With a sigh she rolled around to lean her back against the door. “Guess we’d better hit the hay, Gretchen; she said, unbuttoning her blouse. “Neither of us is getting any action tonight : ‘

A soft tap on the door brought her heart into her throat. She clutched Gretchen’s collar and thought of the gun resting uselessly in the drawer a long, long way from where she stood.

“Dallas? It’s Gabe: ‘

Air whooshed out of her as she whirled toward the door. “Gabe?”

“Let me in. Now.”

She hurried to obey and he slipped inside the door, bring inga cool wash of air with him.

He snapped the lock in place behind him and turned toward her. “Pamell’s parked down the road.”

Her hand went to her mouth. He was out there, after all. Breathing became more difficult as she fought feelings of panic.

“I circled back around and came in the other way. My truck’s behind some creosote. I figured if he has plans , better if he tries something without knowing I’m still around. That way we have the element of surprise.”

She stared at him. “You came through the wash? That’s a terrible road.”

“Yeah, it is, he said with a grin. “I may have lost a muffler on the trip.”


,


“You look like-you look like you’re enjoying yourself !”

He stuck his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and surveyed her from head to toe. “Some; he said, almost drawling the word, “although not nearly as much as I’d like. I’m trying to be a gentleman, Dallas, but you do make that a difficult proposition.”

She glanced down at her unbuttoned blouse and flushed. “I was going to bed: She hastily refastened the buttons.

His voice rumbled, low in his chest. “Let’s not make any hasty invitations, lady. “

“I wasn’t! I-“

His laughter stopped her. “Relax, Dallas. I’m here to guard you from Parnell. That’s all. If you have an extra pillow and blanket, I’ll park on your denim sofa for the night, or until he shows himself.”

“You think he really might?”

“I think it’s only a matter of time before he tries something. Obviously you’re still not convinced. I guess I understand that. Because if Parnell tries to rape you, you’ll have to conclude he s probably raped before” She lifted her chin. “That was a fair trial.”

“Fairness isn’t always justice. I prefer justice myself. But we could argue that point all night. Entertainingas that might be, I think you’d better get me that pillow and blanket .”

Staying in her trailer all night? Dallas tried to imagine how that would work, with her hormones raging every time she looked at this tall cowboy. “Gabe, this seems like too much of a sacrifice on your part. Maybe we should call the sheriff.”

“We could do that, but once a squad car enters the area Parnell will be gone. After that, we won’t know where he is, and all the sheriff’s department can offer is an occasional drive-by to check on you. I’d rather know where a rattlesnake is than scare him off and wonder where he’ll turn up next.”

She combed her hair back from her face. “You have a point.” She glanced behind him to the sofa. “But you’re not going to fit very well on that.”

“Aw, shucks, Miss Dallas. Let’s not get into a discussion of where I’ll fit, thank you kindly.”

She gazed up at him, her heart hammering in her chest. Why not just take him into her bed and be done with it? “No, he said softly.

Again! He’d rejected her again. Without a word she whirled and stalked back to the linen closet. Could he interpret her thoughts so accurately? Apparently so. Maybe guessing what people were thinking was part of be inga good bounty hunter. It was part of be inga good lover, too. She’d never known a man who could read her so well. He d be able to anticipate her needs, fulfill . dammit! She wrenched the pillow and blanket from the closet and stormed back with them.

“Here, she said, thrusting them forward.

“Such graciousness: “you’re confusing me.” Now she sounded petulant. Terrific.

“Confusing you is preferable to a few other things I could be doing to you.” He turned and tossed the pillow on the end of the sofa. “Good night, Dallas: ‘

Dismissed, she left the room and walked back down the hall, her poise in riotous disarray. She wanted him so much she could taste it. And she didn’t want him. But neither made any difference, because he was turning down the possibility. She closed her bedroom door with a little more force than necessary. “don’t lock it; he called out. “You might need me during the night .”

She just knew he’d said that on purpose.

GRETCHIN’S SHORT BARK woke Dallas. Disoriented in the darkness, she propped herself on one elbow. “What is it, girl?” she mumbled.

Gretchen barked again, then growled and faced the window over Dallas’s bed. With a cry Dallas bolted from the bed and wrenched open her door. On the other side she collided with Gabe, who was still buttoning his jeans.

