SAM: A Best Friend's Sister Sweet Romantic Comedy (Waco Wranglers Reid Brothers Book 3) Read online

  SAM

  A Best Friend’s Sister Sweet Romantic Comedy

  Heather HORROCKS

  Contents

  Happy Ending at 93%

  Half Title

  1. Look How That Turned Out

  2. Loose Curls

  3. Muscle-Bound Football Players

  4. Like Square Footage

  5. Back Off, Zeke

  6. What’s Not to Like?

  7. Only the Normal Fear

  8. Tell Katie About Your Date

  9. Bless Her Heart

  10. A Shot of Adrenaline

  11. I’m Gonna Kill Him

  12. Can I Be Sarcastic?

  13. As Smitten and Stupid as You Two

  14. Millions of Heartbroken Women

  15. Catcalls

  16. Epilogue - And Your Sense of Mischief

  Thank you!

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Series by Heather Horrocks

  Acknowledgments

  Rights & Copyrights

  Book Club Questions

  Thanks again!

  Dedicated to my son, Mike Horrocks. I’m glad I can always make you laugh, even when you tried really hard not to. You’re one of my favorite people in the world!

  And to Mark. I’m glad laughter is such a big part of our life together.

  Happy Ending at 93%

  In case you’re like me and want to know how close you are to the end of a book, and because there are pages that come after the end of an ebook, I just want to let you know where ‘The End’ of this book is. Enjoy.

  SAM

  © 2021 Heather Horrocks

  1

  Look How That Turned Out

  “I have some good news for you.”

  From his position on the floor of the theater room, Sam Reid paused his game and raised an eyebrow at his buddy, Zeke Jackson.

  Zeke shrugged. “You need to move out.”

  “Real funny, dude. And that would be bad news.”

  “No. I mean it.” Still wielding his game controller and without taking his eyes off the giant television screen on the wall, Zeke shrugged. “By tomorrow.”

  “That’s not good news,” Sam said, frowning. “I just moved in.”

  “You’ve been here a year, dude.”

  Had it been that long since Daniel moved in with his parents and Sam moved out? Wow.

  Zeke was his best buddy and second string quarterback on the Waco Wranglers pro football team. Sam had just moved up to first string quarterback, a position he had mixed feelings about. His older brother, Daniel, had retired from the position because of a head injury. Sam had been living with his parents, but at twenty-eight decided it was time to move out. There was too much family with his parents right now. Zeke’s place was an interim move until Sam figured out where he wanted to buy his own place. He figured he had a couple more months before it became a problem. “What are you talking about?”

  “Sorry, dude.” Zeke shrugged again. “My sister just told me she’s coming to town. She’s going to move in with me for a while, and I can’t be having any guys living here while she’s here or my mama will tan my hide.”

  “Savannah’s moving here? Why?”

  “She didn’t say. But she needs to move in for a little bit.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “As a touchdown.” Zeke grinned at him. “Ha! I scored!”

  “You distracted me with this bogus story.”

  “Not bogus. In fact, I need you to go help her move.”

  Sam realized that his friend was telling the truth. “For real?”

  “As that touchdown.”

  “Why can’t you help her?”

  “I have a training I’ve committed to present. Not even on football. Just on how to improve teamwork and keep up morale. So I’ve gotta stay in town.” Zeke stood and tossed his game controller on the couch. “But I know someone who’s looking for a short-time renter and I’ll make those arrangements for you for when you get back.”

  “But she lives in Lubbock.” That was a nearly six-hour drive.

  “I know.” Zeke frowned down at Sam. “I would appreciate it if you’d help me out. I trust you.”

  “Can’t she fly?”

  Zeke shook his head. “She needs a U-Haul truck to put all her belongings in. I need someone to rent the truck, move her boxes and furniture, and drive her here.”

  Sam pushed up from the floor, tossing his own controller to the theater seat. The room had three rows of seats with a huge screen on which they could watch movies, watch game reels, and play games. He and Zeke were both in the off season, between games and practices starting again, so he had the time. And Zeke was his best buddy.

  With a shrug, Sam said, “Okay, sure. I’ll do it.”

  “Thanks, man.” Zeke clapped a hand on Sam’s shoulder.

  Sam grinned. “But you owe me.”

  “I do.”

  “When do I need to be there?”

  “Tomorrow by about noon.”

  “So, I need to leave early tomorrow morning. Five or sixish.”

  “Yeah.” Zeke shrugged. “I looked it up. There’s a flight in the morning you could catch. It’s like three-and-a-half hours with two stops, but then you can just rent a U-Haul there and return it here.”

  It was barely shorter than driving, but he wouldn’t have to worry about what to do with his own vehicle that way. It wasn’t what he’d planned on doing with the day, but he owed Zeke for letting him stay here so long. A year. It boggled his mind.

  Not that he hadn’t paid rent, as well as bought most of the food for the two of them. His father had always told him the way to not wear out your welcome was to help lighten the other person’s load. He’d done that. “Okay. I’ll check it out. You’ll drive me to the airport, right?”

