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“Paige?”
“As long as you won’t be mad, yes, Paige.”
“How long can you stay?”
“All week. Or as long as you’ll have me.”
“We’ll see how it goes,” she said as she stretched out on top of him, skin on skin, body on body.
“As much as I don’t want to move, I need to take care of Micah. Can I interest you in a ride later? Around sunset?”
“Sounds like heaven.” As long as he was with her, anything she wanted to do sounded like heaven. He wanted her, and he intended to have her. He was into this deeper than she was, but by the end of the week, he’d change that.
8
When they rode over the crest, they could see Dottie and Bill by the campfire. Bill stood up and waved.
“You don’t mind, do you? They’re family to me.”
“Don’t mind at all. If they mean something to you, there isn’t anybody I’d rather meet.”
It took them ten minutes to make their way down the rocky terrain. It was almost dark, so if they stayed any length of time, it would be better to leave the horses in the Patterson’s barn overnight and ask Bill to give them a ride back to her house.
They tied the horses off, and walked over to the fire where Bill had chairs set up for them, and a bottle of wine open.
“Bill and Dottie, I’d like you to meet Ben Rice.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” Ben reached out and shook Bill’s hand. Dottie stood, and when Ben reached to shake her hand she pulled him into a hug.
“I don’t shake hands, Mr. Rice. Men will judge you by your handshake. I like to see what you young fellas have in the way of a good, strong hug. Tells you a lot about a man.”
“Nobody hugs the way Dottie does,” Liv sighed.
“You don’t do too bad yourself, sugar.” Ben kissed her forehead.
“I like him already,” Dottie proclaimed.
“Glass of wine, Liv? How about you, Ben?”
“Sure, I’d love a glass.”
“Dottie had me run in the house to get it when we saw you comin’. Livvie, here, loves Zinfandel. We keep it on hand for her. Before she taught us about wine we thought Zinfandel was the pink stuff. I thought she’d have a fit the first time we tried to serve it to her.”
Liv turned pink. “That’s me, always gracious.”
“We love you anyway, darlin’ girl.” Bill pulled her near him. “When Livvie lost her parents so close together, Dottie and I adopted her. She’s one of our own. Keep that in mind, young man.”
She’d lost her parents? Another thing he hadn’t known about her. He should start making a list of questions, so he didn’t feel like such a jerk when someone else pointed out something he should already know.
“How about you, Ben, can I get you a glass?”
“No, thank you. Don’t touch the stuff.”
“Can I get you a beer?”
“No, sorry. I’m not a drinker. If you’ve got a coke or a bottle of water, I’ll be fine.”
He turned toward Liv. There was a flash of confusion on her face she quickly masked away. This was something he hadn’t told her. Not that she’d asked. It hadn’t seemed as though it was a big deal when they were in Las Vegas. She had a drink now and then, and it hadn’t been necessary to point out he abstained.
