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Now? It was a h here and there, but oing to have to reht away, but it would be nice to have soazed out over the pasture on the other side of the barn, thinking back to howto this plot Sold off in parcels over the years, it was still a nice spread, and the pasture still stretched over the hill But so h the dusty soil, turning back toward the house Lots of work to do But nosprawled out in front of the old television, watching the one channel I could get with the rabbit ears Honest-to-god rabbit ears The TV was one of those old box ones, with the wood veneer surround and actual legs The rabbit ears were er wrapped in aluminum I was too tired to care, and I dozed in front of it watching Lawrence Welk on PBS I began to doze off before he could get through the a-one-and-a-two

Soht, I headed up tothe stacks and piles that littered the floor Falling into the soft bed, I wrapped myself in the cozy blankets and fell asleep onceI slept in until 5:30 aht thirty back ho in thisa jump on the day, but then I reht even be a percolator Technically, I wasn’t s to buy, and got dressed to head into town

Deciding to walk again this e I needed to find the key to that beauty There were several junk drawers in the kitchen that it could be in, to say nothing of the thousand other crazy places it could be in that house

As I walked down the drive, I heard a dog barking nearby I was suddenly struck with the realization that if I stayed here, I could get a dog! Not that I couldn’t back ho confined to an apart I would have, no tiny yippy yappy forwould be perfect I’d put a pin in it for now and think about it later, but it was definitely a plus in the Stay in Mendocino coluer I was here

Heading down the road into toithin minutes I was on my stool at the end of the counter, and ten minutes after that I had a plateful of breakfast and an earful of observations fro! I have never seen him so worked up!"

"Don’t blow a gasket, he wasn’t all that worked up," I replied, pokingthe yolk run all over

"Listen, I’ve known Clark Barrow since ere in grade school He never gets worked up He is always Mr Calm, Cool, and Collected The only time he was re the Lord of the Ringsa deal of this Tabasco?" I asked, forking up a ?"

"Girl, I’ve known everyone that long" She handed er thanti the hot sauce liberally over ht?"

"You know, it’s not that he’s uptight I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about hi? Stick up his ass?"

"Studious Methodical Organized," she said with a pointed glance

"Okay, okay, if you say so But from what I’ve seen--"

"Fro around Hank What’s that about?" she asked before I kneas happening I crammed a forkful of hash browns into hed out loud, pouring me and everyone else at the counter a hotter upper Any time she made a move towardwith Hank had turned uy before But I was now living out ht? I mean, that’s what this had all been about The ht, thea horse on the beach without a shirt on? Who has a tough exterior, but inside, down deep, deeeeeep, there resides a heart of gold? Right?

Was he the one? The man ould finally say those words I’d never before heard? Had I finallyme yes, in fact I had

Patience, Viv Peel that onion Reveal the layers Anyone with a chest like that is worth waiting for Worth sneezing for

When the plate was metaphorically licked clean, I waved her over She caer to dish

"Okay, I’ll bite Tell me all about Hank"

"H as Clark, he’s actually a year older than I am Played football with John; they used to pal around back in the day Hank ishiven Here ca?