Gabe noticed the photography studio hadn’t yet attracted any customers, and Parnell’s haircut was still in progress. “Looks like you don’t have any business at the moment, and I have some time to kill before I can make that apology. Care to play?”

Fogarty studied him, obviously weighing the advisability of consorting with someone Dallas had thrown out of her shop. Finally he made up his mind. “don’t mind if I do,” he said, and pulled a cue stick from the rack.

While dallas trimmed Neal’s hair he kept her engaged in small talk, mostly centering around how many pounds he could lift at the gym compared to his friends and how many beers he could drink in a night and still beat everybody at pool. She made appropriate admiring remarks while she watched from the corner of her eye as Dave Fogarty approached Gabe.

She could imagine the conversation from Dave’s stance and the belligerent tilt of his hat. Gabe stood his ground, too, and Dallas hoped they wouldn’t start swinging. Dave was at least fifteen years older and thirty pounds lighter than Gabe. Gabe’s poise in the face of a challenge told Dallas that he was used to winning physical confrontations.

When Gabe held out his hand to Dave, Dallas nearly poked Neal in the eye with the scissors.

“Watch it, hon!” Neal said.

“I’m sorry.” She focused more intently on her task. She’d never injured a customer yet, and now wasn’t the time to start, especially with someone like Neal who would probably sue for all she owned. But why were those two men shaking hands?

“I need my baby blues, you know; Neal said.

“I promise it wont happen again.” She thought “baby blues was a perfect description for Neal’s eyes. In fact, his whole face had a childlike softness. Although by haditional standards he’d be called handsome , Dallas preferred a face with a more lived-in look. A face like… Gabe’s. But Gabe was a jerk.

And when next she looked, the jerk was playing pool with Dave. Apparently defending her honor had become less important to Dave than a challenging game of pool. Men.

She completed Neal’s haircut and put in a few finishing touches with a comb and blow dryer while Neal gazed at himself admiringly.

“You have the touch, he said. “As flf now I’m yours for life .”

Dallas controlled her expression and managed a smile as she unsnapped his cape. “I’m glad you like it.”

Neal stood and reached for his wallet. “I’ll show you how much I like it.” He handed her a hundred-dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

“Neal, this is far too much for- ,

He closed her hand around the money. “There’s more where that came from. Listen, if you’re nervous about seeing me here in town, we could go away for a couple of days. Let me take you to Vegas, or La Jolla. Hell, San Francisco’s a plane ride away. How about it?”

Dallas withdrew her hand. She’d been able to dismiss this sort of overture easily before. But Neal was different. Rejecting him seemed like a form of discrimination , as if she considered him tainted just by being accused of a crime. She didn’t believe that was right. But she didn’t want to go out with him, either.

“I can see you’re thinking about it: ‘

“No, not really. Listen, it’s not the trial, Neal. I just don’t think we’re right for each other: ‘

“Oh, yes, you do. You watched me during the trial , and I could tell how you felt about me. Give in to your fantasies, Dallas.” He lowered his voice. “Let yourself go, baby. I can make it good for you, better than you’ve ever had it: ‘

Appalled by his audacity, Dallas backed up a step. “I’m sorry, but our relationship will have to remain as customer and client: ‘

“What’s the matter, got a boyfriend?”

“No : She should have said she had, but she hated lying, no matter what the circumstances.

Neal grinned. “A girlfriend?”

“No!”

“Because I wouldn’t care if you did. Might make things more interesting. “

“If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do .” She tucked the money in her pocket and reached for the broom.

He wagged a finger in her face. “you’re avoiding me , and that’s not nice. But I’m stubborn, and I’m not giving up yet .”

She stared at him. Was this spoiled rich boy so lonely that he’d hang around waiting for her to change her mind? “I’m sure there are lots of women here at Rowdy Ranch who would be delighted to spend their evenings with you. Why waste time on a lost cause? “

“you’re not a lost cause, and you’re the one I want, he said, and plucked his hat from the rack. “See you around, sweet thing. ” ,

Dallas shook her head in wonder as he headed for a table full of people and clapped a young man on the back. The man, who looked barely twenty-one, handed over his beer and Neal tipped his head back and chugalugged it. Dallas looked more closely at the friend and realized he was the one who’d been Neal’s alibi for the night Celia Martinez claimed she was raped. As Dallas watched, another young man passed his beer to Neal, who drained that glass, too. Then he signaled for a waitress.

