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Boone was certain that if he ever got his hands on that old h There would be fear in the old rancher’s eyes when he was done—enough that he would be too scared to tell anyone Not even his granddaughter

Boone lifted his head, letting hisinto it He turned, confidence once ain faced his father

“There is a way” But his statement drew no response Boone raised his voice in a deet to the old man”

“Really?” Max flicked him a jaundiced look

“It’s one you’ll like”

Max released an exasperated sigh and demanded, “And ould that be?”

“Have you forgotten the old hter?”

Chapter Eight

The sun was directly overhead, shrinking the shadows around the feed store toinfluence, the theristered a temperature in the low seventies

An hour ago, Holly Sykes had taken advantage of the balmy weather and propped the front door open Dallas welconored the dust that occasionally swirled in with it The boost to her lagging energy had coed in another deep breath of it and let it out in a weary sigh

With only one more final exaht, the stress and long hours would all be over There would be no more classes until after the first of the year Dallas suspected itto catch up on all her missed sleep

With the printer chattering away in the background, Dallas continued thethe appropriate receipts to their invoice, ready for the check to be attached This was one ti the payables done

“I don’t see how you can hear yourself think with that racket going on” The deep, ht shoulder

Startled, Dallas jerked her head around and felt a jolt of shock when she saw Boone Rutledge looaze swept hastily up the muscled expanse of his chest and shoulders to the hard and les of his face and halted when it encountered the steady regard of his dark eyes For a split second, she felt oddly trapped

“Sorry” Dallas hastily rolled her chair back frouess I didn’t hear you come in”