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said
    pointedly, turning back to the game in front of him. Abby didn’t take
    the hint because she moved closer to him, brushing her full curves
    against his arm.
    “You could join me when I go on break in ten minutes,” she
    offered, batting her eyes up at him, “Even the DD deserves a break.”
    “Thanks anyway, I’m here for Drannon, so I can’t be
    disappearing.”
    “We wouldn’t have to go far…” she continued seductively.
    With an irritated sigh, he spun around to face her. The quick
    motion threw her off balance and she stepped back into the bar top
    behind her with a startled cry.
    “Abby, I’m only going to say this once. I’m not interested. I
    know what you did to Roman and Franki. I was at the fair on the
    fourth of July and saw the whole thing. Don’t think you can weasel
    up to me and gain my favor.”
    Her face flushed pink and her eyes narrowed. “Fine, whatever.
    It’s not like you were my first choice, either. God, I’ve stooped low if
    I’m willing to fuck a felon.”
    She stormed away, leaving him staring after her, mouth hanging
    open. It wasn’t the first time someone had been turned off by his
    status as a former felon, but her quick about-face had surprised him.
    “Don’t pay any attention to her,” Daniel Kroft said, reaching
    over him to pick up a napkin and a fresh beer. “She’s been a bitch
    since the day she was born. I still can’t believe your brother let her
    sink her hooks into him.”
    Daniel was the ranch foreman, and Vin considered him a
    member of the family. He’d been born at the ranch, unlike its owners,

    33
    Lori King
    so he had as much stake in its success as anyone. The years hadn’t
    been nice to the average-looking man, but he made up for it with his
    kind heart.
    “Roman wasn’t all that smart before Franki came along,” Vin
    agreed.
    “I heard that,” Roman called out, flipping him off.
    “It’s the damn truth,” Bran agreed from his spot next to Roman.
    “You’re the only person I had to put in the drunk tank two nights in a
    row. How stupid is that?”
    “Depends on how you look at it,” Roman said, taking a sip of his
    soda. “It was two nights I didn’t have to spend money on gas driving
    back and forth to the ranch, and I was investing in the community by
    spending all my cash at Mick’s each night.”
    Groans filled the room at Roman’s strange sense of reasoning.
    Vin had to admit, he liked seeing the choices Roman was making
    these days, and it truly was because of Franki. He’d found her in
    town quite by accident one day after an all-night drinking binge.
    When she admitted she was in Montford searching for her younger
    sister who’d been kidnapped, he offered his help.
    Within days the entire Crawley Creek bunch was in on the life-
    threatening situation. Franki’s sister, Vivienne, had been taken by a
    prostitution outfit. They were holding her hostage and whoring her
    out to their clients.
    Sadly, they hadn’t been able to save Vivi, but in the process,
    they’d found Destiny and taken her in. Vin’s heart still ached for
    Franki because he knew she was still grieving for her sister, but all in
    all, things were getting back to normal at the ranch. If you called a
    quick wedding, a new doctor in residence, preparing for foster
    children, and scheduling treatment sessions for the vets who were
    going to be coming to live at the ranch—normal.
    Crawley Creek Ranch was once again bustling, and it was a
    damn good thing. No longer were they a house full of bachelors
    sitting around on the weekends drinking and playing video games.
    Soon there would be more work than there were hours in the day, and

    34
    Claiming His Cowgirl
    that was just fine by him. Busy days kept him from wondering what
    if and dreaming of what might have been.
    His future hinged not just on his own choices, but on those of his
    foster siblings. If they up and decided they no longer wanted to be in
    the ranching business, he’d be forced to find