Free Southern Spice (Southern Desires Series Book 1) by Jeannette Winters Page A

control.”
    “You’ll have my report tomorrow morning.”
    She felt her entire body relax once she hung up the phone. He shouldn’t irritate her as much as he did, but there was something about the man that made her skin crawl. It wasn’t the sound of his voice as much as the look in his eyes when they were face to face. If he wasn’t her supervisor, she would avoid him totally. But all she could do right now was have as little contact with him as possible. None would be preferable.
    Part of her couldn’t help but laugh. JT thought he was so damn tough, but he was a bully. Maybe she should have let him come and stay at the ranch. She would love to see Derrick put JT in his place. There was no way JT was going to mouth off to Derrick and get away with it. So tempting, but I don’t think I should rattle either of their cages. Somehow I know I’ll come out the loser.
    Sitting there worrying about what might happen wasn’t going to get the townspeople what they needed. Thankfully the replacement laptop and cell phone should be waiting for her in town. Only one problem, she wasn’t in town.
    Although she was up early, Derrick had already left. Not surprising as he had a ranch to run, but she needed to find a way into town so she could retrieve the items. I’m not here on vacation. I need to help these people so they can rebuild their lives .
    Casey loved what she did even though she understood all she could truly help them with was replacing lost possessions. Thankfully, paperwork was all she needed to help with. Too many times there was a loss of life, and she would never get used to that. No matter how hard she tried to relate, she couldn’t. She was fortunate to never have personally known anyone who had died. Yet. All she could do was empathize with their situation.
    The house phone rang next to her, and without even thinking she picked up the receiver. “Collins here.”
    “Just the person I was looking for. This is Sissie. We met yesterday, but I’m sure you don’t remember.”
    Oh, how can I forget? You’re the outspoken, not shy one. “Yes, I do. Did you have more questions?”
    Sissie’s laughter echoed through the telephone line. “You will learn quickly that I always have questions. Most of them I should never ask but do anyway.”
    Casey didn’t doubt that for a minute. Although Sissie was bold and brazen, she could tell she was also good-hearted and really meant well. “What can I do for you today?”
    “I just ran into Derrick and told him how much we all appreciated him opening his ranch yesterday. The power is slowly being brought back online, but it’s gonna be another scorcher today.”
    Don’t do it, Casey. This is not my home. I have no right saying what can or can’t happen here. He is barely tolerating me staying here already. If I push my luck any further, I might find myself back in the ravine. Casey was very tempted, though. Derrick knew she needed to get into town, yet he went and never even asked if she wanted to go along. Not only did she need to locate her package, but she needed to shop for some clothes. He was kind enough to leave her a fresh set again this morning, but whomever they belonged to probably wouldn’t like him lending out every last item. Thankfully he hadn’t brought her any panties or bras, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t in need of them. Going commando was not her style.
    “Since you don’t seem to have any clothes, I thought maybe you would like me to shop and bring you some. I mean it’s gonna be hotter than hell out there today, and why would you want to leave the comfort of all that air conditioning if you didn’t have to.”
    Oh, you’re good, Sissie. Very smooth. Casey’s firm stance began to crumble. This was exactly what JT said. That she couldn’t separate her job from her emotions. But how could she? People were suffering, and she could help. Even as she debated in her mind, her mouth was already open. “If only I had my computer here