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Second, she was as tough and no-nonsense as old Joe She always said she’d seen it all, such that she kept a shotgun below the bar in case any of it ca her tonight The strangers, he guessed, froh strangers didn’t pass through all that frequently, it was rare that they caused trouble

A glance about the occupied tables showed the woman was there with three men, in addition to the two out by the vehicle From the way they’d checked him out when he stepped across the threshold, it was clear they were hired muscle It was also clear she was the one who’d hired thelances toward her

As he deposited his pack against the bar, taking off the slings that held his rifle on his back and the nest of billies at his hip, the blond woman turned at last

Blue eyes Jesus, so blue it was like diving the Reef Skin so fair it brought to mind the fairy tales But then there was that soft hts of children’s stories and went into the realm of darker, more provocative tales

The lipstick she as deep red, wet Nor makeup out here, but wherever she wanted to wear it was fine with him She wore a delicate opal amulet the size of his thumbnail While it was a beautiful stone, he was far listened in the cleft of her breasts, above the slightly strained button of her white blouse

He’d stripped off his shirt to carry the three eer’s vivid blue gaze traveled with deliberate appreciation over his bare, sweat-stained shoulders and the expanse of his chest, passing over the scars, then lingering on eachthelance went lower, just as slow and easy, her mink lashes fanned the cheeks of pale crea

“Dev” Elle’s voice was a bit sharper

Jesus “Yeah, Elle How ya going?” Clearing his throat, he put the bundle on the bar and took off his hat

“Fair enough” Elle’s solid bulk was a less unsettling sight to hiray hair pinned up to keep it off her neck in the late-afternoon heat “The Yanks elected that Eisenhower fella president And the Queen’s supposed to visit us soon”

Trying not to look toward the jukebox as the bar owner untied the shirt to give the eggs a critical look, Dev ht treat for soot theyou I know you’ve got the money But I’ll shout you the first one anyway I asked you to bring the out there with your head kicked in by an angry mother bird Then I re flashed in her eyes as she said it, her gaze sliding to the jukebox and back “Joe’ll be so surprised for his birthday He hasn’t had a cake s since his nanna was alive You can have the third, though

Only need two”

When the woman reached over, ostensibly to wipe the bar, she lowered her voice and muttered, “Unless a bird did kick you in the head, you’d best pay attention, you daft bastard She ain’t sweatin’”

Dev shifted his gaze It was a sweltering sundown after a hot day, for sure Elle had the fans going to help with it as well as the flies, but no help for it; ato sweat Not only the three roup of blokes back at the pool table, so their smokes in the ashtray on the mantel of the fireplace that was never used They all bore the signature sweat stains at the usual places Chest, back, armpits

In contrast, the woman’s ivory cotton shirt looked as if it had just been pressed and pulled out of the wardrobe White, always a favorite color for the flies, seemed to have no appeal to them while on her back They weren’t anywhere near her, whereas those who chose glasses instead of bottles had to keep a hand over theo for a swim

As the jukebox started to play the wistful ballad she’d chosen, she turned back to it When she started to sway, those trionads engaged again like bullets being racked into the firing chaun

He wouldn’t say she was oblivious to the attention she was attracting, but she didn’t seeirls who needed it to thrive, her beauty her only sense of worth Rather, he was reminded of a female predator who used wiles to attract her prey, just close enough

His body and o into that trap Resolutely he turned back to Elle and his beer

His forearm was braced on the bar, and so he was startled when a slis Elle had now placed in a bowl Elle jued not to react, he hadn’t even heard the woman’s slim, booted feet move across the wooden floor

Her nails were a fe attention to the grace of her hands Despite the large size of the e, the way she stroked the curves, he couldn’t help but think of how those tips would feelover his balls in a similar way God, he could smell her All wos women did to make themselves i for deeper study, teasing his vision at the corner of his eye