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      HE NEEDED A WOMAN.

      If Jake McCann had been anywhere else in the free world, he would have headed for the nearest singles bar. But he was stuck in the middle of nowhere—aka Skull Creek, Texas—and so he’d headed for its one and only pickup spot: the forty-second annual Founder’s Day festival, a weeklong celebration that kicked off with tonight’s carnival.

      He tipped back the brim of his Stetson and studied his surroundings. The rides had been set up on the ten-acre stretch of gravel parking lot behind the local high school. Pastureland surrounded the area, stretching endlessly in all directions, reminding Jake exactly how far out of his element he really was.

      No blinding lights or slabs of concrete. No sirens wailing in the distance or horns honking. Instead he heard the whir of rides, barks of laughter and the cry of a violin from the country two-step that drifted from the large tent at the rear of the carnival, where a battle of the local bands had commenced.

      There was a giant Ferris wheel and a brightly lit merry-go-round, along with a few more daring rides. Mad Teacups. The Whirligig. The Octopus. Booths lined the main strip, offering everything from the chance to knock down a dozen milk cans and win a giant stuffed SpongeBob, to hoop shots for a dollar.

      He shifted his attention to the two brunettes who stood munching hot dogs near the ringtoss. His gaze locked with one of them and hunger brightened her eyes. She licked her lips suggestively and lust echoed through him. His gaze caught and held number two, who eyed him with the same blatant interest. Her wedding ring winked as she lifted the hot dog to her lips, and he turned away.

      His gaze slid to a pretty blonde who clasped the hand of a young boy and dragged him after her. Her brother. Jake knew it even though he didn’t know her.

      He could see into her thoughts, taste the frustration in her mouth, feel the displeasure that prickled her skin. She’d been stuck babysitting and she wasn’t at all happy about it. She’d wanted to hang with her boyfriend tonight. She’d wanted to…

      Jake shook away the thought and hopped off that horse before it could run away with him. He was wired enough on his own without letting someone else’s fantasies feed the desire already gripping him tight.

      He spotted another woman. A knockout in her late thirties. Married. Mentally counting the seconds until she could slip away from her husband and rendezvous with his brother over by the Haunted House. They’d been seeing each other off and on for the past three years. He’d become an addiction she couldn’t do without.

      Jake