Garrett

By Lori Foster

From New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster comes a sizzling new Buckhorn Brothers novella
 
For odd–girl–out Zoey Hodge, the best thing about Buckhorn, Kentucky, was leaving it behind. And now she's back–at least until she can nurse her mother back to health and hightail it out of there anew. But there's one person she doesn't mind seeing again. Garrett Hudson was one of the few who was always kind to her. Now he's a firefighter–still one of the good guys, but with a sexy alpha charm that's tempting her inner bad girl.
 
In school, Zoey was smart, witty and unafraid to be herself. Garrett fell hard back then, and he's falling even faster now. As far as he's concerned, there are all kinds of reasons Zoey should stick around. Her pet grooming business. Her mom. And the chance for him to prove that he can be her real–life hero in every way that matters….

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781488742026

Lori Foster

Lori Foster is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author with books from a variety of publishers, including Berkley/Jove, Kensington, St. Martin's, Harlequin and Silhouette. Lori has been a recipient of the prestigious RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award for Series Romantic Fantasy, and for Contemporary Romance. For more about Lori, visit her Web site at www.lorifoster.com.

Book preview

Chapter One

Sunglasses shielding his eyes from the hot afternoon sun, Garrett Hudson watched the front of the airport, scanning each female who strode out. He could have gone inside to baggage claim, but then he might’ve missed her. He stayed on the alert; people changed over time, and there was a good chance Zoey would look right past him. Though she’d had a few brief visits back to the area, they hadn’t seen each other in years, and she expected his sister, Amber, to be her ride. But a busted pipe at the bookstore had sidelined Amber, and he got recruited at the last minute, which meant he was running late.

Would he recognize her? How much had she changed? He remembered her as the quirky girl from high school, the one who had danced without caring what others thought, who laughed at the oddest things.

Often the odd girl out, not that she’d ever seemed to care.

He remembered her being kind, always speaking up for the underdog, always befriending the other odd ducks, not because she minded going it alone, but because she knew they did.

What he remembered most about her, though, was her mouth. Full lips. Soft smiles. An easy laugh.

Not only did she have the sexiest mouth he’d ever seen, but she also talked a lot. Sometimes nonstop.

Back then, he’d been amused by her.

And he’d always wanted to kiss her. Badly.

For the tenth time, he checked his watch. When he looked up again, a new crowd of people surged out, dragging luggage along in their wake. He scanned each face, his gaze going past an older couple, a young mother with a kid, a bedraggled brunette—

His attention zipped back.

No way. Could it be? He’d think not, except for the way she zeroed in on him while biting her lip. That was a tip-off.

Zoey had always bit her lip when uneasy.

Damn. What the hell had happened to her?

She looked... Trying to be kind, he decided on not good.

Starting forward, he called out, Zoey Hodge?

She stared right at him, proving she did, in fact, recognize him. That probably accounted for the lip biting, too. He knew he’d always made her nervous...which was why he’d never gotten that kiss.

Anytime he’d made a move, she’d dodged him.

When he got close, she groaned and covered her face with both hands. And stood there. On the walkway in front of the airport with people forced to move around her.

Zoey? Pushing his sunglasses to the top of his head, Garrett bent to see her face. She stood several inches shorter than his six-two. Given the clothes she wore, he had no idea about her build.

But she smelled like throw-up. Zoey. Why wouldn’t she look at him?

Can you just go away?

He straightened. Come again?

She made a shooing motion with one small hand, then quickly covered her face again. I’ll get a bus. Or cab. Or...I’ll walk if I need to.

Hands on his hips, Garrett considered her, but because he needed to be back at work soon, he decided to just take charge. In most instances, with most people, that worked.

He scooped up one bag, grabbed the handle of the other. I’m taking your luggage. He stepped away...and waited.

Dropping her hands with an overly dramatic sigh, she said, Fine! Suffer me.

Her makeup was everywhere, making her green eyes a focal point in her face, which was framed by badly tangled, dark brown hair.

But that mouth...damn, it looked as good as ever.

Ignoring her comment—what could he say?—he started off. I’m parked this way. She grudgingly followed.

Trailing behind him, she said, I don’t always look like this.

God, he hoped not. Want to tell me what happened?

As if she’d been waiting for him to ask, she started babbling. There was a crying kid on the plane. He puked on me. I’d checked all of my luggage instead of carrying it on, so the mother gave me this— she looked down at the baggy gray T-shirt "—this thing to wear. I think it was her husband’s. Anyway, I got most of the mess washed off my face and chest, but there wasn’t enough water in the tiny bathroom to get it out of my hair. I smell bad. I look bad. She pointed at him. And you had to show up?"

His mouth quirked. Yeah, he’d always remembered Zoey Hodge as being different. Eccentric.

Original.

Off the top of his head, he couldn’t remember any other woman screeching at him in accusation. What’s wrong with me?

Her expression said it should have been obvious. "You’re you."

Okay. What the hell did that mean?

She bit her lip again. That is...well, you know I had a crush on you in high school.

