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wouldn’t tolerate anything less.
    Fatigue bled into him and he walked to his bed.
    The squishy and broken-down mattress felt dependable, not like a hotel bed where you never knew what you’d be getting. He only slept well in his own bed, in their home, surrounded by the kids. If something bad happened, he could take care of it immediately and not worry about getting a few thousand miles in a hurry.
    Trouble happened infrequently, but it did happen. Mark ruptured his appendix and needed surgery. Billy and a high fever required a few days 16

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    in the hospital. Those things made up the nightmares in his life.
    Traveling, working and busting his ass for phenomenal wages were a joke.
    17

    Kathleen Lash

Chapter Three
    “You sure you want to take this over?” Whisper Neuman asked Heather. Even with all the windows and doors open, nothing but humid air rolled into the overheated house. She’d been cooking all morning.
    “They’ve been working straight through and it’s way past time to eat. Keith bought the food and you cooked it. I’d be happy to walk it over.” Heather would probably be more than happy to meet new people. What Whisper didn’t feel comfortable with was sending her across the street with a meal for a pack of males.
    “If they even look at you cross-eyed, you high tail it back here. You hear me, Heather? You really don’t know a thing about that man.”
    “I do. He was decent last night, didn’t get funny with me, and was a really nice guy.”
    “Yeah,” Whisper replied, “that’s how most of them start out.”
    “He thinks I’m a child.”
    I hope so. “You mind me. If any one of them…”
    “I know. I’ll high tail it outta there.” She smiled, exaggerating Whisper’s slight drawl.
    “You are one sassy little girl sometimes. And my accent is not that obvious.” Heather embraced her quickly and grabbed the oversized basket. “I love you so much.”
    “Because you’re getting your way.”
    “Even if you said I couldn’t go and had to stay in my room the whole day, I’d be mad at you, but I’d 18

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    still love you.”
    Whisper brushed stray hairs away from Heather’s face. “I love you too, sweetheart. You be careful and mind your manners.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    From the window, Whisper watched Heather walk across the street and down a few houses. As she approached, every male stopped working. The little blond-haired boy ran to her. What a sweet looking child. Too bad most harmless little boys turned into men.
    The temperatures soared beyond ninety that day with nearly one hundred percent humidity. Not one of them wore a shirt. She felt like she’d sent Heather unarmed into a pack of wolves. Actually, Heather would be more like bait with the food she carried. They’d probably be starved. It’d serve them well to treat her gently by word and deed. If anything happened, Whisper would do something drastic.
    Her heart pounded when they circled Heather.
    Heather was a normal girl and probably didn’t mind the attention. Too, most of them looked pretty harmless, despite all the muscular builds. Keith appeared to be the biggest threat. Well over six feet tall, he was one solid man. He had to go more than two hundred pounds with most of it being muscle.
    Heather said something about him working construction. His build clearly spoke of hard physical labor or an abundance of time in a gym.
    Keith accepted the basket and the wolves stalked closer. Some things never changed. A group of men who’d worked hard would certainly be hungry. She hoped the offering took the edge off Keith’s temper. Take care of Heather!
    She probably wasn’t an ideal guardian for Heather, but there weren’t other options. Whisper swallowed, to ease the tension in her throat as 19

    Kathleen Lash

    Heather took another step closer to the huge man.
    His weight casually shifted from one leg to the other while easily holding the twenty-pound basket of food. Arrogance and confidence oozed