Free The Other Brooks Boy (Texas Wildfire Series) by Diane Roth

frumpy.
    All but one.
    And she looked
absolutely edible, Lord help him.
    "Is that
Cara you came in with, Brooks?" Mike Saxby asked him, nodding in Cara's
direction across the dance floor.
    "Yeah."
    "Is she
doing okay since Jason passed?"
    Greg nodded.
"She's doing fine. Took her a while, but she's doing fine now."
    Mike nodded, his
appreciative gaze firmly on Cara. "She looks fine." He shrugged a
little, then grinned at Greg. "Just sayin'."
    Greg wanted to
push his toothy grin right down his throat. "Man, that's my
sister-in-law."
    Mike turned
apologetic, his hands flying up in a stop motion. "Sorry, Greg. I didn't
mean anything. She looks good, that's all. I'm glad to see her looking so well,
that's all."
    Greg felt like
an idiot. He scratched at the back of his head and willed his temper back down.
    "Sorry,
Mike. I'm a little protective of her since Jason died."
    "No sweat,
man." He shook his head then took a drink of his beer. "Completely
understandable."
    But Greg knew he
didn't understand at all the feelings that were tearing him apart.  There
was nothing understandable or rational about how he was feeling about Cara. Not
the protectiveness, the hammering desire, the tenderness, the pride. None of it
added up to how a brother-in-law should feel.
    The scenario
repeated itself in one fashion or another as the evening progressed. Greg
fought off man after man who came sniffing out information about Cara. How
was she? Did she still have that dance studio out off Bee Caves Road? Didn't
she and Jason have a couple of kids? Was she seeing anyone lately? Greg had
answered all their questions through gritted teeth and didn't give a crap that
they all thought him ridiculously over-protective and more than a little
unfriendly, if not hostile to one of the better known jerks in their class.
    Oh, how he
wished he'd backed out of this promise. It couldn't get much worse than this
night was turning out to be, he thought, and turned to face the bar. He just
might drink himself to oblivion.
    The band took a
break and the deejay put on something more current, more upbeat. It took only
seconds for the dance floor to fill up with line dancing females.
    "Entertainment
time, boys," Saxby said with a greedy chuckle, leaning his elbows back on
the bar and making himself comfortable. "I love to watch the wenches line
dance." The string of men who'd been bellied up to the bar suddenly turned
around to watch as well, but Greg stayed the course, nursing his beer.
"Come on, Brooks. You don't want to miss this, I promise," Saxby told
him, nudging him with an elbow.
    Greg turned
around on his barstool and began to watch, his gaze drawn unerringly to Cara.
She might have been all alone out there for all that he could see. He didn't
miss a single move, mesmerized by her strong, sexy legs and natural talent for
dance. But it was the hem of that filmy little short skirt that garnered most
of his attention, tantalizing him with the hope, and simultaneous fear, that it
would fly up and give him a glimpse of that gorgeous ass of hers. He'd always
been an ass man and always would be, he figured. And it just so happened that
Cara's was one of her best assets. Another strike against him tonight, he
decided as he watched her own that dance floor for the next few minutes, easily
the best-looking and most talented dancer out there.
    When the dance
ended, several of the women made their way to the bar, including Cara. She
spoke with Saxby and another man whose name Greg couldn't recall, but she
lingered for a short time before seeking him out.
    "You're
looking rather miserable over here, Gregory," she said for his ears only.
And that made him miserable. Lord, what a pathetic sot he was tonight.
He almost laughed at himself.
    "I'm
beginning to be sorry I made you promise to come tonight. This is clearly not
your scene," she continued.
    "Are you having a good time?" he asked, unable to deny her accusations.
    She shrugged.
"Sure. It's all right." She searched the