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Her chest squeezed and her breath caught in her throat She didn’t like the sound of that She didn’t want to be hurt She wasn’t ready to be hurt But she also wasn’t ready to walk away from him

Jet forced ato fall in love with ive me a dozen babies that I can raise on our dairy farm?”

She didn’t knohat she expected but it wasn’t the slow, long, tender kiss, a kiss that sees, even as he hts and every bit of resistance

“You’re everything I want,” he said against herI don’t deserve” And then he carefully peeled her away froet you ho to say to you for being here today”

Her heart fell, taking her stomach with it She hunched her shoulders as she walked next to him back towards the house “I’m not afraid of them,” she said as they neared the back porch

And it was true She wasn’t scared She was upset because she was troubled She liked Shane so much She was more than a little bit attached And she couldn’t accept that there was no future Why couldn’t there be a future? Why couldn’t they work? Because the Sheenans said so? Or because there was so else?

“Are you married?” Jet asked abruptly

He snorted “No”

“Engaged?”

“No”

“Dating anyone?”

“No There’s just you”

“Good” She faced him on the porch “Because I like you I really do And I don’t even knohat thatto end badly e’re still just figuring stuff out” It was icy cold and the hipped past the at her hair Jet folded her ar a shiver “So don’t be such a pessiive it a chance What do we have to lose?”

“I write nonfiction, babe, not ro at her and his expression was amused

He was so gorgeous when he smiled at her like that Even with the bruises and the cuts and funny bue of his nose

She reached up to lightly stroke his nose “Did you break it?”

“Probably” He must have noticed her stricken expression “It’s not the first time It’ll heal”

“Your poor face”

“Good thing I’m not a model”

She couldn’t look away from his warm, dark eyes and the crooked tilt of his lips He was such a strong, intelligent h veneer, she could see the boy in him…the child that lurked in every adult She had to s hard to keep the emotion from her voice She was so close to tears She didn’t even knohy

“If you can wait until Friday, I’ll go with you to Polson as soon as I’ive you time for research”

He didn’t i to read what he was thinking “Friday disht after What do you think?”

“And Harley?” he asked gruffly

She suilt “I’ll sort that out She’s my sister”

MondayShane woke up to find Trey Sheenan back on his doorstep Or Trey’s own doorstep, if he wanted to be literal

Trey had a yellow and purple eye, andaround the jaw, but stood tall, his expression revealing nothing “Maybe we’re not being fair,” he said bluntly, by way of greeting “Maybe we’re assu you understand hoorks here in this part of the world But we’re

a small community Close-knit We’ve known each other practically since birth Bad things don’t happen here, not like ent down on the Douglas ranch”

Shane opened the door wider “Want to come in? I’ve just made a pot of coffee”

“I’ll take a cup Black”

Shane led the way to the kitchen Trey didn’t speak until Shane had filled hi and pushed it across the battered, pine table

“I attended the funeral for that family” Trey’s deep voice was low, measured “Everyone attended the funeral services The front of St James was lined with the five coffins Five hearses out front Six pallbearers per casket, thirty total All thesetheir fancy dress cowboy boots, because the Douglases were ranchers Rory was front and center, leading the way, on his ht, looked away

For a minute the kitchen was silent There was no way Shane would speak He waited

Trey continued “McKenna wasn’t irl…skinny, with red hair Her aunt Karen had to hold her up Quinn wasn’t there; he was still in the hospital in ICU, fighting for his life” He paused “I knew Rory froood I was better But he could stay out of trouble and I couldn’t”

He paused again “The loss of that fa for everyone It left a er impression on me” His head lifted and he looked Shane in the eye “I should have been there that day I should have hadrifle, or my dad’s pistol I should have been there to help thelas and all those little ones…they were so defenseless, especially after the attackers took out Mr Douglas The rest of the faation reported that the Douglas faun”