1
When would he learn that women never stayed where you put them?Maya Banks
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You’re stuck with me.” She sniffled. “Promise?”He rested his forehead against hers. “Cross my heart.Kaylea Cross
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It doesn’t matter. I love you. That’s it. That’s all. I hope to hell it’s enough.Maya Banks
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You love me, ” he said. “That’s all I need to know.” “You always say the right thing, ” Savannah told him, her eyes so filled with love that he almost wept. “Sometimes it takes you awhile to get to it, but you always get there, and what you say is always worth waiting for.Suzanne Brockmann
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Because I don’t believe that you are a slave to what you’ve become. I don’t believe that you simply can’t.Bella Forrest
6
Her gaze met his, her blue eyes filled with confusion and terror — and love. If Julian hadn’t already been in love with her, that would have done it.Pamela Clare
7
He caught her, and he held her, and he let her cry, and cry, and cry, and he let her use his sheets to wipe her eyes, and her nose, and God knows what, because he had plenty of clean sheets, and he only had one Kat.Tara Janzen
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I know this woman.”“ Who the hell is she?” He stared both his brothers down. “She’s mine.Maya Banks
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Hanson got to sleep with you, and I didn't, ” he said, his own jaw a little tight. “So I stole his car.Tara Janzen
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I generally find subtlety a waste of time.Cindy Gerard
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When you sit that way, you look kind of like a beach ball with a head, ” he continued. “Your haircut is really, really bad, I’m probably going to lose my job for helping you this way, and I’m dying to fuck you.” He glanced at her. “That honest enough for you?Suzanne Brockmann
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Sam…”“What?” she whispered.“ Tell me what to do to fix it.” She shook her head and closed her eyes as though she couldn’t bear to see him. “You can’t fix it.” He had to. Failure here was not an option. “Let me try.Kaylea Cross
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She could not leave him hanging like this. “If you were hurt, I need to know.” It was a rule somewhere, in the good-guy handbook.Tara Janzen
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Ah, well.” He smiled-another one of those devastatingly intoxicating smiles that did unreasonable things to her body temperature and respiration. With a nod and a respectful, “Ma’am, ” he left her in the middle of the room. Feeling like she’d been hit by a tank.Cindy Gerard
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I’m going to carry you now, ” he told her, “so we can move even faster. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. Any response from you is unnecessary and unwelcome.Suzanne Brockmann
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Sophie, honey, stop looking at me like that, ” Garrett said gruffly. “You’ll have me convinced I’m going to die.”“ You’re not?Maya Banks
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He hugged her hard. "I love you. My life is so much better with you in it than out of it.Cindy Gerard
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Okay, ” he said, his breath hitching, his hands shaking like hell as he pried her arms from around his neck and set her away., Darcy, I want you so bad I'm afraid I'm going to hurt you.Cindy Gerard
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He needed to gather her up, hold on to her, anything to help her stop trembling. Something was going to shake loose if she didn’t.Tara Janzen
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Here's the deal. I get to marry you. You get to become a Garrett - although, considering what you're marrying into, I'm not certain that's much of an incentive." Dallas to AmyCindy Gerard
21
Hey, ” Shayne said through the door. “You going to stay in there all night, because we’re getting tired of trying to eavesdrop from out here. Can’t hear a damn thing.Jill Shalvis
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She flew into his arms. Held on tight as he swung her off her feet and hugged her so hard it hurt. She didn't care. She didn't want him to ever let go.Cindy Gerard
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There are definite advantages to single beds." He sat up abruptly and arranged her legs around his waist. "Makes cuddling mandatory.Cindy Gerard
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He’d done it like he did everything else–with passion and total disregard for how much it might embarrass her.Kaylea Cross
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He should probably make love to her.Tara Janzen
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He wanted to paddle her himself, then shake her, then sit her down in a chair and explain to her why she must never, ever get herself in a situation where she could be shot at again–and then throw himself at her feet.Tara Janzen
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Go to bed, " he ordered. "Go to bed... and stay there.Cindy Gerard
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Jake became excruciatingly aware of her, there, right behind him. The small grunts and groans as she placed each foot carefully on the slick ground reverberated in his gut. He wanted to turn around and tell her to shut the hell up. She sounded as though she was having sex. Good sex.Cherry Adair
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It worried him. Like him, she had to be exhausted. She smelled like gasoline; her clothes were torn. She had a small white bandage on her forehead where the EMT had cleaned her cut. Dirt smudged her face, her arms, her legs. He knew she still didn't have any underwear, and for the first time, he felt bad about it. Real bad. He wanted to protect her, make her feel secure, keep her from harm–and all he'd done was lose her underwear and practically get her blown up.Tara Janzen
