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She told the truth and he was good with that So why did he feel a flash of guilt froone"

"Jasmine?"

Who the hell was…Oh, yeah She’d naet soed to push out the screen and escape The kittens are crying and I don’t knohat to do"

"Not leaving theopen would be a start," she said quietly "I’ll be right over"

Willow did her best to get control She was not a pretty crier There were no delicate tears rolling down a perfectly pale cheek Instead she got blotchy, her eyes swelled and her nose wouldn’t stop running But evenover him She wasn’t Her current pothole in the road of life had nothing to do with hios He would assume he’d crushed her

She parked her car and used the last of her tissue to wipe her face Then she blew her nose and drew in a breath She ignored how she looked What was i Jasmine

She stepped out of the car, prepared to call for the cat, but before she could say a word, Jas out of the bushes and meowed

Willow crouched down and patted her "Did you just need so to you?"

Jasers The front door opened

Willow straightened and braced herself for the iood and her entire body sighed in appreciation He was big and strong and looked as if he could take on the world

Was it just a size thing, she wondered If she were taller, would she be able to take on the world? Not that she was interested in all of it But some control over her little corner would be nice

"She’s back," she said, pointing at Jaset out for a while Did you try opening the door and calling for her?"

"Ah, no I didn’t think of that I’m not a pet person"

"Obviously"

Kane stared from her to the cat and back He shifted on his feet If she didn’t know better, she would think he felt a little foolish

Maybe it rong, but that est you check to make sure your screens are secure Also, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let her out every , just so she can be on her own for a while I’ to look after three babies all at once"

"Okay Thanks I will"

He stared at her She had no idea what he was thinking and, at that moment, she didn’t much care She hurt from the inside out and it wasn’t a pain that any pill could help She’d been rejected in such a fundamental way The worst part was, she hadn’t been prepared The news had come from nowhere

"You want to come in?" he asked

"Are there any cookies left?"

He nodded

"Okay" Maybe chocolate would help

She walked into the house Jasracefully jumped into the box with her kittens They ot quiet Everything was all right in their world now, Willow thought, envious of their simple needs Maybe she should have been a cat instead of a person It looked like a better life

"Have a seat," Kane said,to the sofa

Willow perched on a cushion How strange to be back here She’d already decided she would never see hiain and here she was While she could appreciate the thrill of watching his powerful bodythis was another place she’d been rejected When she got home she would have to check her charts and see if Mercury was in retrograde

Kane returned with a plate of her cookies and a bottle of water

Despite the knot in her chest, she looked up at hiirl right"

"Sorry I don’t have anything else to drink"

"It’s fine"

As she spoke, a single tear ran down her cheek That would have been okay, but she could feel others building up inside She sed

"Could you, uet me some tissues?"

"Sure"

He bolted from the roo Now she couldn’t see

When he returned with a box of tissues, she grabbed a couple and blotted her face

"You don’t have to get your panties in a twist," she said before blowing her nose "This isn’t about you"

"My panties?"

"You knohat Iover you I lostit out loud ht things were going great Then I got a call that they were dropping me Too many people wrote in and said the coet it"

She sucked in a breath and looked at him He still hovered in front of the sofa, as if not sure where he should go

"There were three girl squash They were friends and dated and shopped It was a lot like Sex and the City, only without the sex…or the city part, either My girls lived on a farm But not a real one There was a etables It was funny"

She ducked her head as et it? I worked so hard, too" That’s what killed her How she’d poured so much of herself into the comic strip

"Are there other places you could sell it?" Kane asked