Read Online Chasing Trouble by Joya Ryan - Free Book Online Page B

already have something going on here?”
    Colt knew he was in trouble. Did he want Yvonne? No. But whatever was happening to Jenna over there interested him. The normally calm and cool Miss JJ was donning a fierce scowl and pissed-off glare aimed right at…him? Yeah, he hooked up with Yvonne last year, but surely JJ couldn’t really be that upset since they weren’t together and it was a past incident. Right?
    What the hell did I do?
    He didn’t have to answer that since he likely knew the answer: he showed up. And now Yvonne was attempting to stake some kind of claim while also witnessing Colt and JJ’s innocent interaction, something JJ was obviously upset about. But he knew women, and the Taylor women in particular, made up the majority of the town’s gossip. Colt wanted to slap his hat and curse himself because damn it, he had come here to win JJ over by convincing her he was discreet.
    “There’s nothing going on at all. I’ve got to get to recess duty,” Jenna said sharply and Yvonne seemed way too satisfied with that answer.
    Jenna moved past him and toward the door while Yvonne shimmied a little closer into his personal space. Damn it all to hell.
    “Thank you for coming, Colt. It meant a lot to Alex,” JJ said as she walked out the door, her words hanging in the air long after she left.
    …
    “How was school today?” Lily asked both McCade men as she pulled milk from the fridge.
    “So good!” Alex said. “Uncle Colt was a way better sharing than Michael’s snake. Miss Jenna didn’t like the snake at all.”
    Colt wanted to scoff because Miss JJ didn’t seem to like him much either. But he had to be better than a snake right?
    “And what has you pouting over there?” Lily asked Colt as she set down a couple cookies and two big glasses of two percent. Before Colt could answer, his nephew ratted him out.
    “Uncle Colt was trying to impress Miss Jenna and it didn’t work.”
    “Oh, really?” Lily put her hand on her hip and Colt suddenly found his cookie very fascinating and was not at all avoiding the death stare he knew his baby sister was aiming at him.
    “Yep,” Alex said, crumbs of chocolate chip flying from his full mouth as he continued to throw his uncle under the bus. “Then Miss Taylor showed up and—”
    “And you were supposed to be out on recess,” Colt interjected. To which Alex just shrugged, not looking the least bit guilty that Colt had caught him eavesdropping by the door earlier and was now replaying everything for Lily.
    “Yvonne Taylor?” Lily said with a half grin, obviously amused. “How did that go?”
    Colt blew out a breath. He had barely gotten out of a lunch date with the woman, making up an excuse to leave before those press-on nails sank any deeper into his biceps and she could drag him to the teacher’s lounge.
    “Fine. Just a friendly hello and I was on my way.” Colt took a bite of his cookie and tried really hard not to slam his fist down and throw a fit because there had been only one thing on his mind all day and damn it… “What’s Jenna’s deal?” Colt blurted out, frustration finally getting the better of him. “She’s all uptight.”
    When he looked up to see Lily’s eyes wide and staring at him like he’d just delivered a curse of the century, he felt like an ass. He hadn’t meant to lash out, but he needed some answers without giving too much away.
    “Alex, honey, why don’t you go play for a few minutes while I talk to your Uncle Colt.”
    Alex nodded, jammed the rest of his cookie in his mouth, and ran out of the kitchen with full cheeks.
    Lily came to stand by Colt and glared down at him. “Please tell me you aren’t going after Jenna. She’s my best friend, Colt. She’s not like those floozies you meet up with on the circuit.”
    “Floozies? I don’t date floozies, Lil.”
    “You don’t date, period,” she said.
    That was a good point. But JJ was different. This whole situation was different. “I just want to…”