  “Sure. And one last thing,” Zeke said, catching Sam’s gaze. “Don’t you dare put the moves on my sister.”

  “Come on, dude. You can trust me, remember?” Getting dumped by his college girlfriend for a guy who’d already gone pro had cured him of wanting a relationship.

  What was he thinking? He was just helping his best bud. He’d never even met Savannah. He’d fly in, help her pack, and drive her back to Waco. How hard could it be?

  Savannah Jackson taped box number twenty-five closed, stood and stretched her aching back. “This is hard work.”

  “You’re telling me.” Her best friend, Selena Hendrickson, looked around the apartment. “And we still have at least ten boxes to go, I’m guessing.”

  “Thanks for helping me.”

  “I’m gonna miss you. I don’t know why you have to traipse across the state away from me.” Her friend sighed. “Well, yeah, I do. I understand. I really do. I’m still gonna miss you, though.”

  She pulled her friend into a hug. “Let’s definitely stay in touch. Maybe come visit me after I get settled in. Maybe even move there with me.”

  “I’ll probably never leave Lubbock. I’m a home town girl.”

  “Just for a visit, then.”

  “Find a few good men first, and send me pics. That might seal the deal.”

  Savannah laughed. “You know I’m going to be super busy working at my family’s realty business, right? I won’t have much party time to scope out guys.”

  She’d worked at her family’s business, My Sweet Home Real Estate, all through high school, learning the ropes. Returning home like a dog with her tail between her legs after her disastrous marriage an
d divorce, she was thankful to have work she could jump into and a family whose arms were open to welcome her back.

  Savannah pulled open the fridge and brought out two bottles of water. Selena took one and gulped down half. Savannah did the same to hers. When they’d rehydrated somewhat, she studied the apartment. “This is going to take several more hours.”

  Selena taped together another box, and began filling it with kitchen items. “What time is your brother getting here?”

  “Tomorrow morning, early. But my brother couldn’t come, so it’s one of his football buddies.”

  “Ohhh. Maybe he’ll be cute.”

  “He’ll be big, anyway.” Savannah laughed. “He’s a football player, all brawn and no brain.”

  “That’s okay. I don’t mind all brawn.”

  “I like someone I can converse with intelligently.”

  “You could converse with your husband, and look how that turned out.”

  “Yeah.” Rylan Taggert had been smart. And cunning. A smart, cunning sociopath who had gaslighted her, who enjoyed messing with her mind, who liked to play games with her heart. “Maybe I’m more interested in all brawn, too, now that you bring up that painful subject.”

  “Heck, you moved here from Waco just so your husband could separate you from your family. I saw how he tried to distance you from your friends here, too. Since I happened to be one of them.”

  “Thanks for seeing through what he was doing.”

  “I’ve dealt with my own share of toxic people.” Selena motioned around. “You didn’t get to keep too much of your nice stuff, either.”

  Rylan had taken the best stuff and Savannah still considered she got the better end of the deal. It had taken nearly a year for the divorce to be final. It was an ugly divorce, thanks to said sociopath. Sometimes he called her up just to mess with her mind. Not her favorite move.

  Since moving out, she’d just been renting and working her own small real estate business. And Rylan stopped hassling her so much after he found a new victim — er, wife.

  But she was tired of running into him at local shops. It was time for her to move back home, 350 miles and nearly six hours driving away from her ex.

  She would have moved immediately except she’d had to sell her business — of which Rylan demanded half the proceeds — and that had taken awhile.

  “I’ll be so glad to move away from all that drama.”

  “Hey, we should order in some pizza. Best pizza in the west.”

  Savannah smiled. “It might be a while before I get back up here to have some. Order our favorite?”

  “Oh, yeah. Canadian bacon, tomatoes, and mushrooms, coming right up.”

  2

  Loose Curls

  Savannah had never been so glad to take a shower and wash off all the packing dust. She’d dressed in shorts and a T-shirt featuring a house and the words Sold is my favorite four-letter word. With tennis shoes on her feet, she was ready for loading all her boxes and furniture into the U-Haul truck. As soon as said truck arrived, with her brother’s buddy. Who she hoped was more than a muscle-bound jock, as it would be nice to have a pleasant, intelligent conversation during the six-hour drive. And maybe longer depending on the get-up-and-go — or not — of the truck.

  Selena had slept over and they’d stayed up talking until the wee hours, then tossed the last few things in boxes. They’d already eaten breakfast and packed the last items, except for the few pieces of furniture she’d be taking with her.

  When the doorbell rang, Savannah started. She glanced at the clock. Eleven-thirty. Her brother’s friend was a little early, so she was glad she’d pushed and had everything ready. She wanted to get on with her new life.

  Selena was doing her hair in the bathroom, so Savannah walked to the door. She took a moment to straighten her T-shirt. She didn’t really care what her brother’s friend thought, but she also had been taught from an early age by her Texas momma to look her best.

