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dd555ff
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Come here, little one." "I want to go back." He hoped she stood there arguing for a time. "Obey your husband." She wrinkled her nose. "It's broad daylight." " , come." Growing tired of just looking when he could be touching, Hunter cocked his head and let her see him leering. He was awarded a fetching glimpse of slender, creamy thighs and honey gold. She gasped and dropped to her knees as if someone had dealt a blow to the backs of her legs..
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Catherine Anderson |
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531e2c7
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There's a time and a place for everything, and this isn't it." "No?" He ran a hand under her blouse. "I say it is a very good time." She jerked when his fingers scaled her ribs. "That tickles." Without warning he rolled with her, coming out on top. He kissed her lightly on the lips while he moved his hand from her ribs to her breast. The small mound of warm flesh fit perfectly in his hand, the crest springing taut against his palm. Scarlet ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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4cb2237
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We will go to my lodge, yes? I will make you happy there where no one can see.
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Catherine Anderson |
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af778f0
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We will go to my lodge, yes? I will make you happy there where no one can see." She slugged his shoulder. "You did that on purpose!" He laughed and tucked her under one arm to hold her close to his side as they walked. When they came within sight of the village, she drew away. A guilty flush dotted her cheeks. Hunter threw back his head and laughed. She retaliated by grabbing up a handful of pebbles to throw at him. Her aim was terrible, bu..
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Catherine Anderson |
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49ce62d
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Look what I have here. A gift, yes? For your woman. A gift like no other." He pulled something sparkly from a parfleche and palmed it, extending his arm toward Hunter. "Moonlight on water, cousin. A comb for your wife." Drawn by the glisten of bright stones, Hunter lifted the comb and turned it to catch the firelight. For an instant he imagined the look on Loretta's face if he were to give her something so fine. Then he discarded the thou..
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Catherine Anderson |
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78b44bb
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You are my woman!" He swept his hand toward the door. "I have spoken it before my people. You must walk always in my footsteps."
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Catherine Anderson |
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3d99370
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How is your woman taking this?" Warrior asked. "Her heart is on the ground." Warrior sighed. "This is bad, Hunter, very bad. Her mother? Her father? She will never forgive this." Hunter increased his pace, growing more concerned by the second that he had left Loretta alone. "She has no choice. We have said words, yes? She is my woman." "But Red Buffalo killed her parents!" "She is still my woman."
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Catherine Anderson |
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6de305d
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What are you-- White people don't things like this. I'm sure they don't. Stop! Please?" Alarmed by her tone, Hunter lifted his head to search her eyes. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her. The had strange customs, especially when it came to women's bodies. At this point he wasn't concerned with he made love to her, as long as he got it done. "You say it, and I will do it." Confusion played upon her face. "What?" "You say to m..
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Catherine Anderson |
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c590cdc
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You say it, and I will do it." Confusion played upon her face. "What?" "You say to me how." Scarlet dotted her cheeks. She nibbled her lip, staring at him. " don't know how. It's just, well, there are certain things I'm sure no decent woman would--" Her pupils flared, turning her eyes dark. "Just get it finished." Finished? Hunter regarded her for several charged seconds. Then an amused twinkle crept into his gaze. "Blue Eyes, if you do no..
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Catherine Anderson |
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6c3e2a4
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Blue Eyes, if you do not know the way, we must do it the Comanche way.
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Catherine Anderson |
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9363f40
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This small woman filled the empty places inside him, made him feel whole again.
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Catherine Anderson |
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8ab7978
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My heart is filled with great love for you," he whispered. Tears sprang to Loretta's eyes. She couldn't name the emotion that caused them, didn't want to. Then, like projectiles from a cannon, the words shot from her mouth. "Oh, Hunter, I love you, too."
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Catherine Anderson |
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ce61bd6
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My heart is filled with great love for you," he whispered."
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Catherine Anderson |
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f52e894
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Look into my eyes. Do you see a new morning with new beginnings?" He searched her gaze, and then, in a husky voice that reached way down inside her, he whispered, "Yes." He drew out the word until it seemed to echo and reecho in her mind."
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Catherine Anderson |
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15253f8
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You will come to me. You will want my hand upon you. It will be so. The Great Ones have spoken it.
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Catherine Anderson |
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d2e5e67
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I won't marry you!" she cried frantically. He threw her a look charged with martial arrogance. "You will be my wife, little one. My way or yours, in the end, it will be so."
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Catherine Anderson |
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391ec4a
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It will be well. My people will accept. You are one with them now, the wife of a warrior. In time, you will want to be beside me. Your fear will leave. You will see. Until then, this Comanche will wait, eh?
