Excerpt Reveal for A FOOL FOR YOU by Katee Robert

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading in Reviews / 0 Comments

Itโ€™s just a belated goodbye, right? No harm, no foul.

A FOOL FOR YOU
Foolproof Love #3
Katee Robert
Releasing Oct 3rd, 2016
Entangled: Brazen

Itโ€™s been

thirteen years since Hope Moore left Devilโ€™s Falls, land of sexy cowboys and

bad memories. Back for the weekend, she has no intention of seeing the man she

never got overโ€ฆor the two of them getting down and dirty. Itโ€™s just a belated

goodbye, right? No harm, no foul.

Until six weeks later, when her pregnancy test comes back positiveโ€ฆ

Daniel Rodriguez hasnโ€™t forgiven himself for how things went down with Hope all

those years ago. He knows sheโ€™s better off without him, but when she shows up

on his doorstep, panicking because sheโ€™s pregnant with his baby, he canโ€™t help

seeing it as a chance to make up for the past.

Too bad Hope has no intention of going along with his plans.


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 Chapter One

Hope Moore held her breath as she passed the sign declaring Welcome to Devilโ€™s Falls. She hadnโ€™t

crossed the town boundary in thirteen years, not since she sat next to an open
grave as they lowered her brother into the ground. Not since she turned her
back on her entire life here, whisked away by her parents to the best medical
facilities Texas had to offer.

She touched her

knee. Sheโ€™d never cheered again, never run track, never done any of the things
sheโ€™d had planned when she was eighteen and had graduated high school with
stars in her eyes.

Stars in her eyes,

and love in her heart.

Neither had lasted

past that car crash.

Oh, it had taken the

love a lot longer to die than it had her knee, but Daniel Rodriguez made sure
she knew where she stood with him.

She caught herself

taking her foot off the gas and picked up speed again. There was no telling if
sheโ€™d see him while she was here, but it couldnโ€™t matter. Sheโ€™d moved past what
happened that night, moved past the disappointment that sheโ€™d almost let sour
everything else about her life. It might not have happened like she planned,
but sheโ€™d made the best of her college experience, and sheโ€™d gone on to create
a successful little niche for herself, helping people and institutions with too
much money on their hands create trusts and scholarships for those in need.

And now Hope was back

in town to finally do that in her brotherโ€™s memory.

She pulled onto Main

Street, heading for the only lodgings someone out of town with no relatives to
stay with would considerโ€”Sara Janeโ€™s B&B. It was a nice little place, but
Sara Jane was nosy to a criminal degree and gossiped more than anyone Hope had
ever come across. The second she checked in and went up to her room, everyone
with a phone would be getting a call letting them know that she was back in
town.

It wasnโ€™t that it

was a secret, but she couldnโ€™t help but feel that sheโ€™d always be John Mooreโ€™s
little sister, the one who survived when her older brotherโ€”her better in a lot
of waysโ€”didnโ€™t. She knew that was her own insecurity. Sheโ€™d had too many
years of therapy to believe anything else, except in her darkest heart of
hearts, the place she didnโ€™t let see the light any more than strictly
necessary.

But it was hard to

ignore that little voice when driving through Devilโ€™s Falls. No, not through.

To. This was her destination.

Her parents hadnโ€™t

been too thrilled about her coming back, even for a limited time, but even they
couldnโ€™t deny that this scholarship she was here to set up was a good thingโ€”the
right way to honor John. Heโ€™d been in the middle of a full ride at the
University of Texas when he was killed, and it made sense to set it up to allow
other kids the opportunity heโ€™d never be able to realize.

She pressed a hand

to her chest and pulled into the nearest parking spot against the curb. God,

even after all this time, it still hurts. Most days it didnโ€™t. Heโ€™d been

gone long enough that sheโ€™d processed her grief as much as one person could
process grief, and she was able to focus on the good memories.

Most days.

Her eyes focused on

the sign sheโ€™d been staring blindly at, and she frowned. Cups and Kittens. That was new. In a
town as mired in the past as Devilโ€™s Falls, change was something of a novelty.
Or maybe she was biased in a negative way, because the only thing this town
held for her was memories. Some bad, mostly good, all dust now.