He moved quickly around her to the dog. “Is he out there, Gretchen?” he asked softly.

“She b-barked at the window.” Dallas wrapped her arms around her body to try to stop the shaking. The luminous clock dial on her bedside table read three thirty

Gabe walked quietly to the drawer beneath it and took out Dallas’s handgun. Checking the chambers in the light from the clock face, he came back and offered it to her, butt first. “I’m going out the back door to take a look. Lock it after me.”

“You should take the gun: ‘

“I work better without one. Always have.”

Dallas wondered if she’d be able to hit the broad side of a barn the way she was shaking, but not a tremor passed over Gabe as he slipped to the door, opened it and stepped into the night. She opened her mouth to call him back, but he was gone before the words came out.

Locking the door as he’d ordered, she padded into the living room to wait in the dark. She could dimly make out the blanket and pillow he d tossed on the floor in his haste to get up. He must have come instantly awake to pull on boots and jeans in that short time from Gretchexi’s first bark to the moment she’d collided with him in the hall.

It took two tries before she managed to pick up the blanket in her nerveless fingers. She wrapped it around her shoulders before sitting in the rocker, the gun resting on her knee. She’d bought the gun, practiced with it, bragged to Gabe about knowing how to use it, but she’d never really expected to. She even hated to shoot rattlesnakes and usually called the fire department to transport them farther out into the desert. If she couldn’t shoot a snake, how could she be expected to take aim at a man? Some tough broad she was.

She rocked nervously back and forth while Gretchen paced the room, whining. The blanket held Gabe’s scent, and Dallas brought it to her nose and inhaled. Gabe, out there facing unknown danger in the cold darkness, had stayed the night to protect her. Her stomach hollowed with dread. He was trained for this, she reminded herself. He knew how to hunt men, how to outwit them. He would be okay. The need to have him safe again grew steadily as she waited.

Gretchen whined again.

“Be quiet, Gretch, she whispered, trying to hear any noises from outside. A pack of coyotes yipped in the distance, and an owl hooted from somewhere nearby,

but Dallas heard nothing that sounded like a scuffle. What if Neal had been lying in wait and had already knocked Gabe unconscious? What if he was prying open a window in the bathroom, where she might not hear him? She wrapped the comforting blanket tighter and pretended Gabe was holding her.

Besides, Gretchen would alert her to someone coming in. The dog kept up her interminable pacing.

At last someone tapped on the back door. Her heart pounding, she dropped the encumbering blanket and started cautiously toward the door, gun cocked.

“It’s me; Gabe said from the other side of the door.

The sound of his voice sent her chilled blood singing through her veins again. She let him in, along with a gust of frigid early-morning air “What happened?”

He relocked the door. Blowing on his hands and rubbing them together, he turned to her. “Couldn’t find a thing, but I’ll bet anything he was out there, saw me come out the back door and took off. Bullies don’t enjoy being evenly matched. He thought I was gone and you were fair game. I doubt he’ll be back tonight: He glanced down. “Would you mind pointing that somewhere else?”

“Oh!” She lowered the gun, which she’d been holding waist high, aimed right at him.

“God knows I’ve done a few things I deserve to be shot for, but I’d as soon not go out that way, if you doxi t mind : ‘

Feeling like a fool, Dallas eased the hammer back in place and started toward the bedroom. “I’ll put it away. Sounds like the danger’s over for the night.”

Behind her, he let out a shaky sigh. “I wish I could say that .”

She turned in surprise. “But I thought you said-“

“Put the gun away. Parnell won’t be back.”

“Then what-“

“For a smart lady, you can be damned stupid.”

He stood unmoving, a dark shadow just outside her bedroom door. In the weighted silence she remembered that she wore only her nightgown, a white-lace and -chiffon affair that reached to mid-thigh. He might , not be able to see her well, but obviously he could see her well enough. And imagination could be more powerful than sight.

Slowly she rested the gun on the dresser beside her. A word from her and he’d return to his bed on the sofa. He’d proven his iron will, but now she could hear his rapid breathing and knew that his will was being tested. She trembled but stood her ground, her body tightening in response to his quiet presence.