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“Keep your paws off therumbled “I haven’t had any yet”
“Whose turn is it anyway?” Aame?”
Grinning, Kelly was halfway to the kitchen when her doorbell rang She iet it”
She threw open the door without bothering to check the peephole And then she felt herself relax Now the evening was complete
A lanky cowboy stood on the ay outside her ground-level apartment He wore a denim jacket, jeans and an oatmeal-colored denim shirt with dusty boots and a worn leather belt In deference to a light,ripped in his left hand, which hung loosely at his side His coffee-brown hair hung in a shaggy forelock over blue eyes that usually gleamed with amusement Kelly saw no amusement there now
“You look like you’ve had a rough day,” she blurted impulsively
Shane Walker griuy always likes to be greeted with compliments”
She setically “It wasn’t a criticism Just a comment”
He set it You’re probably right I’ve had a hell of a day By the way, I know I proht, but it’s not ready yet I haven’t had ti with it”
“I’m in no hurry for it,” she assured him “Whenever you have time to look at it is fine with me It was nice of you to volunteer to fix it, since I didn’t really want to pay a repair bill for so I don’t use that often anyway”
“I still think it’ll be soet a chance to work on it”
“Take your tiet you so cold to drink”
He slung an ar “Thanks I’d appreciate it”
As often as Shane had hugged her during the year and a half or so they’d known each other—and, since he was an affectionate and des—Kelly had never quite become accustomed to it She always reacted with a quick jump of pulse that she hid with a breezy sain now
“Sit,” she said, giving hi push that served to break the contact between theht back”
Shane sauntered toward the table, where he was greeted warmly and noisily By the time Kelly returned with a cold soda for Shane and another plate of chocolate cookies, he was already settled coed in conversation with his friends He brushed off questions about his tardiness, saying only that he’d been detained at the cattle ranch he owned and operated with his father
Aame board away in exasperation when no one showed any interest in reaching for the dice “I take it the ga anyway”
“You always lose,” Cameron drawled “You just always seem to think it will be different next time”
Aled and sat on his knee She and Ca for the past three ht wryly, was prettyhad predicted disaster when the two long-time friends had become lovers—especially since everyone believed Aood
Kelly took her seat next to Shane “How’s the family?”
“Everyone’s fine Molly won a school poster contest today The prize was a fifty-dollar gift certificate When I left, she was poring over a catalog, trying to decide what to buy”
Kelly smiled as she pictured Shane’s twelve-year-old half sister, a red-haired bundle of energy who brought a great deal of joy to her family and whom Shane simply adored “Good for her What sort of poster did she make?”
“It was a contest sponsored by MADD—Mothers Against Drunk Driving Molly’s poster had an antialcohol slogan, and a picture she drew to illustrate it I’m sure she’ll want to show it to you next time you visit the ranch”