Ethan bristled, but wasn't sure about crossing LJ, despite being 20 years younger. "Sure."

His eyes were hard as he watched them ride off together. Maybe she just didn't know what kind of man she was staying with. Ethan turned toward the store he had spotted her coming from, steps lightening. Maybe he would have to make it his job to see that she found out.

2

Later, with the sun fading behind a light layer of ugly-looking clouds rolling in from the southeast, Kendle watched Luke cast out over the calm water of the second fishing hole they'd tried, the first full of debris.

"You never talk about yourself. You know everything about me."

Luke turned to look at her with unreadable eyes, wondering how he'd fared in her comparison to Ethan. "Does it matter?"

Kendle sent her eyes back to her twitching line, vaguely listening to frogs and gulls calling to each other. "Sometimes."

She heard him sink the pole into the ground next to his chair and then there was silence, but she knew he was nervously waiting for her questions to begin. So, she didn't ask. Not only was she living on his dime out here, he had been good to her, understanding, and she wouldn't push. If he wanted to tell her, he would.

Kendle dug her bare feet and hands into the bur grass around them, still in love with the land. She closed her eyes, hearing the rustle of a small animal in the underbrush, dragonflies zipping over the surface of the water. She thought she could even hear the ants and beetles crawling over the salty soil and she held back the tears only by will power. She was alive!

Luke outwardly relaxed when she didn't speak, went back to enjoying the beautiful day, but inside, he was worrying over what to say. He had a horrible secret and while she hadn't found out today, sooner or later, she would. He needed to be the one to tell her.

"You want to go back to town for lunch? Stacey's place has good chicken sandwiches."

Kendle jerked her line hard, felt the fish get hooked. "Not really. Fish is fine," she lied, thinking if she never ate another piece of any kind of seafood, it would be too soon.

Luke stood to get the net for her. He was very aware of her as a woman, of how tiny she was compared to him, and his eyes roamed her curves as she fought lightly with their dinner. A lot more comfortable with each other now, the strength of his attention had grown since that wet ride in the dark and he'd felt her looking at him, too. Slow and easy was the ticket to win her over, and he could probably try now, but he hesitated to get closer to her than he already was. She was pure, he was tainted, and when she found out, their time together would be over.




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