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“Understand” Lute’s pulse raced as Slade wrote his phone nu the chilled taste This was really going to happen He would besomebody
After the news ended, Natalie switched off the TV and stood gazing out the darkened frontIt was after 10:30 and she was dressed for bed in her nightgown and robe But Slade wasn’t back and she was too wired to go to sleep
They’d settled their earlier quarrel outside the barn over a supper of Burger Shack pizza, spinach salad, and a bottle of Cabernet that one of Slade’s clients had given the, Sky had called fro problems
When she’d grabbed her keys to leave, Slade had blown his top again She’d invited hi she could do but race out the door, gun the engine, and go
“Don’t count on et back!” he’d yelled after her Well, he was true to his word The candy-apple-red Ford pickup he kept shined to a high gloss had been e
No need to wonder where he’d gone He’d be at the Blue Coyote, drinking and flirting with the waitresses Slade rarely got drunk, and she doubted that he got past first base with any of the woies and wanting sex, which she’d give him to seal their truce
Natalie was a woo, when she’d promised to love and honor Slade Haskell, she’d meant every word She’d faced the reality that Beau wouldn’t be co back for her And Slade had been there—handsoh ambition to take over the family business froether, she’d told herself
Was it really Slade she’d fallen in love with, she asked herself now, or the person in those mental pictures?
But she was coe work Slade wasn’t a bad person Neither was she They deserved to be happy, or at least satisfied with each other Surely they could find a way
Meeting Beau again had been like pouring acid into an old wound The memories of how she’d loved him, and how he’d hurt her, felt as fresh and hot as ever She’d almost convinced herself that she was over hi He’d made her feel like a silly little nineteen-year-old fool all over again
The sudden glare of headlights and the growl of a big engine in the driveway pulled her thoughts back to the present Natalie forced a e door opened and closed Her husband—a decent h contention for one night
She would do her best to make peace
The Eastern sky had just begun to pale fro of the sun when Beau wandered into the kitchen for a cup of coffee He’d hoped for soing into a trencher with maple syrup
“That looks like a recipe for instant heart attack, brother,” Beau observed as he filled afrom the electric coffeemaker A place had been set for hi breakfast since he’d gotten out of the military
“It hasn’t bothered my heart yet” Will dunked a forkful of pancake in the yolk of his egg “Tori tried to turn reen tea didn’t take”