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Savannah, I’ve been talking my ass off for more than an hour now, telling you shit no one’s ever heard anything about, hoping that I’ll say something, Jesus God, anything that will convince you to have sex with me.Suzanne Brockmann
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The man in 4B wondered if he could have your autograph. He told me his daughter is a huge fan.”Tara Janzen
32
Then his beautiful lips touched hers. A fluttering of wings, a cry of angels, a single beat of two hearts.Chris Lange
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Would you believe I was in the neighborhood?”“ No."“ Well, how about that I needed to see you.”“ Why? Did one of my neighbors call and say my cat’s been stalking their bunny?” One corner of his mouth went up. “You know, that sounds like a euphemism. A kind of salacious one”“ Ooh, big words for Mr. Average Joe street cop, ” she said, knowing she sounded bitchy but unable to help it. “Can you take out the angry eyes, Mrs. Potato Head, and just let me talk to you? .Leslie Parrish
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I don't think sleeping with you is going to solve anything, " she said, stopping at the guest bedroom door." I don't really care what you think.Cindy Gerard
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She'd kicked Klein's ass and still had enough moxie to tag him, and enough physical strength to get herself out of a window ten feet up on the wall. He really should marry her.Tara Janzen
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I guess the answer would be yes."" Got to love that word." He kissed her so sweetly then, it brought tears to her eyes. "Got it in you to say it again?" And then he did the unthinkable. He went down on one knee.Cindy Gerard
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Do you think, ” she said, “instead of having sex, we could make love?”“ I’d love that, ” Ken whispered.Suzanne Brockmann
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He understood that she needed some time to get used to "them." He didn't. He knew exactly what was happening, and he didn't need another week, another month, another year, to get things in perspective. He loved her. It was that plain. That simple.Cindy Gerard
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The insanity of love, and that’s why you’re trying to drive away with the park brake on.Helene Young
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We do not remember days, Shemei, we remember moments, and the richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten.Unknown
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If you want, I can carry you–” “I’m fine, ” she said shortly. “Let’s go.” He’d said that wrong. He should have said, “I want to carry you.Suzanne Brockmann
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Amy sat back and grinned. "You just smiled." That was definitely something else she could get used to. Of course, he frowned immediately. "I smile.Cindy Gerard
43
Amy, listen to me. What I do. The choices I make. They're mine. Only mine. The consequences of those decisions–mine." Mine, " he repeated when she sighed heavily. "No one else's." Silence. Only the warm wetness of her tears dampening his shirt. It broke his heart.Cindy Gerard
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I think I love you, Bennett. Probably not relevant at the moment so no need to say thanks.Helene Young
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Honest to God, she was the noisiest woman he'd ever been shot at with.Jill Shalvis
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You’re staring at my ass.”“ Yes, I am.” It’s what he did in the mornings, when she woke up and spent the first hour lying around in bed.Tara Janzen
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People snare when I tell them that I’m an emotional prostitute. But after my rebuttal, they begin to realize that they are one too. Like me, they have pimped their emotions for the affections of another. Like me, they’ve gone through life tormented by the idea of living a happily ever after, not realizing that the ever after isn’t so happy.Beatrice McClearn
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Speechless and very nearly panting, she fell back against the wall with a thump, knowing that if she lived to be ninety, she would still carry the searing mark of that kiss on her soul." At last, " he murmured. "A way to shut you up." Christovao Santos (Chris), SanctuarySharon K. Garner
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But just for a minute. I won't be gone long and if she wakes up before I get back tell her that I love her.Amanda Stephan
50
We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”“ No, we don’t.” He liked meeting like this, over her bare ass, a hot-off-the-presses copy of the Rocky Mountain News, and a steaming cup of coffee. It was so perfect, he planned on doing it every day for the rest of his life. He just hadn’t told her yet.Tara Janzen
51
Please. Put the gun down and we'll talk. A beautiful woman holding a small cannon plays hell with my concentration. Christovao (Chris) Santos, SanctuarySharon K. Garner
52
Hands still in the air, Jordan reached back and gently caressed her cheek. Dying for this woman would be no hardship. He'd die a thousand times over if it would take away her pain. Since he had every intention of living a long and healthy life with Eden at his side, he sincerely hoped Noah was on his way and dying wouldn't be necessary.Christy Reece
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A man doesn't want to be rejected. We're really quite sensitive.' Sensitive?' She laughed, her head on one side. 'Sensitive egos you mean. Never met a man who didn't have one of those.Helene Young
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Brooke?" he finally found the sense to ask. "What are you doing here?"" I need a gun." This was not how his dream was supposed to go.Shannon K. Butcher