  Putting on a bright smile, she pulled the door open. The smile faded and she groaned. “You.”

  From behind her, Selena asked, “What? Who is it?”

  “Rylan,” she called back to her friend. Her ex-husband had chosen this day to show up at her apartment. “What are you doing here?”

  He smiled down at her, the way he did when he was in the charming-her-back phase. “Come on, babe, that’s no way to greet your former lover.”

  What a creepy way to refer to himself. “Where’s your wife?”

  He reached out a hand and placed it on the wall and leaned in. “She’s on a trip to visit her mother, and I’m all alone. I’ve been thinking a lot about us, Savannah. I think maybe I made a mistake.”

  She shook her head. “Oh, no, you don’t. You need to leave now.”

  She closed the door — or would have if he hadn’t stuck his foot inside and pushed the door open. “Come on, babe. That’s no way to greet me after all this time. Can’t you be nice?”

  Selena stepped next to her and glared at Rylan. “Get lost, loser.”

  A flicker of irritation crossed his face. “What are you doing here?”

  Selena pulled out her phone. “I’m calling the cops, that’s what I’m doing. It’s time for you to leave.”

  He reached out and flicked Selena’s phone out of her hands, sending it clattering across the floor. “That’s not necessary. I just need a few words with Savannah here. In private.”

  Savannah’s heart pounded and she froze, both a result of the adrenaline and fear hitting her system.

  “Hey!” Selena said, and picked up her phone. “Jerk.”

  Her friend’s words broke Savannah free of the frozen state his presence had put her in. Her hands were shaking and she made fists. “You need to leave now, Rylan. I mean it.”

  But he took a step toward her.

  Then suddenly, he went flying through the door and hit the ground outside with a thud.

  What on earth had just happened?

  She blinked once. Twice. Again.

  Rylan really was on the ground. And there was a guy standing over Rylan. A big guy. All muscles. He’d apparently grabbed Rylan and yanked him outside the house.

  Rylan crab-walked away from the guy. “Hey, I’m gonna call the cops on you.”

  Her heart fluttered. This stranger had saved her from the discomfort of dealing with Rylan!

  “You do that,” the big guy said, “and we’ll tell them all about how you were trespassing and threatening the pretty ladies.”

  Rylan flipped over and brushed himself off, keeping an eye on the big guy. Then he glared at Savannah and walked to his car. He tried for nonchalance, but failed to reach it.

  As he burned rubber down the road, the big guy turned around. He caught her eye and said, “Savannah Jackson?”

  “Yes.”

  He put out a hand. “I’m Sam Reid. Your brother asked me to take you home to Waco.”

  She put her hand in his large, warm one. “I’m glad to meet you.”

  When he released her hand, it felt too soon, which was weird.

  Her friend put out her hand. “I’m her friend. Selena Hendrickson. Your timing was perfect. I never saw Rylan so scared. It was great.”

  “Rylan was the creep?” Sam asked.

  Savannah nodded, the adrenaline beginning to fade, replaced by shaky relief. “Thanks for getting him out of here.”

  “Ex-boyfriend?”

  “Even worse. Ex-husband.”

  He nodded, and changed the subject. “I rented a big moving truck. Why don’t you show me what all needs to go into it.”

  She stared at him a moment longer, feeling her face warm. He was gorgeous. A big football player, but not the huge linebacker size. “Quarterback?”

  He nodded.

  Selena looked back and forth between the two of them.

  “Okay,” she said, leading him around her small apartment, “This way. We’ve lugged all of the boxes into the living room and kitchen. There are chairs, a table, and a sideb
oard in here, and my bed and nightstand in the bedroom. I’ve already taken the bed apart.”

  He nodded again. Wasn’t much of a talker, she supposed, but then he said, “Shouldn’t take long. And which car is yours? I’ll need to hook it to the hitch on the back when we’re done loading.”

  She motioned toward her red Camry.

  “Thanks.” He hefted the headboard and carried it outside to the truck. He leaned it against the rental truck and lifted the back, sliding out the little bridge thing from the ground to the back of the truck. Then he carried the headboard into the truck.

  She exchanged a glance with Selena, who grinned. “Wow. You get to spend the entire day with this guy. Lucky.”

  Savannah picked up a box. “I’m not looking for any kind of relationship, so it’s actually not that lucky.”

  “Whatever,” Selena said, also lifting a box. “Sometimes you just have to take a chance.”

  Sam carried box after box out to the truck, stacking them like he was playing Tetris.

  And he did it all while in a weird sort of shock. Of course, he’d seen Savannah’s photos before because Zeke had a couple of framed prints around his house, and he’d thought she was cute. But the photos hadn’t prepared him for what she looked like in person.

  She had curls cascading about her face, curls he’d like to run his fingers through while he kissed her thoroughly.

  But that was ridiculous. He wasn’t some randy young buck. At twenty-eight, he just didn’t react like this to women any more. Especially not women his best buddy had warned him against putting the moves on.