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Rachel gritted her teeth at his smartass reply “I mean, why aren’t you at the clubhouse?”

“I’ve been away froht I would stay with her for a few days I don’t kno long I’h”

Rachel poured her coffee “I believe it was one of her flea market finds”

Cash gri his sore body into a chair at the kitchen table “Did you forget about mine?”

Stifling the urge to tell hiot another cup and poured his coffee before setting the cup down in front of him

She picked her cup up and turned to leave the room

“You’re not going to stay and keep me company?”

“No Where’s Mag?”

“She had a doctor’s appointhbor took her”

“Oh, she didn’t mention it yesterday”

“I guess she forgot”

Rachel left the rooiven to her to take care of the new clippings she had collected It didn’t have as reenhouse at her brothers’ house, but it had the advantage of not being at their house

“Wo many plants do you have in here?”

Rachel began watering her plants, rotating from the ones she’d watered yesterday “Over one hundred twenty-six”

Cash walked farther into the room “Any weed?” he joked

“No If you want that, you’ll have to go see Greer”

“No, thanks He would probably lace it with cyanide,” Cash said ly

“No, he wouldn’t He would just lace it with cat shit”

Cash’s hter She would take a bet The Last Riders would be finding another source for their weed It would hurt, too, because her brothersweed in the state

He reached out a finger to touch a fragile plant “What’s this?”

“Pipewort”

“If you’re so interested in plants, how coe?”

“I did, for two se a few classes online now, though” Rachel didn’t tell hiree; it wasn’t any of his business She wasn’t about to fawn all over him just because he showed a sudden interest in an important part of her life

She had been graduallythe plants until she came to him Rachel looked at his lean body without a shirt, with loose-fitting jeans, and felt absolutely nothing She lifted her clear eyes, staring hi his hands in his pockets, so she could continue watering her plants If he’d thought she was going to see his body and

She didn’t try to h she did answer his questions with monosyllabic replies

“Rachel, I want to apologize for the way I acted the night of Mrs Langley’s party”

It took Rachel a second for his apology to set in, then another to get the

“I’d like us to start over, o to a movie or out to dinner”

She quit watering the plants “Why?”

Cash cleared his throat Was he pretending to be unsure of himself? Rachel didn’t think Cash had ever felt unsure of himself

“Why do o on dates?”

“I knohy irl up, drive her to one of your spots, have sex with her, and then bring her ho you always do”

“That’s not true I’ve—” Cash denied