“Forget what I asked you a while ago; she said. “It’s none of my business : ,

“Are you going to be able to find your eggs under all that pepper?”

She stared down at her plate in dismay. Her eggs looked as if they d been directly under Mount Saint Helens when it erupted.

He reached over and took the pepper shaker out of her hand, keeping hold of her hand in the process. “It is your business; he said gently. “I’m not used to talking about my personal life, that’s all : ‘

“I understand: She tried to pull her hand away. “I was prying. I didn’t mean to.”

His voice was soft. “Didn’t you?”

“Okay. I want to know about you, Gabe.”

His thumb brushed her knuckles. “You were right last night. We are different. But in some ways we’re not. Neither of us is halter broke His smile was wry. “That’s why my marriage didn’t work out.”

She stiffened. “I have no intention of tying you down.”

“I know.” He continued to caress her hand. “But like it or not, sometime during the night we passed the point of no return. IVo matter what happens now, we’ll always be important to each other. We can’t change that. Not now.”

DALLAS LOOKED at their clasped hands, his blunt and workmanlike, hers tapered and pale in contrast. The point of no return. She hadn’t thought it through, but she understood what he meant. Her inner debate over , whether to consider a relationship with Gabe was over. In a night filled with intimate moans and whispered desires, a relationship had begun.

“The way I see it; he began, “you could use someone around for a few days, until something happens with Parnell .”

She glanced into his eyes with a half smile. “How about for a few nights?”

“That, too .”

A thrill ran through her at the look in his eyes. He’d unmasked his desire, allowed hex to see how much he wanted her. He was far from revealing all his thoughts to her, but he no longer bothered to keep his passion a secret. He’d told her during the night how she d affected him with her sensuous washing of his hair, how he’d tamped down his reaction to her from that moment on. From the expression on his face now, he was tamped down no longer.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a roommate,” she confessed. “I’m not sure how good I am at sharing my space. “

“I’m not sure I’m any good at it, either. You might as well know I’ve been accused of being moody and stubborn : ‘

She laughed. “No, really?”

“Yeah.” He grinned and released her hand. “Our breakfast’s getting cold. I’ll tell you all about my failed marriage to Anna while we eat, if it won’t ruin your appetite.”

Anna. He’d said her name with a certain tenderness that unleashed jealousy in Dallas, an emotion she probably had no reason for or right to. She’d spent one night with this man, and she had no claims. Yet her attempt to listen dispassionately failed, and she barely tasted her food as Gabe talked of his former love.

Gradually a story emerged of two people who had married young and struggled with financial problems. He discussed Annas inability to conceive, which bothered her more than it did him. Gabe’s portrait of his ex-wife was compassionate, but Dallas could tell he thought of Anna as a child who had expected him to direct her every move. Dallas took comfort in knowing she and Anna were very different.

“Then I got into the bail-enforcement business. Turned out I liked it a lot, and she hated everything about it-the potential for violence, the uncertain hours, the trips out of the country.”

Dallas listened carefully. Was he giving her a warning about the helter-skelter life he lived?

“Anna discovered she couldn’t live for weeks at a time without someone helping her make decisions. She turned to Jose, who helped her decide to divorce me and marry him, instead.” His words sounded matter-of fact, but a catch in his voice told Dallas the hurt and sense of betrayal still lingered.

“Did you ever consider giving up-” Dallas paused and was careful to choose the right term “-bail enforcement ?”

“No. I used to think I was a quiet, family-man type, but I’ve discovered I’m not. Maybe, if we’d had kids, I might have become like that.”

Dallas studied Gabe over the rim of her coffee mug and tried to imagine him as a domesticated male. “I doubt it: ‘

“Yeah; he admitted with a sigh. “Me, too. You know that song about a little less talk and a lot more action? I’m a real fan of that song.” He pushed back his chair. “And right now I’ve had about all the sitting around I can take for a while. What are your plans for the day?”

Dallas had been so engrossed in thinking about Gabe in action, a concept she cherished despite her misgivings about his profession, that she had to stop and thixik. Of course she had plans for the day. Her free time was crammed with projects and the work never seemed to get done. But having Gabe here had drummed everything right out of her mind. “It’s Saturday, right?” she said, feeling foolish for having to ask.

