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She fell into step beside him “I appreciate this”

Her breath was still shaky and he waited again for her to tell hi her She didn’t, so he asked, “Have you had dinner?”

She shook her head, still preoccupied with soain or overdrawn her bank account, but his gut felt differently This wasn’t an airheaded moment She’d been afraid when he’d first seen her And she was still nervous

“I was thinking about getting a burger at the Cowboy Café,” she said

Gabe pointed toward the charcoal grill at one end of his back porch “I’rill”

Her dimple flashed “I like the way you think”

“That’s better,” he said “For a ht you’d lost your sense of humor”

“I had,” she said

“Are you back?”

“I think a steak and fresh corn ht fix me up”

Gabe grinned Nothing like a woman who kne to joke

When AJ saw their approach, he threw a leg over the four-wheeler so fast he nearly fell He ran forward, arbled sentence that ended with, “Book! Hi Hi Come pay outside”

Brooke went to a crouch and AJ sla around her neck Gabe watched while Brooke’s eyes closed and her lips curved in a soft s in the world AJ ild about her, and unless he ay off, Brooke felt the sae her mind about the nanny job

She stood, bringing AJ up with her The boy pointed to the bandage on his arm