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19b488f
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Tori chanced a glance out of the corner of her eye to the man at her side. His attention appeared riveted to the road in front of them. Good. He probably didn't even notice. His head suddenly swiveled her way as if he sensed her gaze. He winked at her. Winked! "I gotta say your stamina is impressive." His voice held a warm, teasing lilt. "I didn't think you'd make it past Mrs. Cooper's chicken farm with that iron-poker spine, and here you l..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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30f915f
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A businesswoman must always be cognizant of her appearance when dealing with customers. A tidy appearance gives the impression of capability and competence. Your muscles and height might be enough to recommend your abilities to tote and carry heavy crates and supplies, but for money to change hands, customers need to be assured that they are dealing with a professional." Tori folded her hands in her lap, proud of her little speech until she..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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88e98c6
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The instant the brake was set, Tori stood and set about climbing down from the bench. Unfortunately, the freight wagon stood several feet taller than the wagons she was accustomed to, and since she had to exit backward, her right foot groped for a wheel spoke with no success. Wonderful. Nothing like making a competent first impression. She adjusted her grip on the seat back and stretched her toe down a little farther, not liking the feeling..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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64d6636
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Meredith bundled her shawl more tightly around her shoulders before ducking her head and scurrying past his brother. Travis knew he probably looked like a lovesick pup just standing there watching her go, but he didn't care. Crockett even came into the room and stared into the newly emptied hall alongside him, obviously trying to taunt him out of his stupor. "So when are you finally going to tell her that you're insanely in love with her?" ..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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2834669
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He's been known to steal a kiss under the branches of that big oak, too. You'd never know it to look at him, but my Arthur can be quite the man of passion." Nicole giggled, charmed by the idea of the staid butler sharing a passionate embrace with his wife in such a setting. "I can't imagine a better place for a tryst. It's a shame I don't have a beau to share it with." The housekeeper's expression sharpened an instant before the dust rag re..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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a3e0814
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Not that this woman would need chains to capture a man's attention under normal circumstances. Her milky skin,soft eyes,and that mad riot of reddish-gold corkscrew curls that gave her a pixie-like appearance would see to the task.
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Karen Witemeyer |
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a562462
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Had she witnessed his swim? He didn't see how she could have missed it if she'd indeed been lunching by the water. The more intriguing question was, had she liked what she'd seen? Ever the scientist, Darius couldn't let the hypothesis go unchallenged. Ignoring his boots where they lay in the grass at the edge of the landing, he strode barefoot toward his quarry. "So I'm to understand that you lunch by the pond every day, Miss Greyson?" he a..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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b27559b
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Joanna pivoted and bit back a groan of despair.Crockett Archer was even more handsome than she'd remembered. Somehow his rancher's clothing made him seem more approachable, more...within her reach. And if that wasn't the most ridiculous notion, she didn't know what was. A man with his looks and kind heart could have any woman he chose. He'd never settle for a shy, freckled redhead with an ex-outlaw for a father. She was everything the ideal..
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romance
inspirational
joanna-robbins
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Karen Witemeyer |
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2238072
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For a man who had gone out of his way to avoid her during the first few days of her employment, Darius Thornton had become annoyingly attentive of late. He'd dined with her each of the last three nights, to Mrs. Wellborn's delight and Nicole's dismay. He insisted she attend him in the workshop every afternoon, either to talk through his latest investigative hypothesis or to assist with his efforts at salvaging what parts he could from the e..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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4af7a03
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He had six days to solve Nicole's mysteries and claim her heart. He'd not waste a single minute.
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Karen Witemeyer |
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e0b3b43
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I'm sorry, Ben," Tori soothed, her hand cupping his shoulder as she blotted the excess wetness from his nape with a towel and waited for the liquor to evaporate. "I'm almost done." Too bad. He was rather enjoying her fussing over him. Well, except for the excruciating pain. Tori had never voluntarily touched him. Soothed him. Murmured his name in the affectionate tone usually reserved solely for Lewis. Getting kicked in the head seemed to h..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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8121274
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His gut clenched. He'd thought she was different. Thought she appreciated the man he was, not the out-of-all-proportion legend the sensationalists depicted. Was that what she wanted? Some larger-than-life hero? If so, he didn't stand a chance. She'd never be satisfied with a humble mule trainer. He'd worked hard to put life as a bounty hunter behind him. He wouldn't be that man again. Not even for her.
