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There was the game in it He’d taken her, and noas accountable for it There was no forgetting what happened or turning aside froer ca, he’d always return to the stoop where he’d last been fed

The fact that she had co It had been as much her desire as it had been his The blame should have been shared But it was never that omen—not women like Tara Lee Dyson

This hadn’t been a casual act She’d laid her hold on his conscience He had bedded her; noas expected to wed her

He let the thought settle into hi Tara was the prize, the success—and she had come to him

“I suppose you’ll want the biggest, fanciest da Texas has ever seen,” he said dryly

She laughed in her throat “You guessed it, honey” She leaned up to kiss him

15

No a enabled Jessy to reach the hook at the back of her dress Frustration merely added to the irritability that she blaust heat It accu ho fan created a blessed stir of air in the living rooing in crisp new jeans and pearl-buttoned western shirts Ben was painstakingly sood western hat At the sound of her footsteps on the stairs, he looked up, then hit his brother

“Would you look at Jessy?” His square face was split with a grin “She’s got legs!”

“Is that what those thite things are?” Mike quickly picked up on the oddity of seeing their older sister in a dress, siding as alith his brother to rib her

“They look a sight better than those hairy things you two have,” Jessy retorted

“Wait’ll the boys get a load of Jessy,” Ben persisted with a wicked gleam

“Wait’ll they get a load of that fuzz on your face that you call a beard,” she countered, accusto insults

Ben rubbed his chin defensively “It’s filling out and starting to look pretty good” But the new beard was sandy-colored and soft, which gave it a sparse appearance

“Where’s Molanced toward the kitchen