Pathetically

grateful for something external to focus on, she climbed out of her car and
looked at the cheery window painting depicting kittens frolicking in between
flowers.

The B&B could

wait a little while longer. Her meeting with the town board wasnโ€™t until tomorrow,
so there was no reason she couldnโ€™t do a little poking around in the meantime.
Thirteen years was a long time. If anyone had asked her, she would have joked
that she hadnโ€™t expected anything about Devilโ€™s Falls to change while she was
gone.

Apparently sheโ€™d

been wrong.

She pushed through

the door and froze in the face of a pair of cats staring at her from their
perch on a table overlooking the big window in the front. The sight surprised a
laugh out of her. โ€œCups and Kittens, indeed.โ€

โ€œIn the most literal

sense.โ€

She glanced over at

the woman behind the counter, a third cat lounging near the register.
Familiarity rolled over Hope. โ€œJules Rodriguez.โ€ Danielโ€™s little cousin. Not so
little anymore. Last time sheโ€™d seen Jules, the girl had been lanky to an
almost awkward degree and had braces with bright green bands. Sheโ€™d grown up
pretty, and there was more of Daniel about her now than there had been when she
was a kid.

Or maybe Iโ€™m just

back in Devilโ€™s Falls and seeing Daniel wherever I look.

Julesโ€™s dark eyes

cleared. โ€œHope? What are you doing back in town?โ€ She hesitated. โ€œI donโ€™t
suppose youโ€™re here to sweep my brooding cousin off his feet and shove him back
into real life?โ€

Her mind tripped

over itself trying to keep up with the other womanโ€™s verbal gymnastics. Jules
had always been like that, now that she thought about itโ€”a bright and bubbly
steamroller. She tried to weed her way through what the woman had just said,
but there was only one thing she could focus on. Daniel. Always Daniel. โ€œWhat
do you mean, back into real life?โ€

โ€œWell, you know.โ€

No, she really

didnโ€™t. She studied Julesโ€™s face, the way she wouldnโ€™t quite meet her eyes. โ€œIs
he okay?โ€ She hadnโ€™t missed the way Quinn Baldwyn had frozen up when sheโ€™d
asked that same question a few weeks ago at his sisterโ€™s wedding, and worry had
been simmering in the back of her mind ever since, no matter how many times she
told herself it wasnโ€™t any of her business. Daniel was a grown man, and he had
always been more than capable of taking care of himselfโ€”and everyone else
around him. Things changed, but she couldnโ€™t see that changing.

Jules shifted, her

hand darting out to pet the calico on the counter and then darting away when
the cat swiped at her. โ€œDefine okay.โ€

It was none of her

business. It stopped being her business a very long time ago.

But that didnโ€™t stop

her from clearing her throat and asking, โ€œIs heโ€ฆis he married?โ€ Did he build

the house we always talked about and have those two wild boys and one sweet
girl? Does he bring his wife waffles for breakfast in bed on the weekends?

Oh my God, stop.

But Jules was

already shaking her head, her mouth turning down. โ€œNope. No wife, no kids, no
serious relationship in, well, thirteen years.โ€

Hope blinked.

โ€œYouโ€™re joking.โ€

โ€œI wish I was.โ€ A

calculating look came into her eyes, but then she shook herself and it was all
guileless enthusiasm. โ€œWhat are you doing for dinner?โ€ She rushed on without
waiting for a response. โ€œWeโ€™re having a little thing with Quinn and my friend
Aubry, and, well, I kind of went and married Adam Meyers.โ€

Some things really do change. She remembered Adam, the wild-eyed boy whoโ€™d

grown into a wild-eyed man, better than she remembered Jules. No one had
expected him to come back to Devilโ€™s Falls after he blew out of town that last
time, let alone to settle here andโ€ฆget married. โ€œWow. Whatโ€™s Daniel have to say
about that?โ€

