Read Hotter than Texas (Pecan Creek) for Free Online

cigarette. “I like it here. If I can make a go of Hotter than Hell Nuts, I’ll stay here forever.”
    “We’ll see.” Lucy’s tone was dark. She flipped her chin-length, wavy hair and got up. “These are good. Not perfect, but good. I’m going to go bum a cig off Maggie.”
    “Don’t start smoking,” Sugar said automatically, but Lucy had already departed. She crunched on a pecan, cataloguing the flavors. Vanilla, a hint of cinnamon, a layer of caramel—
    They were getting closer. The journey was the point, wasn’t it? The closeness they were supposed to gain as a family? Lucy didn’t really understand the journey. She was young; she wanted fast answers.
    There was no such thing, at least not always. Not for the scars in the Cassavechia family. She went to the sink to wash out the skillet, watching her sister and mother walking under the canopy of full, leafy pecan trees, and thought that here in Pecan Creek, they were at least safe.
    Idly, she wondered if Jake had been staring at her as Lucy claimed. Maybe—but probably not. He reminded her of Ramon, who had loved her in his own way but not the way she’d needed to be loved.
    J.T. Bentley seemed remarkably similar. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, dark-humored, somewhat secretive. Lucy was right—he was working an angle—and Sugar had an idea that he was a man who liked his wall of reserve.
    It was fine with her. The last thing she wanted was a man hitting on her. She planned to enjoy this time with her sister and her mother, for as long as it could possibly last.
    Nothing for the Cassavechias ever seemed to last long.
     
     
    At six forty-five, just like a date, Jake showed up for Maggie. Sugar appreciated him treating her mother so courteously. “She’s getting her purse,” Sugar said without inviting Jake in—when he visited, she felt like this wasn’t their house—but Maggie elbowed her out of the way.
    “I’m ready. Ready to go be the new mayor of Pecan Creek!”
    Jake smiled. “I’ll have her back in a few hours.”
    Sugar nodded, keeping her gaze slightly averted from Jake’s dark brown eyes. The man was gorgeous, heartstoppingly so, and nothing good could come of having one’s heart stopped by gorgeous. She waved good-bye as they left, and went upstairs to the Best Little Whorehouse room.
    The bedroom was an oasis of sorts. She couldn’t imagine changing a thing. At first, she’d been put off by the heavy draperies. Perhaps she’d even felt claustrophobic. The circular bed practically begged for its heavy curtains to be closed at night, but it was August, and the encircling velvet made her feel like something out of Scrooge’s bedchamber. When the hangings were open, the room felt more open and welcoming.
    “Sugar!” Lucy called. “Have you seen this sweet cabinet?”
    Sugar went into the hall to join Lucy, who was squatting down in front of an old walnut-stained Revere-style cabinet. “What’s so sweet about it?”
    “It has family memorabilia.” Lucy held up an album. “Let’s investigate, shall we?”
    Sugar blinked. “Is there a good reason to investigate?”
    “There always is.” Lucy flipped the book open. “Oh, look at Jake in his little swimsuit.”
    She stared at a picture of Jake on the beach with a shovel and bucket, next to a tall, dark-haired woman wearing Ava Gardner sunglasses and a Betty Grable swimsuit. “Women really did seem more glamorous back then,” she murmured.
    Lucy flipped the page. “Our photos of Maggie don’t quite look like this. I think Vivian may have been raised a bit more gently, as they say.”
    Sugar seated herself cross-legged on the hardwood floor next to her sister. “Where’s Jake’s father?”
    “Not in this book, at least not yet.” Lucy pointed at the carefully written captions beneath each photo. “Here we have Jake in the first-grade Pecan Creek Christmas play. He was one of Santa’s elves.”
    Jake’s slightly mischievous brown eyes shone with delight, even in the old