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“The ranch is too much for her,” Winona said “Maybe we need another hand to help out”

They were closing in on her—Aurora, who saw too , while Winona, anted too much, looked pissed off And there was Lukewhom she wanted to love, should lovebut couldn’t They were gathering forces, giving each other concerned glances, and she knew she should feel enfolded by the concern, comforted, but instead she felt claustrophobic All she wanted to do was run up to the cabin again and be with Dallas; that need terrified her She had to stop this o so twenty-four hours a day”

“They call that a honey of Paris I kno much you want to see the world”

“Do I?”

She could envision their trip in the smallest detail: they’d have a moderately priced hotel room—maybe with a view of the Eiffel Tower if they were lucky—and they’d base their dining decisions on recoht the City of Lights had to offer, and they’d talk easily while they walked down the Cha would be ro off each other’s clothes in i love “I really don’t feel well,” she said, feeling Winona’s narrowed gaze on her Vivi Ann was careful not to look at her sisters

“I’ll walk you home,” Luke said

“No,” Vivi Ann said sharply, then softened her tone with a smile “Please” She heard the tinny desperation in her voice and there was nothing she could do about it If she stayed here another minute, she’d explode “It’s a beautiful day for a walk”

“Let her go,” Winona said, surprising them all

“You sure?” Luke asked Vivi Ann

“I’ave hi back before he could deepen it “See you all later”

She was careful to walk slowly, as if she really felt bad Outside, she kept up the pretense, walking down First Street toward the water It wasn’t until she came to the corner and ducked into the shade of an old tree that, finally, she could breathe

And there he was, standing in front of the Waves Restaurant, looking recklessly out of place anomes in the yard He wore his dusty white cowboy hat dra on his head, so low that even with the sunlight shining down on him she couldn’t make out his eyes The bold black tattoos stood out on his tanned bicep, a sharp contrast to the overwashed gray cotton of his T-shirt

She pretended not to see hi her on the sidewalk across the street, she walked faster

At Water’s Edge, she went inside and shut the door, hearing it click; a brass mechanism that separated her from a world she hadn’t even known existed before “Dad? Are you here?”

There was no answer