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each other& .
No. His voice was firm. I m not giving up Nellie. This is a good plan. We ll work around your
father. After all, a threat is just a threat. How is he going to hurt you when we re surrounded by
uniforms? he asked, grinning.
I don t know.
We ll be perfectly safe, he said. When Boone said I couldn t take you to San Antonio, I called
Nellie and had her drive down here. I ll leave you at the local library. It stays open until nine o clock.
That will give me a little time with her, if you re game. You ll be safe at the library, he added.
She knew that. The police would be able to watch her through the many glass windows if she sat at a
table. Okay, she agreed.
He grinned at her. You re the nicest girl I know.
Thanks, Clark.
I mean it. He hesitated. You don t think your own father would really hurt you? he added,
worried.
Of course not, she lied.
That makes me feel better.
Will Nellie be safe, driving down here from San Antonio and back, alone at night? she added, and
she was concerned.
She drives one of those huge SUVs, he said. A tank couldn t dent it. And she has a cell phone that I
pay for. She can call for help if she has to.
She seems very nice, she replied.
She s the best thing that s ever happened to me, he murmured, smiling wistfully. She s just
dynamite in bed, and when I give her presents, she embarrasses me with the gratitude. The diamond
earrings made her cry.
She wondered if Clark realized what he was admitting. The woman was trading sex for expensive
gifts, and he thought it was love. She didn t. She d seen the greed in Nellie s eyes when Clark had
talked to her at the restaurant. Men were so dim, she thought sadly. Even Boone, going out with that
traitorous woman who d left him in the lurch when he was wounded overseas. He d taken her back in
a heartbeat.
You re very quiet, Clark remarked. Sorry. I shouldn t have made that remark about Nellie being
hot. I guess you think of sex outside marriage as a sin.
I do, she confessed.
Our dad never thought of it like that, he returned. He enjoyed women. He never remarried, but he
sure played the field. Winnie, though, didn t approve of his lifestyle. She s a lot like you. He glanced
at her. She didn t like Nellie at all. He grimaced. I guess Nellie doesn t appeal to women, he
added. She has a lot of trouble at work. Her coworkers think she gets too many tips. They say she
plays on men s vanity just so they ll leave her big tips. Ridiculous!
It wasn t, but Keely wasn t going to say so. With any luck, when Clark spent enough time with his
pretty girlfriend, he d learn the truth for himself. If Winnie didn t like the girl, it meant something.
Winnie loved people, and she wasn t possessive about her brothers.
You don t mind staying here alone? he asked when he pulled up in front of the library. He d called
Nellie on the way there.
She smiled. Of course not. Go have fun.
He bent and kissed her on the cheek. You re sweet. I ll make it up to you. How about some emerald
earrings? I know you love emeralds&
She frowned. I don t want anything from you, Clark, she said, puzzled. You re my friend!
He looked as if she d knocked him in the head. But you love emeralds, he persisted.
She reached up and kissed his cheek. If I want any, I ll buy them. One day, she added, laughing.
Isn t that Nellie? she asked, indicating a big green SUV that had just pulled up next to them in the
parking lot. The woman inside was openly glaring at them.
Uh-oh. Clark laughed. She saw you kiss me. She s terribly jealous. I ll have to sweeten her up. He
pulled a jeweler s box out of his pocket, opened it and showed it to Keely. It was a diamond necklace.
A real, glittery, very expensive diamond necklace. I asked her what she d really like, and she said
one of these. Think she ll like it?
Keely had to bite her tongue. Sure!
He closed the box. It will put her in a good mood. He chuckled. I ll be back in a little while.
Okay.
She got out of the car. Nellie came around the SUV, locking it with her remote. She gave Keely, who
was wearing corduroy slacks with a cotton blouse and Berber coat, a superior sort of look. Nellie was
wearing a designer dress and expensive shoes with a coat that would cost Keely a year s salary
probably another gift from Clark. She looked expensive and greedy and very jealous.
Why did you kiss him? she asked Keely, keeping her back to Clark. I don t want you touching him,
do you hear? He s all mine.
I noticed, Keely said, indicating the coat and dress. Bought and paid for?
How dare you! Nellie snapped.
Keely smiled sweetly. One day he ll get a look at this side of you, she whispered. And you ll be out
on your ear.
Think I care? Nellie drawled. There s always another one, a richer one. Besides, men are stupid.
She bypassed Keely and went rushing into Clark s outstretched arms. Oh, darling, I missed you so!
she exclaimed, and kissed him hungrily. Clark was eating it up.
Keely shook her head. She walked into the library, thinking that P. T. Barnum was right. A sucker
actually was born every minute. She wished she could tell Clark the truth. A man that much in love
wouldn t hear her, or believe her, and it would ruin their friendship. But worse was to come, she
knew. She wished she and Boone weren t enemies, so she could tell him what was going on. She knew
that she was going to end up, inevitably, right in the middle of all the trouble.
Chapter Six
T he library was one of Keely s favorite places. She didn t get much time to spend there, because she
was usually on call on the weekends. But this weekend, the senior vet tech had unexpectedly offered to
take Keely s place. Her husband was in the military, and his unit had been called up for overseas
deployment. She was blue about it and didn t want to spend so much time alone. Keely sympathized
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