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“We’ll see if he needs a haircuttin’ party when he gets home” He rocked back frolanced sharply at Jessy “You just going to stand there or are you goin’ to slap that iron on this calf?”

Usually no one told her what to do or when to do it She reddened slightly under the i the brand

At ho hi at South Branch As soon as the niceties ritten, she bluntly asked hiainst such foolishness She phoned The Hoot his address, put the letter in an envelope, and mailed it when she returned to school on Monday

When Ty read the letter from Jessy, he sht through the ruo to the source to find out the answers He doubted it ever occurred to her that she was being nosy and butting into so that wasn’t any of her affair

After reading it through again, he folded the letter and pushed it into his hip pocket, reot back home The contents of the letter had briefly transported him away fro of Montana and the exciteot the perspiration collecting on his skin as he coth

A horn honked just to his left, jerking his thoughts to the present A sports-model convertible had pulled close to the street curb Tara was behind the wheel, dressed in a s the hair away from her oval face His blood quickened as Ty swerved off the sidewalk and crossed the grass to the car, idling at the curb

“Hop in” She gave him one of her provocative half-smiles

Lithely, Ty vaulted over the door and slid his long frame into the bucket seat beside her The car sht traffic on the campus street Ty studied her profile and the perfection of her features, so

“You were deep in thought when I drove up” Her re her before she honked

“I was trying to decide whether I needed a haircut”

Her glance wandered over his dark hair, ru over the car’s front windscreen “It looks fine to me”

He was conscious of the brevity of her costus “Got a tennis date?” Ty guessed, already noticing how cool and refreshed she looked

“Roger Mathison and I are partners in a ame at four,” she admitted with considerable aplomb “Are you on your way to the library or the frat house?”

“The library” He adjusted the ringed notebook on his lap and stared straight ahead, showing no reaction to her admission she had a tennis date with another man

Nothing had changed between them, not the way he had hoped it would If he was lucky, he dated her once or twice a month In the es with a string of nairls As Tara became better known on the Austin carown ed about Ty had lost count of the number of rivals he faced Some came and went, especially the ones who attempted to dominate and demand more of her attention—a fact Ty had observed early on So he ate his pride and becaulars