“There.” Dallas opened the door and Gretchen bounded back out, her collar signaling her whereabouts even though the darkness swallowed her up. Dallas closed the door and glanced out the window. “I feel better when I can see where she is .”

He admired the way her denim shorts cupped her firm bottom. “That’s not exactly what would make me feel better.”

“Oh?” She turned, a gleam in her gray eyes. Then she took off her hat and combed her fingers back through her hair. “And what would make you feel better, cowboy ?”

He stared at her, mute with need.

With a soft chuckle she hung her hat by the door. Turrung back to him, she removed her fringed jacket with deliberate slowness, rolling her shoulders back to peel off each sleeve in a gesture that thrust her breasts forward against the white cotton of her shirt.

His mouth went dry, his palms grew moist. This demand to lie with her was growing greater, not less. “Why do I always feel as if it’s been weeks?”

“Einstein said time is relative .” She began unfastening her shirt one slow button after another.

He stepped toward her. “He must have been watching you undress. “

“Impatient, Gabe?” She arched her eyebrows, obviously reveling in her power.

“Not me : He forced himself to stop, to leave his arms at his sides. “An impatient guy would never have made it through all those shampoos, all those haircuts, where you ran your fingers through other guys hair. Then there was that line dance while you wiggled your tush right in front of me.”

“As if you weren’t doing the same; she retorted, but her lips parted and her breathing quickened. He’d evened the balance of power.

“Then I waited through the interminable balancing of the cash register receipts, he said. “There was a tiny drop of perspiration that slid down between your breasts while you were totaling the final figures. An impatient guy might have tom your shirt off and licked that little drop away, but I didn’t.”

She swayed, and he closed the gap between them. She filled his arms as no woman ever had. The blood roared in his ears. She arched against him as his mouth found hers; his tongue plunged into the soft, moist She began struggling, and he held her tighter. What was wrong? Why was she trying to get away from him?

“Gretcheris barking,” she said, breathless as she pulled free.

He shook his head to clear it. The dog was barking. He stepped to the side of the window and glanced out. Dallas’s dusk to-dawn light illuminated the huge shape of the Saint Bernard-wolfhound mix outside the fence. “It’s lover boy, he said. “Probably thirqlcs this is the red-light district.”

“Very funny.” Dallas joined him by the window, her hand holding her shirt together in front. “Let’s shoo him away. He makes me nervous.

“


“I’ll do it.” He started toward the door just as he heard a metal clinking sound. Dumb dogs were probably trying to push through the fence. The sound came again.

“Gabe, did you latch the gate tight?”

“I just pushed it closed. I thought it latched by itself” He hadn’t been thinking much about gates at the time.

Dallas raced for the door and flung it open. “She’s out!” she called as she ran down the steps and across the yard.

He tore off after her. Sure enough, far down the road bounded a pair of large dogs, red blinking lights merrily advertising the direction of their flight.

Gabe overtook Dallas and passed her. The dogs had romped into the middle of a field, and before he could get to them, the new motion of the red lights and the fevered whining told him what was happening to Gretchen. A wail from behind him told him Dallas knew it, too.

Gretchen had lost her virginity.

“WE HAUE TO GET THEM apart; Dallas said, shoving past him. “Igor! Stop that!”

“Hold on.” Gabe grabbed her and pulled her back. “Igor will tear you to bits if you try to interrupt his pleasure at this point : ‘

“I suppose you’d know; she said, sounding disgusted with all males and their propensities.

“I have some idea how he feels right now. It’s too late , anyway. You know that.”

“Damn!” She watched a moment longer as the dogs coupled enthusiastically. Then she turned away with a groan. “That gate has to be latched carefully, Gabe. You can’t just shove it closed, because the little latch doesn’t always come down.”

He didn’t like her subtle accusation, but understood she was upset. “Then I guess it needs some oil.”

“Well, I’ve been a little busy to oil gate latches , okay?” “don’t blame me.” Well, she was getting to him, after all. She could stir him to anger, just as she could stir him to passion. He shouldn’t be surprised. “I tried like hell to stay out of your bed; he reminded her.