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Karen Witemeyer |
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2e7dc04
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Your only other option is to marry one of us." He paused. "Me." Travis suddenly felt the need to clear his throat. "This alternative would repair your reputation, give you a place to live, and provide the protection of four able-bodied men. Unless you have something else to suggest . . . ?" "Actually, there is something else." Her quiet statement startled him. "There is?" He glanced over at Crockett. His brother shrugged. Meredith slowly lo..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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9937d71
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I love you, Lottie, and I want to make you my wife." Stone's low voice rumbled between them. Ardent. Unwavering. Determined. "I'll pursue you," he vowed, "until a parson either joins us in marriage or speaks words over my grave." --
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Karen Witemeyer |
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1ff34fa
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I love you, Victoria Adams. I have for a long time. And what you've told me today only makes me love you more. I admire your courage, your fighting spirit and inner strength. I hate the path that carried you to Harper's Station, but I thank God every day that he brought you to a place where we could meet." He pulled her hands to his chest and placed them palm down against the thudding of his heart. "As steadfast as your love is for Lewis, t..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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8d6401a
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Miss Adams." He repeated. "Are you giving me permission to call on you?" Tori did her best to play along. She gave a prim nod. "I am, sir. As long as your intentions are honorable." Ben dropped the facade, reached between them, and stroked the edge of her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Tori, I plan to honor you all the days of my life." He leaned close and touched his lips to her forehead. A tremor coursed down her neck and over her s..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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8207b41
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Your daughter is the finest woman I've ever known, and I'll not abide such slander. Even from you." Jonah grinned and clapped Dan on the shoulder. "Good. 'Cause I don't cotton to the idea of handing my little girl over to a man who ain't willin' to stand up for her. Even against her old man." Dan stumbled back a step. "Oh, come on, Dan. Don't look so shocked." Jonah actually chuckled. "You and Etta have been pining for each other for years...
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Karen Witemeyer |
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a3da767
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She leaned closer and gently took his face into her hands. His rugged, beautiful face. "Thank you," she said, her voice suddenly growing husky as moisture collected at the back of her throat. "Thank you for saving my son." She touched her lips to his bandage-covered forehead. "You're the best man I've ever known, Benjamin Porter. And I'm frightened by how much you are coming to mean to me." "Don't be afraid, Tori." The low mumble of words b..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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6e5333d
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He glanced down at his naked chest. "Where's my shirt?" Cheeks heating, Tori reached behind him and snagged the dangling shirt sleeve and held it open for him to push his left arm through. When she finally found the wherewithal to look him in the face again, the teasing look in his pain-filled eyes nearly toppled her onto her backside. "Knew you liked my muscles." Of all the . . . Oh, who was she kidding? She did like his muscles. Though th..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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e051109
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Dan bit back a growl. No smooth-talking, barely-shaving stripling was going to charm her away. She needed a mature man, one with the skills and experience to protect her, provide for her. Hands balled into fists, Dan inhaled through his nose in an effort to stem the rising tide of jealousy that nearly had him shouting at her again. Maybe he shouldn't be in such a hurry to send her back to Richland. Where younger men named Clarence waited in..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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a56a691
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He'd listened to enough half-truths and outright lies from the outlaws he'd collected bounties on not to notice the slight hesitations in her speech or the exaggerated casualness of her posture. The woman was up to something. Heeding
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Karen Witemeyer |
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96a26ef
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Usually Zach had come in from the fields by now, as he seemed to tell time with his stomach.