You did? News to him. Hell, he’d had a crush, but had never acted on it.

Well, of course I did.

With no idea what to say, he just nodded.

And, she continued with emphasis, when you see an old crush after so many years, well, it’d be better not to reek, right?

You’re fine, he lied. The baking sun amplified the smell, so he was glad when they finally got into the covered garage.

I was all set to explain to Amber, to maybe even laugh about it—

Really? He couldn’t imagine.

"—and instead you’re here, seeing me like this, making me even more humiliated and—"

Amber had a small catastrophe. I was the only one available.

Catastrophe? She stopped dead in her tracks. Is she all right?

She’s fine. Her bookstore’s a little soggy, though, thanks to a broken pipe.

She started walking at a fast clip to catch up with him. Oh, man. She pushed back her long matted hair. Well...I don’t mean to be ungrateful.

You’re out of sorts. Under the circumstances, she had a right to be grouchy, but she wasn’t. More like frazzled, and plenty embarrassed.

They reached his truck and he put the bags in the back then went around to open her door for her. We can leave the windows down and the smell won’t be so bad. He hoped.

She groaned dramatically and got in. Poor thing. She even had stains on the top of her sneakers.

She noticed him looking and wrinkled her nose. It’s in my shoes. I can feel it squishing when I walk.

Sympathy kept the smile off his face.

One hand on the roof, the other on the door frame, Garrett watched her buckle up. Out of the blinding sunlight, he saw that no part of her had been spared. Her hair. Her face. Her jeans. Only the god-awful, too-big, men’s gray shirt was clean, but it didn’t add much to the getup. The kid really hurled on you, huh?

She turned to him, shading her eyes against the sun. The little guy was so sick.

Even under the unusual circumstances, something about her had him analyzing all her features. Big green eyes, slightly upturned nose and that lush mouth. She had small hands and delicate wrists, so she was probably still slight of build. But under the clothes, Garrett couldn’t tell for sure.

Yeah...and he should probably quit trying to tell. Forcing his gaze up to her face, he said, That’s rough.

Nodding, she said, My heart just broke for him. Two years old and miserable on that plane. And his poor exhausted parents, they were doing everything they could. When he got distracted with me, I thought, well, good. Right?

She didn’t give him a chance to answer.

Finally he wasn’t crying. And I like kids, enough that I didn’t mind entertaining him.

He remembered her as always being kind. Most people stuck on a plane with a noisy kid would gripe about it. Not Zoey. She’d tried to help. Nice.

He was in my lap when he started retching. She wrinkled her nose. Ever seen a kid projectile-vomit?

Uh, no. Thank God.

I tried to...catch it. She held out a cupped hand to show what she meant.

The smile broke. Yeah? How’d that work out?

It was like a shower of puke. She scrunched her face up more. Who knew such a small kid could hold so much?

Laughing, Garrett closed the door and walked around. As soon as he got behind the wheel, she continued.

"I didn’t really think about it. It was like...reflex or

Reviews for Garrett

[addictedtomorphemes · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Back to Buckhorn by Lori FosterBuckhorn Bros. #7Zoey Hodge returns to her hometown of Buckhorn, Kentucky years after being blamed for her boyfriend's death when they were in high school. He left her house in a huff after she broke up with him and was involved in a fatal car accident. She returns to care for her ailing mother and to establish her own pet grooming business.Garrett Hudson is a firefighter in town and the brother to Zoey's friend, Amber. Zoey has a history of getting tongue-tied around Garrett, but that may be because he seems to be obsessed with staring at her mouth and he makes her nervous! haha They form a quick bond after he steps in to help her get settled in town and to deal with lingering resentments held by her ex-boyfriend's family.This is a fast-moving read, a quick romance, and the characters are likable. Very low stress in this one.

[fueledbycoffee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fun reading and I say its 4 OF 5 stars.....or, as reviewers say here on Goodreads, FOUR...AIRPLANE HURLING STARS!Oh, wait...no, that doesnt work.How about, FOUR GALLONS OF A FIVE GALLON HAT STARS!Too wordy. Maybe I need hearts and wingdings to do it justice.*#*#* <3 FOUR FRAKKING STARS! <3 *#*#*Way to go, Boomer, wrong frakking genre. How about...FOUR BLAZING HAWT FIREMAN AND DOG-GROOMER IN BUCKHORN COUNTY STARS!That works.I forgot how much I loved reading the Buckhorn books. It took me a bit but I realized these are the Buckhorn kids all grown up. Easy read and despite the novella size, the pacing and storyline didnt feel rushed. The whole series is a fun, easy read.

[amdrane2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have no idea how I've missed this series...I mean I love Lori Foster's books, but somehow this series slid by unnoticed by me. Well, not anymore. I now need to read the other books and see how it all started. I loved Zoey and her odd-ball personality. I think she fit quite nicely with Garrett and only wished their story had been longer. I've went back and downloaded the first book in the series to start to get caught up. Hopefully there will be more to come.Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.