Cowboy Fever Read Online Free Page A

end up living in the Treadwell trailer, of all places. “I didn’t think anyone was living here,” she said.
    â€œThat’s kind of the idea.” Cissy surveyed the weed-choked yard. “I finally left Cal. Didn’t think I could afford a place of my own, but Teague said if I could make this livable I could stay here. And long as I park the car out back and take the long way home, I figure Cal won’t find me.”
    â€œYou and Cal…?”
    â€œWorst decision I ever made.” She waved her hand airily, but Jodi saw the telltale sheen of tears in her friend’s eyes. “Turns out his success on the football field didn’t translate to real life, and when things started to go wrong, he wasn’t exactly equipped to handle disappointment. I know he was frustrated when he didn’t hang onto his golden boy status, but when he started smacking me around…”
    Cal had been the blond God of the Gridiron. Everyone had been surprised when he chose Cissy to be his goddess, but he liked to be worshipped, and Cissy had been thrilled to oblige. Evidently, things hadn’t worked out.
    â€œAnyway, he’s in jail for now, but he’ll be out next Tuesday. So it would be best if you didn’t tell anybody where I am.”
    â€œI won’t. Course not.” Jodi paused, but the silence was so awkward she rushed to fill it. “Wow, Cissy, I’m sorry.”
    â€œYeah, me too. Should’ve realized it wouldn’t work,” Cissy said. “I knew he was trouble before I married him, but for some weird reason, that only made me more determined to have him. And dang, my folks loved him. They’d have disowned me if I’d turned him down.” She looked down at her hands a moment, and when she met Jodi’s eyes again, she’d blinked back the tears and changed back into her old cheerful self. “So how ’bout you? Married?”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œGood for you.” Cissy stepped back into the trailer’s dim interior. “You always were the smart one. I’m living proof how the wrong man can mess up your life.” She waved a hand to indicate the trailer. “Come on in. I’ve been working nights, so I was kind of napping, watching a soap.”
    The outside of the trailer might have looked abandoned, but the front room was spotless and homey, with evidence everywhere of Cissy’s crafting addiction. Pink crocheted pillows in the shape of poodle dogs perched on the sofa, and a tangle of spider plants dangled in macrame holders in one corner. Flickering images from a small television lit one corner. Cissy grabbed a remote from a coffee table covered with crafting magazines and flicked it off.
    â€œYou must have some fond memories of this place,” she said with a wicked grin.
    Jodi smiled back. “You’re fishing.”
    â€œCan’t blame a girl for trying. Darla Black’s still the gossip queen, but I’m a close second. And a tidbit about you and Teague Treadwell just might put me out in front.”
    Jodi laughed and stepped in for a hug. “You’re shameless.”
    â€œNot completely.” Cissy gave Jodi a squeeze, then stepped away and motioned her into the kitchen. “Old friends are exempt. I wouldn’t spread stories about you—even if they were true.”
    â€œWell, we didn’t spend much time here,” Jodi said. “Teague kept his home life to himself.”
    â€œUnderstandable,” Cissy said. “I think his dad was a lot like Cal. Worse, probably.”
    â€œYeah.” Jodi nodded. Teague had tried to keep his father’s penchant for violence a secret, but everybody knew Treadwell Senior used his family for a punching bag. “He was.”
    â€œSo you saw him, huh?” Cissy plopped down on the sofa. “Are you two going to start up again?”
    â€œWe never started in the first place,” Jodi said.
    Cissy gave her a