Free Till There Was You by Lilliana Anderson, Wade Anderson Page A

could be thinking,” Matt assured her, knowing Lily’s habit to think the worst in some situations and be oblivious in others.
    “He’s married, isn’t he?” she blurted, cutting Matt off the moment he opened his mouth.
    Matt’s brow furrowed. “What, who are you talking about?”
    Lily felt stupid the moment the words fell from her mouth. Her brother was already warning her to keep a safe distance from Linc and she’d insisted she was only interested in a friendly way. Now, with one thoughtless comment, she’d completely blown her protestations out of the water.
    Slowly, a grin spread across Matt’s face and he began to chuckle. “If you’re talking about our new friend, no, not that I know of. And he doesn’t wear a ring or have any indicator he has removed one recently.”
    She let out a small sigh of relief at that bit of information, but was still feeling a little anxious at what the bad news actually was. It was at that moment their food was placed in front of them.
    “Well, I guess I know who those dreams were about now,” Matt commented around a mouthful of sandwich.
    It was Lily’s turn to blush as she closed her eyes and tried to laugh off her discomfort. “Just tell me the bad news already.”
    Taking a mouthful of water, he wiped his mouth with a napkin, then spoke. “Oh, there isn’t really any. I was just going to let you know you’re buying, little sis,” he said, signaling for the check.
    “Sure thing,” she said as she thanked the waitress and went back to her fruit.
    “So, that dog you took to Tim yesterday is getting released today. I was going to send Doug up to see if Linc wanted a ride, but something tells me you’ll just get there first anyway.”
    “Why would you send Doug instead of asking me?”
    Finishing his last bite, Matt downed the rest of his water and sat back in his seat. “Because I like watching him squirm. He’s petrified of Linc for some reason. It borders on ridiculous.”
    “Did Linc do something to him?”
    Matt shook his head. “Nothing major. He was just messing with him when Doug tried to puff his chest out. But we all do it to him. You know how Doug can be.”
    “I sure do,” Lily commented, having known Doug almost all her life. “So, what time is this dog getting released?”
    “Some time this afternoon. I’d head up there now if I were you.” He checked his watch and kept his features plain.
    “What’s caused this sudden change? Yesterday you were telling me to stay away and today you’re practically setting up a play date.”
    Shrugging, Matt brushed at his shirt, checking for any loose crumbs. “I still think you should be careful, but I also agree that the guy needs a friend. He could do a lot worse than you.”
    Releasing a short laugh, Lily shook her head in amusement. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Then she stood and placed some money on the table.
    “Wait, you’re going already?” Matt asked.
    “Sure am. I have to have a friendly conversation with a certain man about learning to ask for help.”
    “Good luck with that,” Matt said, his tone sarcastic. Lily pushed out the door.
    A short while later, Lily was halfway to Linc’s, singing at the top of her lungs to Rihanna on the radio when she heard a loud bang before the truck pulled sharply to the right.
    “Oh crap,” she yelped, gripping the wheel hard. She tried to maintain control and bring the vehicle to a sliding halt. She knew she’d blown a tire. She hated changing tires.
    “Shit, shit, shit,” she moaned, swearing each time she smacked the steering wheel in frustration. This was exactly what she didn’t need.
    Her mood darkened further as she stepped out of the truck and straight into an icy puddle, cold water seeping into her boot. “Goddammit!” she yelled, pulling her sopping wet boot from the dirty puddle as the water sloshed around inside. She bit back a few extra expletives then got to work, hefting the spare out of the tray and rolling it in