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back to work. See you at supper… Stormy. “His voice
softened as he spoke her name.
    The softness was not lost on Stormy. Good
Lord, what was happening, she wondered. No man, especially a man
she wasn’t even sure she could trust, had ever built up such
emotions inside her before.
    Supper time brought only Jed to the table.
Jake sent his apologies that he had other business to take care of.
It was wonderful. Just Katy Marie, Jed, and Stormy; like a real
family, Stormy caught herself thinking. One look at Jed and she
knew he would be a great dad. Thoughts like these suddenly caused
Stormy to blush, and that blush wasn’t missed by Jed.
    “What are you thinking,” Jed asked.
    “I was just admiring how good you are with
Katy Marie.” She answered.
    “Well, it’s easy to be nice to this little
one,” he smiled as he tugged on her pig tails. “She is a great deal
of fun, and I might add, a great checker player.” He smiled.
    “Yes, let’s play checkers.” Katy Marie
squealed with delight.
    “Oh, just one game, then I’ve got to get to
bed. I’ve lots of chores to do around here tomorrow.”
Katy Marie had already run for the checkers and checker board and
was on her way back to the table. The heated checker game took a
mere 20 minutes and it was obvious that Jed let her win. Although
he acted like it was killing him that a little slip of a girl had
beat him, he was having the time of his life. Katy Marie beamed
with pride when she won and then quickly said. “Don’t worry Jed.
I’m sure you will get better at it”. With those words both Jed and
Stormy broke out in a roar of laughter.
    “Nite everyone,” Jed said as he grabbed his
hat from the rack.
    “Nite, ”Stormy answered and then locked
the door behind him. Stormy tossed and turned all night just
thinking what her next move should be. Please dear God, don’t let Jed be stealing from the
ranch , she prayed silently in her mind.

Chapter Ten
    Stormy watched the clouds as they formed
heavy smoke colors that mushroomed up into a big mass of darkness.
Looks like a huge storm coming so better get ready for it. It was
mid-October now and although most days were still warm, the nights
were cold. It was hard to believe she had come here only three
short months ago. So much had happened, yet Stormy was happier than
she had ever been before. She had a home and a purpose now. Katie
Marie needed her and that was enough.
    A gust of wind brought Stormy into action as
she closed the shutters on all the windows. She was thankful that
Katie Marie had stayed home from school with a tummy ache. At least
she didn’t have to worry about her being at school when the storm
hit.
    The rains came down in a torrent as strong
winds blew hard against the ranch house. Carmen was up in Katy
Marie’s room keeping her calm. Stormy was busy making sure there
were plenty of matches and candles to deal with the early darkness
of the rooms. At that moment the back door burst open and Jed
practically flew over the threshold. Quickly he turned and bolted
the door shut. His clothes were dripping with rain and his boots
tracked mud across the kitchen floor.
    “Got caught on my way from the old barn to
the stables,” he explained as he took off his hat and shoes as an
after-thought. “Sorry for barging in, but the rain and wind were
beating me up pretty bad,” he grinned at Stormy. “Carmen is going
to kill me when she sees her floor!”
    She could not resist Jed or anything he
wanted. “Well we wouldn’t want that. Come on in and wait it out
with us girls.”
    He was soaking wet and started to shiver.
“Let me go see if there is anything upstairs that you can put on.”
Stormy left the room as she spoke.
    Soon she was back with a blanket and told Jed
to take off the shirt and wrap up in it. “It’s all I could find
since no man has lived in the ranch house for a long time.”
    He nodded, took off his shirt and gave it to
Stormy. Her eyes never left his bare chest and she found