A Fool For You
Foolproof Love, #3
Foolproof Love, #3
by Katee Robert
Releasing October 3rd 2016
Entangled: Brazen
Entangled: Brazen
Blurb
It’s been thirteen years since Hope Moore left Devil’s Falls, land of sexy cowboys and bad memories. Back for the weekend, she has no intention of seeing the man she never got over…or the two of them getting down and dirty. It’s just a belated goodbye, right? No harm, no foul.
Until six weeks later, when her pregnancy test comes back positive…
Daniel Rodriguez hasn’t forgiven himself for how things went down with Hope all those years ago. He knows she’s better off without him, but when she shows up on his doorstep, panicking because she’s pregnant with his baby, he can’t help seeing it as a chance to make up for the past.
Too bad Hope has no intention of going along with his plans.
Until six weeks later, when her pregnancy test comes back positive…
Daniel Rodriguez hasn’t forgiven himself for how things went down with Hope all those years ago. He knows she’s better off without him, but when she shows up on his doorstep, panicking because she’s pregnant with his baby, he can’t help seeing it as a chance to make up for the past.
Too bad Hope has no intention of going along with his plans.
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Chapter One
Hope Moore held her breath as she passed the sign declaring Welcome to Devil’s Falls. She hadn’t
crossed the town boundary in thirteen years, not since she sat next to an open
grave as they lowered her brother into the ground. Not since she turned her
back on her entire life here, whisked away by her parents to the best medical
facilities Texas had to offer.
She touched her knee. She’d never cheered again, never run track,
never done any of the things she’d had planned when she was eighteen and had
graduated high school with stars in her eyes.
Stars in her eyes, and love in her heart.
Neither had lasted past that car crash.
Oh, it had taken the love a lot longer to die than it had her
knee, but Daniel Rodriguez made sure she knew where she stood with him.
She caught herself taking her foot off the gas and picked up speed
again. There was no telling if she’d see him while she was here, but it
couldn’t matter. She’d moved past what happened that night, moved past the
disappointment that she’d almost let sour everything else about her life. It
might not have happened like she planned, but she’d made the best of her
college experience, and she’d gone on to create a successful little niche for
herself, helping people and institutions with too much money on their hands
create trusts and scholarships for those in need.
And now Hope was back in town to finally do that in her brother’s
memory.
She pulled onto Main Street, heading for the only lodgings someone
out of town with no relatives to stay with would consider—Sara Jane’s B&B.
It was a nice little place, but Sara Jane was nosy to a criminal degree and
gossiped more than anyone Hope had ever come across. The second she checked in and
went up to her room, everyone with a phone would be getting a call letting them
know that she was back in town.
It wasn’t that it was a secret, but she couldn’t help but feel
that she’d always be John Moore’s little sister, the one who survived when her
older brother—her better in a lot of ways—didn’t. She knew that was her
own insecurity. She’d had too many years of therapy to believe anything else,
except in her darkest heart of hearts, the place she didn’t let see the light
any more than strictly necessary.
But it was hard to ignore that little voice when driving through
Devil’s Falls. No, not through. To. This was her destination.
Her parents hadn’t been too thrilled about her coming back, even
for a limited time, but even they couldn’t deny that this scholarship she was
here to set up was a good thing—the right way to honor John. He’d been in the
middle of a full ride at the University of Texas when he was killed, and it
made sense to set it up to allow other kids the opportunity he’d never be able
to realize.
She pressed a hand to her chest and pulled into the nearest
parking spot against the curb. God, even after all this time, it still
hurts. Most days it didn’t. He’d been gone long enough that she’d processed
her grief as much as one person could process grief, and she was able to focus
on the good memories.
Most days.
Her eyes focused on the sign she’d been staring blindly at, and
she frowned. Cups and Kittens.
That was new. In a town as mired in the past as Devil’s Falls, change was
something of a novelty. Or maybe she was biased in a negative way, because the
only thing this town held for her was memories. Some bad, mostly good, all dust
now.
Pathetically grateful for something external to focus on, she
climbed out of her car and looked at the cheery window painting depicting
kittens frolicking in between flowers.
The B&B could wait a little while longer. Her meeting with the
town board wasn’t until tomorrow, so there was no reason she couldn’t do a
little poking around in the meantime. Thirteen years was a long time. If anyone
had asked her, she would have joked that she hadn’t expected anything about
Devil’s Falls to change while she was gone.
Apparently she’d been wrong.
She pushed through the door and froze in the face of a pair of
cats staring at her from their perch on a table overlooking the big window in
the front. The sight surprised a laugh out of her. “Cups and Kittens, indeed.”
“In the most literal sense.”
She glanced over at the woman behind the counter, a third cat
lounging near the register. Familiarity rolled over Hope. “Jules Rodriguez.”
