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“I said I signed up to have her deliver my groceries, I didn’t say I was dating her,” Jeb broke in, frowning.

“But you should.”

Hard though he tried not to, Jeb snickered. He couldn’t think of one good reason someone as beautiful as Maddy Washburn would date a one-legged buffalo rancher. He wasn’t the only eligible man with eyes in his head, either. It wouldn’t be long before she had more men buzzing around her than she knew what to do with.

“It’s time you were married and started a family,” Sarah insisted, without amusement.

“Forget it, Sarah,” he warned, his voice low.

“Maddy’s perfect for you.”

“You can stop right now, because I refuse to have anything to do with this crazy idea of yours. Is that understood?”

She beamed him a huge smile. “Stop? Not on your life!”

Jeb realized arguing with her would result in a serious case of frustration. He knew only one person more stubborn than his sister, and that was him. “I said you can forget that idea and I meant it.” Without another word, he walked out the door, leaving it to slam in his wake.

Sarah watched her brother climb into the cab of his truck and barrel out of town, leaving a dusty trail behind him. It did her heart good to witness Jeb’s reaction to Maddy Washburn. As detached and disinterested as he tried to make himself, he hadn’t been able to conceal the effect Maddy had on him. Oh, yes, he was interested. Maddy had bowled him over the way she had everyone else. Half the eligible men in the county were in love with her already, and Sarah would gladly add one more man to that list.

The instant Sarah had met Maddy, she’d decided this was the woman for her stubborn, difficult brother. She’d been waiting a long time to find the right person for Jeb, and Maddy was it. She was friendly, accepting and kind. Her striking beauty was a detriment, though. It meant she was likely to attract a lot of male attention. Which, in fact, she had.

The stir caused by Maddy’s arrival was what had prompted Sarah’s underhanded method of forcing Jeb to drive into town. Had she known about Maddy’s delivery service, she would have signed him up immediately and saved herself the grief. Her plan might still backfire, but she could see from Jeb’s reaction that she’d done the right thing.

Although she wouldn’t have admitted it twelve months ago, Sarah had seen many positive changes in Buffalo Valley, thanks to Lindsay. Before she moved here, a lot of people had given up caring about the town. Caring about one another, too. Lindsay had brought an infusion of life to the dying town.

Never having taught school before, Lindsay had asked for help from the community and invited a number of business owners to speak to the class. Sarah’s father, Joshua McKenna, who also happened to be the town council president, had been the first to volunteer. Her father had shared his knowledge of state history and been gratified by the students’ eager reception. Other speakers had come away with a similar feeling. Within a few weeks, she’d seen the first evidence of a new and fragile pride in the beleaguered town.

For example, her father started sweeping the sidewalk outside his second-hand, fix-it shop every morning. Other business owners had followed. Jacob Hansen even bought new paint for the outside of the store, although the place didn’t get repainted until after he’d sold it to Maddy. Little by little, people began to show pride in the town again. It didn’t take Sarah long to realize it had all come about because of Lindsay.

At the end of the school year, when they heard that Lindsay had decided to return to Georgia, everyone in town was sick at heart. Even Sarah found herself wishing Lindsay would agree to stay on as teacher. As it turned out, Gage Sinclair was the one to convince her. Apparently he was less concerned about her teaching than making her part of his life. They were married in July, and Lindsay had asked her lifelong friend to stand up with her. Maddy Washburn had flown in for the wedding.

At the reception, Sarah had seen Maddy talking to the Hansens, their heads close together, and then, only a few days later, Jacob and Marta Hansen had jubilantly announced that they’d sold the grocery. Two weeks after that, Maddy had moved to Buffalo Valley.

Sarah had liked Maddy on sight and each time they talked, she liked her more. Soon a plan had begun to form in her mind—she would introduce Maddy to her brother, even if she had to use devious means to do it.

Now all Sarah had to worry about was Jeb. Her brother, at thirty, was still young… and damned attractive. The accident had changed him, until she barely recognized the man he’d become. He was quiet by nature, had always been undemonstrative, but the loss of his leg had caused him to draw deeper and deeper into himself. He hardly ever ventured into town or, for that matter, anywhere else. Sarah could think of no better way to draw him back into life than to introduce him to Maddy.

