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For the first time Vivi Ann wondered if Aurora wore all that e, to hide the unhappiness of a dull s, too Is that what you’re saying?” As she said it, she couldn’t help glancing up at the hill, at that yellow dot

“Are you sure you want to marry Luke?” Winona said “If you don’t, it’s okay Just admit it”

Vivi Ann forced a smile How could she admit what she didn’t know? It was insane to want Dallas the way she did There was no way it would last She’d just have to quit thinking about hi deal”

Winona atching closely, like a hunting dog on point She didn’t look convinced Had she seen Vivi Ann’s involuntary glance at the cabin?

But Aurora said, “That’s only natural,” and the conversation landed safely

“Well, I’ed each of her sisters, then walked theone, she went inside the house At her bedroo in the trees He was up there Waiting

“I just won’t go,” she said as she got ready for bed

Chapter Eight

Throughout the rest of June, Vivi Ann woke at dawn andthe meal on the table Every day she mumbled excuses to her father about why she couldn’t stay for theWater’s Edge, and the ranch was becoined All of the stalls were full now, and there was a waiting list Vivi Ann’s classes and clinics were full, too, as were Dallas’s For the first ti horses only when he felt like it The rest of the tis that had been overlooked for years—like painting the fences and repairing the dock

Vivi Ann should have been on top of the world, and in er these days, more sure of herself The only problem was Dallas

Whenever she saw hio to him She used these words as a talis a sweat-da a new nail in place, and then looking up suddenly, s at her—

I won’t go to him

Or when he paused inout a stall and rested a tattooed bicep on the pitchfork’s handle, staring at her—

I won’t

It had taken a toll on her, all that concentrated avoidance More than once in the past month she’d had to make excuses for her odd behavior Several times she’d told Luke and her sisters that she felt sick, and, in the way of lies, it had become the truth By mid-July, a headache had taken up perhtened her chest until sometimes she could barely breathe Nothe day, her desire for Dallas reuilt