“Not if Parnell’s picked you as his next victim: Gabe turned and walked out of the shop.

MINUTES AFTER GABE LEFT the shop, Dave Fogarty showed up, looking sheepish.

Dallas glared at him. “I thought you offered to protect me from him.”

,


“Well, I talked with the guy and ” He shrugged. “He seems okay.”

“He plays a good game of pool, is what you mean to say. “Now, Dallas, it’s not just that. I put a lot of store by a person’s handshake, and if they look me in the eye when I meet them.” Dave scratched his beard. “Didn’t seem like you accepted his apology.”

Dallas’s laugh was short and harsh. “That man wouldn’t know an apology if it bit him in the backside”

“I figured as much. But I think he’s okay. Doxi t know what his deal is with Parnell, though.”

“Let me tell you.” Dallas lined up the bottles of shampoo and conditioner more precisely on the shelf behind the shampoo bowl. “Mr. Escalante should have been born a hundred years ago, when differences of opinion were settled at high noon in some dusty cow town

Street He’s trying to create drama where there is none, because he’s bored with the civilized life the rest of us enjoy. Did you know he s a bounty hunter?”

Dave’s eyes widened. “No, I didn’t.”

“My guess is he’s between jobs right now and needs something to occupy his time. Go ahead and play pool with him if you want, Dave, but I sure wouldn’t take anything he says seriously.”

Dave glanced back at the bar where Gabe was sitting with his hand wrapped around a mug of beer. “A bounty hunter, huh? I didn’t think they existed anymore

“He calls himself a bail-enforcement officer.” Dallas’s voice slid mockingly over the description. “I think he has an exaggerated idea of his importance in this world.”

Dave returned his attention to Dallas. “I hope it won’t bother you if I play pool with him now and then. He can really shoot out the lights with that stick: ‘

Dallas shook her head. Apparently men were more easily fooled by macho swagger than women. “No, I doxi t care, Dave. just so I don’t have to deal with him anymore.

During THE rrE7CT week, Dallas wondered if Neal realized he had a shadow. Every time he came into Rowdy Ranch, she had only to look around a few minutes later to see Gabe at the bar or choosiqg a cue stick at the pool tables near her shop. But other people came into the dance hall every night, so maybe Neal hadn’t taken notice of Gabe.

Dallas wished she could ignore him, too, but his presence unsettled her more than she cared to admit. Apparently she wasn’t the only woman who experienced a rush of adrenaline whenever Gabe showed up.

He began getting dance requests, and eventually he accepted a few. When he was on the floor with someone in his arms, Dallas battled an underlying agitation that made no sense. Why should she care if he danced, and with whom? But she found herself judging each partner s attractiveness and skill. Even Amber noticed her preoccupation, and Dallas had to do some fast talking to convince Amber she wasn’t interested in Gabe.

During the evening she tried not to leave herself open to advances from Neal, but he caught her on Thursday rught when she stopped by the bar for a glass of soda.

“Takinga break, sweet thing?” He leaned against the bar, nearly touching her.

She shifted away from him. “Just getting something to drink.”

“How about a dance?” He glanced toward the shop. “Nobody’s waiting for one of your famous haircuts right now.”

She grabbed the cold glass that the bartender handed her. “Thanks, anyway, but I’m expect inga customer any minute;’ she said, starting away from the bar.

“Is that right?” Neal caught her arm and she flinched. “I’d hate to think you were telling old Neal a story.”

She glanced back at him and eased her arm from his grip. “I work for a living; she said with more acidity than she’d intended. But he was restricting her freedom of movement, and she didn’t like it. “I can’t go running off whenever I get the urge.”

“And are you getting the urge?” he asked with a smile.

“Excuse me. I have to get back : She turned and hurried toward the shop, but her way was blocked by her other nemesis, who stepped away from the pool table and into her path.

“Yoa’d better think about what I said. Parnell’s becoming more persistent; Gabe said, studying her.

“I’d say you both hold the world’s record for that hait .” “don’t let anger make you careless : The rough timbre of his voice and the intensity in his eyes stopped her from walking away

She swallowed. “I can handle him.”

“In here, maybe. But out there? Doxi t kid yourself.” His glance moved over her. “And that outfit doesn’t help your cause, either. You must know you’re dressed like every cowboy’s dream: ‘

Against her will her body responded with a warm flush.

