LITMIR.BIZ

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studied her for a long moment, then deadpanned, “You deal with impressionable young minds all day long. Should you be using words like that?”

      It took her a second to realize that he was teasing her. “It’s how I survive.”

      “Whatever gets you through the day,” Brett answered. He gave her an encouraging grin, then made one final offer. “How about some coffee? It’ll get the bitter taste of that beer out of your mouth.”

      She looked at him, surprised. “How did you know I thought it was bitter?”

      “I could just say it’s all part of being a mind reader,” he said, for a moment falling back on the label she’d given him. “But the truth is you have a very expressive face, at least when it comes to some things.” He leaned over the bar, pretending to share a confidence with her. “I wouldn’t let myself be drawn into any poker games if I were you.”

      “No danger of that,” she told Brett just before she turned to leave his establishment. “Poker games require money and I’m just a teacher.”

      “There is no ‘just’ in front of the word ‘teacher,’” Brett called after her.

      Shania smiled to herself, her good mood restored as she walked out the door.

      That was why she’d come here in the first place, to forget about everything that had happened today. Everything that she hadn’t managed to accomplish. Meeting Elena Tallchief’s brother turned out to be an added bonus.

      Don’t go there, she warned herself. The last thing she needed was to entertain anything that was even remotely like a daydream about one of the students’ relatives.

      * * *

      Belle was waiting for her just behind the door when Shania walked in a few minutes later. The second the dog saw her, her tail began to thump against the floor, underscoring the fact that the dog was very happy to see her.

      Shania grinned, responding to the welcome. “I missed you, too, Belle,” she told the German shepherd. When the dog paused to look up at her, Shania put her own interpretation to that look. “I know, I know, if I missed you so much, why did I go out without you? Number one, they don’t allow dogs in saloons—”

      Belle seemed to whimper in response.

      “Yes, I know. That’s not very nice of them but everyone likes to have rules. And number two, sometimes I need to communicate with other humans. Other adult humans,” she emphasized because there were times when she could swear that Belle thought of herself as being her equal and human as well.

      Belle barked loudly once, as if in response to the last sentence.

      Shania ran her hands over the dog’s head, petting her. “Thank you, you’re being very understanding.”

      Ready to settle in and continue petting her dog, Shania heard the house phone ring. Because cell phone reception could be spotty, usually at the worst possible times—especially when the weather was inclement—she and Wynona had opted to keep the landline that was in the house when they moved in.

      Curious as to who could be calling her at this hour, Shania crossed the room and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

      The voice on the other end didn’t bother with a polite greeting but got right down to business, asking her, “Where have you been?”

      “Wynona?”

      Recognizing the voice, concern reared its head instantly. Because Wynona taught all day at the elementary school, evenings were reserved for her husband and stepson. Shania made it a point not to call her cousin except occasionally on the weekend. To have Wynona call her during the week and at this hour, something had to be wrong.

      Shania felt her stomach tightening as she asked, “Is something wrong?”

      “Well, if there was, you wouldn’t have been home to find out,” Wynona answered.

      Shania felt obligated to explain why she hadn’t been home this one time. “I needed some company.”

      If Wynona had been harboring as much as a drop of annoyance—which she wasn’t—all pretense instantly vanished.

      “You could have called here, Shania. Or just come over,” Wynona told her.

      “That’s called intruding,” Shania pointed out, then explained, “I’m not about to invite myself over to your place, Wyn. You and Clint are still in the honeymoon stage.”

      She heard her cousin chuckle softly before saying, “Well, that’s about to change.”

      “Change?” Shania repeated. “Why?” She was back to being concerned. Was there a problem between Wynona and her husband? “You do realize that men require a lot of patience. Whatever Clint’s done, he didn’t mean it so just forgive him and move on from there. I guarantee you’ll both be happier.”

      Rather than agree with her, Shania heard her cousin sigh—or was she stifling a laugh? “I’m afraid it’s not that easy.”

      This wasn’t like Wynona. Her cousin didn’t give up this easily. She was exceptionally stubborn. Shania searched for a way to convince her cousin to dig in and fight for her marriage.

      “Sure it is. You just have to be the bigger person, that’s all. In every relationship, there’s always someone who loves more and someone who forgives more. Sometimes, that’s the same person,” Shania added, hoping she was convincing her cousin to find a way to forgive Clint if that was what was necessary here and give their marriage another try.

      And then she heard Wynona laugh. Was her cousin just putting her on?

      “Have you ever thought of writing these gems down in a ‘how to make a marriage work’ book?” Wynona asked.

      “Too busy,” Shania answered, letting go of the breath she’d been holding. “So, is everything okay then?”

      “Well, that all depends on your definition of ‘okay,’” Wynona answered.

      They were going around in circles, Shania thought. Why?

      “Are you like this with Clint?” she asked. “Because if you are, I can see why he might lose his temper with you.”

      “Lose his temper?” Wynona echoed. “That’s not what happened.”

      Shania took a deep breath, trying to hold on to her patience, which was quickly being shredded. When did her cousin get this trying?

      “What did happen?” she asked. “And no more beating around the bush. Tell me straight out why you called or I swear I’m going to drive over to your place right now and ask Clint to tell me what’s going on with you.”

      “Well, if you put it that way...” Wynona said, still hedging.

      Shania took a deep breath, struggling to keep her temper under control.

      Why did it sound as if Wynona was grinning? she suddenly thought.

      “Wynona,” she cried, a warning note in her voice. When her cousin still paused, not saying anything, concern returned in spades. Maybe her cousin was too afraid to tell her what was wrong. “Wyn, please. You can tell me anything, you know that.”

      “You promise not to tell?” Wynona asked in a subdued voice.

      There went her stomach again. This had to be worse than she thought. With effort, Shania reined in her imagination, which was on the verge of running away with her. Big-time.

      “I promise,” she told her cousin solemnly.

      Then, to her surprise, she heard Wynona suddenly start to laugh. “That’s okay, Shania. You can tell anyone you want.”

      Okay, Wynona’s life wasn’t in danger and neither was her marriage. Relieved, she was back to being annoyed. She’d had enough.

      “What

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