It Started with a Crush... & Win, Lose...or Wed!: It Started with a Crush...\Win, Lose...or Wed! by Melissa McClone

Author:Melissa McClone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-03-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

LUCY’S arms, scratched and sore after digging through tree limbs and debris to reach a howling Manny, struggled to carry the squirming, wet cat with a flashlight in her hand down to the basement. The warning siren remained silent, but they would sleep downstairs to be on the safe side. “You need to go on a diet, cat.”

“Aunt Lucy?” Connor called from the closet. “Did you find Manny?”

“I found him.” She opened the door, happy to see her nephew safe, dry and warm. “Why is it so dark in there?”

“The flashlight stopped working.”

Yet Connor had stayed, as she asked, even in the pitch-black when he had to be scared. Her heart swelled with pride and love for her nephew. Aaron and Dana were raising a great kid. “Sorry about that. The batteries must have been low.”

“It’s okay.” He held up his glowing DS console. “I had a little light.”

Manny pawed trying to get away from her. The cat looked like a drowned rat with his wet fur plastered against his body. “I think someone wants to see you.”

Connor reached for the cat. “Where was he?”

“In the bushes across the street. I have a feeling he’s had quite an adventure.” Enough to last eight lives given the winds and flying debris the cat must have experienced. “I doubt he’ll be so quick to dash outside again.”

Connor cuddled Manny, who settled against her nephew’s chest as if that were his rightful and only place of rest. At least until a better spot came along. “Oh, Ryland called.”

Lucy’s heart jolted. She hadn’t expected to hear from him again. “When?”

“A little while ago.” Connor rubbed his chin against the cat. Manny purred like a V-8 engine. “He wants you to call him back. He was worried about you finding Manny.”

Lucy whipped out her cell phone. Service had been spotty due to the storm, but three bars appeared. She went to press Ryland’s number.

Wait. Her finger hovered over the screen. Calling him back would be stupid. Okay, it was nice he was concerned enough to call and want to know about Manny. But this went beyond what was happening in Wicksburg today.

Lucy had been thinking about him constantly since he left town. She missed him terribly. She needed to get him off her mind and out of her heart. But she wouldn’t ignore his request completely. That would be rude.

Lucy typed in a text message and hit Send. Now she could go back to trying to forget about him.

* * *

Early Monday morning, Ryland stood in the reception area of the Phoenix Fuego headquarters. He’d spent much of yesterday trying to figure how to help those affected by the tornado in Wicksburg. Money was easy to donate. But he wanted to do something for the team and Lucy.

Waiting, he reread the text she’d sent him.

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