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b57455d
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Mel was fascinated by the way they talked about their women with lusty smiles and glittering eyes. No jokes about the old ball and chain here. Rather, they sounded as though they couldn't wait to get home to them. "How's Patti doing?" someone asked Josh. He curved his hands over his flat belly to indicate a pregnant tummy and grinning boastfully, said, "She's ripe as a tomato. I can hardly keep my hands off her." "If she's ripe as a tomato,..
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Robyn Carr |
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27b2f9f
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Jack threw back the shot and when he brought back his head, his eyes were misting over. "My wife," he said in a whisper. "You have no idea the strength that took. She was amazing. I watched her face--she went to a place of power I've never been. And then, when I handed her the baby, when she put my son against her breast..." He took another swallow. "When she nursed my son, she was in another place--there was such peace and love.... God," h..
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Robyn Carr |
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53575c2
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I might never be really free of him, and I brought this into your life. Insanity and trouble. Maybe even danger. Oh, John... What a bad deal you got with me." He smiled at her, touched her lips with his. "You can't believe for one second that's how I feel. Paige, I don't care if you have an army of loaded Huns on your tail. The day you and Chris came into my life, that was the biggest miracle of my life. I wouldn't trade you for anything." ..
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Robyn Carr |
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ecb95d8
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Oh, my God," she said, looking at Jack's face. "It's much worse than it looks," he told her. "What in the world happened?" "I got too close to the rear end of a mule."
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Robyn Carr |
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2e676ef
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He put his hands on her waist. "Kiss me," he said. "No," she said. "Come on. Haven't I been perfect? Haven't I followed all your rules? How can you be so selfish? There's no one around--they're busy drinking." "I think you should go back to your reunion," she said, but she laughed at him again. Boldly, he picked her up under her arms and lifted her high, holding her above him, slowly lowering her mouth to his. "You're shameless," she told h..
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Robyn Carr |
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b8a34ce
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You thinking of messing with my little sister?" he asked. "Because she's been through a tough time and doesn't need--" "No, Jack." He laughed. "I'm not messing with anyone, trust me. But I figured if I kept her busy for a few hours, maybe you could mess with the baby's mother." Jack's eyes narrowed. Mike sipped from his mug. "I'll keep her out there through nap time," he said. "Maybe a couple of nap times." Jack leaned closer to Mike. "You'..
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Robyn Carr |
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714addc
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Brie, you're beautiful and brilliant and strong. A man who would cheat on someone like you, just flat-ass doesn't deserve you." He reached out and covered her hand with his. "You are too valuable, Brie, to be stuck with a man like that." She pulled her hand out from under his. "And what did you do to screw up your marriages?" "I was completely irresponsible," he said. "I knew how to be a lover, not how to love. Men take such a long time to ..
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Robyn Carr |
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11ff00d
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You always know what to do," she said. "Not always," he said, holding her close. "Right now, for example. I'm not sure what to do." "Why?" she asked, her eyes still closed, her face buried in his chest. "When are you going to tell me?" She lifted her head. "Tell you?" "About the baby." "But Jack, you know the baby and mother are--" "The baby inside of you," he said, placing a large hand over her flat tummy. A startled look crossed her featu..
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Robyn Carr |
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ec34f29
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I don't know what to say. You just accept everything. You're amazing. I thought you might be very pissed." "Nah. The only thing that disappoints me is that it took me this long to find you." "Even with all my baggage?" she asked. "I don't consider this baggage." He leaned over and kissed her belly. "I consider this the grand prize." "You want it?" she asked. "I told you," he said. "I want it. It makes me happy." "God," she said in a breath...
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Robyn Carr |
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b92a357
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So, he thought, probably the best day of my life, turned to total shit. She's still back there, with him. She can love you like she's yours, but she's not. Not yet. Hadn't he always known this was the risk he was taking, as long as he loved her? That she might not be able to let go of him? Ever? What the hell, he told himself. She might never really belong to me; good thing he can't come back from the grave and snatch her away. But that bab..
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Robyn Carr |
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4e02069
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Jack had known from the beginning that Mark was still there, in her life, in her heart. He would never have all of her. Well, then, he'd make the most of what he did have. He wasn't going to make her grovel; he was just going to love the heck out of her. He could manage this, even if it wasn't the most ideal situation. In time, maybe she'd come around. Mark's memory could fade enough so that even if Jack wasn't the only man in her life, he ..