“Oh, sure!” She spread her arms, which made her unbuttoned blouse gape open. He tried not to look and let his anger dilute. He failed.

“What was I supposed to do, with you sleeping right in the next room?” she shouted. “Do you think I’m some robot? Some creature made of some space-age material that doesn’t get hot when some guy with a body to die for is standing in the doorway of her bedroom and-“

“You really think I have a body to die for?” He couldn’t stay angry with somebody throwing out compliments like that.

“It’s very nice!” She sounded quite upset about it. “Are you satisfied notv, Mr. Egomaniac?”

“Not by a long shot.” He worked not to smile. “But I think he is .” Gabe gestured toward the male dog, who had stopped moving and now drooped across Gretchen’s rump. “Maybe I should offer them each a cigarette”

“How cute .” Dallas glanced over her shoulder. “Can you imagine what the puppies will look like?”

“You never know. They might have bodies to die for: He couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice.

She rounded on him. “You think this is so funny , don’t you? My whole breeding program is down the tubes. And I’m sure this isn’t good for Gretchen.”

“In the long run, maybe not, but short-term I’m sure it was very good for Gretchen.” ,

“Oh!” She threw both hands in the air. “Is that all you can think about? If you hadn’t been so engrossed in sex a little while ago, none of this would have happened.”

“Excuse me? Are you saying you weren’t at all excited yourself?” He stared pointedly at her unbuttoned blouse. “Or was that the work of mysterious forces beyond your control?”

She glanced down. “Oh ” Then she began rebuttoning her blouse, keeping her chin down so she didn’t have to look at him. By the time she finished, Igor had wandered off and Gretchen stood beside her, tongue hanging out and tail wagging. Dallas hooked a couple of fingers through Gretchexi’s collar and started down the road.

Falling into step beside her, Gabe decided to offer no more excuses or explanations. Maybe that was it between him and Dallas. If she chose to end their relationship because of this incident with the dog, then he hadn’t made any progress whatsoever, and it was just as well they parted now. He’d still make sure Parnell didn’t attack her, but he could do that without being in her house and in her bed.

“I don’t like it when things don’t go the way I planned; she said at last.

He remained silent, waiting.

“I shouldn’t have blamed you. It was as much my fault as yours. More, really.”

The tenseness in his gut loosened. “I’m willing to share equally; he said, his tone mild.

“Well, you’re not equally to blame. It’s my gate, my dog and my responsibility to see that the dog stays on the right side of the gate:

‘


“Not if I’m part of your life. Then the responsibility ‘s shared.”

“Not if I don’t wish to share it.”

His insides twisted. “Is that the way you want things to be, then?” They’d reached his truck. He still had his keys in his pocket. She could send him his jacket.

She glanced up at him, her face pale in the dusk-to dawn light. “I don’t know, Gabe.”

It wasn’t really a call for a truce, but he’d take it. They were beating around the issues, but he didn’t feel ready to hit them head-on yet. Did they have a future? What compromises were each of them willing to make toward that future? He didn’t have the answers, and he didn’t think she did, either. But he ached to hold her again. That much, at least, was simple.

“Let’s get Gretchen inside and make sure she’s okay ” , he said, reaching for the latch on the gate.

She accepted the suggestion quickly. It seemed she didn’t want deep discussions right now any more than he did. Maybe the sizzling chemistry between them was enough to take them through a few more days, until they both decided how much they were willing to sacrifice for this fragile relationship blossoming between them.

They ushered a subdued Gretchen into the house. After checking her over and finding no bites or scratches, Dallas snapped off the switch on the blinking collar and unbuckled it from Gretchen’s neck. As she hung it on a hook by the door, Dallas’s shoulders started to shake.

Gabe felt instant remorse for making fun of Gretchen’s night out. He hurried over and took her by the shoulders. “Don’t cry. I’m sure everything will be okay.”

She turned in his arms, her eyes sparkling with amusement, not tears “Gretchen looked so dumb , standing there with that collar blinking away, while

Igor-” She lost the rest of her sentence to the laughter that spilled out of her like warm rain.

He grinned. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen a show like that myself.”

“I suppose…” She stopped and giggled again. “I suppose the collar would have been more appropriate wound around her tail : ‘