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“Angie,” Cole said as he shook her arm “You need to wake up”

“Five ain when he felt Angie’s arhten Cole knew she was suddenly and fully awake She was now realizing that what happened last night was real and not a fantasy

“Your ,” he told her

Angie reached for the blanket and dragged it up to her chin “Ignore it”

“She’s been calling You knoorried she gets when you don’t answer” He kne this would play out and he liked how it never varied, even when her ie “If you don’t answer, she’ll make your dad call And then your brothers”

“I’ll call her back later,” Angie said as she curled deeper into her pillow

“If you don’t answer it, I will” And he knew the havoc that would cause

Angie bolted up and grabbed the phone She glared at him while she carefully wound the blanket around her body “Hey, Moh from sleep “Can I call you back?”

He knew that wasn’t going to happen Cole sh as she tucked the phone more comfortably next to her ear He hadn’t been around the Lawson household for a year, but he still understood the natural rhythms and the rules they lived by The close ties and predictability drove Angie crazy, but he had secretly yearned for it

He didn’t idealize Angie’s fa, but the fa he didn’t have when he was growing up but he got it from the Lawsons They had included hiie and it had ift, but unlike Angie and her brothers, it was not given to him unconditionally

Cole lay back down and got an unobstructed view of her strong and naked back He was about to reach out and stroke his fingers down her spine when he noticed how she stiffened It was as if Angie were on guard and sensing danger

“Yes,” she said tightly “Cole isHow did you know?”

Cole’s chuckle was rewarded with the sharp swipe of her hand gesturing him to reoing to learn that she could not hide anything from her mother?