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Catherine Anderson |
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042fc5d
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Blue Eyes, I do not want stew," Hunter whispered, his voice laced with tenderness. "If you hunger, we will have nuts and fruit, eh?" Loretta swallowed a lump of air. Fruit and nuts were better than the alternative. Maybe, if she ate one nut at a time..."All right, fruit and nuts." He spread a buffalo robe beside the fire while she put the pot away and dug up a parfleche of fruit and nuts from his store of preserved edibles. Kneeling beside ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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f8ff31d
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Brushing her hands clean on her skirt, Loretta stared dismally at the fire. Merciful heaven, why had she asked for a fire? He'd be able to her, which somehow made the thought of undressing in front of him all the more horrid.
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Catherine Anderson |
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343d17e
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Where was Hunter? The question repeated itself in Loretta's mind hundreds of times with each passing day. As the mercenaries escorted her and Amy ever closer to Fort Belknap, Loretta's uneasiness grew. Hunter wasn't dead. She knew he wasn't. Sometimes she would have sworn he rode just behind them, but when she looked over her shoulder, she saw nothing. At other times she felt his gaze on her and glanced up, convinced she would see him, astr..
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Catherine Anderson |
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7ea8027
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While she prayed, she listened--for Hunter, for some telltale sound that he was indeed out there, as she sensed he was. She knew, as surely as if Hunter had told her, that he was watching over her. She knew as long as the white men did her and Amy no harm, he was content to ride shotgun, watching over them from a distance. On the last night out, Loretta's faith in Hunter was rewarded. As everyone settled down to sleep, a coyote yipped nearb..
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Catherine Anderson |
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bce88be
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You are my woman. We are one, forever with no horizon." "Oh, Hunter, it isn't that easy. I'm leaving," she whispered in a quavery voice. "You can't watch me every second." "It is forbidden for a woman to leave her husband." "So is our love."
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Catherine Anderson |
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e618000
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If you flee, this Comanche will follow you. Anyone who tries to keep you from me will die. Think long and hard on this. I paid a fine bride price. You are my woman. What is mine, I keep.
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Catherine Anderson |
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b5eca54
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Who is that girl?" Loretta demanded one evening. "What girl?" Hunter felt heat rising up his neck and avoided meeting his wife's flashing blue gaze. " girl, the one who seems to have something in her eye." Hunter obliged Loretta by giving Bright Star a bored glance. "She is sister to my woman who is dead." He bent back over the arrowhead he was sharpening. "She is called Bright Star." "She doesn't very bright. Is that a tic, or does she ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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413180d
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There was no such thing in being prepared for Henry's temper when it blew. Though Loretta was braced for it, she still jumped at the first roar. "You're " "I'm in the family way." With one suspender up and one down, his shirt partially untucked, and both feet bare, Henry was ill prepared for throwing a tantrum. His face mottled, the spots an alarming shade of purple. Eyes bugging like blue marbles, he croaked, "With that bastard Comanche's..
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Catherine Anderson |
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db2b4ad
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What did you say?" Henry grated. "I said , Henry." Rachel's voice was still soft, but the glint in her eyes was fighting mean. "I've put up with your cussedness for nigh on nine years. No more. You apologize to Loretta Jane this instant." "Or you'll do what?" Rachel lifted a challenging brow. "Well, I reckon you're too big for me to grab you by the heels and your brains. Guess I'll have to blow them out."
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Catherine Anderson |
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ffecdf6
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What did you say?" Henry grated. "I said , Henry." Rachel's voice was still soft, but the glint in her eyes was fighting mean. "I've put up with your cussedness for nigh on nine years. No more. You apologize to Loretta Jane this instant." "Or you'll do what?" Rachel lifted a challenging brow. "Well, I reckon you're too big for me to grab you by the heels and your brains. Guess I'll have to blow them out. Now apologize. I won't have that ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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b9dd521
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You know, I should start thinking on names. I have to be over two months gone. A name is important. Especially for this baby." "Why especially this one?" Rachel asked, looking up from the bread she was kneading. "Names are important for everybody." Loretta sighed. "Well, with Hunter as the father, I have to think of names he'd approve of." "You call that child Running Water and I'll disown you." Loretta giggled. "I don't know. After hemming..
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Catherine Anderson |
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0f5e0e7
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My heart is filled with great love for you," he whispered. Tears sprang to Loretta's eyes. She couldn't name the emotion that caused them, didn't want to. Then, like projectiles from a cannon, the words shot from her mouth. "Oh, Hunter, I love you, too." The moment she said it, she knew it was true. She loved him as she had never loved anyone, with an intensity that made her ache. Hunter, the fierce warrior, the culmination of all her night..
