If the Stick Turns Pink... Read Online Free

cup of coffee.” Millie’s Family Restaurant was the most popular place in Foxrun.
    Melanie nodded her assent, and together the two of them started walking toward the restaurant on Main Street. As usual, Melanie had to lengthen her stridesto match his, and as usual, he was clad in tight, worn jeans and a T-shirt.
    She couldn’t help but notice how the worn denim hugged the length of his long, muscular legs and emphasized his trim waist.
    â€œHave you heard the newest rumor making its way around town?” she asked tentatively.
    â€œIf it’s the one I think it is, I’m afraid I’m the one who started it.”
    â€œWhat?” She stopped in her tracks and stared at him.
    â€œCome on, I’ll explain everything over a cup of coffee.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door of Millie’s.
    A bell over the door tinkled as they entered into the warm, heavenly scented interior of the restaurant. It was late enough in the evening that there were few diners.
    Bailey led her to the back booth, their regular spot for dining. Almost immediately Samantha, Foxrun’s sheriff’s teenage daughter, appeared to take their orders.
    â€œJust coffee for me,” Bailey said.
    â€œThe same for me,” Melanie agreed. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on?” she asked when Samantha had departed.
    He leaned back against the red plastic booth and raked a hand through his hair in distraction. “Remember our conversation this afternoon when I toldyou I was half afraid some Miss Dairy Cow contestant would show up naked in my bed?”
    Astonishment swept through her. “Don’t tell me…who?”
    â€œSueEllen Trexlor, but she wasn’t in my bed, she was in my shower.”
    â€œNaked?”
    â€œAs a jaybird.”
    They both stopped talking as Samantha returned to the booth with two cups of steaming coffee. When she left them once again, Melanie stifled a grin with one of her hands. “Tell me all.”
    â€œIt isn’t funny,” Bailey exclaimed with a scowl. “It was downright embarrassing.”
    She tried to keep the grin from her lips. “So, how did things go from a naked SueEllen in your shower to the rumor that we’re engaged?”
    Bailey frowned and wrapped his hands around his mug. “I guess your crazy idea was still going around in my head when I opened my shower door and saw her there waiting for me. I panicked and told her I was an engaged man.” The blue of his T-shirt intensified the blue of his eyes as he held her gaze. “Who did you hear it from?”
    â€œKathy Milsap. According to her, SueEllen told Teri, who told Krista who told Kathy.” She shrugged. “You know how things spread in Foxrun.”
    â€œI know,” he replied, looking utterly miserable.
    â€œHonestly, Bailey, it isn’t the end of the world,” she exclaimed. “The way I see it we have twochoices. You can either tell everyone you’re a liar or we can get married and follow through on the plan I outlined this afternoon.”
    His frown deepened and he stared down into his coffee mug. Melanie waited patiently, knowing that Bailey never did anything without thinking through his options.
    She took a sip of her coffee and tried not to notice the length of his long dark lashes, the attractive structure of his facial features.
    There had been a time in high school when raging hormones or something alien had made her yearn for Bailey in a way that had nothing to do with their friendship.
    She had stayed awake nights wondering what it would be like if he kissed her passionately on her lips. She’d suddenly been intensely aware of his scent, his strong hands and his broad chest. She had hungered for the touch of his hands, to be crushed against his chest, to taste the heat of his kiss.
    Then he’d started dating Marlie Walker, a girl with boobs bigger than her IQ and a reputation for