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By now even Butch’s easygoing good nature had been stretched to the limit. He was the one who had pointed out that Je
“Not wedding,” Joa
Je
“Since it was his idea in the first place,” Joa
“Where are we going, Tucson Mall?”
“Maybe,” Joa
“Where?” Je
Joa
Actually, she and Butch and Je
“Well, then,” Je
“Wait a minute,” Joa
Je
“I’ll decide what’s too old for good-night kisses. Now come here!” Joa
Shaking her head, Je
“You’re a brat,” Joa
“A nearly twelve-year-old brat,” Je
For some time, Joa
Financially, they would be fine. With Butch’s income from selling his Roundhouse Bar and Grill and Joa
High Lonesome Ranch was only a few miles east of the Cochise County Justice Complex where Joa
The upshot of that decision had Butch moving into Joa
Shaking herself out of her reverie, Joa
“Time to go for a walk, girl?” Joa
While the dogs went wandering off to relieve themselves, Joa
Sadie was already back in the house and Tigger was nosing his way up the walkway when Joa
Standing listening, Joa
But once in the barn with the lights switched on, Joa
Out in the corral, her ten head of cattle were in much the same shape, although at least the float in the stock tank allowed their water to fill automatically. She fed the cattle along with her collection of chickens and rabbits. At first she was more angry than anything. If something had happened to Clayton-if he was sick or something-the least he could have done was to call her at work or at home and leave a message saying he wouldn’t be in to work that day. But by the time Joa
With the animals fed and bedded down, she hurried back into the house and headed straight for the phone in the living room. She had taken messages as soon as she came home. None of those had been from Clayton. Now she scrolled through the screen on her Caller ID module. No calls from him showed there, either.
By then it was well past ten o’clock and that much later than Clayton’s usual bedtime. Nonetheless, Joa