“He’s a real piece of work.”

She glanced to her left and found Gabe standing near the entrance to the shop, watching her. Her back stiffened’I believe weve had this conversation.” She turned away and began sweeping.

“We need to have it again.”

She whirled back to him. He’d stepped inside. “I don’t recall inviting you in to chat.”

“We need to iron out some things, Dallas .”

“We doxi t need to do anything. You need to leave , unless you want me to call security and have you thrown out .” She quickly calculated whether Frank and Turner, the bouncers on duty, could handle somebody like Gabe. She wasn’t convinced they could, but he didn’t have to know that.

“I’m not leaving until we get a few things straight: ‘

She hung the broom on its hook and glared at him. “That imperious air won’t work with me, Mr. Escalante I’m not easily intimidated. Shall I call security , or will you leave quietly?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Dammit, Fogarty was right about you.”

“Excuse me?”

“He said you might not accept a simple apology.”

Her mouth dropped open. “A simple what?”

Gabe glanced away. “Apology, he Said, as if forcing the word past his lips.

“That’s what you’ve been doing?” She began to laugh. “You call ordering me to talk with you an apol “

He stuffed his hands in his back pockets and gazed up at the ceiling. “If I call t talk with you, how can I tell you that I might have been a little out of line last night?”

“A little out of line?” She folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. “You mean you’re reconsidering the idea that I have the hots for Neal Parnell, or worse yet, took a bribe from him?”

He met her gaze. “That’s right: ‘

Too bad he looked so magnificent standing there, but she had her principles. “I’m truly touched.”

“You have to admit it looked bad, with him coming in here the same day as the hial ended, calling you by your first name, giving you flowers.”

“I don’t have to admit a damned thing, Mr. Escalante My conscience is clear, but I hope yours is really bothering you, because what you did was arrogant, judgmental and exceedingly rude.”

The muscles in his jaw tightened. “Now wait a minute Considering Parnell’s reputation, I had every right to “

“You had no right, and you’ve run out of time for this so-called apology, mister.” She turned and picked up the envelope containing his payment for the haircut. Taking one step forward, she extended the envelope. “Here’s the money you gave me last night. I refuse to accept payment for a job I didn’t finish. Take it and leave .”

He made no movement toward the envelope as he gazed at her. “You took Parnell’s money ” q “Of course.” A shiver of awareness passed through her as she realized how closely he must have been watching her with those dark, compelling eyes. “I finished that job.” But she’d had a tough time with Neal’s haircut, especially with Gabe hovering nearby. She resented the unsettling effect Gabe had on her.

“Dallas, he’s a dangerous man.”

She braced her hands on her hips. “What are you, the king of the world? A modern-day version of Sigmund Freud or Solomon? What gives you the authority to pass that kind of judgment?”

He sighed. “I’m a bail-enforcement officer.”

She paused and turned the label over in her mind. “You mean a bounty hunter?”

“If you insist, yes.”

“Is there a bounty on Neal’s head?”

“No, but he’s bad news. Over the years I’ve learned to read people and

“


“Oh, I see. And you’re so good at reading people that you just knew I was the sort to rig a trial, right?” She rolled her eyes. “Boy, am I impressed with your insights , Mr. Bounty Hunter: ‘

“I was tired. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“That’s for darned sure: ‘

“Listen, your opinion of me doesn’t matter, but stay away from Parnell. Get your security guys to escort him out of your shop next time. Make sure someone walks you to the parking lot every night. Reinforce the locks on your doors and windows at home.”

“First a bogus apology, now scare tactics. I can take care of myself, thank you. And Neal is a mixed-up young man, but he’s not a criminal. Go chase somebody else: She waved the envelope at him. “Here’s your money.

“I don’t want it; he said quietly. “And you need to take me seriously about Parnell. I’ll be around, if you want to discuss it some more:

‘


“What are you going to do, watch over me?”

He regarded her steadily. “Yes .”

Unexpected warmth cascaded over her, and she maintained her defiant pose with effort. “That’s ridiculous”