Once more he’d been a jackass, lashing out at her for no good reason. He should be happy as hell just to have gotten laid, but the situation was exactly as he’d feared. Being with Janice made him crave everything he couldn’t have—a normal life. He’d accepted long ago, four years to be precise, that he’d never have the kind of freedom or relationship that others took for granted—especially where sex was concerned. It wasn’t just the prosthesis; his body was so scarred and mutilated that he’d never be able to reveal it to any woman in the light of day. Her pushing him to do so only reminded him of his inadequacies and frustrated the hell out of him. Needing a distraction, Dirk headed out to the hay barn to load up the tractor to feed the cattle. He hated having to start feeding hay so early in the season, but it was a cost he would have to bear at least until he could find better winter grazing. The summer in this part of the valley had been dry, which made for lean grass, so he’d left the cattle up on the mountain pastures as long as he’d dared, but it was past time to bring them back down.
