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But meanwhile, he’d pro a sentence in hell He hated the noise and odors of the animals and the crude manners of the hands who took care of them He hated the sweat, the dust, and the hot sun But most of all, he hated the boredom

Maybe that hy he’d devised small rebellions, little acts of mischief that would have driven his father apoplectic had he known about the the news about the transfer of the creek property He knew his father had been expecting Rose to fall into his hands—to lend her al fees and demand repayment as soon as she won her case Noas out of luck

It had done Garn’s heart good to see his old ain, and the thought of Rose roused fresh notions in his mind As he’d told his father, she wasn’t wife e He wouldn’tto know her better

Garn whistled a tune as he walked down the steps He would think on that and come up with a plan

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE NEXT MORNING, ROSE PULLED ON HER OLDEST WORK CLOTHES, breakfasted on the last of the cheese and crackers, and went outside to organize her day

The stor behind the freshness of rain-scented earth Rose took deep breaths, filling her lungs with the scented air Petrichor, that hat her grandfather had called the wonderful sood omen for a day that held so much promise

The canvas tarpaulin had kept her gear dry Rose studied the heap of tools, wondering what to start first She’d planned to dig a latrine back in the trees, but last night’s visit froht ho the entire thirty acres would take ht now But at least she could fence off the area around her planned house and garden

Crouching beside the creek, she splashed her hands and face and slicked back her hair Unbidden, her eyes scanned the s on the opposite bank and the trees beyond She couldn’t help hoping that Tanner n of him Tanner had his oork to do, she reminded herself And it wasn’t as if she needed his protection She had her pistol in the truck in case she needed it But so far, her erous intruder had been that silly cow

Since she’d alreadyup the old fence, she took up the task again The rusty barbed wire fro since been tra under it with her shovel Unfortunately, she was going to need new fence posts Either she would have to cut the on the property or she would have to dig into her precious cash reserves and buy some in town

She would need to buy other things as well—lus, s and doors for her cabinand she couldn’t ithout food

How did one go about building a cabin, anyway? To start with, she would need to draw up some kind of plan and make some decisions about s But where would she get logs around here? And hoould she s were heavy Maybe she should think about so easier to move Bricks were at least small Or rocks—at least rocks were free if she could find enough Or maybe adobes She’d learned how to make adobe bricks out of mud and straw in Mexico But would adobe hold up in heavy rain?

Once she had hera foundation That wouldit with cement to anchor the supports for the walls And after that

Rose sighed What had she been thinking?

She gazed at her rig in disured out how to get the camper off the bed of the pickup so she could haul her supplies Even living in the cained,