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Great! That was Spencer, Casey informed her, after she had finished the call. He and Chardonnay
just arrived and are at the airport. They should be arriving at the ranch within the hour.
Alyssa raised a brow. Chardonnay?
Casey smiled. Yes, that s her name. Her family owned a winery in California and she was named
after her grandfather s favorite wine.
Oh.
So we might as well wait and take Chardonnay with us, Casey said.
Alyssa then decided to ask, Do you know who else is coming?
Shopping with us?
Alyssa shook her head, grinning. No, coming to the ranch to attend the charity ball this weekend,
she said.
Casey looked confused. Didn t Clint tell you?
Not really. He mentioned some of his family was coming, but he didn t say exactly who. I m sure he
mentioned it to Chester for him to get the guest rooms prepared, though, Alyssa said.
Casey frowned. Never mind if he did mention it to Chester. You re the mistress of the ranch and he
should have specifically told you. You shouldn t be hearing it secondhand. Men can be so fruity at
times, Casey said.
From what Casey had just said, it was apparent she wasn t aware of the circumstances surrounding
her and Clint s marriage. It s not that Clint s fruity, Alyssa said, coming to his defense. It s just that
he doesn t consider me as the mistress of this ranch.
Casey raised a brow. And why not?
Alyssa sighed. If Clint hadn t informed his sister of anything, she wasn t sure it was her place to do so.
She hesitated to find the proper words, couldn t find them, shrugged and then said, Because he just
doesn t.
Casey stared at her as if trying to figure out what she meant and then a smile touched her lips. Oh,
you re talking about that business with the thirty days and how the two of you have to live under the
same roof and all of that?
Alyssa nodded. So Clint had told her. Yes.
Casey chuckled before taking a sip of her coffee. I wouldn t worry about that if I were you. Trust me,
Clint plans to keep you, Casey said.
Alyssa shook her head. No, he doesn t, Alyssa argued.
Casey laughed. Yes, he does and what s so sad is that besides being fruity, some men are also slow.
Clint is one of the slow ones. Chances are he hasn t even realized what he plans to do with you yet,
poor thing.
Alyssa stared at Casey, wondering how she could make such an assumption. The only excuse she
could come up with was that since Casey was happily married and in love she thought everyone
should be the same way. Alyssa decided not to argue, and to let Casey continue to think whatever
she wanted to believe. But Alyssa was fully aware of the real deal surrounding her marriage to Clint
and that at the end of thirty days he expected her packed and ready to leave.
Two nights later Alyssa lay in Clint s arms after thoroughly being made love to. The sound of his even
breathing let her know he had gone to sleep, but she was wide-awake& and thinking.
All of Clint s relatives who were attending tomorrow night s ball had arrived and she found all of
them to be extremely nice and friendly. The house was full and without it being verbally expressed,
Clint looked to her to be his hostess and instinctively she had taken on the role. When he introduced
her, he simply said she was Alyssa. He didn t give her last name or what role she played in his life.
She could only assume the masses thought she was his live-in lover since she wasn t wearing a
wedding ring and it was obvious they shared the same bed. But what was confusing was that when
the relatives talked among each other in her presence and his, she was referred to as Clint s wife and
he did nothing to correct them.
She guessed in a way it didn t matter what they thought since all of them would be leaving on
Monday. And then she would leave less than a week later.
Less than a week.
Boy, how time flies when you re having fun, she thought. And she was having fun. Returning to Waco
didn t have the appeal it once did. She had bonded with Chester and the men who worked for Clint,
and she thought he had a very special family. They were so different from hers. Even his father,
Corey, and stepmother, Abby, were absolutely wonderful. She could feel the closeness and the love
among everyone. Those were two things that her family lacked.
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