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Okay, babe, I'm here.”Christy Reece
56
He thoroughly intended to do some major grovelling. Olympic-style begging, if necessary.Christy Reece
57
We are only victims if we allow ourselves to be.McCartney Green
58
For a moment she believed he had left, but as she shifted away from the wall she sensed him there beside the bed. He was very close. Wretched curiosity! But she would fight it and not look. “ Katherine, ” he whispered, his breath rolling in a warm wave across her cheek. A traitor tear spilled out, the humiliation was too much to contain. Gently, a finger dabbed the wetness from her skin. He said it again, softly, as though it pleased him just to say it, “Katherine.” “Viktor! ” the accented voice bellowed from below. And then the shadow was gone. Darkness overwhelmed her then and carried her away to a land of crows and mocking strangers. .Gwenn Wright
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She closed her eyes briefly, feeling sick. Olivia had experienced strangulation before. Having to look directly into the face of the person who was killing you made the experience beyond awful. But there were worse things than that. Staring into the void of unresolved memory, living an eternal mystery, waking up night after night seeing the face of someone you desperately wanted to save but having not the slightest clue how to do it–all that was worse. If going through with this experience gave her the answers she needed, if it gave her peace, it would be well worth one-hundred-and-thirty seconds of fear and pain.Leslie Parrish
60
Roger said, 'I don't know about having a shrink around all the time. Are you analyzing me right now?' Sophie rolled her eyes. 'How original. No, I'm not analyzing you. It'd take a whole team of shrinks to figure out your crazy ass, and I simply don't have the time or energy.Jennifer Lane
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And for a moment there, despite the bruising, despite the snarled dirty hair, despite her sunburned skin and the suffering in her eyes that she refused to let defeat her, she was one of the prettiest things he'd ever seen.~ Dallas and Amy~Cindy Gerard
62
I believe in love at first sight, and I believe that’s what we’ve got going here. I was willing to die for you. I’m sure as hell not going to pass up a chance to live with you.Tara Janzen
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What is it?”“ You have to promise you'll never leave me.”“ Okay.” Jordan grinned, delighted at her easy agreement.Christy Reece
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Excuse me, ” she said, her voice tight. “But if I’d known there was going to be a firearms examination at the end of the kidnapping, by God, I would have studied for it!Tara Janzen
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You can’t possibly be afraid of trees.Tara Janzen
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Remembered pain tightened his mouth into a grim line. The weeks he’d spent looking for her had left permanent scars on his heart.Tara Janzen
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She’d never known a man whose initial move was to undress the woman he wanted.Tara Janzen
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You’ve stopped crying. I’m glad. I don’t want you to cry anymore.Tara Janzen
69
Kevin looks at me and I know he isn’t seeing the little girl I use to be, all pigtails and gangly limbs. He isn’t seeing my mother’s daughter or even my mother anymore. As his eyes linger over me, stopping here and there in the most uncomfortable places, I know he isn’t really even seeing me as I am. The bloodshot eyes staring out of the alcohol-flushed face are seeing a girl, nearly of age, who owes him a tremendous debt of gratitude.-- Rocky Evans.Gwenn Wright
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Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.Bernard Branson
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Nothing looked the same, and everything looked the same.Jacqueline Simon Gunn
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Jacob being sensitive is an endowment. Think about all you'd miss out on if you didn't feel things so deeply, or see things so clearly." "But feeling good things deeply means you feel bad things deeply, too." "Would you rather walk around oblivious to the meaning of things hidden under the surface and the opportunities to feel wonder and joy? Would you want to miss out on moments that take your breath away? .Jacqueline Simon Gunn
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The man in 4B wondered if he could have your autograph. He told me his daughter is a huge fTara Janzen
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You’re gorgeous. You’re sexy. You’re … asking me to cut that dress off you? I’m praying for strength.Cristin Harber
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Chocolate cake and a diamond ring? In bed with the man of my dreams?Cristin Harber
76
She giggled. Giggled. Her cheeks pinked, and goddamn, if this plane didn’t get to the gate and un-board them, he was going to pull the emergency hatch.Cristin Harber
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God, woman.” He closed his fist, not bothering to count off the dozens of other things she shouldn’t do. “You give me heartburn.”“ No. Those are orgasms I give you, baby.Cristin Harber
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My ex wants to come and rescue me.’‘ Too late! I already rescued you. Who does this guy think he is?Brynn Kelly
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There was no slow build. No peaceful meander to the summit. It was like sheet lighting stretching across a stormy sky–beautiful and blinding. I leaned forward and seized his mouth with mine.E.M. Denning
80
Not only were my nerves shot, but my body was a traitor. I didn’t want to melt against him. I didn’t want to enjoy the feeling of his lips sliding across my skin. I didn’t want to like the possessive way his fingers dug into my waist or the way his erection pressed against me.E.M. Denning
