Crashing Into Love Read Online Free Page B

that she might have stumbled across a hornet’s nest.
    She wasn’t allergic to bees. Bring it on .
    She spun around and caught up to him.
    He shoved one of his earbuds back in his ear. When he went to do the same thing with the other, she grabbed his wrist and stopped him. Jake came to an abrupt stop, nearly sending her tumbling onto the pavement. She used his wrist as an anchor.
    They were both breathing hard, standing inches apart. Fiona was thrown back to the million times they’d been in the same position and he’d pulled her against his sweaty body and sealed his mouth over hers.
    “Why are you here, Fiona?” The venom in his eyes pierced her confidence.
    “I…” She looked away, shocked by how disgusted he’d sounded when he’d said her name. She’d had no idea that she’d hurt him so deeply.
    “What?” His eyes narrowed, and he ran a hand through his hair.
    Her stomach dipped. She loved when he did that.
    “I thought we could talk.” There. She’d said it.
    “There’s nothing to talk about.” He shoved the earbud back in his ear and took off up the hill.
    Fiona knew it would be hard, but they’d shared so much and cared so deeply for each other. She didn’t think he’d really turned off all of those feelings.
    Shea’s words came screaming back to her. You broke him, and you broke him bad.
    She turned away and took off in the opposite direction, blinking away tears and wondering if she’d been wrong.
    Maybe some mistakes could never be fixed.

Chapter Three
    IT WAS SIX o’clock by the time Ross and Wes showed up at Wes’s house to help Jake with the roof of the shed. Wes ran a dude ranch just outside of Trusty, and he looked the part today in faded jeans and his cowboy boots. Ross was the town veterinarian, and Jake had to smile at his older brother, who must have come straight from work, as he was still wearing a pair of khaki pants and a Trusty Veterinary Clinic polo shirt. Jake knew how busy they were, which was why he’d agreed to help in the first place. Besides, Jake was still reeling from his run-in with Fiona, and physical labor was a great way to work out his frustrations. His career demanded a whole different level of physicality. There was no bigger thrill than jumping out of burning buildings or off a moving train. Jake lived for the rush of the risk, and he was one of the best damn stuntmen in the country—but he missed the manual kind of physical labor.
    He wiped the sweat from his brow and gazed down at the ground, where Wes and Ross were stripping off their T-shirts. They were both heavily muscled and well skilled with tools of any kind. When they were growing up, the boys had all taken care of their own cars and any repairs around their mother’s house. Each one always trying to outdo the other.
    “Don’t even bother,” Jake called down to them.
    Wes stopped with his shirt halfway over his head. “Why not?”
    “I’m done. This was a piece of cake.” He climbed down the ladder and handed Wes his tool belt. “Replaced the plywood and reshingled it. You should be good for many years.”
    “Damn. Really?” Wes slapped Jake on the back, then wiped his sweaty hand on his jeans. He picked up Jake’s T-shirt from the ground where Jake had tossed it, and Jake used it to wipe his face.
    “Y’all bring me a beer?”
    Ross reached into the paper bag he’d set on the ground and handed Jake a beer. “Elisabeth said Emily called you at the crack of dawn.”
    Jake nodded, wiped his brow again, then guzzled the beer. “Yup. She was all over me about that chick from the bar.”
    “I told you not to hook up with her.” Ross rubbed the back of his neck. “Emily cares, Jake. She doesn’t like people talking trash about any of us, and you gave the town a reason to.”
    “I’m a big boy, Ross. I can handle a few rumors.” Jake finished his beer, rethinking his decision to stay in town. He didn’t really want to deal with rumors, but moreover, running into Fiona had done