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“Do you think she’s happy?” he asked
“You can ask her yourself That’s her SUV co up the road”
Beau felt the catch in his chest His feet dropped to the porch, stopping the swing He was overreacting, he told himself They weren’t nineteen anymore And Natalie was a married woman
“I’d planned on bringing her with me today, but she called at the last minute and said she had a foal to deliver” Tori rose, stepped into her pumps, and smoothed her hair into place “Looks like she made it after all And now, if you’ll excuse hter”
As she vanished inside, Beau rose and walked to the porch rail No doubt Tori had left on purpose Given the way he’d treated Natalie ten years ago, theirwas bound to be aard He couldn’t bla to be a part of it
Guests had parked their vehicles along both sides of the road for a good fifty yards The white Toyota pulled off and parked behind a ru
sty Ford pickup at the end of the line Maybe he should go back inside, pretend he hadn’t seen her But that would be the coward’s way If the little spitfire still wanted a piece of his hide, he would take his punishment like a man
He watched as the driver’s door opened, and a petite figure stepped out Froirl who’d been Natalie Russo hadn’t changed much Doll-sized, with an unruly ht from her work The black blazer she’d tossed on over her jeans and plaid shirt was her only nod to dressing for a funeral But at least she’d come
She must’ve known he’d be here Had she made the effort because of him—or in spite of him?
When she froze in her tracks for an instant, Beau sensed that she’d recognized him His feet propelled hi strides that ate up the distance They th
“Hello, Natalie,” he said
Her lips tre a smile that didn’t quite reach her dark eyes “There were a lot of people who didn’t think you’d coood to see you”
She extended her hand He took it gently, checking the iers were shtly callused
“It’s been a long time” Beau cleared the thickness from his voice “I hear tell you’re Mrs Haskell now”
“Doctor Haskell, if you please” Her s a dimple at the corner of her mouth—the dimple he’d once loved to taste Beau forced thatit was bound to return when he was alone