you’re looking hot as ever,” Rico said, and grabbed her up in a hug, kissing her cheek. He stepped back and let his dark brown eyes travel over her. “Mm-mmm, you just get better looking all the time.”

“Oh stop,” she said, batting her eyes at him. “In a minute, I mean. At least go on for a minute. Hey, when did you get home?”

“Thanksgiving. I’ve been instructed to help Dad around the ranch. He says you’ve lost a couple of hands.”

“Yep. Are you putting up Grandma’s porch swing?”

He looked past her to the car. “Is that Miss Dolly? Oh, I’ve got to get a kiss from my favorite grandma,” he said, and very theatrically slinked around the front of the truck. By the time he reached the passenger window, Hallie’s grandmother had rolled down the window, and Rico reached in to hug her, nearly pulling her out.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Grandma said happily.

Everyone loved Rico—he was the life of the party. Which was what had gotten him into trouble, apparently, but still, everyone was always very happy to see him.

“You gonna be around, Hallie?” Rico asked when he finished chatting with her grandmother. “If you need me to, I could do a little ass kicking for you. I hear you might have someone in mind.” He grinned.

She had to appreciate someone who could speak about her dumpster fire without wearing a woeful look. “If there is any ass kicking, I’ll do it,” she said. “But you can watch. Sure, I’m going to be around.”

“That makes two of us,” he said. “But between you and me, I gotta get out of here. Dad is already breathing down my neck about paying him back for everything I’ve ever done by working it off.

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