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Trace sighed and went in search of her mother

He wasn’t sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t the frail wisp of a woman as bent over in an incredibly provocative pose, her head stuck halfway into the huge, professional-quality stainless-steel oven that had been Mae’s pride and joy

This roon a kitchen that was both welcoerator to the granite countertops, was top-of-the-line When she had shown it to Trace a few years ago, she’d been as excited as a kid on Christ She told him it was how she’d spent her first dividends from her stock in Franklin Toys

And now there was an interloper in here, he thought, feeling oddly possessive on Mae’s behalf Unless this woht to be on the premises, Trace would have her packed up and out of here before nightfall, even if he had to call on local law enforcement to toss her out on her attractive backside

Despite his impatience to acco her half to death while she was that close to incinerating herself, he waited, barely resisting the desire to haul her out of there immediately and demand an explanation for her presence

Of course, he was also having soe to smooth his hand over that narrow curve of her denierous teet it the same way he’d scolded Hannah only mo than she had, since there was likely a lot more at stake than scarred floorboards

The wo as she was As she turned to set it on the granite countertop, she spotted hiht it in midair, then let out a curse of his own as the hot ers He dropped the tray with a clatter Cookies went flying And the wo ee and he’d deliberately set out to ruin her Christ at hiar cookies decorated with pretty red and green designs She waved a hatless Santa with half a beard under Trace’s nose "Just look at this"

She didn’t seem one bit concerned with the fact that he’d burned hi to save her blasted cookies He stepped past her and stuck his hands under cold running water That finally got her attention

"Oh, fudge, you burned yourself, didn’t you?" she said "What was I thinking? I’ainst hi In fact, now Trace was suddenly burning on the inside, too

"Sit," she ordered before he could unscrahts "There’s a first-aid kit around here somewhere"

"Cabinet next to the stove," Trace told her, blowing on his fingers