Lush (28 page)
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drop your stuff off and decide what to do. You can look at the
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groceries I picked up as well to see if I need anything.”
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She took his free hand and he calmed.
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“Horses?”
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“Yeah. They’re mainly Ezra’s thing. He loves them. My dad
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uses the ATVs, but Ezra rides out to check the orchards and fi elds.
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He’s got dogs too. Chickens. Pigs.” He opened up and ushered
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her in, her bags in the hand not in hers.
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She stopped, her mouth dropping open. “Damien, this entry
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is stunning.” Letting go of his hand, she turned in a circle,
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checking the place out.
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Flagstones and slate covered the fl oors. The entry was open
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to the second fl oor. Huge windows let the light rush in
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“Thank you. Come in and see the rest.” He drew her upstairs.
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“Let’s drop your bags off in the bedroom.”
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The fl oors up there were hardwood. Honey maple. He loved
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the warmth it lent the space. His bedroom took up half of the
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entire second fl oor. She went in fi rst.
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“I remember seeing a sitting room in some movie when I was
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a kid. I’ve always wanted one in my bedroom ever since.”
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She motioned toward the two love seats and the fl oor-to-
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ceiling bookcases bracketing the large windows. “More than a
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sitting room. How you even manage to make it outside is beyond
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me. I’d be curled up on that couch all day long reading books.”
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He made a mental note to be sure to keep a throw out there
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so she’d be warm while she did.
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“The main room is through here.” A fi replace open to both
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the sitting room and the main bedroom served as a divider. His
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bed was custom, as was the mattress. He liked a very large bed,
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and this one fi t the bill. It dominated the space.
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She looked back at him over her shoulder. “This is a rock-
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star bed.”
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He laughed. “Totally. What’s the point of being one if you
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can’t have a giant bed and a house you designed?”
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She went to the windows to check the view. He came up
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behind her, one arm sliding around her waist. “That over there
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is Ezra’s house. His horse pasture. His is the house closest to
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mine. Orchards over that way. On the other side is where we
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grow the alfalfa. The main house is around that bend. You can
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see the roof from the guest room. Paddy is over that way and
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Vaughan on the other side. He’s got a pool. The girls love it as
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does Ezra’s damned Lab.”
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“This is huge.”
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“It is. When we fi rst came here it was about a third this size.
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We had the alfalfa fi rst. Then my dad picked up some more
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acreage a few years later and then when we broke, me and my
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brothers all kicked in and grabbed up the surrounding land
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when it came up for sale. It made sense to live here in the off-
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season. Close to family but not on top of one another. Then of
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course Vaughan got married and they lived here for a few years.
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I think he’d be pretty happy if he could get his ex to move back
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to Hood River so he could see the girls more often.”
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“It’s nice that you like being around your family. By the way,
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I heard Paddy tossed some photographer out when he tried to
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take our picture. Why didn’t you tell me?”
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“I didn’t want you to panic and not want to come see me
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play anymore.”
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She paused and leaned into him again. “I appreciate the ges-
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ture. Seems to come with the territory. I know I don’t like it.
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But I appreciate your trying to protect me from it anyway.”
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He wanted to get into it a little more, wanted to pursue this
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discussion about taking their relationship to the next level. But
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he sensed she wasn’t ready yet.
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It was hard to be on someone else’s schedule. But if she was
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worth it— and he thought she was— it was what he needed to do.
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“Want to see the rest of the house?”
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“Yeah.”
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He drew her into the bathroom where she stared, open-
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mouthed. “Holy crapdoodle. Damien, this bathroom is a temple
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to hedonism. Oh my god.”
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“In a good way?”
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“Yes. Yes, defi nitely.” She peeked in the huge soaking tub
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and he noted her smile.
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“See the benches? I’m going to have you sit there while I eat
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your cunt until you scream.”
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She blushed.
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“The shower has six showerheads. Two are removable. I’m
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going to use those to make you come too. The fl oors are heated
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so you won’t have to be cold walking around naked. The win-
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dows are treated so you can’t see in.”
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“You’re a deviant, Damien.”
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He caught her up, laughing as she did. “I am. You make me
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that way. All I can do is note all the places I want to fuck you.
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I don’t see any place like I did before you.”
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He kissed her, tasting her mouth, loving that he knew it and
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yet craved more.
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09
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Forehead to forehead, he let himself enjoy the very essential
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pleasure of being with her. “Kitchen?”
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“Yes, please.”
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He led her past the guest rooms and down the back stairs.
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“Screening room.”
