Free Betting on Texas by Amanda Renee Page B

Miranda yawned. “But if you’re so
determined to hate me, then so be it. I can’t force you to like me.”
    “I don’t hate you, Miranda.” Jesse lifted his head. “It’s the
circumstances I hate. In any other situation, I’d probably be asking you for a
date.”
    Miranda didn’t respond. He knew she would never be interested
in a cowboy. Except maybe to play out a little nighttime fantasy. And he wasn’t
one for a brief fling, although they seemed to be all he ever had. A
relationship with him would be beneath her. Something her folks would probably
see red over.
    He listened as the rain hit the roof of the truck. It didn’t
look like it would let up anytime soon. With good weather, they would be lucky
if they made it home by midnight. The only thing they could do at this point was
to find a motel and spend the night. Jesse searched for the weather on the
radio. The reporter forecasted torrential rain and high wind gusts for the
remainder of the night.
    “What are we going to do now?” Miranda asked.
    “Best we can do is find a place to hunker down for the night,”
Jesse said as he drove down the road at a snail’s pace.
    When a motel came into view, they decided to try for a couple
of rooms. The parking lot was full, but the vacancy light still glowed red.
    * * *
    W HILE M IRANDA WAITED in the truck, Jesse checked
them in at the front desk. Sheets of rain made it impossible to see more than a
few feet beyond the window.
    She had to laugh to herself when she thought about Jesse’s
reaction to Ty’s friendliness toward her. If she didn’t know better, she would
have sworn he was jealous. She was sure that wasn’t the case. He couldn’t manage
to be civil to her for more than ten minutes at a time.
    The truck door flew open, catching Miranda off guard. Jesse
hopped in, soaked to the bone. He handed her a room key.
    “Thanks.” She fingered the room key. “Which room are you
in?”
    “The same one as you, sugar.” He winked. “We got the last
one.”
    No Vacancy lit up under the motel sign.
    “You’re what?” Miranda hadn’t considered they might share a
room. “I guess it’ll be okay. As long as you stay in your own bed.”
    “Have no fear, ma’am.” Jesse touched the brim of his hat.
“You’ll leave with your virtue still intact.”
    They made a mad dash for the shelter of the overhang above the
motel room doors. When they located their room, Jesse opened the door and
flicked the light switch on.
    “Uh-oh.”
    “What’s wrong?” Miranda pushed her way past him. “You planned
this, didn’t you?”
    The dimly lit room was cheap and nothing short of sleazy. Like
something straight out of Psycho. There was a double
bed in the center and two chairs on either side of a small table by the window.
A television sat atop a small dresser at the foot of the bed. A four-star motel
it wasn’t.
    A one-star motel would be an improvement
over this.
    “No, Miranda. I didn’t plan this. I never thought to ask if the
room had two beds. I’ll sleep in the chairs. Somehow.”
    Miranda paced the entire length of the room in a few short
strides. There was barely room for the furniture, let alone the two of them. She
turned to look at Jesse. There was no possible way for him to sleep in those
chairs. The thought of sharing a bed with him both excited and frightened
her.
    She didn’t fear he would take advantage of the situation. In
fact, she’d bet her life he would go out of his way to ignore her. That fact may
have bothered her more. She alone knew they shared a common bond. They both
wanted a family to call their own. The only problem was Jesse knew nothing about
her. And she wasn’t ready to reveal her past yet.
    He would never understand how she felt when her mother died or
the future she turned down with Ethan. He certainly wouldn’t have any respect
for her winning the lottery, not with all the nasty comments he’d made.
    “Maybe we should find another place to stay.”
    Jesse motioned