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quick note before returning her attention to Dallas.  I was telling Ms.
Wheeler she probably shouldn t spend the night alone. Her attacker
didn t take anything of value, and she received a threatening phone
call earlier in the day. The caller knew her name. I don t think this
was a robbery attempt. I would classify it as a direct personal attack.
 She s going to spend the night with us, Morgan said from the
doorway.
Officer Trujillo looked a bit taken aback at the statement, but she
managed to quickly hide her surprise. Standing up, she shut the
notebook and slipped it back into her shirt pocket.  Looks like you re
in good hands, Ms. Wheeler.
Jude stood up, too.  Please, call me Jude. If you find out anything,
will you call me?
Trujillo gave a slight grimace before answering.  We ll keep you
posted on the investigation, but we don t have much to go on, Jude.
The truth is we may never find who did this. Random acts of violence
are nearly impossible to solve unless the perp makes another move.
Sinful Pleasures 95
We hope that won t happen in your case, but you need to be careful at
all times. This man may be some sort of fanatic. I have to tell you,
extremists are the worst to deal with because they truly believe what
they are doing is justified, no matter what the outcome of their actions
is. He might very well be willing to risk his own life to get to you and
make his point. You can t afford to let your guard down.
When Officers Trujillo and Sutton left, Dallas locked the door
behind them. Crossing the room, he bundled Jude into his arms and
held her against his chest, holding her tightly and dropping careful
kisses on the top of her forehead.
 He won t get a chance to hurt you again, Dallas whispered.
 Morgan and I will be here if he comes back.
96 Ashley Shay
Chapter Nine
Dallas took three beers out of the fridge, handing one to Morgan
and one to Jude.  You scared the hell out of us, honey. Is there
anything you can think of that you forgot to tell the police?
 No. Jude watched the two men move around comfortably in the
kitchen as they prepared a salad, spaghetti, and thick slices of garlic
bread. Both were dressed in jeans, dark T-shirts, and cowboy boots.
They had taken their hats off in the living room, hanging them on a
rack next to the door.
 Do you have a headache? Morgan asked, cutting up carrots and
tomatoes for the salad.
 Stop worrying, guys. I m fine. Really. Jude smiled at them to
prove she meant it.
They remained silent for a minute, working on the meal with the
concentration of bachelors who learned to cook in order to survive.
When Dallas measured the last ingredient into the spaghetti sauce, he
turned to look at Jude.
 Would you like to go for a ride after dinner? It will be good
exercise for the horses.
 I d love to go for a ride. What she had seen of the ranch so far
was gorgeous. Jude knew from previous conversations that Morgan s
place connected to the west end of Dallas s property and they shared
the fence line, running cattle on both ranches. It had been one large
spread before Dallas bought it and sold Morgan half of the land for
the price he d paid for it.
 Do you always hang out here? Jude couldn t help but be
curious. The two of them seemed equally at home in the kitchen,
Sinful Pleasures 97
which meant Morgan spent a lot of time preparing meals in this
house.
For a moment, a pained look crossed Morgan s face, but he
answered truthfully.  We usually hang out here. I prefer it to going
home after what happened at the ranch.
Jude shot a look at Dallas, expecting an explanation, but he turned
his back, obviously waiting for Morgan to tell the story himself.
When neither man spoke up, Jude reached out to touch Morgan s
arm.  Will you tell me what happened?
He didn t speak as he prepared the salad, and Jude thought he
might not answer her at all, but at last, he sat down across from her,
reaching over the table to take both of her hands in his.
 My wife got killed in a riding accident.
 Wife? Jude gasped out the word before she thought. He nodded,
meeting her stare with such pain in his eyes that Jude blinked back
tears of her own.  I m so sorry, Morgan. I had no idea.
 It was my fault. He squeezed Jude s fingers and dropped his
gaze to focus on their hands, entwining his fingers through hers.  I
shouldn t have bought that horse, but she loved it. We saw him while
we were on a vacation in Kentucky horse country, and she had to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]