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HER SECRET 1
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YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 2
A searing pull in his loins told him he wanted her physically as much as ever. God, she was as addictive and as poisonous as nicotine.But he had standards and pride. And, as he’d told Leeann, Widow Davenport certainly hadn’t driven all the way out here looking for a good time.‘You look classy,’ he noted without enthusiasm.Sierra folded her arms across her chest to ward off the cold. Her nipples tightened, and she wasn’t sure the plummeting temperature was totally to blame.She cast him a hard, appraising look. ‘You look like a scruffy old prospector who’s been on the trail a few months too long.’A tiny gleam flickered in his eyes, the comers of his mouth curling slightly. Raising one hand, he rubbed his grizzled jaw. She’d always been straightforward with a wicked sense of humor.But he wasn’t playing games today. ‘You didn’t come here to discuss my grooming,’ he countered.When he met her glance, he knew something about her had changed, aside from the new hairstyle and the sophis
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 3
Sierra’s eyes burned but remained dry. His reference to the abandonment she’d known in his arms pricked her nerves. She didn’t need to hear his reminder of it. Now, she knew what she’d feared all these years was true. He’d left town believing her a whore.But she refused to show how deeply that troubled her. She’d shed all her tears for Matt and for herself years ago. She’d done what she had to.‘It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t sleeping with him.’‘I guess you might as well have been. You’d already made up your mind to marry him. Was it some kind of game I didn’t know the rules to? You and Ben moved with a fast crowd. Was it a dare, the thrill of venturing into forbidden territory?’‘I was never that flighty, and you know it.’‘Well, whatever I did, I took it serious. If you were just looking for entertainment, you shouldhave been straight with me. Hell, I would have accommodated you.’‘Seriously enough to make it clear you were passing time until you saved enough money to leave town?
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 4
Matt dropped the butt and pulverized it with his boot heel. ‘My last,’ he informed her. ‘Just like the one before it. You buy a pack and the damn things own you.’‘Must have been wicked if she drove you to smokin’.’Matt studied his sister’s face. Dark half-moons underscored her eyes, and worry creased her forehead. Despite their long separation, the bond wasstill there, an undying camaraderie akin to that shared by war veterans. Together, they’d survived the battle of growing up in the Rollins family, and they’d never forget, no matter how much each one wanted to. He’d always looked out for her, knowing all too well how easily the Rollins kids got lost in the shuffle - whether they were up against their own past or the entire world.‘I’m afraid I was too hard on her,’ he admitted.Leeann’s eyes rounded. ‘Hard on her? Are you kidding?’ She turned to look at him, narrowing her gaze. ‘She did get to you. You’re still in love with your rich girlfriend, aren’t you?’ she accused. ‘Even af
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 5
‘I’ll look after them,’ he assured her.Later, after his niece and nephew were tucked in their beds and the house was quiet, he swallowed his fierce pride as Sierra had sacrificed hers this afternoon and dialed the number she’d left him. She had a son to look after; he had Leeann’s family.He thought he’d steeled himself, but the sound of her voice rippled through his detached facade. She gave him directions to her place, and he said he’d be there around ten after he ran an errand in town for Leeann. His only personal request was that she keep the boy out of his and harm’s way. He didn’t tell her he had more than the boy’s safety on his mind. For all his claims that he was immune to her, he couldn’t tolerate the thought of constantly facing concrete evidence of Sierra’s happy union with Ben - the son they’d made together.Nothing, he vowed, was going to let her slink under his skin again. As his Daddy had always professed, the rich stuck together and seldom strayed beyond their own ci
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 6
Matt nodded dully.Sam reached up to set a hand on Matt’s shoulder. ‘Go on home this afternoon. I’ll clean the stables myself.’Matt glanced over Sam’s shoulder towards the paddock.‘You don’t want to go back there, son,’ the rancher cautioned. ‘There’s nothing you can do for her now. We’re gonna have to bulldoze a hole to bury her.’‘I’ve got to see her.’With a resigned jerk of his head, Sam stepped back and motioned for Matt to pass.Out in the field, Matt knelt on the grass beside the lifeless animal, wishing he’d heeded Sam’s advice. One last time, he brushed her mane and pressed his fingertips to the white starburst marking on her forehead. Her flesh felt icy. The mare’s spirit and grace and beauty he’d loved had been ripped from this poor empty body.‘Goodbye, girl,’ he whispered, giving her neck a final pat.He left quickly, ashamed of the misery in his face, the tears stinging his eyelids. He’d grown accustomed to Star’s quiet company when he worked in the stables. When he ro
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 7
‘Sierra, I felt it.’‘Felt what? You have to say it.’‘The magic. This would never have happened if I didn’t love you.’‘I know. But I’m glad you said it.’‘Sierra?’‘Hmm?’‘Thank you.’She nestled against his chest, and he held her to him, sinking one hand in her tresses. His heart swelled in a way it never had before. She had indeed given him something no one could ever take away. And for the first time in his life hewanted to believe that if something was good enough and pure enough, it would indeed last forever . . .With a start. Matt awoke, blinking in the darkness and confused to find himself sprawled across a narrow bed in a room with plastic trucks and teddy bears lining the shelves. Blue curtains billowed over the partially opened window like a pair of icy ghosts.Clasping a hand to his forehead, he remembered that he was in his nephew’s room. Tossing the quilt back, he swung his long legs over the side of the bed, setting bare feet on the wooden floor. In nothing but a pai
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 8
Was she ever so young? She’d loved him freely, eagerly, unaware that circumstances wouldn’t always allow her to do so. That part of her life was over now. She’d never be loved that way again, and thinking about it was useless.Now, as she inspected a pair of Will’s well-worn jeans that were free of holes but getting too short for him, she reflected on the irony of once having assumed she’d never have to work for a living except to sit on the board of her father’s oil company one day. She’d fancied herself an artist, traveling to tropical beaches and capturing the variations of sunlight on sand and water.Well, she could blame neither her father nor herself, nor Ben and his family. She’d done this to herself. And never again would she innocently trust that someone else would always take care of her. Nor would she entrust her son’s welfare to anyone else. He was her responsibility - hers alone.People turned away for reasons she didn’t understand. Her father, who had believed Ben was th
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 9
‘St Matthew, I guess.’‘What did he do?’‘I’m not sure.’Matt paused and extended a hand to the boy. ‘Pleasure to meet you, Will,’ he said.Round-eyed, the boy tentatively accepted his handshake, enjoying the gesture normally reserved for adults. His chest swelled and he stood taller, but the grasp of his small hand reminded Matt oddly of little Tanner reaching out to him last night.‘What are you doing out here, Will?’ Sierra’s voice broke through the encroaching darkness. ‘I told you not to disturb Mr Rollins while he’s working.’‘He’s not bothering me,’ Matt insisted calmly. ‘We were just discussing going riding tomorrow.’Matt saw her hand ball into a fist.‘Can I, Mom?’ Will pleaded. ‘I wasn’t begging. It was Matt’s idea.’Matt nodded to confirm this.‘We’ll see,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you go inside and get washed for dinner?’ Reluctantly, he marched off. It had been a long time since she’d seen his eyes shine about anything.‘He’s a nice kid. Sierra,’ Matt noted. ‘I’d like to tak
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