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deserves some happiness.”

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    Claiming His Cowgirl
    “Don’t we all?” Hawke mused, eyeing her. “I mean all of us had
    shitty childhoods, so we should be making out like bandits as adults,
    right?”
    Laughing, she shook her head. “I wish it worked that way. I
    don’t remember a time when I didn’t have to work to survive.”
    They reached Hawke’s truck, and he loaded her stuff and helped
    her into the passenger seat. Once they were on the road, she grew
    drowsy.
    “It’s cool if you want to take a nap. I’m sure the guys will be so
    excited to see you when we get to the ranch that you won’t get a
    minute’s rest while you’re here.”
    She turned her head so that he wouldn’t see the doubt on her
    face. “Yeah, but if I sleep now, who will keep your mind occupied
    while you make the long, boring drive?”
    It didn’t take long for her to drop off to sleep even though she
    made every effort to stay awake and keep chatting with Hawke.
    Before she knew it, he was shaking her, and her eyes opened to stare
    up at the main house of Crawley Creek Ranch. Emotion built in her
    lungs until they burned.
    “Are you getting out, or are ya just gonna sit there and stare at
    it?”
    The question came from outside the truck, and she turned to find
    Drannon standing a few feet away.
    “Big D!” she cried out, launching herself out of the truck and
    into his arms. Just like his younger brother had, Drannon lifted her in
    a tight bear hug and swung her up off her feet.
    “You look great, Lauren,” he said when he finally put her down.
    “Thank you for making the trip.”
    “You didn’t think I was going to let you walk down the aisle
    without a shot of Jack in your gut did ya?” she teased. “So where is
    this angel of the heavens who swept the badass Drannon Russo off
    his feet?”
    “I think that would be me.”
    Turning, she found a pretty redhead smiling back at her from the
    front porch. Lacy Denvers wasn’t just pretty, she was stunning. With

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    Lori King
    pale, white skin dotted over with freckles, and the richest chocolate-
    brown eyes Lauren had ever seen. She reminded her of a china doll.
    “Hi, I’m Lauren Kensington.”
    “Lacy Denvers, but you probably already know that. I’ve heard
    so much about you, Lauren.”
    “Oh, God. Are they telling tales again? I swear I should have cut
    out their tongues before I moved away,” Lauren joked.
    Hawke appeared at her side and threw his arm over her
    shoulders. “You loved my sense of humor too much to do something
    like that.”
    Rolling her eyes, Lauren let him direct her into the house.
    Crawley Creek had been her sanctuary from her drunken mother as a
    child, and walking back into it brought up a wave of raw emotion.

    “Lauren? What are you doing up there?”
    Abraham Crawley was as tall as a mountain in her eight-year-
    old eyes, but at the moment, she was staring down at him instead of
    up. Sneezing as the warm fragrance of hay filled her nose, she wiped
    the tears from her eyes and shook her head at his question.
    “Come on down, sweetheart. You shouldn’t be up there. It’s not
    safe.”
    Abe waited for her to climb down, and then dropped to his knees
    in front of her bringing them close to eye level. “Does your mama
    know you’re here?”
    Lauren shook her head as her stomach once again balled into a
    knot of nerves.
    Abe’s eyes were blue, and she’d always thought they were the
    color the ocean would be if she could see it. Right now, they were
    looking at her curiously. “Is your mama the reason you’re here,
    Lauren?”
    Nodding, she clenched her fists at her sides, refusing to let tears
    fall again. It wasn’t Abe’s fault that Joss Kensington was a mean
    drunk, and telling him the problem would only cause more trouble
    for her later.

    40
    Claiming His Cowgirl
    “Why don’t we go inside and get a snack. Maybe you’ll feel like
    telling me why you were crawling around in my hayloft with some
    cookies and milk in