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Robyn Carr |
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93fce6a
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She turned, looked up at him, and they both jumped back in surprise. She was likely startled because Preacher looked intimidating--he was six foot four, bald with bushy black eyebrows, a diamond stud earring and shoulders about as broad as an ax handle was long. Under
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Robyn Carr |
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ba8f9ad
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Somewhere in the night, sounds came from Jack's bed. He was fitful, rolling around, muttering in his sleep. Mel went to the bed, sat on the edge and touched his brow. He grumbled something unintelligible and curled toward her, grabbing her and pulling her into the bed. He rested his head against her. She took his head in the crook of her arm and lay down beside him. "It's okay," she said to him. And he quieted at once, draping an arm over h..
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Robyn Carr |
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bae3b07
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Jack," she said, snuggled up against him. "I hate that I hurt you." He buried his face in her hair and inhaled the sweet scent. "Let's not talk about that anymore. It's behind us. We have a lot in front of us." "Would it be a good idea for me to go to Joey for a little while? Give you some space? Try to get my head together?" He rose over her and looked into her eyes. "Don't, Mel. Don't run just because we hit a rough patch. We'll work thro..
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Robyn Carr |
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155064c
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He frowned and reached out, lifting a lock of her hair off her shoulder. "Do you have mud in your hair?" "Probably," she said. "I was standing on the porch, appreciating the beauty of this nice spring morning when one end gave way and spilled me right into a big, nasty mud puddle. And I wasn't brave enough to try out the shower--it's beyond filthy. But I thought I got it all off." "Oh, man," he said, surprising her with a big laugh. "Could ..
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Robyn Carr |
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199396d
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He stopped chopping again and, looking at her, asked, "What made you decide?" "Bear's new leg. That old blue plaid flannel..." "Old?" Preacher asked, smiling slightly. "That was a perfectly good shirt." *" --
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Robyn Carr |
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b616c79
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Can I throw in a load of clothes for you?" she asked. "I'll take care of that. Listen, you don't have to clean up after me." She laughed at him. "John, I spend all day in the kitchen, collecting your pots, pans and dishes. It's becoming a habit." She laughed at his shocked expression. "You look after my child all day long--you're pretty much helpless, since he won't leave you alone. The least I can do is help out." "I'm not looking after hi..
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Robyn Carr |
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c3ad42b
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He looked over the counter to see Christopher standing at the bottom of the stairs, stark naked, book under one arm, Bear under the other. Preacher lifted one bushy brow. "Forget something there, pardner?" he asked. Chris picked at his left butt cheek while hanging on to the bear. "You read to me now?" "Um... Have you had your bath?" Preacher asked. The boy shook his head. "You look like you're ready for your bath." He listened upward to th..
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Robyn Carr |
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81de336
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She looked over at him as he drove; he was grinning. "Why are you smiling?" she asked him. He turned to look at her. "I've never been shopping with a woman before," he said. "I didn't hate it."
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Robyn Carr |
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effbfb7
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At first it appeared to be an intense need to right a wrong, to protect--typical of Preacher. He was that kind of man--tough on the outside and soft on the inside. Justice and loyalty--those values were everything to him. But in the days since what he saw had evolved. Preacher watched over Paige with an intensity that spoke of something more than the goodness of his heart. He would glance at her and his eyes would grow dark. Glow. He'd shak..
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Robyn Carr |
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70c4b4b
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He moved behind her and slipped his arms around her. His hands went under her jacket, under her sweater to where the jeans she could no longer close were gaping open. He put his large hands over her tummy and she put her hands over his, leaning back against him. They stood and looked out across the beautiful land, and then there was a little movement within her. These tiny flutters had just begun. "I'm sorry you can't feel that yet," she wh..
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Robyn Carr |
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5aa64c8
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What's bothering you?" "I've been watching Preacher," he said. "Ah. Lots of people have." "What's up with that?" "Well, it seems pretty apparent. He's growing very attached to his houseguests." "Yeah. That's what I think, too. I have a feeling he doesn't know what hit him." She reached for Jack's hand. "He'll work it out." "Mel, I'm not sure the looks Paige gives him mean anything but thank-you. I mean, Preacher--he's the kind of guy you wa..
