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Lauren’s silence told hiht of that idea “What did you find back there?” she asked after a long pause

“Nothing” Sky was h to lie to her “Just a place that looked like so out Since they weren’t on ranch property, I decided to leave them alone”

“I heard the motorcycle Did you see anybody?”

“No, that hen I decided to leave You know about Jasper getting shot, don’t you?”

“Everybody does It was on the news Do you think the people back there ht have done it?”

“Maybe But since I didn’t have a gun, I decided not to stick around and find out the hard way I don’t want you going near the place again”

“Why should I? What reason would I have to come back here?” Lauren’s responseto her “How is Jasper, by the way?”

“Mending” Sky was relieved to change the subject “He should be home in the next couple of days Froh their paces”

“He sounds delightful I’ve never had the chance toforward to it”

“Fine, but be warned Jasper says exactly what he thinks—and he doesn’t think much of your family”

“Soet along fine” Lauren laughed—that low-pitched, s

exy laugh that sent Sky’s thoughts spinning in all the wrong directions He’d had sex with her on a desk and alround A bed would be a nice change Maybe he should ask her out on a real date—dinner in Lubbock followed by an adventurous night at a first-class hotel If she orried about her father, they could always come home earlier—but Lauren was over twenty-one and accusto her own life Beau had even ed once Why should it matter?

The ht about the idea, theit up when he drove her home, after he’d put the horses away

They’doff their horses when a low-slung red Maserati ca up the lane toward the house As if the driver had spotted them, the car made a sudden swerve toward the corral and braked in a cloud of dust The man who climbed out appeared to be in his early forties, his health club body dressed in a tailored blue suit with a silk shirt open at the throat His thick, sandy hair was sculpted into a pompadour that would hold up in a norther Sky had never set eyes on the man before But he certainly seemed to know Lauren

“Here you are!” His grin showedby Your father said I ht find you here”