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stove pouring a cup of coffee when Lacy finally braved the room. “Morning.”
    The humming stopped as he turned. “Morning.” He looked as uncomfortable as she felt. “It’s still snowing.”
    Lacy nodded. “I see that.” She forced herself to walk confidently across the room. “I see also that you have the bacon cooking. Sorry I’m late.”
    “It’s not a problem. I’ve cooked for myself plenty of times.”
    Lacy’s fingers trembled as she took up her apron. “Well, I can see to it now. Have you already taken care of the livestock?”
    He moved to the kitchen table and took a seat before replying. “I did. Fed and watered the horses. Milked the cows. Chickens aren’t laying much.”
    “Ours weren’t, either,” Lacy said, forcing her thoughts on anything but the longing she had to throw herself into Dave’s arms. “We had them on the back porch, but it wasn’t helping all that much with the temperatures being so low.”
    Lacy took up some of the bread she’d helped to bake and began to slice it. “I’ll toast this to go with the bacon. There’s plenty of applesauce and cheese, too.” She sawed at the loaf as if it were a log, smashing the soft center until the piece looked something like a U. Drawing a deep breath, Lacy forced her touch to go lighter with the next piece. She would have to say something about the previous night. She couldn’t just keep mutilating the bread.
    She dropped the knife on the counter and turned to face Dave. He was watching her intently, completely disregarding his coffee.
    “Look, I . . . well . . . I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you must think of me. My behavior last night was completely uncalled for and entirely out of character for me.” She began to twist her hands and found she couldn’t keep herself from pacing.
    “I don’t know why I acted that way, and I know you must think very badly of me.” She paused, almost hoping Dave would say something, but he didn’t, and that only served to make her feel all the more uncomfortable.
    “The past few weeks have had me fit to be tied. I suppose a lot of it has to do with the weather,” she continued. “But that doesn’t mean I should . . . act . . . well, you know how I acted.”
    The silence was about to kill her. Pausing at the far end of the kitchen, Lacy finally braved a glance at Dave. He got up slowly, never letting his focus stray from her face. With determined steps he crossed the room to where she stood.
    Lacy knew he was going to take her in his arms. She stiffened against any hold he might take, but he didn’t even try to touch her.
    “You did nothing wrong, Lacy.” His words were soft and alluring.
    Her mind whirled with a hundred things to say, but nothing seemed to make much sense. She lowered her head and stammered to explain herself. “I . . . well . . . when you kissed me . . . I . . .” Oh, why couldn’t she speak reasonably?
    He lifted her chin and Lacy met his blue-eyed gaze once again. There was something in his expression that pushed away all possible hope of reason. Lacy felt as if she were melting right into the floorboards.
    “You did nothing wrong. When I kissed you, you responded exactly as I’d hoped you would.”
    “Only a loose woman would carry on so,” Lacy said, trying hard to keep her wits.
    “Or a woman in love,” Dave said softly. “Why are you fighting this?”
    She shook her head and tried to back up, but she had nowhere to go. Her back was against the wall already. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    He smiled ever so slightly. “Let me remind you, then.”
    Lacy’s eyes widened as he pulled her into his arms. She felt the strength of his well-muscled arms as they tightened around her.
    “Are you starting to remember?” he asked, almost teasingly.
    She started to reply but was instantly silenced when Dave kissed her. Lacy knew she was in trouble. Dave Shepard had some sort of power over her that she could not explain. Was he right? Was