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their wishes, what happens?"
    "They have to marry," I repeated. I knew exactly the direction of his questioning. Two men had caught me out of my dress. Then they'd seen all of me when I fell in the water. Then they removed the harness that offered me the protection from marriage. It didn't matter that I was still a virgin. In the eyes of society, especially in Liberty, I'd been ruined.
    "In your case, the list of inappropriateness is extensive," the sheriff added.
    "No one knows but you." I looked at all three men. "You wouldn't tell, would you?"
    All three looked appalled at the idea. "We wouldn't disrespect you in that way," the sheriff said.
    "No one will know what has occurred between us. That is not anyone's concern," Garrett said, his tone severe. "The sheriff will keep the confidence."
    The man nodded his assurance.
    "You ran away from Doctor Graham's protection and everyone in town knows that," Garrett continued. "It's salacious news. Once you slipped out of town, you were tarnished. Your actions and your actions alone brought you to this juncture. You would be married to whichever man found you, if not us. No man in Liberty is going to want you, Sarah. Only Tagg and I know you still had the harness protecting your virtue."
    Oh God. He was right. They may be forcing me to marry them, but it was my fault. I hadn't thought about the consequences of traveling as a woman alone. I'd only imagined success in reaching a big city, blending in, but I'd never imagined failing. I never imagined that if I didn't succeed that I couldn't return to Liberty. I'd escaped the protection of the town doctor and could have been prey to any kind of villain, just as Garrett and Tagg had said. I moved to a chair and sat down, the heavy weight of what I'd done finally sinking in.
    "You will marry us, Sarah. Now."
    "You can't marry me just because I'm ruined. You don't want me! You spanked me and...and you don't even know me!"
    The sheriff's eyebrow went up in surprise, but he remained quiet.
    "We know enough. And want you? Trust me, baby, once the vows have been said and the sheriff's on his way back to town, we'll show you just how much we want you." Tagg squatted down in front of me so I was forced to look at him. Hear him.
    "I did spank you, and I'll probably do it again," Garrett said. I looked over my shoulder at him. "I spanked you because you belong to us, even from the first moment we saw you. You were alone on the side of the river and wouldn't tell us why. We didn't know why you'd run away, if someone had been cruel to you or hurt you. It's our job to keep you safe and when you don't let us do that, you'll be punished. I don't just go around spanking women. I want you so much that I spanked you , Sarah."
    In the most perverse, illogical way, Garrett's words made sense. My father had ignored me for years, offered little to no guidance in my upbringing. If it hadn't been for Devney, I'd probably be illiterate. The loneliness of the ranch, being forced into isolation like I had, made me feel unwanted. My father hadn't thought about anyone but himself. I'd been stuck for years without friends or even a parent who truly loved me, all because he wanted to keep his relationship with another man a secret.
    But in less than a day, Garrett and Tagg had helped me, cared for me, even disciplined me because they considered me theirs. They were thinking of me. They were doing what was best for me. And ridiculously enough, Garrett had spanked me because he was trying to protect me.
    And that was why I stood up looked the sheriff in the eye and said, "Please begin."
     
    GARRETT
     
    Although only I would be legally wed to Sarah, Ian went through the ceremony asking both Tagg and me to say the vows. It was important to both of us for her to know that she was ours. Not mine, not his, ours. When my lips touched hers for the first time at the end of the short ceremony, I knew. She was the one.
    Her lips were warm and soft, but tentative. Clearly she