Free Saxon's Lady by Stephanie Janes

with Garth was to be firm and assertive, she decided. Start out as you mean to continue. "I don't mind in the least," she assured him blithely. "It will be fun to plan everything."
    "Sounds more like a waste of time to me."
    He wasn't going to fight her, Devon thought happily. He was going to let her do this her way. "Don't worry, Garth, I won't bother you with any of the details. Just arrange your schedule so that you'll have a week off next month."
    "A whole week?"
    "Don't look so stricken. It'll be good for you." The man had a lot to learn, Devon decided. He needed to learn that there was more to life than running a ranch and shouldering responsibilities. He needed to learn that there was a place in life for the frivolous and the nonserious . He needed to learn to relax and enjoy himself. He needed to learn there was something else out there to eat besides beef. He needed to learn that marriage could be playful as well as passionate, that a relationship could be fun as well as a serious partnership.
    He needed to learn to lighten up a little so that he could learn to love.
    She'd better find a way to get the lesson across, because she loved him and she was about to tie herself to this man for life.
    It was a sobering thought. Some of Devon's cheerful determination faded later that day as the rich lands of California's fertile Central Valley came into view. Small sleepy farm towns that reminded her of Hawk Springs and acres of lush fields slipped past the windows of the truck. When you drove through this part of California it was difficult to remember the state's glitzy media image.
    Here in the inner heart of California there was no sign of the glitter of Hollywood, the glamour of the Malibu beachfront, the sophistication of San Francisco or the picturesque vineyards of the northern wine country. This was farm and ranch country. The small towns shared the vices, virtues and love of gossip that characterized small towns everywhere.
    "What are you smiling about, Devon?" Garth asked after a long period of silence.
    She leaned her elbow on the window edge and rested her head against her hand. "I was just thinking about my big plan for us to have an affair. You were right. It would have shocked the socks off Hawk Springs."
    "You can say that again."
    "Might have been fun to make everyone sit up and goggle, though," she mused. "When I think of all the years I had to be so careful not to cause gossip in case it got back to Lee and Kurt and hurt them..." She let the sentence trail off.
    "You think it might be humorous to get even now by doing something outrageous?" Garth shook his head, but he was smiling faintly. "I think I can understand the feeling."
    That surprised her. "You can?"
    "Sure. But I'd just as soon you resisted the temptation," he added wryly. "We're going to have to live there, remember? I guess towns as tiny and remote as Hawk Springs have their drawbacks but there are advantages, too."
    "I know," Devon admitted. "Why do you think I decided to stay there with Lee and Kurt after our parents were killed? I thought about taking what was left from the sale of the farm and moving to L.A. or Sacramento or some other city, but I decided it would be safer to let the boys finish growing up in a small town and a familiar environment. I'd already spent enough time in L.A. to know what can happen to a kid there. I didn't know if I'd be able to keep Lee off the street. He was so wild during those last couple of years of high school."
    "You had a lot on your hands."
    "I owe you a lot for the help you gave me during his senior year," Devon said reflectively. "I was at my wit's end. He was threatening to quit school and leave town. Then there were the speeding tickets and the nights he came home drunk." She closed her eyes, remembering. "God, I was scared, Garth."
    "It's over, Devon. Lee's going to be okay. You saw him at Christmas. He's happy in college and he's got his feet on the ground."
    "Thanks to you. That night the sheriff