Free Texas Thunder by Kimberly Raye Page B

front of a hot oven. A passion she’d inherited from their mother. The woman had made a mean brownie. She shrugged. “Les will just have to make do with pimento cheese pinwheels.”
    â€œThen I’m guessing it won’t matter if I finish these off?” Without waiting for a reply, Jenna grabbed the sole survivor and took a bite. “And don’t think I’m going to forget about you,” she told Jezebel as she pinched off a piece of the goody and fed it to the yapping dog. “I know, I know. It’s time to watch our show.” She took another bite. “I TiVo’d the season finale of The Bachelor and Jez and I just know he’s going to pick Lacey. I mean, Bella’s nice, too, but she’s sort of a slut. His parents definitely like Lacey better. She teaches Sunday school and she has a schnauzer.” Jenna winked at the tiny dog. “Jez has a thing for schnauzers.”
    â€œYou’re not seeing Alex tonight?”
    Jenna shrugged. “We broke up.”
    â€œDoes he know that?”
    â€œWhat’s that supposed to mean?”
    â€œThat you have a tendency to beat around the bush when you break up with someone.”
    â€œIt’s called letting them down easy.”
    â€œIt’s called being a chicken shit.” Callie eyed her sister. “Remember Kevin Rickers? You told him you couldn’t breathe and he thought you meant you had asthma. He bought you a humidifier and a case of Primatene.”
    â€œI can’t help it if he misunderstood me.” A smile curved her full lips. “That was sort of sweet, though. Remind me why I cut him loose again?”
    â€œBecause he wanted to be your one and only and you’re much more into plural arrangements. That’s PC for you’re a big fat ’fraidy cat when it comes to commitment.”
    â€œI can commit. I just don’t see the point.” She frowned. “Besides, I’m too busy for commitment. I barely have time for fun.”
    â€œAgain, did you make that clear to Alex? Because we don’t need another humidifier.”
    â€œCross my heart I didn’t say a thing about not being able to breathe.” She shrugged. “I just told him in a nice, it’s-not-you-it’s-me way, that I was just feeling crowded.” She seemed to think. “Or maybe I told him I was feeling overwhelmed.” She waved a hand. “Either way, we’re done.”
    â€œAnd he realizes this?”
    â€œHe got the message loud and clear.” She seemed to think. “I’m pretty sure he did. He was definitely standoffish at the funeral. He only tried to hold my hand one time.”
    â€œHere we go again,” Callie mumbled as she turned back to the fridge.
    â€œWhere exactly are we going again?” Brandy walked into the kitchen wearing yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt. Her long hair had been pulled up into a ponytail and she wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup, yet she looked every bit as beautiful as if she’d been dressed to the nines. That was the thing about Brandy. She was a natural beauty, unlike Callie, who just looked tired when she wasn’t wearing any makeup.
    Then again, she was tired. Tired of looking out for everyone and carrying the weight of the entire family on her shoulders.
    Now, but that would end soon. She would figure a way out of the financial mess, secure the house, and then get those resumes off in the mail.
    Callie held tight to the sliver of hope and retrieved a knife from a nearby drawer. “Stalkerville,” she told Brandy. “That’s where we’re going again.”
    â€œYou broke up with Alex, didn’t you?” Brandy shot a glance at Jenna. “Or rather, you didn’t break up with Alex. You just think you did.”
    â€œTrust me, I did.”
    â€œSure.” Brandy shrugged. “I get dibs on the humidifier this time. I want one for the employee break room. Ellie, my