Read Online Crushing on Love (The Bradens of Peaceful Harbor, Book Four) by Melissa Foster - Free Book Online Page A

reserved and practical. She held her tongue more often than not and always thought things through before speaking. Even though they were different in many ways, Shannon still found her mind going back to her sister time and time again. Tempest was her measuring post of how far she could stray, and even though she was pissed off at the moment, she was glad she’d taken her sister’s advice about coming to Colorado. Of course, Tempest would give her a hard time for throwing herself at Steve, as would her four older brothers. Sam would have her wear a chastity belt if it were up to him. He had always been the most protective of her brothers, which was precisely why she hadn’t called Tempest today to talk over the issue with Steve. She didn’t need Sam catching wind of whatever wasn’t going on. She had enough to deal with trying to weed through the hot-and-heavy confusion of the Steve-Shannon puzzle without her brother butting in.
    At Buckley’s she took several deep breaths before heading inside. She’d come to Colorado to figure out who she was apart from her family. She needed to stop worrying about them, or Steve, and focus on having fun tonight.
    She walked inside and realized she’d called the emergency girls’ night because of Steve. Forgetting about him was obviously off the table.
    The dimly lit bar was loud, crowded, and smelled like too much perfume and testosterone, contrasting sharply with the pine-scented mountain air she’d already gotten accustomed to.
    She spotted Jade and Max on the dance floor. Jade’s long black hair hung nearly to her waist. Dancing to the fast-paced country song in her skinny jeans and cowgirl boots, she looked like she’d never had a baby. Max leaned forward, her brown hair sweeping over her shoulders, and said something. Jade’s smile widened. They looked carefree. Why wouldn’t they? They were happily married with adorable children, wonderful husbands, and careers they loved, while Shannon’s career had turned out to be too solitary and not as fulfilling as she’d hoped—and to top it all off, the only man she wanted was harder to pin down than the foxes she was researching.
    The girls waved and hurried off the dance floor.
    “The cavalry is here!” Jade announced as they both hugged her.
    “And we’re all ears,” Max said. “We’ll figure out whatever’s got your panties in a bunch.”
    Good luck with that . They led Shannon to their table, where Rachel and Savannah were waiting with eager smiles and alcohol. The perfect combination . This was just what she needed. The tightness in her chest eased.
    “Hey, Rach. Savannah, what are you doing here?” Savannah lived in New York with her husband, Jack, and their new baby, Adam. Shannon hadn’t seen her in weeks.
    “Jack had a flight, so I tagged along.” Jack was ex-Special Forces and now worked teaching survival courses and as a bush pilot. “We got in this morning. My dad was missing his grandson and was thrilled to watch Adam tonight.” Savannah rose to greet her and pushed her auburn hair over one shoulder before hugging Shannon. “Nothing could’ve kept me from seeing you tonight.”
    “I’m so glad you’re here.” Shannon slid into the booth beside Rachel and hugged her. “Thanks for coming, Rach.”
    “Are you kidding? I’ve been dying to know what is going on up on that mountain ever since we ran into each other.” Rachel slid her drink to Shannon. “Drink up, because we want details.”
    “Thank you.” Shannon took a long pull of Rachel’s drink. It was sweet and burned all the way down. Perfect . Even the drink is a contradiction . Could she make it through one minute without thinking about Steve?
    Max and Jade settled in beside Savannah.
    “I’m so glad you called,” Max said, reaching for her drink. “I needed a little time away from our beautiful babies. Sometimes it’s nice to be Max instead of Mom, and actually go to the bathroom alone.”
    They all laughed.
    “I was