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“Um…” She nodded toward the ropes encircling her breasts and shoulders. “Could you…”

Aaron sat back on his heels and grinned. “Not yet, Chy. Let’s see what you have to say for yourself first.”

* * *

Chyanne

At first, with their eyes on her, she felt like she still had a gag in her mouth. Or that her tongue had been bound with rope.

Where do I even start? There’s just so much… so much they don’t know…

“I don’t know where to start,” she said at last.

“How about why you went storming into Nate’s office?” Chandler suggested gently.

She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting tears. Shestillcouldn’t believe she’d done that. She’d always had a bad habit of acting on emotion without thinking it through, but that was a little much, even for her.

“It’s… it’s complicated,” she ventured tentatively, because really, it was.

“Start at the beginning,” Chandler advised, his voice patient as always.

She focused on him—her tame Goliath, her gentle giant—and took a deep breath. “How do I do that?”

“Well, what did you do today?”

“Oh. Well, I had breakfast in the dining room with—”

“After that,” Aaron prompted.

She nodded. “Right. Um, I went to the stable to meet my horse.”

“And?” Chandler prompted. “How did that go?”

Chyanne sniffled. “It… it was good?”

“Just good?” he prompted gently. “I woulda thought you’d be all excited to tell us about her—or him.”

She brightened, just for an instant. “It’s a her. Sunflower.”

“Sunflower. That’s a beautiful name.”

“Yeah.” And just as suddenly as it had come, her light dimmed and she drooped, ducking her head. “It is.”

He exchanged a look with Aaron and could tell that he was just as baffled as Chandler was. “And then?”

“There… there was this… other man.”

When no other information was forthcoming, he was forced to guess. “Eric?”

She shook her head.

“You made a promise, Chyanne,” Aaron spoke up. “Keep your end of the bargain, or we can continue. The freezer is full of ice.”

A shudder ran over her and reluctantly she lifted her chin, though she stared over them. “He’s another bronco rider.”

The two men exchanged another dubious glance. “Yeah?”

“He said… he said Nate… hired him, too.”