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hesitated,
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    and a sparkle lit his eyes, "since I found this character wandering
    around on the docks and decided to bring him home."
    Smokey turned with the room and watched as a tall man,
    the best-looking she'd ever seen, stepped across the threshold
    "Dolly!" Jenny exclaimed and ran to kiss her brother.
    Smokey's mouth closed with a snap, just before she was
    introduced
    if smokey had thought herself clumsy before Dolly
    arrived, she didn't know what to think now. She dropped her
    napkin, nearly upset the plate of sandwiches when it was
    passed to her, and when she did get a bite of sandwich into her
    mouth, swallowed wrong and nearly choked Her cup would
    simply not sit quietly on the saucer, so she put it down and gave
    up altogether.
    Jenny had introduced her brother, and he couldn't have
    been kinder, but his tall, good-looking presence seemed to
    rattle the normal good sense right out of Smokey.
    Dolly, she learned in a hurry, was a nickname for Dallas, Captain Dallas Knight, to be exact. It had been Jenny's baby
    name for Dallas, and the name had remained in the family
    through the years. Smokey thought about how tender Jenny's
    voice became whenever she spoke of Buck or Dallas. They
    were obviously a very close family.
    Smokey put her cup down and simply tried to be a part of
    the conversation, but she found that didn't work either. Time
    and again her eyes strayed to Dallas, and she found that she
    could have cheerfully done little else but stare at him for the
    remainder of the evening.
    At the moment, his head was turned as he spoke with
    Jenny. Smokey's eyes nearly caressed his dark, wavy brown
    hair and crystal-blue eyes. His lashes seemed impossibly long.
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    A small gold hoop winked at her from one ear, and along with
    his snow-white shin and black pants and boots, Smokey could
    easily imagine him at the wheel of a ship.
    She sat up a little straighter and pulled her eyes away from
    his captivating looks when she realized she had been picturing
    him at the helm of theAramis. Her thoughts so disturbed
    her that for a moment she lost track of the conversation. She
    came back with a jolt, but no one seemed to notice.
    "Have you seen Greg Banning lately?" Tate inquired about
    another young sea captain.
    "Indeed, I have. I asked him if he was trying to rival
    Clancy," Dallas said with a grin.
    "Why was that?" Jenny asked
    "He told me he'd been racing in the coral reefs."
    "Why, that's a treacherous stretch of water!" Buck put in.
    "I know, but he doesn't seem to have a lick of sense."
    The urge to come to Clancy's defense was so strong for
    Smokey that she had to bite her tongue. She sat very still and
    reminded herself that on many occasions her father had told
    her that in his younger days he hadn't had a lick of sense
    either.
    "You're rather quiet, Smokey," Buck commented when
    there was a lengthy pause in the conversation.
    "Oh, don't mind me," she spoke softly. "The name Clancy
    always brings a flood of memories."
    "Indeed, itdoes."Tate'svoicewas reminiscent. "Myfather
    would gather us around his chair while he read to us about his
    exploits."
    Smokey stiffened, waiting for Tate to make some outrageous
    claim concerning Clancy, one that she would instantly
    want to deny, but he only fell silent.
    Smokey was just as quiet as she grappled with whether or
    not it was a lie to stay silent about her relationship to the
    5j famous Clancy. She had still not decided when Dallas rose.
    ^ b ^T38 hoping you would staY for dinner," Jenny told him.
    *LJrfoanks, Jen, but Kathleen is expecting me. I'll be by
    " *' or the next day. It was nice meeting you, Smokey,"
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    he spoke kindly before kissing Jenny's cheek, shaking Tate's
    hand, and putting his arm around Buck so he would walk him
    to the door.
    The evening passed in great fun for Smokey and everyone
    else, with a delicious dinner and then another card game, but
    something was missing for Smokey. It didn't take long for her
    to realize that the void she felt