Daniel’s little cousin. Not so little anymore. Last time she’d seen Jules, the
girl had been lanky to an almost awkward degree and had braces with bright
green bands. She’d grown up pretty, and there was more of Daniel about her now
than there had been when she was a kid.
Or maybe I’m just back in Devil’s Falls and seeing Daniel wherever
I look.
Jules’s dark eyes cleared. “Hope? What are you doing back in
town?” She hesitated. “I don’t suppose you’re here to sweep my brooding cousin
off his feet and shove him back into real life?”
Her mind tripped over itself trying to keep up with the other
woman’s verbal gymnastics. Jules had always been like that, now that she
thought about it—a bright and bubbly steamroller. She tried to weed her way
through what the woman had just said, but there was only one thing she could
focus on. Daniel. Always Daniel. “What do you mean, back into real life?”
“Well, you know.”
No, she really didn’t. She studied Jules’s face, the way she
wouldn’t quite meet her eyes. “Is he okay?” She hadn’t missed the way Quinn
Baldwyn had frozen up when she’d asked that same question a few weeks ago at
his sister’s wedding, and worry had been simmering in the back of her mind ever
since, no matter how many times she told herself it wasn’t any of her business.
Daniel was a grown man, and he had always been more than capable of taking care
of himself—and everyone else around him. Things changed, but she couldn’t see that
changing.
Jules shifted, her hand darting out to pet the calico on the
counter and then darting away when the cat swiped at her. “Define okay.”
It was none of her business. It stopped being her business a very
long time ago.
But that didn’t stop her from clearing her throat and asking, “Is
he…is he married?” Did he build the house we always talked about and have
those two wild boys and one sweet girl? Does he bring his wife waffles for
breakfast in bed on the weekends?
Oh my God, stop.
But Jules was already shaking her head, her mouth turning down.
“Nope. No wife, no kids, no serious relationship in, well, thirteen years.”
Hope blinked. “You’re joking.”
“I wish I was.” A calculating look came into her eyes, but then
she shook herself and it was all guileless enthusiasm. “What are you doing for
dinner?” She rushed on without waiting for a response. “We’re having a little
thing with Quinn and my friend Aubry, and, well, I kind of went and married
Adam Meyers.”
Some things really do change. She remembered Adam, the wild-eyed boy who’d
grown into a wild-eyed man, better than she remembered Jules. No one had
expected him to come back to Devil’s Falls after he blew out of town that last
time, let alone to settle here and…get married. “Wow. What’s Daniel have to say
about that?”
“He was best man at our wedding.” Jules laughed. “Though he was
pretty furious at the beginning. Here, sit down. You look like you could use a
coffee, and I’ll tell you the story since we’re generally pretty dead Thursday
nights. Then I’ll close up and we can go to dinner. The boys will love to see
you. Quinn was just talking about you the other day.”
Hope wasn’t sure she actually agreed to any of it, but the next
thing she knew, she was drinking coffee while a cat curled up in her lap and
listening to Jules’s wild tale about a fake relationship that turned into a
real relationship. Somehow in the middle of that, she was bundled up into
Jules’s truck, and by then it was too late to change her mind.
She settled into her seat, consoling herself with the fact that
Jules had very specifically not mentioned Daniel’s name. There was no
reason to think he’d be there, but it would be nice to reconnect with
some of her old friends. As much as it had hurt when things went south with
Daniel, knowing that she’d lost Quinn and Adam, too, had just been salt in the
wound. She’d chased them around since she could toddle after her big brother
and his friends, and they’d turned into true friends over the years. She
understood why they hadn’t reached out, but she wasn’t going to turn down a chance
to catch up with them.
It would probably be the only nice thing about being back in
Devil’s Falls.
…
“Not interested.”
“You haven’t even heard what I’m asking.”
“Don’t need to.” Daniel Rodriguez leaned down and unbuckled Rita’s
saddle and hefted it off the horse’s back. They’d had a good run today, the hot
sun making it impossible to think too hard about anything other than whether a
human being could roast alive in Texas in August. He hadn’t yet, so that put
the odds ever so slightly in his favor.
All he wanted was to finish here and head back to his place for a
cold shower and an even colder beer.
It would just fucking figure that the universe had other ideas. He
glanced up, but Aubry Kaiser hadn’t moved. In fact, with her arms crossed over
her chest and her chin up, all signs pointed to this adding up to an argument
he couldn’t possibly win.
Damn it.
“No.”
She frowned harder. “It’s your birthday. You can’t just sit at
home by yourself.”
“Since it’s my birthday, this is the one day a year I should be
able to do exactly that with no one bitching at me.” He regretted the
harsh words almost as soon as they were out of his mouth, but Aubry wasn’t like
his little cousin. She was meaner than a rattler and twice as likely to bite.