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Robyn Carr |
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5f4f61a
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Jack's right--you shouldn't be getting yourself into this mess. We can still get away, me and Christopher. I can get to that address in Washington, get things in order. Get into that underground that gives women and children new identities..." "Don't be afraid," he said again. "It's going to be okay. I talked to Judge Forrest and he's optimistic about working this out." "There are alternatives to taking this kind of chance, is all I'm sayin..
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Robyn Carr |
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0ddc30f
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Are you so scared you were going to run?" She nodded, and he ran a finger along the line of her jaw. "Let's try to get through this," he said. "Even if it works, there's no way I can ever repay you," Paige said. He just shook his head. "I don't want anything from you, Paige. Except that no one ever hits you again. Ever." Paige just had to touch his face. She put her small palm against his cheek and whispered, "You are such an angel." "Naw. ..
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Robyn Carr |
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45d3f7b
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In the early morning as dawn was just beginning to streak through the cabin windows, Jack was stirred awake by the soft sound of slightly off-key humming. He found Mel nestled into the crook of his arm, her breath tickling his chest. She was purring, humming, her lips moving slightly, as though singing. It might've troubled him if her expression had been sad or disturbed. But she was smiling. She snuggled closer, throwing a leg over his. An..
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Robyn Carr |
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7c236d6
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One of these days, he said to himself, I'm going to tell her. Tell her I love her more than I thought I could love a woman. Tell her that my life started when she walked into town. But not yet. He didn't want to back her into a corner and make her feel she had to either say she loved him, too, or run. "Well,"
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Robyn Carr |
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df8b0fb
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Jack was back to his old self. It was either the Scotch or the fact that he woke up to a pretty blonde in his bed. He bet on the blonde. He never did ask Preacher precisely what he had told Mel. And he didn't ask Mel to be more specific. It didn't really matter. What did matter was that he had bonded with Mel on a new level that night without planning to. That she knew he was tortured over something terrible from his past and instead of shy..
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Robyn Carr |
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f1d2adb
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He was completely smitten. Jack was forty and this was the first time that he had a woman in his life he couldn't imagine giving up. *
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Robyn Carr |
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68c044f
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Joey," she said quietly, in almost a whisper. "I think I have a man in my life." "You found a man in that place?" "Uh-huh. I think so." "Why do you sound so...strange?" "I have to know something. Is it okay? Because I'm not even close to being over Mark. I still love Mark more than anything. Anyone." Joey let out her breath slowly. "Mel, it's all right to get on with your life. Maybe you'll never love anyone as much as you loved Mark--but t..
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Robyn Carr |
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cdc8938
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She woke up crying three days running. Jack had asked her if anything was wrong, if there was anything she wanted to talk about. "PMS," she told him. "It'll pass." "Mel, have I done anything?" He wanted to know. "Of course not. Hormones. I swear." But she was starting to think that the brief reprieve she seemed to have experienced lately was now officially over and she was on her way back to the darkness of grief and longing. Back to the st..
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Robyn Carr |
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9fda3a9
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Mel?" he called. "Sit with me a minute." "I should go to Joey. She came all this way..." "Maybe we should talk. About what's been going on with you." She had been on this precipice for days, teetering on the fine edge of losing it. The only thing that seemed to take her mind off the violent event that changed her life was work. If she had a patient or an emergency, she could lose herself in it. Even the day with her sister, showing Joey the..
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Robyn Carr |
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8bec64f
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The sound of her anguish broke his heart; no way could he let her go, no matter what she said about being alone. This crying made her weeping over baby Chloe look like a mere rehearsal. She was wracked. She started to crumble to the ground and he put his arms under hers and held her upright as the rain soaked them. "Oh God, oh God, oh God," she howled. "Oh God, oh God, oh God!" "Okay," he whispered. "Let it go, let it out." "Why, why, why?"..
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Robyn Carr |
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1881813
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He went for a clean, dry T-shirt and towels and came back to her, kneeling in front of her. "Come on, Mel. Let's get you dry." She lifted her head and looked at him with eyes that were both terribly sad and exhausted. She was listless. Spent. And her lips were blue with cold. He peeled off her jacket, tossing it on the floor. Then her blouse. He was undressing her like one might a baby, and she didn't resist. He wrapped a towel around her a..
