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“Against your better judgment”

“Don’t, Rose” He reached across the table and captured her hand “The , and then held you in ain I know I can’t be here forever, and I can’t plan ahead But I want to follow this path and see where it leads us Maybe it’ll be soht?”

His fingers tightened around hers Tears welled in Rose’s eyes “All right,” she whispered “Wherever it leads And if it doesn’t work out—”

“We’ll deal with that only e have to” He rose from his place, walked around the table, and drew her to her feet for a long, deep kiss “I want to know you, Rose,” heabout you—your body, your life, the thoughts in your headand I’ time”

He lifted her in his arling and whispered conversations under the covers, and thenuntil Rose ached with the need to keep him and make him hers She kneas too ers, so many uncertainties For now, all she could do was hold on to every moment and hope it would last

Tanner replaced a file in the stack on his desk, rubbed his eyes, and refilled his coffee cup After three days on the job, he had plenty to do at his new post His first case and his first rotating partner had yet to be assigned, but the hours of the day were spent reading through the files and et away, he would take the truck and drive the back roads, visiting each s a look at the cattle Maybe one of these ti with hihts in her bed—which he made sure to leave before dawn—had restored hiether, relaxing and talking

There’d been no httime intruder But Tanner could tell she was nervous, and he orried for her Neither of them would rest easy until they kneho’d killed her lambs

But it wasn’t just the la watched,” she’d told hiht before “I never see anybody It’s just this creepy feeling I get, that I’m not alone What if it’s somebody from the cartel? What if they’ve tracked o outside But even that doesn’t seem to make a difference”

Tanner knew better than to dish to have shot and killed two men in self-defense Her survival instincts were razor sharp If she said soht

He’d urged her to move to the duplex on the Rimrock, as Bull had invited her to do Rose had refused “I’d never forgive myself if I came back to find the chickens butchered and the trailer burned,” she said “This isput”

Tanner knew enough about the cartel to be concerned But he wasPrescott He’d found fresh boot prints a the s on the far side of the creek It would be like Ferg to have so on Rose, or even to have her lambs killed But he had yet to find a shred of evidence

Between files, he checked his watch It was after six, too early to show up at Rose’s but tie yesterday A shopping trip was in order, but he could do that toht now, a cold one at the Blue Coyote sounded like a good idea

The parking lot of the town’s only saloon was crowded at this hour with people getting off work Inside, an old Hank Willia from the speakers on the wall The booths and tables were almost full The only available seat Tanner could see was a stool at the bar He took it and ordered a Corona

He paid with a five The bartender shoved his change across the bar Before Tanner could pick up the coins, the le tattoo on his shaved head, turned on the stool, swung his forearm to one side, and swept the coins onto the floor

“Sorry,” he ht lisp