81
Ryker smiled at me. “You learn quick–” I cut him off. “If you call me grasshopper, I’m going to slug you.” “Padawan.” I shoved him. It was more like shoving a tree. He didn’t even flinch. “You’re such a nerd.”“ Geek, Millie. I’m a geek.” His lips twitched and it made me want to raise myself up on my tiptoes and kiss him. I shot him a grin instead. “Only a nerd would know the difference.E.M. Denning
82
Stick with me, kid. I’ve got this.” His words were an echo of a promise he made long ago, not long after we first met. He always knew exactly what to say, to do, and that’s the reason I didn’t move away when he brought his lips down to mine. It’s the reason I let my hands slide over his bare chest. They mimicked the way his tongue slid along my lower lip when I sighed and melted into him.E.M. Denning
83
One of the special teams turned sadistic in Kandahar and took out a village. The organization reacted swiftly by shutting down the program and denying any and all knowledge. Contracts were severed. Their service records heavily redacted. Overnight, the entire team was out. Out of the military, out of the war, out of the only life they knew. Team Fear took the fall.Cindy Skaggs
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Believe in YourselfWhy must we see something to believe in its existence? The wind itself cannot be seen by man, but all have felt it's gentle touch and watched the mighty trees bow as it swept past. We cannot see love yet its nurturing warmth is the essence of our being and sorrow can touch our very soul. For remorse is like a ripple on the ocean, once given it remains only in the heart of the receiver. Yet all of these cannot be seen only felt. Why then do you doubt your self-worth? For though it cannot cast a reflection in the mirror you have only to look in the eyes of those you love to See it clearly. Prologue To Kiss a KingTo Kiss a King Copyright © 2017 by Julie Brookshier and Robin WoodsAll rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or use of this work in whole or in part in any form is forbidden without written permission of one or more of the authors. This is a fictional work. Names, characters, places, and events are merely the product of the authors' imaginations or used fictitiously, purely for entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, or undead or any business establishments, events or places past, present, or future, is entirely coincidental. .Grace Willows
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Books are keys that open many doors.James Rollins
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God is love. He who loves knows God.Lailah Gifty Akita
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Because of that, he didn't know how to love someone who actually loved him. He had learned a twisted, tormented kind of love filled with pain and exploitation.Jacqueline Simon Gunn
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She averted his eyes, but not before he recognized the pain in them, a tormented and languished gaze, a stare preserved for people who were able to love deeply enough that they could be destroyed by it. For a moment, he knew that gaze intimately, remembering it from a time long gone. The ache of a shattered belief once known. He knew that feeling.Jacqueline Simon Gunn
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The dark sky seemed to swallow the moon, as Samantha stood alone on the deserted highway.Grace Willows
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I want to take you under the moonlight.Kassandra Cross
91
He had a hungry look in his eyes and it frightened her.Kassandra Cross
92
Embrace the love of your life.Lailah Gifty Akita
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There was something wild beneath the surface that his suit couldn't hide. He had the cocky arrogance of a man who broke the rules with impunity. A man who feared nothing. A very, very dangerous man.Sarah Castille
94
I want you to grab hold of the brass spindles and don’t let go.” When she did as he required, he spread her legs wider. “Hold tight, baby. This is going to feel so good.Maggie Adams
95
Being an author, writing a book was great fun. Publishing and marketing, not so fun.Wynne Stevens
96
From Flood, Flash, and Pheromones--coming soon: In the torrential downpour with water swirling that threatened to pull her down, she didn’t see the voice’s owner. The hurricane had blessed the entire city with a surprise drenching. All weather reports had predicted it to pass over with sporadic rainfall but that didn’t happen. The storm settled over Houston as if it had no intention to move on. Cassie flailed in panic as the roof of her car disappeared under the water twenty feet beyond. She prayed once more that the container in it was watertight. And that she’d see her car again. Then she concentrated on living. Where had the voice come from? .Shelley K. Wall
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From Flood, Flash, and Pheromones--coming soon: As Cassie’s body hurled toward him in the swirl, she realized the brevity of the situation. This was it. This was the moment that determined whether she lived to see another day or drowned in this filthy brown water. This was the moment she proved she had never been a quitter, never been a weakling. All the problems she’d dealt with at work today seemed trivial.Shelley K. Wall
98
Would the man in the cabin have come after them? Would he have sent someone else? Or would he have never even known they were there and they could have just gone back to normal life. Normal Life. He didn’t even know what that would be now.Shelley K. Wall
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He had always liked a good mess– God knows he had sure made a few. In typical form, he squared his shoulders, furrowed his brows and muttered, “bring it on.Shelley K. Wall
100
How can I be more important than someone else? Isn’t every life important?Shelley K. Wall