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Katherine cursed the potholes that jarred her new car and made it rattle as she negotiated the road that led out to the drilling site. She was surprising Jace with a special lunch. Happy had been all too agreeable to watch Allison when Katherine told her of her plans.
Happy Cooper was sensitive to the change in the relationship between Jace and Katherine. She had suspected since his first appearance that he was Katherine's husband. She guessed he had come after Katherine when she left over some lover's quarrel.
Anyone could see that they were crazy about each other. And, surely, Jace was Allison's father. He couldn't be any more enamored with that baby. She was exultant that these two young people had patched up whatever differences had driven them apart in the first place. Maybe they had not had enough time alone together. She made it her personal duty to see that that didn't happen again by volunteering to baby-sit with Allison at every opportunity. Besides, now that Katherine was working at home, she missed having Allison at her house each day.
Katherine could hear the cacophony surrounding the drilling rig before she reached it. Relieved that her jostling journey was over, she parked her car a short distance from the site and walked the rest of the way.
A bottle of wine, chicken salad, and fruit were in the basket under her arm. Her breasts, unrestrained by a bra, swayed under her silk blouse as she walked over the rough ground. She giggled in anticipation. Yes, Jace would enjoy this lunch break. But they must have privacy. She mulled over several devices to get Billy out of the trailer while she and Jace enjoyed an intimate lunch.
To her surprise she saw that it wouldn't be necessary for them to get rid of Billy. He wasn't in the trailer, but tinkering with one of the battered pick-up trucks. By the look of all the parts lying on the ground around him, he would be busy for quite some time.
"Hello, Billy," she called over the noise.
When he looked up and saw her, he glanced nervously over his shoulder toward the trailer and then shuffled toward her on his bowed legs, wiping his hands on an oil-soaked rag.
"Hello, Katherine."
"Why aren't you working in the trailer? Did Jace put you onto another project?" She laughed, indicating the disemboweled pick-up.
"No, I left the trailer on my own accord. I didn't want to be under the same roof with her." He nodded toward a shiny, long Winnebago that Katherine hadn't noticed before.
"Her?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah," was Billy's only comment before he turned his head and disdainfully spat a stream of tobacco juice into the dirt.
He ambled back to the truck and Katherine looked in bemusement at the motor home and then to the trailer.
"Oh, well," she sighed. "So much for surprise lunches."
She went to the trailer, opened the door, and stepped into the dim interior. After allowing her eyes to adjust from the bright sunlight outside, she looked toward Jace's desk.
Her heart plummeted to the floor. She stood speechless, stunned, and heartbroken. Then hot, angry jealousy suffused her whole body.
Jace was leaning against his desk. His long legs were spread wide and stretched out in front of him. Between them, standing with her middle pressed intimately against him, was a dark-haired woman. Jace's hands were locked behind her back. Her red laquered fingertips were ruffling through his thick, black hair.
At Jace's startled reaction to Katherine's entrance, the woman turned toward her and stared haughtily with dark, liquid eyes. She didn't release her hold on Jace. Instead, with silky, gushing tones she said, "This must be Katherine. What a pleasure to meet you." Sensuously she moved closer to Jace and said with feigned embarrassment, "Oh, forgive me. I didn't introduce myself. I'm Lacey Newton Manning. Jace's wife."
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