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There was a silky whisper of movement beside him as he slowed the pickup to a halt at the crossroads He wasn’t sorry to see a se hihway until it passed He used the pause to steal a glance at Jessy, coer seat The diave a faint sheen to the satiny material of the dress she wore and hinted at the paleness of a shapely calf

“You do have a gorgeous set of legs,” Laredo drawled the coht to show them off”

“You did say you were going to wear your Sunday hat,” Jessy re it a special occasion, I thought I should do the same” She stroked a hand over the skirt’s sood”

“I couldn’t agree hway and smiled to himself

He suspected that time Triple C hands—would be surprised by Jessy’s state and steady, sure of herself and always in couessed she had a fearded as a woman and not the boss of the Triple C

“It’s been a long time since I’ve taken you out to dinner, hasn’t it?” Laredo realized Usually they ended up at the Boar’s Nest, the old line shack he’d fixed up to be a comfortable bachelor pad It offered them total privacy, and most of the time that was all they wanted

“We went out last fall,” she reminded him

“Just the same, we should do it more often”

“Maybe so, but life seeet in the way a lot” A quiet acceptance of that fact marked her voice

“You’ve got that right” His reement

The direw visible a few n of human habitation since they had left the ranch headquarters Laredo slowed the pickup’s speed as they approached the town of Blue Moon

It was little s vacant since the coaloperation had shut down On the west side of the road, the coht pool of lights, a semi parked beneath its canopy next to a diesel puhway froone by many names in the past, but now proclaimed itself to be KELLY’S BAR AND GRILL

“Marsha finally got her new sign installed” Laredo gestured in its direction

“The lights are so bright, no one can colare

“Probably LEDs,” Laredo guessed and turned the pickup into the parking lot, which was already ht crowd has already beat us here”