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Her little farun to lay again The laht By now, they were down to one bottle feeding a day and eating plenty of grass and hay Soon they’d be big enough to leave the pen and roam around the property—but not until she could build etables

Rose had warned herself not to make pets of animals that she planned to sell for food But the la them When she was in their pen, they would crowd around her, butting their wooly heads against her legs, wanting to be scratched She’d even been teive them na ive them up

Today she’d started on a higher fence around her garden, driving sharpened stakes into the ground with a heavy wooden h to keep out the hungry lambs and save her carrots, potatoes, lettuce, and peas? All she could do was build it and hope

By the time the sun set behind the escarpment, she was too tired to eat supper With the new fence less than half finished, she stowed her tools in the camper, rinsed off the sweat and dirt in the shower, pulled on her nightgown, and tumbled into bed

Her sleep that night was deep but fitful, plagued by fore animal cries that seemed almost human

The rooster woke her at dawn Still half asleep, she lay gazing into the shadows, vaguely aware that thefa

Realizing what it was, she jerked bolt upright in the bed The la to be fed, as they usually did

Rose threw back the covers, flung herself out of bed, and stumbled to the door of the trailer But even before she opened it, she knehat she would see

Her lambs would be dead

Tanner knew Rose to be an early riser And even if he were to wake her, the idea of pulling her sleepy body into his ar fantasy Either way, he’d been sleepless for hours, restless with the need to see her again It was still early, but now that sunrise was streaking the sky, he couldn’t wait any longer

Anxiety stirring, he drove the fae of the Rione? What if she didn’t want to see him? He had to be prepared for that

A few rew around Rose’s property He could see her truck parked outside the new gate, and the back of her trailer, which faced the creek

He parked his truck, cliate and around the trailer, and stopped cold

Rose, still in her nightgoas huddled on the steps of the trailer, crying her heart out