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She left her bedrooertips trailing lightly along the rough wooden walls With every step her heartbeat increased, her breathing quickened

At the living room, she poked her head around the corner and scanned the darkness for Jack He was a series of black huhtly less dark sofa The quiet, even strains of his breathing filtered through the shadowy room

Tess released her breath She was okay She bent her head down and hurried through the darkened house, closing the kitchen door silently behind her She raced across the dew-dae wooden door open By the ti stool, daas slanting through the cracks in the barn's plank walls in streaks of pinkish gold

"Mooo" Bessie's angry bellow echoed through the still, cold air

Tess juers spasmed reflexively around the milk can's thin metal handle

"It's okay, Bessie," she said hesitantly, "I'm here to milk you"

Bessie swung her big brown head around and stared at Tess

Tessthe s Then she put down the stool, yanked up her heavy nightgown, and planted herself on the hard wooden surface

Bessie's hugely swollen udder filled her vision

Tess grimaced sickly, and instinctively cla breasts "Okay, Bessie, here we go"

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She gently plucked at the teat with her forefinger and thue bobbed uselessly

Clearly this was not the best approach

She tried again, this ti hard

Bessie -lashed brown eyes stared unblinkingly at Tess