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it's hot. I just took it out of the fire."
    Megan looked around and picked up a fairly flat rock, rubbing it on her pant leg in lieu of washing it. She balanced the stone on one knee. “Give me another piece,” she said.
    "I already gave you a piece. You dropped it in the dirt. Wipe it off and eat it."
    She picked up the meat with two fingers and tossed it into his lap. “You eat it. I want a different piece."
    Lucas grumbled under his breath about stubborn females and getting drunk, then cut her another hunk of rabbit. She used the rock as a plate and pulled the meat apart to eat in small strips.
    "This is very good,” she said with her mouth full.
    He nodded.
    "Are you really working for the railroad?"
    Another short, dismissive nod.
    "You don't look like you work for the railroad. I can't even picture you in a suit and tie."
    Lucas shrugged. He shouldn't have assumed the simple act of eating would be enough to keep her quiet.
    "Do you really know Mr. Donovan?"
    He nodded again.
    "You said he was your friend. Are you really friends or do you just work together?"
    No nod or shrug would be enough to answer that. Lucas swallowed a bite of rabbit and took a moment to think of a short reply. “Brandt and I have been friends since before Annie and I married."
    "Did he get you your job at the railroad?"
    Didn't she ever shut up? “I don't work for the railroad."
    "But you said—"
    "I just took this one assignment for them. Brandt offered me the job as a favor."
    "You really needed work, huh?” She tipped her head back and held a strip of rabbit above her mouth.
    Lucas watched as she bit off the very tip of the meat, then slowly licked the grease off her lips. Her tongue darted to one corner, then traveled over her full bottom lip, returning across the top. Heat suffused his body and gathered between his legs, causing his manhood to strain against the confinement of his trousers.
    Megan lowered her head and met his eyes, blissfully unaware of his response to her innocent actions.
    "So you needed the work?” she asked again.
    Lucas gave his mind a sharp order to get his body under control. “No."
    Her brows puckered. “Then why did Mr. Donovan offer you the assignment?"
    "He thought I might be short on cash."
    "And were you?"
    "Yes."
    "Then you did need a job."
    "Not the way you think.” She didn't say anything, and Lucas decided to continue before she piped up again. “For the past year, I've been following someone. Every time I think I'm close enough to grab him, he disappears. I was using my life savings and the money I got from selling my house and cattle, but that ran out a while ago. Brandt knew and wanted to help me out."
    "That's sweet of him,” she said, licking her fingers.
    It was the most sensual act Lucas had ever witnessed. He forced himself to concentrate on his own meal so he wouldn't be tempted to grab Megan Adams and kiss her senseless. He groaned at the picture that thought painted in his head.
    "Are you all right?"
    He straightened. “Fine."
    "Did you burn yourself?” Megan asked , her eyes filled with concern.
    "I must have,” he said. She looked at him a minute longer. He blamed his raging pulse for making him give such an asinine answer.
    "Who are you following?” she asked, drawing his attention back to the conversation.
    A conversation Lucas would rather avoid.
    "A man,” he said.
    Megan rolled her eyes and reached for the canteen Lucas had filled with fresh water and set between them. “I gathered that much. Who is he?"
    "The man who murdered my wife and son."
    Megan coughed and sputtered, choking on her mouthful of water. Lucas didn't move a muscle as she gasped for breath. Such a gentleman, she thought, racing to a lady's aid that way. After several seconds spent thinking she was going to suffocate, Megan got hold of herself. “Your family was murdered?"
    Lucas inclined his head.
    "When you said they were dead, I thought you meant they'd been the victims of some sort of epidemic. I