Wilde About Her (Wilde Pack Series)
Angie Daniels
The Wilde Wolf Pack Series
1
As Denim entered the town of Justice, Texas, she slowed her VW Bug to a crawl. A fifteen miles an hour speed limit. Really? This wasn't at all how she'd planned to spend her summer. Not even close.
Welcome to Justice, home of the best iced tea in all of Texas.
She scowled at the large billboard up ahead. The place was so small, if you blinked, you'd miss it. The mayor had come up with the ridiculous idea to put up a sign large enough for everyone to see. Luckily, Justice was so close to the interstate, it drew thousands of visitors, mostly passing through.
It's a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there.
The sun was beginning to set and had bathed the shabby town in orange and brown. Denim released a frustrated sigh. The colors were just as bland and boring as the summer ahead. After graduation, her college roommate had headed off to Mexico to stay in a rented hacienda, while she was going to be stuck in Dullsville USA. Nothing exciting ever happened in this town. Denim would know. Every summer, until her thirteenth birthday, she had come to Justice to stay with her grandparents.
She traveled down First Street with its small stores displaying fashions that had gone out of style three seasons ago. Shopping … real shopping … was hanging out at Macy's with her girlfriends and afterwards dining at The Cheesecake Factory before returning to campus to hang out or study at the coffee shop. But senior year was now over. Last week she'd graduated with a degree in hotel and restaurant management. Stupid her, had declined an internship with a Fortune 500 corporation because that would have meant being away from her boyfriend.
Stupid girl!
But how was she to have known her life was going to take a soaring nosedive? She was supposed to be in New York with her boyfriend Asher, who had landed a super awesome job with one of the top advertising agencies in the country. They had plans to rent an apartment in one of those trendy, high-rise buildings in Manhattan. Denim would have eventually landed a fabulous job managing a restaurant, then busted her ass taking it to the next level. It was supposed to be Asher and Denim against the world, with their lives mapped out for the next five years, and yet she was back in the last place she thought she'd ever be.
Justice, Texas.
She pulled into the parking lot of Pappy's Diner, shut off the engine and just sat there, and thought about Asher and how amazing their relationship had been before she caught him in bed with another girl. And not just any girl. Her so-called best friend. Kimberly.
The jokes on you, Denim!
Hell, there was no telling how long the relationship had been going on. She shivered as the horror of that day slithered through her mind. The only reason she had even found out was because she had gotten off early from her job at the movie theatre and had gone directly to the fraternity house to surprise Asher. Instead, Denim got the biggest surprise of her life!
The two had even the audacity to text and try to apologize.
Denim, I'm sorry.
Babe, it just happened.
Yeah, right. Her boyfriend tripped on an area rug and fell between her best friend's legs.
Every time Denim thought about it, she got pissed all over again. Kimberly had been smiling in her face while sneaking around behind her back. Denim had given both a piece of her mind, then avoided them while she finished the last few weeks of school. By then bags were packed and her VW loaded before she'd even completed her last exam. The worst part was she and Kimberly were both from Tulsa, so that meant going home to her parents for the summer and risking the chance of running into her, or even worse, running into them. There was no way in hell she could have stomached that, so when Mother told her Pappy really needed her help and asked would she be interested in coming down for the summer, Denim jumped at the chance of getting away from them and her mother's probing questions.
So here she was, back in Justice. No more Asher. No more Kimberly. No more self-pity.
Yeah, right.
The Texas heat hit her like a furnace the second she opened the car door. Clearly, the humidity was going to be hell on her long, wavy hair. She stepped out in a black and white striped dress and strappy high-heels. Not a good choice for the gravel parking lot, but there was no way she was spending her entire summer, sporting sneakers and flats.
After shutting the door, she stared over at the dingy, red building in front of her. Pappy's Diner. Today's special had been scribbled on the storefront window. Mouthwatering southern fried steak.
Whoopty-freaking-do.
Denim drew another sigh. It was too late to change her mind. She was already there, so there was no point in complaining now.
She swung a blue Prada purse over her shoulder and was taking slow, cautious steps-so she wouldn't fall flat on her ass-when she heard someone calling her.
"OMG, Denim, is that you?"
Turning around, she spotted a slender woman in her early twenties, wearing a skirt that revealed enough thigh to turn the heads of anyone passing by.
"Denim, don't act like you don't know who I am!" she cried.
Suddenly, Denim's jaw dropped, emphasizing her surprise. "Quinn, is that you?"
The young woman's red lips tipped upward as she hurried over, dark, spiral curls bouncing, and threw her arms around her. "I missed you so much!" she shrieked, then drew back and faked a frown. Instantly, Denim knew the drilling was about to begin. "How come you stopped answering my letters?"
"I guess I got older and teenagers started texting instead of writing," she teased.
Quinn giggled. "True, but you could have at least called."
She nodded. "I know. I should have, but after Grandma Bea … well, you know."
Quinn's cocoa-brown eyes were warm and sympathetic as her smile returned. "I know. It's just I really missed you!"
Denim swallowed tightly because the truth was she had missed Quinn something terrible. Back then, they had shared everything, and at one point, she had been the sister she never had. As she noticed the piercing in Quinn's tongue, Denim grinned and admitted, "I missed you too."
Quinn reared back with a look of excited curiosity in her eyes. "So what made you decide to finally come to visit?"
While leaning against her car, she explained. "Pappy needs my help this summer."
She nodded, knowingly, sending big silver earrings swinging from her earlobes. "I heard Elaine's going to Memphis to help her Mama."
"Yep, so here I am," Denim mumbled and then gave a playful roll of the eyes.
Quinn giggled again. "It's not so bad. It will give us a chance to catch up," she added in a singsong voice. Denim just wished she could share in her excitement. "I can catch you up on all the gossip. And-ooh-did Pappy tell you we now have a Walmart right outside of town?"
"I can't wait to see it," Denim drawled sarcastically.
"Hey, we gotta start somewhere!" She laughed and Denim joined in the way they used to when they were two little girls getting into trouble.
"What are you doing now?" Denim asked, taking in Quinn's tailored, gray suit and white, flat sandals on her feet, showing off toes that were painted in a cotton-candy pink.
"I'm attending classes at the community college and working for Daddy," she explained. Quinn's father was the town's dentist. "I'm hoping to be a dental hygienist."
"Good for you!" Denim told her that up until a few weeks ago she'd had no immediate plans to join the rat race. Now she was looking for a job. "This chick here is tryna get paid!" They laughed some more and then started talking about celebrities gossip and fashion-two of Denim's favorite subjects. She was having such a good time talking to Quinn and was in no rush to see her go. "You still stay at your parent's house?"
"Ewww, no way. I have a small apartment and a roommate at this new complex off Chestnut Avenue. Please say you'll come by and see me."
"Sure," Denim replied. "I need something to do around here."
She cocked a brow at her. "Gee thanks."
"I'm kidding. Really, I would love to hang out and catch up," she added, with a cluck of the tongue.
Quinn squealed and stamped her foot. "Cool! I'll drop by the diner tomorrow and we can talk. I better go. I need to pick up some tortilla chips. My roommate is making tacos."
Denim waved and watched her tall, leggy friend saunter into the convenience store. Maybe being stuck in this stupid town wouldn't be so bad after all.
Yeah, right.
Turning on her heels, Denim walked across the parking lot and stepped into the diner with the cool air hitting her damp skin. A bell rung overhead. She walked across the restaurant and scanned the interior, taking in the customers as a warm familiar feeling swept over her. I used to love hanging around this place.
The diner was crowded with workers from the local tire factory and travelers passing through town wearing tank tops and flip-flops.