Free Dodge the Bullet by Christy Hayes Page A

at ease. “You think your mom
would consider a trade, young man?”
    Lyle’s quick smile showed a set of boyish
dimples. He knew right away Lyle would be beating the girls off
with a stick.
    “I can talk her into just about anything,
Mr. Dodge. And I like your truck a heck of a lot better than
ours.”
    “Call me Dodge, kid. I think my truck is
safe.” He winked at Sarah. “Your mom’s very loyal to her
clunker.”
    Dodge stiffened when another woman walked
from the cabin onto the drive. She was roughly the same size and
shape as Sarah, but her hair was bright blonde and her eyes were a
dark, almost midnight blue. She had a hard look about her. He
pegged her as either a cock tease or man hater.
    She cleared her throat by way of
introduction.
    “Where are my manners,” Sarah said. “This is
my sister, Jenny. Jenny, A.J. Dodge.”
    Jenny sauntered two steps forward and stuck
out her hand and her chest and batted her lashes. Dodge took her
outstretched hand in his own and gave Jenny the once over.
    “Jenny,” Dodge said. “It’s a pleasure to
meet you.”
    “Ummm,” Jenny purred. “The pleasure is all
mine, I assure you.”
    He looked over at Sarah and had to fight not
smile. He recognized the look on Sarah’s face--he’d seen it a
million times on the faces of his sisters whenever a boy was
around. She was jealous. It pleased him more than it should have,
seeing Sarah sneer at her sister.
    Sarah turned to Lyle. “Did you find
Kevin?”
    Lyle looked at his feet and shrugged. “Yeah,
he’s skipping rocks down by the river. Said he’d be back in a
little while.”
    Dodge watched disappointment wash over
Sarah’s face. He knew just what it felt like to disappoint the ones
you love the most. He wanted to comfort her. What was it about her
that brought out every protective instinct?
    “It’s just as well,” she said. “He’s more
than a little angry about being here, so I don’t imagine he’d make
the best impression anyway. We’re just heading into town for
dinner, whenever Kevin decides to grace us with his presence. Would
you like to join us?”
    “That’s a tempting offer, but I’ll have to
pass. I need to trailer one of my tractors over to my dad’s place.
I’m sure he’s expecting me to stay. But another time.”
    “Tomorrow then, after the horses? Will you
plan to stay for dinner? I’d really like Kevin to meet you and to
properly thank you for letting us borrow your truck. It pains me to
say you were right--we never would have fit in mine.”
    “Of course I was right. Do you want me to
bring more horses for Jenny and the boys?”
    Sarah’s smile waffled. “Two horses should be
fine. The boys can ride after we check out the other side, if
that’s okay?”
    “Yeah, I’m sure they’ll be fine. I’ll see
you around noon?”
    “Perfect.”
    “It was nice to meet you, Lyle,” Dodge said,
and then turned to face Jenny, tipped his hat. “Jenny.”
    Jenny eyed him with open appreciation.
“Dodge.”
    He chuckled all the way back to his truck
and wondered how two sisters could look so much alike and be so
different.
    ###
    It was almost dark when Kevin came back to
the cabin. He walked in as though nothing were wrong, even though
he knew his mom would be worried. When he climbed the stairs, he
found only Jenny and Lyle playing cards on the coffee table by the
indoor fireplace.
    Jenny glanced over her cards and her
eyebrows rose in warning. “You’re not making a really good start
out here, you know.”
    Kevin threw his jacket on the back of a
stool and shrugged. “Where’s mom?”
    “Out looking for you. She’s worried and you will be in trouble.” She discarded an eight of clubs into a
pile on the table. Lyle picked it up with a smile.
    “Gin,” Lyle said. Jenny grimaced as he
fanned out his card for her to admire. She watched Kevin sit on the
couch and pretend to look around for his iPod.
    “Aren’t you even going to try to get along
with her?” Jenny asked. “She