Free Hell Bent by Becky McGraw

smile. 
    Yeah, hang on for a rough ride, Brat, especially if you plan on having a showdown in this truck . 
    Like him, the truck was made for action, not comfort.  On the day he got back on US soil, Ronnie and Trace brought him to the dealership right after they picked him up at the airport.  He saw this truck, and it was love at first sight. 
    Not unlike when you first met Cecelia Logan at the Logan Ranch all those years ago and thought you’d seen an angel, until she opened her mouth. 
    That thought caused the gears to groan as Cade slammed the stick down into second, before upshifting to first again as he pulled to a stop at the box at the gate.  Cecelia had been shiny and new then too with those big blue eyes and long golden hair, but too young for him to pursue, because she was two-and-a-half years younger. 
    When she got to college though, Cade didn’t waste any time going after what he’d wanted so long and lived to regret it.  He sure hoped his truck purchase ended up a lot better than his relationship with Cecelia turned out.
    It would because he was more cautious now. 
    Cade was still a man of action, but he thought about consequences before he jumped now.   Before he purchased the truck, he’d checked out every major component, things that might give him trouble in the future.  Too bad he hadn’t exercised as much forethought before he chose to get involved with the stubborn, hardheaded woman beside him. 
    But he’d been impetuous, young and stupid then.  He let his dick do his thinking back then, but not now.  Those days were long gone, as were any feelings he had for this woman.
    Rolling down the window, Cade stabbed the red button to open the gate.  It rattled as it rolled back and he waited, but he didn’t raise his window back up.  In just the two minutes he’d been closed up in the hot truck with her, her sweet and spicy scent filled the cab making his tongue tingle like it used to as he remembered she tasted the same way. 
    He needed to clear it out of the truck and his head, or pretending she wasn’t with him would be impossible.  And that was exactly his plan until they got to the airport.  If he could manage that, he’d be home free. 
    Once he picked up Ronnie, he was dropping Cecelia off at her apartment as fast as he could get there.  Hopefully, since he wouldn’t be in the office from here on out, he wouldn’t see her until this mission wrapped and he could get out of town.
    The gate opened, he pulled through then hung a left and reached over to turn on the stereo, hoping music would help him avoid the confrontation she seemed determined to have with him.  Cade flipped through channels until he found the alternative rock station because there wasn’t a chance in hell he was risking country songs at the moment.  Pushing three times on the volume button, he raised the level until he thought conversation was unlikely unless she yelled. 
    With a satisfied smile, he settled in to focus on the road, but felt her eyes burning the side of his face.  After a few miles, when she didn’t speak, Cade finally relaxed and slid down in the seat as an old Nickelback song came on the radio.  He didn’t recognize it until the end of the first line, when Cecelia started singing along. 
    This time, this place, misused, mistakes.  
    The knot in Cade’s throat, the pressure in his chest, grew with every word she sang in that slightly husky voice he remembered. 
    Far away for far too long —her voice broke, she sucked in a shuddering breath and turned her head away.  But the goddamn song kept on, and every word was like a razor blade slicing through his insides until his hand shot out and he stabbed the off button.  But the words still echoed inside his skull, mixed with the soft choked sob he heard from the woman on the other side of the truck, and the wall of ice around his heart didn’t just crack, it splintered releasing all the bile and anger it had held back for six