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The loveet better Maybe it was always like that on honeyo away merely intensified It was both a source of eht Alex was amused by the fact that she was suddenly modest afterward His interest seemed to increase when she clutched the sheets to conceal her state of undress Yet the e

Other than that, ave her orders not to cook He said if they weren’t spending the money on a trip, the least he could do was make sure she didn’t have to cook and clean She told hi her and he insisted she deserved it

They did the chores together, though It was so they both enjoyed It was actually a bit of a nuisance to go out to breakfast at times, but mostly they had co One day they went to Branson, Missouri and another day they went to a fantastic museum near Bartlesville, Oklahoma

It was after their return froht – such as it was They had beenin the i for his office, so she decided to take the opportunity for so to ride for a while" She announced, heading for the door "

He stopped and turned, his expression clearly displeased

"Where?"

She ed "Well, no Not as long as it’s not back in the hills"

Actually, she only intended to ride along the forest line and see if there was any sign of deer It was her land and she had no intention of letting hierous"

"Oh, and it’s not dangerous riding on the road? I used to walk up on the hill by aze was stern "That was before It wasn’t safe then either Re boots and I knoatch out for snakes"

His brows came down "Carmen, how aestions?"

"Oh, sorry I didn’t realize it was a suggestion I thought it was an order"

His ht, how am I supposed to protect you when you won’t follow htforward" She sighed "And sweet"

"If you want to go up there, I’ll ride with you"

"No," she said, shaking her head "I really just wanted soaze met hers for a moment, his expression unreadable Finally he sh, if I ondering where you were and if you were safe"

She walked over to him leisurely and put her arms around his neck When his arms surrounded her, she stretched up and kissed his lips Leaning back in his arms, she smiled

"I love you so much, Alex I don’t want to ever cause you a o up on the hill without you Okay?"

Hugging her close, he sighed heavily "Okay But I don’t want to douess you have to take the good with the bad"

He pulled back "You ood with the bad There is so little bad, and it is usually only a sood - where you’re concerned"

His chuckle was deep "I hope I can live up to your expectations, Mrs Barnett"

"You already have," She said, stepping back "I think I’ll spend "

His brows lifted "Excellent idea – if you enjoy it"

"I will"

She turned and reached for her purse, only then thinking of the fact that she had noa card from his wallet

"Here, the pin number is 1542 That account has 10,000 in it It’s your account If you’ll tell me how much you use each week, I’ll replace it and we’ll keep that base"

She stared at him mutely Of course she would have a weekly allotht of that? But how much should she spend?

He looked uncertain "Have I offended your honor?"

She shook her head and finally found her voice "Ten thousand is a lot of money" Heat raced up her neck "Of course, I realize you don’t expect me to spend all that"

His smile was as warm as his eyes

"I don’t expect you to, sweetheart, but it’s alright if you do It’s yours"

He started to turn and then stopped, his expression turning stern

"Just don’t put stress on yourself trying to be frugal You don’t have to buy expensive cuts ofsome meat that you don’t have to play wizard on so they won’t be tough Buy so nice for yourself Start out someplace besides the clearance rack for once"

Carmen felt the blush deepen Did he think she dressed cheap? What should she buy? Maybe she should take Katie with herOf course; Katie would have told him that his wife didn’t buy new clothes unless she could find them on the clearance rack

Alex colored and looked embarrassed

"I’ with the way you dress You’ve had it so hard for a long ti I want you to do that"

"Oh," she said with a sigh of relief "I don’t know if I’ll haveyourlots of uess it is second nature to al without the stress of wondering if you can pay for it"

If he was in theelse she would like to address

"Alex, I enjoy cooking I like eating out, but I’m really tired of it now I’d rather cook a nice meal and stay here with you"

Those delicious chocolate eyes were so gentle

"I enjoy your cooking, sweetheart If you want to cook, then do it If you don’tanytiht?"

She tucked the card in her purse "1542"

"Do you have your phone, and is it turned on?"

She pulled the cell phone out of her purse "Yep Turned on and charged"

"I’ll see you later, then," he said "I have to get some work done"

After one last kiss, she left him to do his hile she went out to spend hisinto the car he purchased for her, she headed out with the new bank account he had given her to do soe - and so This wasn’t money she had earned It was his s for hi to the store for hi? Maybe she had never consciously thought abouta man with money, but she hadn’t been turned off by it either Still, Alex without uilt wasn’t born of h It hether or not she deserved Alex

She had dreamed of someone ould share her enthusiasm in horses – of someone ould treat her well Alex was all of that andfor a cheap appliance that would do the job and having an expensive one delivered Maybe the s to do was shut up and enjoy it, but that little voice inside kept saying it was ot the cheap appliance, and if someone would discover the mistake and take the expensive one back

In spite of all the guilt, shopping was relaxing and fruitful with a hefty budget After purchasing a conservative blouse and jeans of quality, she et one she usually used She shopped responsibly, but this tietables – so she previously would have had to replace with canned food Not that canned fruits and vegetables weren’t good, but they had all that sugar and salt added Besides, food out of a can wascanned food – no cooking skills were required

Alex aiting on the porch when she returned He cae when she parked the car, opened the door and began rehed nervously "Did you think I ran off with your ave her a sharp look "Your money – and no When you didn’t call, I was concerned soain "I’uess time slipped away fro to be so obsessive? Well, lesson learned Next time she would tell him what time she would be back and stick to it If she couldn’t, she’d call hiroceries

"I’ll get the rest Why don’t you come inside and put them up?"

She shut the car door and followed hiet all your work done?"

"Mostly Some of it will have to wait" He sat the sacks on the counter and turned toward the door

"I’ll be back in awhere he kept things first After he brought everything in, he sat quietly in his chair, reading a newspaper Was he angry? He had no reason to be and it wasn’t like him to be so sullen

"Where do you keep the coffee?" She asked