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“You thought he’d hurt me? Zane? Your brother? Has he ever once in his entire life touched a woman?”

Maya shook her head “Not in a bad way According to Sally, he was pretty decent in—”

Phoebe held up her hand She did not want to hear about Zane’s loverapevine

She turned back to Chase “You’re always coood in you, but you’re just as guilty Why would you assu like that about him? He’s your brother You should know he’d never hurt a woman”

Chase sat up and dropped his head to his chest “I do It’s just—I can’t explain it You were on the ground, and Zane looked, I don’t know Different Furious”

“He’s not the only one,” Phoebe told hiy”

She crashed through the bushes, hoping Zane hadn’t suddenly changed direction If he had, she would get lost before finding hiht side, maybe she would stuain for the release of her pen

ZANE HEARD THE thrashing long before anyone appeared in the clearing After a couple of ured out who it was by the soft bits of conversation during which Phoebe apologized to the trees and bushes she trampled

“Over here,” he called, taking pity on her And maybe himself For once he didn’t want to be alone

He still couldn’t believe Chase had come after hi the second he saw his face That shocked him Did Chase really think he was such a monster?

Phoebe broke through the underbrush and stepped into the clearing Twigs and leaves stuck in her hair and on her shirt She ca off her clothes

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” she said

Zane offered a huet a shot”

Phoebe crossed to the log and sat next to him “I’m more concerned about your emotional spirit than whether you were hit”

He looked at her face—at the big eyes and full lips, at the concern In his world of ranching and outdoor life, Phoebe was useless if decorative From what he could tell, she hadn’t been veryto Maya, she was a disaster at relationships

But to hiest person he’d ever known She led with her heart, coot bruised She had a well of courage that left him in awe

“Nobody worries about me,” he told her

“I do” She took one of his hands in hers “You’d never hurt me, or any woman I don’t knohy Chase jumped to that conclusion”

Zane did his best to ignore the heat pouring into hiet hiet this under control

“You were on the ground and hurt I was just standing there It looked bad”