โ€œHe was best man at

our wedding.โ€ Jules laughed. โ€œThough he was pretty furious at the beginning.
Here, sit down. You look like you could use a coffee, and Iโ€™ll tell you the
story since weโ€™re generally pretty dead Thursday nights. Then Iโ€™ll close up and
we can go to dinner. The boys will love to see you. Quinn was just talking
about you the other day.โ€

Hope wasnโ€™t sure she

actually agreed to any of it, but the next thing she knew, she was drinking
coffee while a cat curled up in her lap and listening to Julesโ€™s wild tale
about a fake relationship that turned into a real relationship. Somehow in the
middle of that, she was bundled up into Julesโ€™s truck, and by then it was too
late to change her mind.

She settled into her

seat, consoling herself with the fact that Jules had very specifically not
mentioned Danielโ€™s name. There was no reason to think heโ€™d be there, but it would
be nice to reconnect with some of her old friends. As much as it had hurt when
things went south with Daniel, knowing that sheโ€™d lost Quinn and Adam, too, had
just been salt in the wound. Sheโ€™d chased them around since she could toddle
after her big brother and his friends, and theyโ€™d turned into true friends over
the years. She understood why they hadnโ€™t reached out, but she wasnโ€™t going to
turn down a chance to catch up with them.

It would probably be

the only nice thing about being back in Devilโ€™s Falls.

โ€ฆ
โ€œNot interested.โ€

โ€œYou havenโ€™t even

heard what Iโ€™m asking.โ€

โ€œDonโ€™t need to.โ€

Daniel Rodriguez leaned down and unbuckled Ritaโ€™s saddle and hefted it off the
horseโ€™s back. Theyโ€™d had a good run today, the hot sun making it impossible to
think too hard about anything other than whether a human being could roast
alive in Texas in August. He hadnโ€™t yet, so that put the odds ever so slightly
in his favor.

All he wanted was to

finish here and head back to his place for a cold shower and an even colder
beer.

It would just

fucking figure that the universe had other ideas. He glanced up, but Aubry
Kaiser hadnโ€™t moved. In fact, with her arms crossed over her chest and her chin
up, all signs pointed to this adding up to an argument he couldnโ€™t possibly
win.

Damn it.
โ€œNo.โ€

She frowned harder.

โ€œItโ€™s your birthday. You canโ€™t just sit at home by yourself.โ€

โ€œSince itโ€™s my

birthday, this is the one day a year I should be able to do exactly that
with no one bitching at me.โ€ He regretted the harsh words almost as soon as
they were out of his mouth, but Aubry wasnโ€™t like his little cousin. She was
meaner than a rattler and twice as likely to bite.

She narrowed her

amber eyes at him. โ€œYour cousin misses you.โ€

That explained why

she was out here when he knew for a fact she thought horses were akin to
goatsโ€”as in, the devilโ€™s own creatures. Hell, she was giving poor Rita a
suspicious look even while guilt-tripping him using the one person in his life
he couldnโ€™t say no to.

Which doesnโ€™t

explain why Jules herself isnโ€™t here.

โ€œShe sees me on a

regular basis.โ€

โ€œThis is your

birthday.โ€ Aubry sighed and rolled her eyes, looking put-upon. โ€œLook, it goes
like thisโ€”Jules has worked really hard to put together a surprise birthday
party for you, and if you donโ€™t show up to be surprised, sheโ€™s going to be
crushed.โ€

He stared. โ€œI donโ€™t

want a surprise birthday party.โ€ The fact that it was no longer a surprise said
a whole lot about Aubryโ€™s priorities, and he couldnโ€™t blame her for that.

โ€œLook at my face.

