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| scab, Aborigines setting uncontrollable fires, or throngs of crows diving down on our sheep to peck out their eyes." |

| She looked to the heavens that were dotted with fluffy, white clouds. "And we've had a good measure of rain to help us with our garden," she said. |

| She sighed and leaned her head against Ashton. "Everything is so wonderful," she murmured. "It frightens me, Ashton. Everything seems just too perfect." |

| "Sometimes I look back over my shoulder, wondering what is going to be there to interrupt our contented life," Ashton agreed. He hugged her more closely to him. "But so far, all I have found is happiness." |

| He turned Sasha around so that they could gaze around them. "A year ago, when our cabin burned on this spot, did you ever imagine rebuilding something as grand as this?" he said, pride thick in his words. |

| He was glad that he did not have Woodrow Rutherford to thank for all of their blessings. To keep his self-esteem, he had accepted the loan and had used it solely to purchase their sheep and rebuild their house. It had been the sale of the wool from those sheep that had netted them a profit that was spent to pay back the loan and to purchase all of the fancy fineries in the house that he felt Sasha deserved. |

| She had left a good portion of her inheritance in the bank, using only what she wanted to purchase things for the children, who delighted her so that she could not resist treats for them. |

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