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He was on his feet in an instant, standing in front of her, untying her robe

“This is crazy,” she said, feeling the terrycloth slide down her body

“Crazy,” heher throat, the swell of her breasts, the valley between

“Just onceher eyes

The last thing she heard before he kissed her was laughter

The nextbruised by last night’s passion, she knew she’d been changed All her life she’d pretended to be wild, while really she’d been safe and protected Riding a horse at breakneck speed was nothing, easy; all she’d ever had to do was yank back on the reins and her mount would slow to a stop

There were no reins to pull back on now, no way to sloith Dallas She ht not know him well—at all, really—but she knew that there were only two speeds available to them Stop or run

And she had to stop

She got out of bed and dressed for church With her hair drawn back froht up in a white scrunchie, and in her ankle-length jean dress with a wide belt, she looked absolutely normal

She went downstairs, left a plate of food in the fridge for Dallas, and then went to find her dad Together they walked out of the house and up to the truck “Hoas the rodeo last night?”

“Luke orried about you He said he was gonna call”

“Really? Ito Jeff’s house after church?” It was all she could think to ask She wanted to change the subject

“Yep”

They drove to church in silence Outside, in the parking lot, they met up with Luke and the rest of the faular pehere Vivi Ann felt hemmed in, trapped as she was between Luke and her father All through the service (God’s path for us is righteousness; sin is the bend in the road that will lead us astray if we are not ever vigilant against its dark teuilty She was sure that any minute Father MacKeady would point to her and shout out, Sinner!

When the service was over, she bolted from their pew and rushed down to the relative peace of the church base served There, sheto let their voices drown out the roaring noise of her own guilt All the while, as she talked to friends and : Dallas