“Now it’s real nice for those of us with some restraint ; he continued, “but tempt inga man like Parnell with tight little shorts is dangerous”

“I beg your pardon!” she exclaimed, glad for an excuse to be angry. “What I wear is none of your concern !”

“I’m only trying to warn you.”

“Save it : She pushed past him and stormed into her shop, her heart beating wildly. Once again he’d completely destroyed her composure. What right did he have making such personal comments about her appearance ? Some nerve, to discuss her tight shorts.

Which means he’s noticed, whispered her libido And you like that, don’t you? Desire, so carefully monitored and controlled, began stretching within her. She didn’t want to feel this craving for Gabe Escalante, but apparently she couldn’t help herself.

As the minutes ticked away, she was aware of every move he made over by the pool tables. And with that awareness, passion shouldered its way to the forefront of her consciousness. She’d never paid much attention to the lyrics of the country songs played at Rowdy Ranch, but tonight the words of love and lust wouldn’t leave her alone. I want you, crooned a song, and instinctively

Dallas glanced over at the pool tables.

As if sensing the direction of her gaze, he looked up. She turned away, not ready to confront that heated stare. Moments later, she found herself watching him again, and again he lifted his head from the shot he’d been about to make. This time she didn’t look away. Love me tonight, demanded another song. Love me now. Love me right. She noticed Gabe’s fingers tighten on the pool cue and saw a muscle hvitch in his jaw. Longing exploded within Dallas and she trembled. Her customer spoke to her, and with an effort she broke the charged connection with Gabe.

She forced herself to concentrate on her work, until a familiar phrase from a new song distracted her again. Somethingabout “a cowboy s dream.” That’s what Gabe had called her. She’d been unable to forget the way he’d looked at her when he’d said it, as if he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless. She’d reacted to his comments with anger because she couldn’t allow him to see that he’d touched a deep chord of sensuality that was still vibrating.

She tried to ignore the song, but the words hammered at her. And I’m going crazy, no matter how cool

Iseem, ‘cause she is the answer to this cowboy’s dream. Dallas clenched her jaw. She wouldn’t look at Gabe. She wouldn’t. But at last she peeked in the direction of the pool tables. He wasn’t there. Disappointment felt like a soggy lump in her stomach.

Wondering if he’d left for the night, she glanced out toward the bar. He sat on a stool, a half-empty mug of beer in one hand, his gaze fastened on her.

The song’s refrain swirled between them-cause she is the answer to this cowboy’s dream. Dallas’s heartbeat quickened as he slowly raised the mug in salute. Then he winked, tilted back his head and drained the contents of the mug. When she returned to her haircut, her hands quivered so much she almost snipped off the tip of her customer s ear.

THE NExT MoRNING Dallas made a long-overdue phone call across town to her mother. She hoped Lucille Frakes had found a job. When she and Dallas’s stepfather had decided to relocate from Texas to Arizona, Dallas had thought she’d be able to convince her mother to find work. Lucille was far too dependent on Jeb Frakes for Dallas’s taste, but then her mother had always allowed men, including Dallas’s father, to dominate her.

After answering the phone and sounding delighted to talk, Lucille chattered in southern-belle style about the activities of Dallas’s trvo brothers, two sisters and their respective offspring. Dallas listened patiently until her mother wound down.

“Any luck with a job?” she asked finally.

There was a pause. “Well, you know that Jeb prefers I not work.” Lucille sounded as if she were sitting on a veranda sipping mint juleps and supervising the help.

But Dallas knew they didn’t have much money, and Jeb was making very little as a clerk in an auto-parts store. “Mom, I don’t think “

“Dallas, you’re not married, and you don’t know about these things. Most men’s egos can’t stand up to a woman bringing in money of her own. I tried that with your father, and you see what happened.”

Dallas wanted to scream, but even screaming wouldn’t change the way her mother looked at life. Deserted by one weak man when Dallas was sixteen, Lucille had promptly found another whose self-esteem fed on denying any to his wife. Dallas had moved away from Amarillo partly to free herself from her stepfather’s dictatorial ways. But ten years had passed, and Dallas foolishly had dreamed that she could influence her mother to lead a more productive existence than catering to the whims of a middle-aged man.