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With her hair at such an awkward length, she hadn’t been able to do much with it. After extensive experiments, she’d shaped a mass of curls at the top, allowing them to frame her face. She couldn’t help remembering how she’d once worn her hair, flowing long and free down her back. Matt had always loved it that way. He used to delight in running his hands through her tresses. But Ben had preferred the more sophisticated look of a shorter haircut. She had decided to let her hair grow out again.She couldn’t help wondering if she hadn’t made a terrible mistake, telling Matt she loved him. But pretending she didn’t was too hard. Let him go if he must, but this time he’d know exactly what he was walking away from.She heard rustling behind the curtain, teachers’ hushed voices, and she knew the young actors were taking their places for the opening scene. By now, she thought she knew every movement, every lineby heart. Turning again, she scanned the back of the auditorium, hoping to catch M
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‘Yeah.’‘I’ll bet they’re kids who didn’t have parts in the play.’Will nodded. ‘I’ve been trying to ignore them like Mom says, but it’s getting tiresome. And when I ignore them, they do it more.’‘Sometimes you’ve got to hold your ground and not walk away.’Will nodded soberly. Matt clasped the boy’s slim shoulder. ‘See you later,’ he said.‘Bye, Matt. Will you be here after the show?’‘Sure.’Walking back through the hallways. Matt pondered Leeann’s charge that Will could be his son. Damn her for planting the suggestion in his mind. As usual, his- sister was over reacting to a series of innocent coincidences. But Matt had to admit, he’d found himself looking at the boy a little harder. Because he’d never considered siring a child, he’d never contemplated what his offspring might be like.In some aspects, Leeann’s notion wasn’t as farfetched as it first sounded. The boy had affected Matt’s demeanor, his walk. But Matt attributed that to the kid’s impressionable age and the fact that
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Dylan pressed it into his hand anyway. ‘Take it just in case. You do know what to do with it, don’t you?’‘Course I do. Just can’t imagine some girl I barely know wantin’ to do it with me.’Dylan laughed. ‘Boy, don’t you know you’ve been blessed with the kind of good looks drives girls mad? Now me. I’ve got to get by on charm and wit, but all you’ve gotta do is wink at ’em. Ma even seen it, that’s why she’d always carryin’ on about you being born with the rising sun and that crap. Daddy hates it that he accidentally gave ya somethin’ better than what he ever had. A couple years from now, you’re going to have your pick of women. I bet you could even have one of those snotty rich bitches from up in the hills rubbin’ all over you.’‘Come on, Dylan. I ain’t plannin’ on spendin’ my whole life chasin’ women who think they’re better than everybody else. Or chasin’ women, period.’Dylan shrugged. ‘Have you ever even kissed a girl?’‘Sure.’‘Just wonderin’. Look, what you do is your business,
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Sam broke into a grin. ‘You’re not holdin’ up here on my account, are you?’‘Don’t get a swelled head over it,’ Matt joshed. ‘I’ve got some other business to take care of. And it’s not like I’m staying forever.’‘You could, you know. This is your home.’‘Sam, about your will . . .’‘I’m not changin’ it. And I’m not goin’ to tolerate any more arguin’. Don’t you think it’s about time you got a break? You deserve your own hunk of land. If you wanna hang around, that’s one thing, but don’t spend your time hasslin’ me about my will.’‘I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I know what you’re trying to do.’‘Well, ya do belong here. And don’t be so sure you can read my mind. Maybe I’m just doin’ this to ease my conscience about all the trouble I caused you and your ma. I don’t have any inclination to squabble about it.’Matt chuckled. ‘Sorry. Sam, you’re the only person besides my ma who’s ever done anything for me. I guess I really don’t know what I should do.’‘Humph. Just say thanks and be do
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‘Sierra, you have told me everything about what happened, about why you married Ben, haven’t you?’‘What else do you want to know?’Matt felt her holding her breath, tensing in his arms.‘Whatever you want to tell me,’ he said, skating his fingers across her shoulder.Sierra was sure Matt must be close to guessing the truth. But she couldn’t bring herself to confess now and ruin everything. She kept feeling time was running out for them as it was.She buried her damp face in his chest. ‘No,’ she lied. ‘There’s nothing else.’Matt suspected she was holding something back. Lord, but he wanted to trust her. He told himself his funny feelings stemmed from his own inability to trust anyone.‘I’m glad we came out here,’ he said.She rolled over on her back. ‘God, I love you.’His hand grazed her bare breast. ‘I plan to spend the rest of the weekend erasing any doubts you might have as to how I feel about you. You might be begging to go home soon.’Smiling through her tears, she slipped her
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She wished Matt were here so she’d at least have a comforting hand to hold on to. She had to tell him she didn’t blame him for confronting her father. This was her fault. She should have told him Matt was back.As the ambulance had raced away. Matt had merely told her to go ahead and be careful not to drive so fast she killed herself, assuring her he’d see about Will.Amidst all the commotion, she’d nearly forgotten about her son. She told herself he should have been her first concern. He’d come rushing downstairs at the noise, and seeing his grandfather lying there on the floor must have conjured up terrible images about Ben for him. What would she have done if Matt hadn’t been there? But then, if he hadn’t . . .No, she couldn’t blame him for this. He didn’t have to hide from her father or anyone else. Her father had over-reacted, brought this upon himself. She still stung from his calling her a whore. Matt was the only real man she’d ever slept with. The only man she’d ever slept w
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‘I don’t want him to be mad at me. But I can’t leave Mom by herself. She’s been sad for a long time, since before Dad died. Sometimes I think she didn’t like him much. He made her cry a lot. She likes the ranch, especially since you came to help her.’Sierra tried so hard to see the best in people; she had accepted her father’s attempts at reconciliation as a gesture based on love. She needed to be warned what her father was up to, but considering his condition, this was no time to confront her with the ugly truth.‘Can he make me leave Mom?’ Will’s voice was small in the night.Matt didn’t know what to tell him. He longed to reassure the kid, yet he prided himself on being truthful. William Ross was a powerful man. From what Sam had told him, he’d driven his own wife out of the country. He could afford to hire shrewd lawyers, and Sierra was on shaky financial ground.‘I don’t know. But I know your mother would fight to keep you with her.’Will blinked rapidly. ‘I don’t want them to f
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‘I haven’t had a chance to wrap it properly,’ she apologized, handing him the flat package wrapped in brown paper.Matt began tearing the wrapping off. The phone rang, and Sierra went to answer it.He heard the distant sound of her voice as he uncovered the oil painting, a portrait of Sam in his younger, vibrant days, the glory of Texas’s vast blue sky and open spaces in the background.Staring at it, he swallowed a thick lump in his throat. His normally steady hands were shaking.Sierra returned. ‘That was someone wanting to rent the carriage for a party tomorrow night,’ she reported brightly. As she glimpsed his solemn expression, her tone dropped. ‘Like it? The newspaper had an old photo of Sam on file and let me borrow it. It’s the first thing I’ve done in a long time, and I’m afraid it’s not my best work.’‘It’s fine. Sierra. Real fine. Thank you. I didn’t think there was anything I wanted for Christmas until I saw this. I love it. When did you start working on it? This must have
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