Cook County: Lucky in Love Read Online Free

time he’d taken a woman to bed, she’d died the next morning. And she hadn’t been nearly as innocent as this one.
    Lucky tapped his shot glass on the bar top, meeting Rho’s scowl with one of his own as she refilled it.
    Cammie tossed a wad of bills on the bar and huffed. “Sorry I bothered you. Enjoy your evening.”
    “Stay,” he heard himself say, the disappointment in her tone gnawing at his gut. He didn’t want to hurt her in any way, and that went for her feelings as well. He’d just have to be mindful not to be too nice and allow crazy ideas to take root in Cammie’s pretty little head.
    “I don’t want to be a bother,” she said as she slowly took a seat on the stool next to his, her voice holding a note of sorrow that gripped Lucky’s insides.
    It was then that he noticed her usually bright hazel eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. His gut twisted as he wondered what had happened to cause her such evident distress, especially as he recalled he had never seen her in this bar before. To his knowledge, Cammie May wasn’t a drinker. Then he remembered Delia’s barb about her finding her boyfriend with another woman.
    “You’re no bother, Cammie, and no man stupid enough to cheat on you is worth drinking and crying over.”
    She looked up, eyes wide in surprise, before offering a slight shake of her head. “I’m not drowning my sorrows in alcohol over a man, Luck. There are far worse things in the world than spineless liars.”
    “Uh-oh, sounds serious,” he murmured, drawn in to the woman’s problems despite warning signals flaring in his brain. This wasn’t the way to stay unattached and distant, but he couldn’t help himself. Cammie May was sad, and he wanted that to stop immediately. “What’s wrong, little one?”
    The corners of her mouth turned upward, almost forming a smile for the briefest of moments before a tiny sigh escaped her smooth, extremely enticing lips. “It’s been years since you’ve called me that. It drove me nuts when I was a kid, but grew on me as I got older. It kind of made me feel special having my own little nickname from the great Lucky Masters.”
    He snorted. “Great? I don’t think so. I was just a ranch hand and a bronc buster. Nothing special.”
    “You were to me,” Cammie said wistfully before her cheeks bloomed pink and she lightly shook her head as if shaking out the thoughts of him from long ago.
    She focused on her drink, twirling the little umbrella while she seemed to collect her thoughts.
    “Out with it,” Lucky ordered, the silence growing uncomfortable. “Who made you cry?”
    She grinned. “Why? You going to beat him up?”
    “Maybe.” Probably .
    Cammie made a small sound in her throat that would have passed for laughter had it not been so sad. “Like I said, this isn’t about a man.”
    She twirled the little umbrella in her drink, silent for a long, tense moment.
    “I have a really good friend in trouble,” she finally continued. “She’s sick, the kind of sick that cough syrup and chicken noodle soup won’t fix.”
    He looked up sharply, his chest constricting. “Which friend?”
    Cammie’s eyes widened in alarm. “Oh geez, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Kenzie’s fine, other than regular wedding jitters, I’m sure.” She shook her head as she lowered her chin into her hands. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long, trying day and my brain is a mess right now.”
    Afraid he’d made her feel worse, Lucky rubbed Cammie’s back in an effort to soothe her, but pulled his hand away after he felt her bra strap beneath the thin cotton shirt. His mind immediately went to thoughts of what the all grown up Cammie May looked like naked, and he muttered a curse beneath his breath. The woman was hurting, and he was picturing her naked body in his mind. If there was an Asshole of the Year award, his name was being engraved on the plaque.
    Cammie looked up in confusion, having heard his muttering. Lucky prayed she hadn’t