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Robyn Carr |
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7111443
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She tsked so that he would know she found him stupid without coming right out and saying so. "Okay, I said I was sorry. That he was right and I'm sorry." "After he cleaned your clock, I assume...." "Well, yeah. After." "Men." "We're usually on the same team," he pointed out. "When there's not a woman between you." "I'm getting that." "You know, there's this little rule about opinions. They're only good when someone actually asks you for the..
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Robyn Carr |
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a681bab
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Hey, Jack," Rick said. And Jack looked up. "Holy God!" Rick said, jumping back. "Man!" "Yeah. Kind of ugly, huh?" "Who hit you?" "I ran into a door," he said. "Nah," Rick said, shaking his head. "That door has a name. And there's only one guy I can think of who could get one like that off on you. What did you do to piss him off?" Jack shook his head and chuckled. "Too smart for your own damn good, aren't you? I had an opinion I should've ke..
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Robyn Carr |
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7b76d55
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While the man approached, although he had a sinister twist to his mouth, he was clearly no match for the men waiting just inside the bar, waiting to protect Paige. This preppy man in his pleated pants and Florsheim Chester loafers was not like the big Virgin River men. How could he inflict so much power, so much damage? He was smaller than Jack; so much smaller than Preacher. Goodness, he was about Rick's size! Not quite six feet with short..
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Robyn Carr |
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a66e015
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I can't do violence in front of her. She might think I'm like him. I'm not like him.
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Robyn Carr |
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022b86a
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When Jack turned from Mel, Rick took one look at the storm gathering on Jack's face, the way he clenched his fists open and closed, and stepped out of his way. Jack walked over to Lassiter and stuck out a hand to assist him in standing. "Good thing you stopped him," Lassiter said, putting out his hand for assistance. "I'd have had his ass." Jack pulled him to his feet with a snarl, and once he was upright, threw a punch into his face that b..
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Robyn Carr |
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752a916
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Shame on you," she said to Jack. "I'm sorry, Melinda. But someone had to knock the shit out of this asshole at least once, and if Preacher had done that, this idiot would never walk again." "Well, if you get into trouble, don't come crying to me," she said, and turned to follow Paige and Preacher into Doc's. *"
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Robyn Carr |
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9ff78ea
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John," she said, "please make sure Christopher is all right. That he doesn't see his father. That he knows Mama is okay. Please." "Mel and Jack can--" "No, John. Please. Take care of Chris. I'll be all right, but I don't want him scared and I don't want him to see his father. Please?" "Anything you want," he said. "Paige..." "No, no more apologies," she said. "Take care of Chris." Preacher assisted Mel in sliding Paige from the exam table t..
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Robyn Carr |
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d76905f
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Paige lay on the examining table in Doc's clinic and Preacher held her hand in both of his. "I let you down," he was saying, so softly Mel barely heard. "No," she whispered. "No." "Paige, were you afraid I was going to hurt him?" Her eyes shifted away from his face and he brushed a soft hand against the hair at her temples. "Paige, I could've hit him--but I don't lose control. Paige," he said, putting a finger and thumb on her chin, turning..
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Robyn Carr |
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46dad64
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What's going to happen to Wes?" She lifted her eyes steadily to her brother's, but she didn't answer at once. "I don't know. He's admitted himself into a drug treatment program." "Why?" Bud asked. Again she paused. "For drug treatment. It's not unusual for some of those traders to get hooked on... You know... Uppers?" It was stated as a question. And Preacher thought, it was meth. It wasn't a little bitty innocent drug. "And you couldn't do..
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Robyn Carr |
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ef4caca
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If you want a place to sit for a while, while you think things over, you can have that room that smells like bacon in the morning for as long as you want." Then very quietly, almost to himself, he said, "For life, if you want." "I could help out," she said. Eyes closed, she smiled sleepily. "I could do dishes." Her eyelids fluttered a little, but she couldn't keep them open. He brushed her hair back. "Jack wants to build a house," he said. ..
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Robyn Carr |
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7330e96
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She looked up at him with eyes that seemed to want to cry. Oh, he hoped she wouldn't do that. He hated when women cried. He had no idea what to do. Jack could handle it. He was chivalrous; he knew exactly what to do with a woman under any circumstance. Preacher was uncomfortable around women until he got to know them. When you got down to it, he was inexperienced. Although it wasn't intentional, he tended to scare women and children simply ..
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Robyn Carr |