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the road to the Circle C Ranch in Costello, Texas, near Dallas. She figured it would take
her about fifteen or sixteen hours or so, depending on how many stops she made, which
would depend on what kind of road food she let herself eat.
All in all, with construction delays and detours, it took more than eighteen hours,
and by the time she dragged her suitcase through the back door which she was surprised
she was able to do, considering Cash s paranoid security tendencies it was well past
dark and she was thoroughly and utterly pooped. She had all the McDonald s french fries
and Burger King onion rings she could stand for the next century or so, which was fine
with her since she very rarely indulged in such fare except on unusual occasions like road
trips.
There seemed to be no one else in the house, although Sugar supposed she
shouldn t have been surprised, considering how late it was. There was none of the usual
smells greeting her: Patty s wonderful roast, the lemon-scented polish she used on the
furniture or the fresh roses that Danielle favored that were always prominently displayed
in the foyer. She left her suitcase, pocketbook and laptop case at the entrance to the hall
that led to the bedrooms, and wandered towards Cash s study. The door was closed,
which wasn t unusual.
There was a time when she was younger when she d been in the habit of bursting
in on him. Bless him, he d never been mad about that in the least, although he had every
right to be. He had the weight of the world on him, running this big ranch plus his other
businesses, but he d never failed to make time for her. Business meetings were often
missed in favor of witnessing whatever activity it was she had going at the time, and he
never failed to pony up for almost anything she wanted to do, although he d balked at a
few things that he considered unsafe, and she d learned that, if she accepted his decree
gracefully, he d usually compensate her loss with something even better, although not
always. He was generous with her, but he did not spoil her.
This house had been the place that all her girlfriends had wanted to gather after
school and where all of their giggling sleepovers had been held his only rules, beyond
the obvious, being that they were not to leave the house and not to make too much noise
before he got to sleep at eleven. All of her friends had huge crushes on him, and she had
to play it cool around them and pretend that she didn t, that he was just her much older
stepbrother in whom she had absolutely no interest, when it was probably true that she
had the worst crush of all.
She hesitated at the door, her hand raised to knock, and the door swung wide open
as Cash nearly plowed over her.
Sugar, where the hell have you been? He reached out immediately to grab her
upper arms and make sure she didn t fall down. He was no lightweight and he d very
nearly bowled her over.
Well, it s nice to see you, too, Cash, she teased, uncertain whether or not they
should hug.
Cash, of course, had no such doubts, pulling her to him for a big hug that she
pushed against long before it could become anything more serious.
She was surprised when he let her go, but he did, and she wasn t sure she was
glad of it when she saw his thundercloud face.
You are in big trouble, little girl.
Why was it that, at almost twenty- seven, this man not only called her little girl
without hesitation, but still managed to make her heartily wish she d just done exactly
whatever it was for which he was going to call her on the carpet?
Without so much as missing a beat, as if the past three years had never happened,
Sugar found herself led by the hand into his study, the scene of all too many painful
lessons, and every one of them seemed to crowd into her head simultaneously as he
forced her to sit on his lap in that huge chair behind his equally enormous desk.
Now, didn t I tell you that there would be a ticket waiting for you at the
American counter? he asked with exaggerated patience, as if he was speaking to
someone who was not terribly bright.
Sugar sighed exasperatedly, and began, Yes, you did, but -
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