Locke - Crazy: Gibson Boys Book #4

The Exception Series

The Exception

The Connection

The Perception

The Landry Family Series

Sway

Swing

Switch

Swear

Swink

Sweet

The Gibson Boys Series

Crank

Craft

Crave

Crazy

Dogwood Lane

Tumble

Tangle

Trouble

Restraint- Coming Soon

Standalone Novels

Sacrifice

Wherever It Leads

Written in the Scars

Lucky Number Eleven

For an email every time Adriana has a new release, sign up for an alert here: http://bit.ly/AmazonAlertAddy or text the word adriana to 21000

Peck

Its you.

A pair of red flip-flops come to a stop next to the truck. Dust billows from the harder-than-necessary halt to movement and flows under the truck and right into my face. I wave my hand in front of me and cough.

Yeah? I ask. Whats your point?

Toenails painted the color of grass on a spring day tap against the gravel. A thin gold ring adorns the second toe.

Are you proud of yourself? she asks.

The tone shes using nixes any ideas I may have had to scoot out from underneath this vehicle. It has that flair to it, that youve-done-and-gone-screwed-up-but-Im-going-to-make-you-wallow-a-while thing that turns mens blood to ice.

The only problem is that I cant figure out what Ive done. Or who she is.

I drop the wrench in my hand and study the tanned legs visible from my disadvantageous position. Theyre short and tanned, the muscles in her calves flexing as she pops one foot up on her toe.

The voiceone thats clearly annoyed with me for some reasonisnt familiar, nor are the legs. A quick scan of recent activity doesnt unearth a woman who should be pissed. Not that a woman needs a reason to be pissed, but still.

Well, I say, it depends on why youre asking.

Whats that supposed to mean?

It means that if youre asking if Im proud of the fact that I diagnosed and will have Daves truck fixed in under an hourminus the time I spend in this conversation with youthen yes. I am. Or if youre asking about the black lines down the middle of Main Street, Im proud of that too. I

Thats not what I mean, and you know it.

Do I? I scratch the top of my head.

Staring at the undercarriage, I attempt to figure out what the heck is happening here. The day has been a doozy already. Between Nana calling me at four in the morning because she couldnt get out of bed and my cousin Walkers pissy mood when I got to work at his mechanics shop Crank, I shouldve just called in sick. I shouldve stayed in bed instead of trying to make the best out of the day.

Sometimes, you just know better. I knew better this morning. Im just not smart enough to listen to myself.

Youre a jerk, you know that? she says with a huff. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other. No, I take that back. Youre more than that. Youre a jackass.

What in the world are you talking about?

You know what Im talking about.

Um, nope. I really dont.

Yes, you do. Now come out here and face me like a man.

If you insist, I mutter.

Pressing my heels into the gravel, I roll myself out from under the truck. The sun is bright, almost blinding me with its early afternoon rays. I shield my eyes and look up into the face of a woman who looks like she wants to kill me.

Her bright green eyes widen just a bit before resuming their narrowed position. A set of full lips are pressed together in a hard line. Her face is framed by a couple of unruly strands of sandy brown hair thats fallen from a lopsided ponytail.

I bite back a smile. Im one hundred percent certain Im supposed to be intimidated and not entertained right now, but I cant help it. Shes fucking adorable.

Well, here I am, I say.

She takes a step back. Her eyes release from mine and drag down the length of my body. When they return to my face, she narrows them again. Youre a jackass.

Youve said that. I get to my feet and brush off my hands. Look, do I know you? Not that I dont love being yelled at by a stranger

You are incredible, she says, dropping those pretty little lips of hers open.

Thanks. I smile. The gesture does not get returned. If youre Tads daughter or something, tell him I put the gas cans back. It was an emergency. I swear. Just tell him theyre behind the shovels in the barn, and Ill pay him back. Okay?

She cocks a brow. And you steal gas too. Wow. What a winner.

Youre awfully judgy for someone who doesnt even know me.

I know all I want to know about you.

Thats a shame, I say, sliding my hands down my jeans.

A gasp sneaks through the air as her hands fall to her sides in exasperation. I take a step back for self-preservation. Just in case.

Are you hitting on me? She blinks once, then twice.

No, I say. I mean, if you want me to, Id

She throws her hands up in the air. She said you worked fast and would move on without thinking twice about it, but I had hoped that shed be wrong.

Who? Who said that? I have no clue what youre talking about.

She lets out a little laugh thats anything but funny. I wait for steam to come out of her ears, but the only thing rolling off her is the scent of oranges.

I glance around for cameras because this has to be a joke. Surely, one of my cousins is setting me up. But the longer I look, the more it becomes apparent: shes as serious as a heart attack.

Youre exactly like she said youd be, she says.

I rub my forehead, wishing once again Id have stayed home. I have a good twenty minutes left on this truck and then a fifteen-minute drive back to Crank to clock out. Then I need to check on Nana and make sure she got lunch before I can go home and get a shower and close my damn eyes. But before any of that can happen, I have to figure what the hell this girl is talking about.

Blowing out a breath, I focus.

Lets just restart this whole thing, I say. Whats your name?

Were really doing this?

Doing what? I hold my hands in front of me. What are we really doing? I dont get it.

She flashes me a disapproving look. Youre really asking my name?

Thats what ya do when you dont know somebody. At least it is around here.

Fine. Ill play along. Im Dylan, she says as if shes talking to a baby. And we talked last week about how much you love my best friend.

The last part of that gets loud. Really, really loud. She takes my cringing as a sign of weakness.

She moves toward me, her eyes flashing her fury at me like bolts of lightning. Her finger jabs me in the chest.

You better be scared of me, she says. Thinking youre gonna ghost her like some careless asshole after she opens up to you about

Whoa, wait

No, Im not gonna wait. She jabs me again, harder this time. Her face twists when I dont budge. I shouldnt have even shown up out here because that probably will make your ego explode.

My brain scrambles with her accusation but gets even more fogged up with the look in her eyes. Worry is etched on her face.

Listen, Im sorry about your friend. Honest. But

I highly doubt that. She takes a deep breath, the passion starting to wane as she thinks her point has been delivered. You better stay away from her. Do you hear me?