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She poked her head in. “I’ve had such media- room envy since
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I met Adrian and saw his. This one though? This beats his hands
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down. Wow.”
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“I love to watch movies. It’s hard for me now.” He shrugged.
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Getting recognized was fun. At fi rst. Now it just stood in the
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way of doing normal stuff like going to the movies. He could go
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in town, and he did from time to time. But generally, he was sent
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movies all the time and he liked holing up and watching them
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all day.
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“I imagine.” She tucked her hand in his and he marveled,
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just for a moment, at how it made him feel. Calm.
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“We’ll watch movies later then. Come on.” He tugged her
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down the hall and into the kitchen.
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She didn’t say a word. He leaned against the doorjamb and
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watched as she slowly moved through the huge room. She poked
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open doors and peeked in his pantry. Covetous fi ngers slid over
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his countertops and the knobs on the stove and grill.
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He noted the way her eyes had glittered as she opened the
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fridge drawers built into the center island. He hadn’t really cared 06
one way or the other when they’d suggested them to him. But
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now he got it. He looked at his kitchen through her eyes and
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appreciated it on a whole new level.
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“Even if you didn’t have a massive cock and a private plane,
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this kitchen would totally get you lucky.”
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He laughed, pleased to his toes.
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“I’m glad you like it. So you think you can cook in here
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then?”
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She turned to face him, so much pleasure on her features. Her
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cheeks were fl ushed, eyes bright. “I’m not sure if I could leave
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this kitchen. This kitchen is like a wet dream. I want to make
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something right now. Oh my god, you have refrigerated racks
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for dough? How is this even a thing?”
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“Am I going to have to get jealous of my kitchen?”
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“It might be close. But for now you’re in the lead.”
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He laughed, hugging her. “You up for a walk? Or some
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ATV’ing? Or horseback riding? Swimming? Fucking? I should
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qualify this with the fact that my family wants to meet you.
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Fucking is always at the top of my list where you’re concerned,
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but I don’t know how long they’ll leave us alone.”
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“I want to ATV, absolutely. I love it. But I’ll be dirty and
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stuff after. Not really the way I want to look when I meet your
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family. So how about we walk?”
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“I think that’s a fi ne idea.” He took her hand and led her out
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the front. She paused to look at the big swing.
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“I like that. You know what I saw the other day? We went to
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the home and landscape show; don’t ask. The things I do for Jules.
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Anyway, they had beds for porches. Like on swings. It was the
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awesomest thing. Just to nap on the porch. Not very applicable
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in Seattle though.”
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Boy, once you got her away from Bainbridge she turned into
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a chatterbox. He liked it.
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“I think I could warm up to that. You and me out here on a
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lazy Sunday. Drinking coffee and reading the paper in bed.
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’Course if we did it inside, I could have sex with you as well.”
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“You do have a point.”
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They started to walk up the road toward his parents’ place.
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In the distance he heard a bellow and a string of curse words.
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It was Ezra, and if Damien heard right, the demon pig was on
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the loose again.
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“Um.” He looked to Mary, who clearly had no idea what
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was happening. “There’s a pig on the loose.” He shrugged.
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“A pig?”
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“Ezra has pigs too. Anyway, he just took on a new one, a baby
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that had been abandoned, and he’s hoping the others will help
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this baby calm down a little. It’s, the pig I mean, a little, um,
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vicious.”
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The pig came up and over the rise, trotting in their direction.
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Ezra came shortly after.
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“Aww!” She knelt and the pig ran to her. “Aren’t you just a
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teeny tiny wee piggy baby?”
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Damien had been poised to snatch her away from the demon
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pig’s jaws. But it turned out to be unnecessary.
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Instead, the damned pig looked up at her and made a few
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squeaky grunts. She reached out and Ezra hissed, but instead
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of a bite, the pig got closer when she pet its head.
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Ezra looked at Damien, surprise on his face. Mary sat down
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right there in the dirt and the pig got into her lap.
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“Well, we now know Pork Chop isn’t always a demon pig
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from hell.”
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“You named this sweet baby Pork Chop?” Mary’s tone was
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scandalized.
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“That sweet baby bites! And poops.” Ezra saw that she didn’t
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believe it. “And is not nice,” he added.
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“If you named me after meat, I’d bite too. I think her name
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should be Violet.” She got close to Pork Chop’s face and the pig
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gave her a few soft grunts. “She approves of the new name.”
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Ezra sat down across from them. “I’ve been trying to get that
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pig to be nice for the last two months. You’re clearly magic with
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pigs, and drummers too.” He held his hand out and she took it