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John rubbed at the bridge of his nose as he gri wasn’t what he did best His preference would be to go after her, but he understood that having her slipped aboard the family jet and deposited secretly in Kentucky would be far better

"John, your leaving destroyed her," his father suddenly stated "She cried for weeks Whatever you did to her before you left, don’t do again Please I hate seeing your mother cry, and she made her cry"

Then Sierra shouldn’t have run And that was exactly what she had done She wouldn’t answer his calls, she wouldn’t answer the door when he went to her apartment, and she was never where she was supposed to be

She had run fro her and chased what little chance he had of peace instead

John shook his head "Later, Dad"

Disconnecting the call, he carefully e houseboat around and back toward the marina If he knew his father, it would only be a matter of hours before he called back, before he had the details worked out and Sierra prepared to leave

If Candace was leaving early, as she normally did when she and her husband flew to California to spend time with his family, then he would be at the Hickley Dairy Faran

This was exactly what he didn’t need Peace had been a long ti, the serenity he’d found here was hard won, and now, that last niggling barrier to coeous head And it had the potential of destroying his peace, just as the potential of co it existed

Sierra

TWO

Sierra was silent as the jet landed, her heart racing, a sense of panic nearly overwhel was over

"I want to go home," she whispered

She’d made a mistake It was the worsther head, she stared back at Candace She saw John’s eyes in the other woh the features were softer, feentle with compassion

"Do you want to die, Sierra?" It wasn’t the first time Candace had asked her that question

It wasn’t the first ti to land," Thomas, Candace’s husband, said softly

He’d opened his home to her, just as Candace’s father had They had taken her in, watched over her, and provided the medical care she had needed

Thomas was one of the senior attorneys at Walker, Delal Associates He was quiet, calth

"Hickley radioed," the pilot announced "We have fiveto accept delivery"

She was the delivery

Sierra wanted to cover her face and hide She wanted to find a way to si To convince herself that the last year was nothing ht fro a coward That was how it had come to this There was a part of her that wondered if she hadn’t run, if she had faced John, if she would have even been in her apart the Walkers owned interest in months before to the apartment closer to her office

She’d taken the apart as John’s penthouse suite To be closer to him What a mistake that had been

She felt the jet dip, a san to descend

"He’s angry at me," she whispered as she stared back at Candace "He hates me, Candace After what I did, I don’t blaement He’d been furious over that, despite the circuht had she realized how she must have humiliated him In public She should have found another way She shouldn’t have allowed her anger to rule her

"Sweetie, John doesn’t hate you," the other wory, but he gets over the anger if you face hi"

She didn’t need anyone to tell her that now She had actually known it at the ti else

He’d passed out on her even as he took her virginity In all the es he’d left on her cell phone not once, not even once had he h he didn’t remember it, hadn’t seen the handkerchief she had used to clean thee had contained references to Marlena, Gerard, and the fact that Sierra wasn’t answering her calls Not a single e had been tender Not once had he i other than the breakup of his engage John now terrified her, just as it had the year before

"We’re landing, Sierra" Thomas’s broad hand covered hers where it lay on the armrest of the leather seat "Re"

"He’s not an aniht a smile to her husband’s face

"Sweetheart, all men are animals Feed us, pet us, and use a firm hand, and we’ll worship at your feet"