Sunny Goldmelons - Scene 4

Luke tears open the envelope like a kid on Christmas and out drops Sunny’s picture. One grin from that pint-size troublemaker and his whole chest tightens. He grabs his boots, swearing he’ll drag that girl home by lasso or love, whichever works faster. Out west the sky looks bigger than the map says, and he keeps flashing to her laugh like it’s calling his name down every dusty road. Sunny already feels his boots stomping closer, but a different headache is riding right behind her: Marlene Thornbush, tight-lipped, quick-draw, and aiming to square an old score. Luke swerves through chase scenes and saloon scuffles, muttering that catching Sunny is only half the battle. The other half—keeping her long enough to prove she’s his kind of crazy—turns out even hotter work than outrunning Marlene’s bullets or Sunny’s whip-smart tongue. When the dust finally clears, three heartbeats pound in one tent like someone forgot to tell fate this isn’t its rodeo.