me?â
âWell, you knew him from a long time ago,â Chloe pointed out.
âI did?â Justine asked cautiously.
As far as she knew, no one in her family had known that she and Roy were together, as friends or anything more. At the time she became involved with Roy, heâd been dating Marla, his bossâs daughter. But heâd assured Justine the relationship wasnât serious and he was trying to gradually break away from her without angering Marla or her father. So sheâd agreed to keep their dating a secret. Now that secret was buried deep in her heart.
âWe all went to the same high school,â Rose reminded her.
âOhâyes, I guess we did,â Justine admitted with relief. âBut he was three grades higher than me, and I never associated with the guy. Besidesââ
Chloe butted in. âJustine, men take to you like ducks to water.â
âOh, please,â Justine groaned. âI havenât even dated a man in a long time.â
âWell,â Rose said, her pretty face suddenly taking on a hard edge, âIâm sure not a femme fatale, and Iâll not try to be.â
As Justine glanced at her older sister, she realized she wasnât the only one whoâd suffered because of a heartlessman. Since her disastrous engagement ended nine years ago, Rose had shunned virtually all men.
âAnd you know how easily an arrogant man can rile me up,â Chloe added. âBefore I could bite my tongue, Iâd be telling the sheriff to jump in the lake. Instead of wooing him to our way of thinking.â
It was true Chloe had a feisty temper. She got along with her horses far better than she did with men. Still, it went against everything inside Justine to ask Roy for anything.
âI donât know why you two are doing this to me,â Justine said wearily.
âBecause youâd have a far better chance of persuading the sheriff than Rose or I,â Chloe insisted. âCome on, say youâll do it. Please!â
If her sisters only knew, Justine thought sickly. What would they think if she told them that Sheriff Pardee was Charlieâs father?
Closing her eyes, Justine pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. âWeâre already shorthanded here on the ranch. You and Rose work like dogs from sunup to sundown. How are you going to take care of two demanding babies?â
âIâll manage through the day,â Kitty spoke up. âCharlie is big enough to fetch things for me. Besides, since Tom died, the house seems so quiet and empty. The babies will put a little life back into things around here.â
Justine groaned. Rose smiled and nodded, while Chloe clapped her hands together.
Chloe pressed on. âThatâs right. The babies will help take our minds off all the problems weâve been having lately. And it will be good for Charlie to have other children around.â
Justine let out a long sigh. How could she say no, when the whole family was counting on her? âIt could only be temporary,â she pointed out.
âTemporary is a start,â Rose said quietly.
Justine tossed her hands resignedly up in the air. âAll right, okay. Iâll call him. But donât get your hopes up. Sheriff Pardee doesnât strike me as a warmhearted man.â In fact, Justine didnât think he had a heart at all, but she couldnât express that thought to her sisters. Not without raising some eyebrows. As far as they knew, he was just an old acquaintance, not the only man sheâd ever loved.
Normally, Justine helped with cleaning the kitchen after the evening meal, but this time, both sisters shooed her out of the room.
âWeâll take care of this mess. You go call the sheriff,â Chloe told her.
Knowing her sisters wouldnât let her put it off any longer, Justine walked down to her bedroom and shut the door. If she had to talk to Roy, she wanted to do it in
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