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“You’ve found two good parcels of land,” Rand’s mom said as he drove her home. “My only concern is, have you been on the job long enough to know for certain it will be your life’s work? I love having you close, but doctoring in the country is difficult and challenging. You don’t need the money. Your inheritance has grown, as all of ours have, thanks to Clay. Still, you’d make much more in a big city.”
“Mom, I’m sure.”She studied him for a minute. “You were always that way. Once you made up your mind you didn’t change it. You have an innate way of knowing what’s best for you. Well, except for women. I’m not sure what you were thinking when you proposed to Anna. A nice lady but not the right one for you.”“You weren’t sorry I ended the engagement?” Rand grinned at her. “Not one iota. Choose more carefully the next time.”“Dad said he fell in love with you the first time you smiled at him.”She smiled and patted his arm. “He did, and I did.Related chapters
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Music spilled out of the barn into the night. Rand and Andy got out of the truck and joined the crowd headed inside. All the local people were arriving in droves. Many of them stopped to say hello to Rand and to meet the new doctor they’d heard about from this week’s patients. Andy had an easy way about him and had charmed most of the townspeople.When they got inside, Rand glanced around the crowded room to look for Marian, trying not to be obvious. Andy had agreed Rand had done the best for both of them by cooling it. But the office didn’t seem the same without her, and Rand’s body ached for her touch.“There she is.” Andy nodded his head toward the dance floor. “She’s with a tall, blond man.”“Tom, he owns a large ranch to the north of town. Inherited it from his parents. They got killed in a car wreck about a year ago.” Rand never thought he was the jealous type, but he wanted to walk across the dance floor and pull her out of Tom’s arms. They seemed t
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Rand and Andy had split up the afternoon home calls, which also gave them time to go by the hospital first before heading out. Rand had checked on his three inpatients and gone to his car. He drove back through the downtown area. His first patient lived about fifteen miles away in that direction. When he saw Chelsea waving, he pulled over and parked.“What’s up?”“Marian called and said she’d meet me here fifteen minutes ago. The druggist and Abby at the cash register said she never came in.”“It’s a small town. Did you check around? She may have decided to go in one of the other shops.”“Marian’s reliable. If she did, she’d never leave me waiting this long.” He glanced down both sides of the street. “Where did she call from?”“Your office, I think. She said she was going to leave toys she’d bought there and go to the drugstore to get magazines to bring in tomorrow.”“I can’t imagine what would hold her up this long at the office
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“You are certain this is what you want to do?” Chelsea asked for the umpteenth time. “And you’re not even going to let him know?”Marian took her eyes off the passing scenery. Chelsea had agreed to drive her to the airport.“We’ve gone over this. If I tell him, he’ll convince me to stay. But he’s too uncertain of his feelings. I don’t blame him. He just ended his engagement, he has a new job, there’s a lot on his mind.“We met at the wrong time. I want permanence. He wants his freedom and to have fun. Neither is wrong, if both the people involved want the same thing.”“I’m going to miss you. You cut your visit short, and I have an idea you won’t be back for a long time.”“You know I’ll come when the babies are born. I can’t wait to meet them.You’ll need help then, too.”Chelsea pulled into a parking space. “You promise?”“I do. Don’t get out. I can take care of my bags. The one has wheels, and the ot
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Marian had given her two-week notice at work. She took another week to pack up and move her and her stuff home to North Carolina.Mom welcomed her with open arms. Her father kissed her cheek and said he’d missed her. Neither asked questions. Which was a relief. She didn’t think she could talk about Rand without crying.She puttered around the house, helped her mother paint a bedroom, worked in the flower gardens, and visited all her siblings. Her nieces and nephews ran to her, grabbed her legs, and begged for games. It was good to be cuddled inside the loving arms of her family.Rand hadn’t responded to her letter. If he even read it. She didn’t expect to hear from him. But deep inside, a tiny flame of hope refused to go out.Her mom called out, “The phone’s for you, Marian. Mike has an offer.” Puzzled, Marian picked up the extension. “Hi, Mike. What’s up?”“My receptionist is sick. Can you fill in for the day or until she returns? I’d ap
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The restaurant was elegant with red satin wallpaper, crystal chandeliers, and a three-man band playing easy-listening music. Rand removed her coat and handed it to a waiter.“You look incredible. That dress hugs every delectable curve, and those sexy shoes highlight your smooth, soft, long legs.”Marian put her hand on his chest. “Down, boy. I intend to order the most expensive item on the menu and take my time eating it.”“Sheer torture.”“You deserve every bit.”She didn’t tell him how sexy he looked. Every woman they’d walked by had stared. His tall, well-built body wasn’t hidden by the silk, dark-blue suit. And the feline grace in his walk was enough to make a woman moan.He let go of her lapels and motioned for her to sit. The maitre d’ brought them a menu covered in red satin and thick enough to be a small book.“The lady will have the most expensive item you have listed. I’ll take a steak, medium rare, and baked p
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Marian woke early to a gentle rain blowing against her window. It was her wedding day. She snuggled back under the covers for a few more minutes.The past month had been hectic. Rand had had to return to work the Monday after he proposed. Her mother, father, and she flew to Montana a week later.Her parents stayed with Mrs. Brodie. Marian took up residence in Chelsea and Dirk’s cabin. She had returned to her job at the doctor’s office. Everyone had seemed pleased to see her back. She thought she might even forgive Andy and come to like him.Sheriff Grady had notified her that the robbers were being sent to South Dakota to be tried for the murder they’d committed. “You might be called to testify about how they mentioned murdering someone. But these things take time. It won’t be soon,” he’d told her.She’d been relieved to know she didn’t have to worry about dealing with that unpleasantness with all the rest she was juggling.In between the
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DrakeI roll my shoulders back and groan. Hell, there’s nothing better in the world than a long, hot shower after crushing it in a game like that. I towel off briskly, wrap it around my hips, and pad into the deserted locker room.The rest of the team is probably already huddled around drinks and wings celebrating our victory. I’ll catch up with them in a minute, but I like to take an extra fifteen minutes to unwind after a game. My adrenaline pumps for ages after I leave the field, and heading out on the town with testosterone swirling around my system will only end in … well, a whole bunch of chicks to clear out from my apartment in the morning.If there’s one thing they never tell when you sign up in high school, it’s that getting lots of women will turn from something you only fantasize about as you jack off, to something you need to actively discourage fairly often. It’s insane, the amount of attention we get.Not that I’m complaining, of course.I smile at my reflection in the m
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Reese“W hat?” My jaw hangs open as soon as the words are out of his mouth. He can’t be serious. Can he?He’s scanning my face for a reaction, one corner of his full sensual lips twisted cynically. Part of me wants to see him smile. For years, I’ve followed his career, as starting quarterback, team captain, and leader of the team’s defense, and seen hundreds of photos of him in gossip magazines, always with his arm wrapped around the waists of anonymous Barbie-like women, a big grin plastered across his face.None of the photographs have done him justice.In real life, he’s a badass magnetic hunk of a man. Power and animal attraction radiate out of him in waves strong enough to knock out an ox. His eyes are the color of wet grass and they glow in his deeply tanned face. His nose is straight and his jaw is strong and chiseled, as if out of solid granite. Did I hear wrong? Did he actually ask me… to strip for him? Why? When he has all those beauties at his beck and call.“You heard me.”
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