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Rubbing“Of course it can’t, but I knew this, Ken When I came here, I knehat he was like We both saw hiym”

“Stuart Knight is no one to fu—front with” Lane’s little voice said so, and she covered the phone to answer him

“Oh, god!” I dropped ain “Why the hell am I here?”

Kenny was back “I’o with him What can I do?”

Co to have to be strong with hireement “I have to hold my own if I ever expect to be a part of his life He won’t respect anything less”

“I can see that”

Pausing a ht about what that h, I touched the corners of my hot eyes “Help me pick up the pieces when he breaks my heart”

“I bet Pete would be ave me the tiniest nanoparticle of relief “And who knows? You’ve been right before Maybe ‘That’s all’ is the cry of the defeated”

“Ha In my dreams”

Stuart

It took less than an hour to pack clothes, food, drinks prettywe’d need for a three-day stay at the cabin I hadn’t given uess what I was doing or back away I wanted to spend the next three days exploring every inch of her beautiful body, unraveling the layers of her hly

She didn’t question or protest She seemed to understand I needed to be away fro I needed to understand why she was different It was potentially setting us both up for a world of hurt, but I couldn’t let that stand in the way

I’d stripped the bed and deposited the sheets in the e She’d eed jacket over a thigh-high, mint-blue dress I wanted to pull her to me and slide my hands up that skirt, but not yet Winona was in the kitchen observing for one thing

Irritation built as she lingered to text Elaine Not hearing back immediately, she decided to leave a note, which prompted a search for paper and a pen

“Just so she won’t worry” The sound of her voice, her fluid one