title: Time's Passage
author: Marcia Lusted
description: Marcia Amidon Lusted is a childrens writer and bookseller. She currently lives in Iowa with her husband and three sons.
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  “SLEEP WELL,” CASSIE MURMURED.
  
  
  “Tomorrow’s ride should be easier.”
  
  
  “Every day is a new adventure,” he replied. “Tomorrow’s will be discovering if
  my seat is too sore to sit a saddle.”
  
  
  Her laughter swiftly turned into the soft, regular breathing of sleep. He was
  so tired that he thought he’d sleep easily, too, but his mind stubbornly
  refused to slow down.
  
  
  Cassie might think herself lacking in beauty, but he found her increasingly
  alluring. With nothing else to distract him, all he could think about was her.
  
  
  He rolled onto his side facing away, but it was impossible to forget her
  presence. As the night wore on, he added wood to the flames in the primitive
  little fireplace. It barely took the chill off the air, but no matter. He was
  quite heated enough.
  
  
  During the latter years of his captivity, passion had died and he’d felt like
  a eunuch. The idea had hardly bothered him when there were no women in his
  world except in increasingly distant memories. But no