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Catherine Anderson |
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b50f56e
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Hunter turned toward her and looped an arm around her waist. His eyes were dark splashes in the moonlight. "Blue Eyes, it will be good. Trust this Comanche." "How can it be, Hunter?" "I will make it so." He feathered a finger across her bottom lip. His voice, his gentle touch, delved deep, turning her warm and liquid, melting her resistance. She closed her eyes. In four more days, maybe less, she would be back in Hunter's village. "Hunter,..
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Catherine Anderson |
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eb87efa
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Surely you don't mean right " Her startled gaze focused on the lodge door. "It's not even dark yet. People are still awake. You haven't eaten. There's no fire built. We can't just--" He lifted the door flap and drew her into the dark lodge. "Blue Eyes, I have no hunger for food," he said huskily. "But I will make a fire if you wish for one." Any delay, no matter how short, appealed to Loretta. "Oh, yes, it's sort of chilly, don't you think..
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Catherine Anderson |
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b0bd6bc
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A wonderfully hard arm encircled her, his broad wrist pressed against her spine, his long fingers fanning between her shoulder blades. She let her head fall back to accommodate his caressing mouth. " ," she whispered. "Hello," he murmured against her ear, sending spirals of longing down her spine."
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Catherine Anderson |
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cb794b0
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You hurt?" Loretta knew he had gone to great lengths to be gentle with her earlier, but she was sore nonetheless. The ache was to be expected, she felt sure, and probably would disappear in a day or two. "I'm fine." He slid his hand to her belly, his strong fingers probing carefully, his gaze alert on her face for telltale signs of pain. "Ah, Blue Eyes, I think you lie." His gentleness and concern touched her. "It isn't that bad, truly. If ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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9fcd1d4
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Another uplifting development was Amy's recovery from her ordeal. Loretta could scarcely believe how quickly the child was regaining her former gaiety, and she soon realized Swift Antelope was the cause. The young warrior clearly adored Amy and spent hours roaming the river with her, forging a friendship that set Amy's cheeks aglow. Hunter, quite the opposite of Loretta, found this same period of time a trial. While Swift Antelope made stea..
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Catherine Anderson |
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918917c
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It seemed to Hunter that every time he turned around, Bright Star hovered nearby, fluttering her lashes and blushing, making such an obvious play for Hunter's affections that he knew it couldn't escape his wife's notice for long. Hunter didn't want to shame Bright Star by scorning her. At the same time, he didn't want Loretta to believe he was encouraging the girl. He already had enough problems. While he mulled the situation over, trying t..
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Catherine Anderson |
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e4d0e0e
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This Comanche has no wish for a of wives. One is sure enough plenty trouble." "Are you saying I make your life miserable? If that's the case, why did you marry me? Why didn't you marry ?" Hunter knew jealousy when he saw it. Everything else had failed. New tactics were called for. "I could have. Bright Star thinks I would be a fine husband, yes?" "She can have you." That wasn't exactly the response Hunter had been hoping for."
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Catherine Anderson |
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286f1fd
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That my eyes are yours as well. When you go blind, I'll draw pictures with words so you can still see all the beautiful things. You told me once that the most gorgeous thing you first saw was the Central Oregon blue sky. That's my vow to you, Carly--nothing but blue skies for the rest of our lives, even after you go permanently blind." . He bent at the knees to catch her up in his arms. As he carried her toward the cabin, she gazed up at hi..
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romance
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Catherine Anderson |
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17cee2f
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That my eyes are yours as well. When you go blind, I'll draw pictures with words so you can still see all the beautiful things. You told me once that the most gorgeous thing you first saw was the Central Oregon blue sky. That's my vow to you, Carly--nothing but blue skies for the rest of our lives, even after you go permanently blind." . He bent at the knees to catch her up in his arms. As he carried her toward the cabin, she gazed up at hi..
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romance
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Catherine Anderson |
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f142a04
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With Hank at her side, she would never really be blind again. His eyes were hers, just as he'd vowed. When they grew old, they would take walks at sunset, and she'd be able to see everything. His gift to her--pictures painted with words. Love wasn't about easy, according to Hank. It was about sticking through thick and thin. He would always be with her, unless death took him first, and even then, Carly knew she'd never be left in complete d..
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romance
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Catherine Anderson |
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3afc244
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it with the eye of an interior decorator, and there were possibilities everywhere she looked. She moved
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Catherine Anderson |
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6c49e3e
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Why? You ever seen those tiny cages they stick cats in? And those
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Catherine Anderson |