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Karen Witemeyer |
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66535a9
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She had curled up with those books on more than one occasion, and yes, she had dreamt of a handsome, red-haired man of action, but it hadn't been Dead-Eye Dan, drat it all. She'd dreamt of Daniel Barrett, the man who worked her father's cattle, who trained the finest mules in the county, and whose sky-blue eyes could melt her heart with a single glance. Daniel Barrett had stolen her heart before she'd ever even heard of Dead-Eye Dan. "I"
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Karen Witemeyer |
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5895069
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Etta, you don't have to . . . I never meant . . . You love those books." "No, Daniel." She yanked her arm from his grasp and slapped the remaining book against his chest. "I love you. The books were just a way to pretend that a part of you could actually belong to me." The defiance faded from her eyes to be replaced by abject misery. "And now you never will." Dan"
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Karen Witemeyer |
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34ba373
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The silence he'd thought a blessing had become a curse. It ate at him. Rubbed him raw. He wanted to return to the easy camaraderie they'd shared before the storm, but she wouldn't let him. She avoided him. Why? How could she tell him she loved him then immediately start acting as if she didn't? At
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Karen Witemeyer |
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e7f41b2
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No! Loving him was not a mistake. He couldn't let her go on thinking it was. Dan lurched to his feet, flinging the book down onto the bed as he rose. He marched out of the room without a thought to his hat or his gun. Strode straight for the cabin's front door and nearly jerked it off its hinges. Time to set the woman straight.
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Karen Witemeyer |
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34cf796
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Yet he followed her, stalked her, his eyes never straying from her face. "I don't care about the books." "What?" Marietta knocked into a chair and stumbled slightly. "I don't care that you like to read those infernal Dead-Eye Dan novels," he said, his voice hard, insistent. "Shoot, I'll even buy you a new set to replace the ones you burned." He continued his advance. She continued her retreat. "You don't have to do that. I . . . I don't nee..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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7f608ee
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He treated her like a china doll that needed to sit on a high shelf and be admired but never handled. Marietta didn't want to be admired from a distance. She wanted to be touched. Held. Embraced. By him.
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Karen Witemeyer |
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098fde2
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She'd not allow Daniel Barrett to escape her so easily. She'd placed a bounty on his heart, and she intended to collect.
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Karen Witemeyer |
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6fb654a
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Ever since she'd come home from school three years ago, she'd been burrowing under his skin, itching like a host of chigger bites. He kept telling himself not to scratch, but invariably he did anyway, fool that he was. And here he was scratching again, thinking about her when he should be focused on the work at hand. He
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Karen Witemeyer |
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9983ac1
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He needed to get Mollie out from under that woman's roof as soon as possible. The most desirable option being moving her into the clinic as his wife. But she deserved a proper courtship, not some rushed affair that would lend itself to whispers behind closed doors. Of course, if he were openly courting her, the hours they spent together in the clinic or on house calls could raise eyebrows as well. Jacob smacked the trunk of one of the young..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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c037166
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You are the marryin' kind. Right, Barrett?" Starting to regain his equilibrium, Dan squeezed his boss's--no, his ex-boss's--hand and smiled. "Only where Etta is concerned." "Well, then." The man's eyes actually twinkled. "Get on after it, boy. It'll take me at least twenty minutes to see to my horse." Dan"
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Karen Witemeyer |
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b6daa46
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You're wrong about one thing, though," she said. Daniel looked quizzically at her. "What?" Etta reached up to his brow and brushed his hair off his forehead with a gentle caress that set his blood to pumping. Then she tilted her head back and met his gaze. "You are a hero. My hero." And"
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Karen Witemeyer |
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3a81797
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I'm not Dead-Eye Dan. I gave up chasin' bounties and don't plan on ever goin' back. I ain't a dime-novel hero, but I'm steady, I work hard, and I'll do my best to give you the life you deserve." Etta opened her mouth, but he shook his head at her, needing to get everything said at once. "I know I'm a good deal older than you, twelve years by my count, and most young ladies would probably wish for someone younger, less tarnished. I've seen a..
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Karen Witemeyer |
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1d4b67d
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yet she'd let herself get distracted by vanity and worry--two of the most worthless pursuits known to womankind.
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Karen Witemeyer |
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5721aa0
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2 Nicole gnawed on her lip as she pressed her back
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Karen Witemeyer |
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b9a1442
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postmaster's
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Karen Witemeyer |
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9df7102
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him,
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Karen Witemeyer |
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3615258
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completely
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Karen Witemeyer |
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c091f77
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Josiah
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Karen Witemeyer |
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3e13070
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collar,
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Karen Witemeyer |
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49dc1cb
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face
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Karen Witemeyer |
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852c797
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Westcott Cottage did have a handsome prince as it turned out, and she'd just floured him like a drumstick headed for the frying pan.
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Karen Witemeyer |
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90ee7d4
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said.
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Karen Witemeyer |