She narrowed her amber eyes at him. “Your cousin misses you.”
That explained why she was out here when he knew for a fact she
thought horses were akin to goats—as in, the devil’s own creatures. Hell, she
was giving poor Rita a suspicious look even while guilt-tripping him using the
one person in his life he couldn’t say no to.
Which doesn’t explain why Jules herself isn’t here.
“She sees me on a regular basis.”
“This is your birthday.” Aubry sighed and rolled her eyes, looking
put-upon. “Look, it goes like this—Jules has worked really hard to put together
a surprise birthday party for you, and if you don’t show up to be surprised,
she’s going to be crushed.”
He stared. “I don’t want a surprise birthday party.” The fact that
it was no longer a surprise said a whole lot about Aubry’s priorities, and he
couldn’t blame her for that.
“Look at my face. This is the face of a woman who doesn’t give two
fucks what you care about. What I care about is Jules, and that means
you’re going to go shower off the smell of that animal and show up at their house
in an hour, right on time.” She paused, her brows slanting down in an
expression that was downright forbidding. “You helped me out not too long ago,
so I’m going to do you a solid and give you the lowdown. Ready?”
Fuck, no.
“Sure.”
“Jules is worried about you. Really worried. If you don’t show up
tonight, she’s going to take that as a sign to go forward with plan B.”
He knew he was going to regret it, but he still asked, “What’s
plan B?”
Aubry gave a tight smile. “A full-scale intervention with everyone
in your life, including your parents. The kind where they sit you down in a
circle and each speak their mind in the most uncomfortable way possible until
you’re ready to beg the ground to swallow you whole.” Her smile dimmed. “She’s
worried about you, Daniel.”
Everyone seemed worried about him, though they usually did him the
courtesy of at least trying to hide the looks exchanged when they thought he
wasn’t looking. The whispered conversations with his various cousins and his
parents. The never-ending work that was only there because they were throwing
him a goddamn bone. It didn’t seem to matter that he hadn’t done anything
requiring an intervention. He’d just stopped enjoying the company of people,
mostly because he was such shitty company these days. But try telling that to
the family, and they acted like he had just confessed to being an ax murderer.
At least Jules had mostly stayed out of it. Up until today.
He grabbed the curry brush and went over
Rita’s back. Aubry was right. Showing up to a party he didn’t want on a day he
sure as fuck didn’t feel like celebrating was vastly preferable to the
alternative. “Explain to me what the plan is.”
She gave a grin that did nothing to reassure him. “Dinner and
drinks. It’ll be nice. Adam and Quinn miss you.”
“I see those assholes every day.” Kind of hard not to when they
worked the ranch alongside him. It felt right to have Adam back, to have Quinn
there, but at the same time it was a constant reminder that they were a man
short.
And it was his fault.
“It’s different and you know it,” Aubry continued, obviously
enjoying how miserable he was. She’d always been a mean one, which never failed
to amuse him because Jules was her polar opposite—as bright and happy as a
spring day. Rita shifted in her stall, and Aubry went even paler than she was
normally. “Dinner starts at six. Don’t be late.” Then she was gone, moving at a
clip fast enough that a less cautious man than Daniel would call it running.
He waited a good five minutes before he followed, hauling the
saddle into the tack room and sorting out the bridle. He didn’t begrudge Quinn
his happiness—or Adam, for that matter—but sometimes it sure as fuck was hard
to be around them and their women. The fact that one of those women was his
little cousin barely entered into it.
He headed for his truck and took the pitted dirt road leading
around the edge of his parents’ property to the little house he’d built a few
years ago. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it got the job done, and it was far
enough outside town that most people thought twice before stopping by
unannounced.
Most people not including his family.
The shower did nothing to ward off the feeling of pending doom. It
wasn’t that he didn’t like Jules or Adam or Quinn or whoever the fuck else was
going to be at this damn party, but he wasn’t in the partying sort of mood.
Truth be told, he hadn’t been in that mood for over a decade. It was almost
enough to make him call the whole thing off, but the knowledge that Jules would
have no problem bringing the party to him got him moving again. Not to mention
the potential intervention he needed like he needed a hole in the head.
At least if he went there, he could hang out for the appropriate
amount of time, make his excuses, and slip out while everyone else was
occupied. Two hours, tops.
Feeling significantly better, he pulled on a pair of his favorite
old jeans and a T-shirt and grabbed his keys. It struck him as he walked out
the door that he was thirty-fucking-four years old. How the hell did that
happen? He shook his head. He knew damn well how that happened. One day
turned into a week, a month, a year, a decade. All while he kept on keeping,
the world changing around him, but never changing enough.
He glanced at his
watch. “Two hours starts when I get there.”
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Author Info
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling
author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee.
She found romance novels at age twelve and they changed her life. When not
writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing
imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if
questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
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