A burst of late-morning sunshine spilled into the shop and Sarah stood by the window and looked outside. This was going to be a hot day for October, she thought, as she ran her finger over the white lettering that read Buffalo Valley Quilts.

What she’d told Jeb was true. It had been a bold move to take her fledgling business out of her father’s home, although she and Calla continued to live with him. Eventually that would change, but she could only manage one small step at a time. As it was, she barely made enough money to survive financially. A business executive studying her accounts would have discouraged her from assuming the added expense of renting space, but in Sarah’s view, it was worth the risk.

Every day when she walked into her store, she experienced a sense of accomplishment. She’d had precious little success in her life and she was fiercely determined to see her quilting business succeed.

A loan from her father had jump-started her efforts and thus far, three months after opening her doors, she’d met every payment. Naturally she worked long hours, longer than she wanted, but for now that couldn’t be helped.

Reaching behind the rows of fabric, she flipped the switch that turned on the air conditioner. The first week of October and it was eighty degrees and climbing. She was teaching her quilting class that afternoon; the store would be an oven if she didn’t start the cooling process now.

Sarah had been pleasantly surprised when ten women enrolled in the class, many of them farm wives, looking for a creative outlet. Already she had a waiting list for the second session. Sharing her love of quilting, talking about its traditions and teaching its craft, gave her a sense of immense pride. For more than a hundred years, the women of the prairie had expressed art and creativity through their quilts, and Sarah believed she was part of that continuum.

The bell above the door chimed, and Dennis Urlacher walked into the shop, wearing grease-smeared coveralls printed with the gasoline company’s logo. He operated the one and only filling station in town and was a certified mechanic. Now that she worked outside the house, she saw more of him. That was the good news, and also the bad.

Her relationship with Dennis was a dead end for both of them.

“Was that Jeb’s truck I saw earlier?” he asked.

“Yeah.” In an effort to hide her smile, she headed into the back room, not wanting to confess what she’d done to lure Jeb into town. Dennis followed her, and she automatically poured him a mug of coffee, along with one for herself.

“He didn’t stay long,” Dennis commented.

“He never does.” Then, because she wanted to change the subject, she added, “It’s going to be warm today.”

“It already is.” He sipped from the mug, but his gaze remained focused on her.

“What did Jeb want?” It went without saying that her brother hadn’t come into town on a social call.

Sarah hesitated, wondering if she could say it and keep a straight face. “Coffee.”

“Coffee,” Dennis repeated slowly, and she could see a smile hovering.

“Apparently I forgot it when I brought out his supplies.”

“Sure you did,” Dennis murmured, then grew serious. “You wanted him to meet Maddy, right?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Jeb isn’t going to take kindly to you intruding in his life.”

“I know.”

His eyes held hers. “However, I didn’t stop by to talk about your brother.”

Sarah lowered the mug and forced herself to look away. She couldn’t let him continue to hold her gaze, because then he’d know how much she loved him, how hungry she was for his lovemaking. And how damned guilty that made her feel.

“I want you to have dinner with me—”

“I can’t,” she replied, not allowing him to finish.

Dennis scowled. “You could at least let me ask before you turn me down.”

“It isn’t a good idea. I—”

“Sarah,” he said, shaking his head in frustration. “I love you. I know your first marriage was a disaster, and I’m sorry, but I’m tired of having you put me off. If you think your father and Calla haven’t figured out that we’re lovers, you’re wrong. Everyone knows. The only question people ask is when you’re going to get smart and marry me.”

Sarah bit her lower lip. “I… can’t.”

“Okay, if you can’t go out to dinner tonight, when?”

She hesitated, stifling a groan. It wasn’t dinner she referred to but marriage. “Next week,” she murmured, defeated and angry with herself.

Turning, she walked back into her shop.

He sighed loudly, and she glanced in his direction. His jaw was tense, his eyes hard. “Kiss me,” he said.