This is the face of a woman who doesnโ€™t give two fucks what you care about.
What I care about is Jules, and that means youโ€™re going to go shower off
the smell of that animal and show up at their house in an hour, right on time.โ€
She paused, her brows slanting down in an expression that was downright
forbidding. โ€œYou helped me out not too long ago, so Iโ€™m going to do you a solid
and give you the lowdown. Ready?โ€

Fuck, no. โ€œSure.โ€

โ€œJules is worried

about you. Really worried. If you donโ€™t show up tonight, sheโ€™s going to take
that as a sign to go forward with plan B.โ€

He knew he was going

to regret it, but he still asked, โ€œWhatโ€™s plan B?โ€

Aubry gave a tight

smile. โ€œA full-scale intervention with everyone in your life, including your
parents. The kind where they sit you down in a circle and each speak their mind
in the most uncomfortable way possible until youโ€™re ready to beg the ground to
swallow you whole.โ€ Her smile dimmed. โ€œSheโ€™s worried about you, Daniel.โ€

Everyone seemed

worried about him, though they usually did him the courtesy of at least trying
to hide the looks exchanged when they thought he wasnโ€™t looking. The whispered
conversations with his various cousins and his parents. The never-ending work
that was only there because they were throwing him a goddamn bone. It didnโ€™t
seem to matter that he hadnโ€™t done anything requiring an intervention. Heโ€™d
just stopped enjoying the company of people, mostly because he was such shitty
company these days. But try telling that to the family, and they acted like he
had just confessed to being an ax murderer.

At least Jules had

mostly stayed out of it. Up until today.

He

grabbed the curry brush and went over Ritaโ€™s back. Aubry was right. Showing up

to a party he didnโ€™t want on a day he sure as fuck didnโ€™t feel like celebrating
was vastly preferable to the alternative. โ€œExplain to me what the plan is.โ€

She gave a grin that

did nothing to reassure him. โ€œDinner and drinks. Itโ€™ll be nice. Adam and Quinn
miss you.โ€

โ€œI see those

assholes every day.โ€ Kind of hard not to when they worked the ranch alongside
him. It felt right to have Adam back, to have Quinn there, but at the same time
it was a constant reminder that they were a man short.

And it was his

fault.

โ€œItโ€™s different and

you know it,โ€ Aubry continued, obviously enjoying how miserable he was. Sheโ€™d
always been a mean one, which never failed to amuse him because Jules was her
polar oppositeโ€”as bright and happy as a spring day. Rita shifted in her stall,
and Aubry went even paler than she was normally. โ€œDinner starts at six. Donโ€™t
be late.โ€ Then she was gone, moving at a clip fast enough that a less cautious
man than Daniel would call it running.

He waited a good

five minutes before he followed, hauling the saddle into the tack room and
sorting out the bridle. He didnโ€™t begrudge Quinn his happinessโ€”or Adam, for
that matterโ€”but sometimes it sure as fuck was hard to be around them and their
women. The fact that one of those women was his little cousin barely entered
into it.

He headed for his

truck and took the pitted dirt road leading around the edge of his parentsโ€™
property to the little house heโ€™d built a few years ago. It wasnโ€™t anything
fancy, but it got the job done, and it was far enough outside town that most
people thought twice before stopping by unannounced.

Most people not

including his family.

The shower did

nothing to ward off the feeling of pending doom. It wasnโ€™t that he didnโ€™t like
Jules or Adam or Quinn or whoever the fuck else was going to be at this damn
party, but he wasnโ€™t in the partying sort of mood. Truth be told, he hadnโ€™t
been in that mood for over a decade. It was almost enough to make him call the
whole thing off, but the knowledge that Jules would have no problem bringing
the party to him got him moving again. Not to mention the potential intervention
he needed like he needed a hole in the head.

At least if he went

there, he could hang out for the appropriate amount of time, make his excuses,
and slip out while everyone else was occupied. Two hours, tops.

Feeling

significantly better, he pulled on a pair of his favorite old jeans and a
T-shirt and grabbed his keys. It struck him as he walked out the door that he
was thirty-fucking-four years old. How the hell did that happen? He
shook his head. He knew damn well how that happened. One day turned into a
week, a month, a year, a decade. All while he kept on keeping, the world
changing around him, but never changing enough.

He glanced at hishis

watch. โ€œTwo hours starts when I get there.โ€

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee

Robertlearned to tell her stories at her grandpaโ€™s knee. She found romance
novels at age twelve and they changed her life. When not writing sexy
contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games
with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and
planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

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