“And if I am?”“They stopped in yesterday on their way through. Overheard them saying she was worthless for anything but work and her mouth.”�...Do you know where she is?”“From what they said it sounded like the old Han’s place. Called it something else but they took it over and ran off the family.”“Why are you being so free with your information?” Tim asked.“Self-interest. They will make us clan or kill all the men in the town and take the women into the clan. Would rather they didn’t do. ”“I haven’t had sex since I got pregnant eleven years ago.”“You’re kidding! You only had sex once!?”“No, Jeff, several times.”“You mean that bastard shagged you more than once! I’ll kill him!”“Jeff, I know how much you hate your father. But I need to tell you something you don’t want to hear.” Beginning to cry, “I can’t stand this, Mom!”“Your father was only two years older than you are now.”Angrily, “So!”“Do you know the way Maria feels about you?”“Duh!”“That’s how I felt about your father. I don't feel that way about you at all. No! Honest, I don't! I'm so grateful for your help. I really am, and I feel like such a bitch for not saying so."She cringed as though he'd slapped her with an invisible hand."You're right, Steve, and I can't take back what I said, but I can promise you I don't really feel that way. If you come back here right now, I swear to god I'll make it up to you. I'll prove to you that I just said those things out of tiredness and stress. I really am so very. Sure ... she wasn't some young glamour model or anything like that. And yes, she had a few streaks of grey in her shoulder length dark hair. But she was still damn attractive. To be perfectly honest and candid about it, in many ways, she looked younger than my mother did. Maybe it was the fact she still somehow managed to run a small little ranch all by herself that did it. Plenty of exercise for one thing, so she was never one to sit around. She had a few horses which all needed caring for,.