“Unless last night changed the moon and stars, I do believe it’s Saturday. But anything’s possible.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment .”

His gaze softened. “Be my guest.”

She hesitated, wanting to say this right. “I… appreciate your confiding in me. “

“No problem .”

She knew he wasn’t as offhand about their discussion as he’d like her to believe, but at least he’d allowed her a look behind his forbidding exterior. Not long ago he’d been punished for being himself. That explained a lot about his wariness. Not that he’d been transformed into an open book. The air of mystery surrounding him remained, even when he smiled. Sometimes especially when he smiled.

“If it’s Saturday, she said, “I’m scheduled to pick up four bales of hay, muck out the corral, reset a fence post, give Gretchen a bath and hot-oil treatment, do a load of wash and call my mother.”

He leaned back on two legs of the chair. “That’s all? And here I thought you might be busy.”

“How about you? What’s on your agenda?”

“Keeping you safe “

Her smile faded as she remembered the terror she’d experienced the night before. Being in Gabe’s arms until dawn had temporarily blotted out that frightening moment when Gretchen’s bark had announced an intruder Or had it really been an intruder? In the daylight

Dallas was inclined to believe the disturbance could as easily have been a neighbor’s cat as Neal Parnell

She stood and began clearing the breakfast dishes. “Maybe we re overreacting here.”

There was a sudden stillness about him, like an animal pausing to test the air. Then he picked up the remairung dishes and followed her to the sink. “Meaning ?”

She shrugged. “I appreciate the thought, but I hardly think my safety constitutes a twenty-four-hour job. I’m sure you have some things to do. I feel as if this is keeping you from your work.”

“My work is sporadic, he said, almost too casually. “But I don’t want to crowd you. Your safety can also be guaranteed if I follow Parnell, so if you’d like me to make myself scarce, I can oblige.”

She turned. The cautious look on his face told her the ease they d achieved with each other was balanced precariously on this topic, but she had trouble sharirqg his obsession about Parnell. After all, the guy hadn’t really done anything yet. Maybe he would still fade away, and she wouldn’t have to worry about him or his implied threat to her financial security. She hesitated to tell Gabe what Neal had said about knowing her banker. Gabe would only get even more riled up about the guy.

But all that aside, she longed to know Gabe better, and she reached to retrieve the closeness they’d found during breakfast. “I could use some help mucking out the corral, if you aren’t allergic to a shovel; she said, keeping her tone light. “And if your back’s up to loading the hay in my truck, I wouldn’t turn down that offer , either.”

He nodded, but his openness had disappeared. “Okay. I need to get some clothes, take care of some odds and aids, but I can be back in less than two hours, if you want to put those things off until then.”

“Sure.” She stuck her hands in the pockets of the jeans she’d put on after her morning shower. “Want to help with the dogs too?”

“I can do that.”

She cursed silently to herself. He was like a desert tortoise-one loud noise and he pulled into that armored shell of his. She wished she could have known him without Neal being part of the picture, but, of course, she’d never have met Gabe without Neal. She wanted to probe into that whole business and find out what really drove Gabe to shadow Neal, but now was obviously not the time to get some answers.

He tipped his head toward her kitchen wall phone. “Can I make some calls?”

“Certainly.” She hated the formality that caused him to have to ask. While she rinsed the dishes she tried no t to listen in on the conversation, but it was tough not to hear because Gabe took no particular pains to keep his messages private.

He talked with someone named Diego and asked him to track down Parnell, who was probably sleeping off the night’s activities at his apartment. Then he covered the mouthpiece and turned to her. “I need to give my friend the number here, if it’s okay.”

“It’s okay.” She wondered if they’d bridge this gap between them once again or if they’d discover they were totally incompatible, that the night before had been a fluke, and they were better off going their separate ways. She sighed and began stacking the dishes in the dishwasher.

He hung up the phone and walked toward her. “I’ll be back about ten. Anything you need from town?”

She glanced up at him. “A half-gallon of coffee ice cream. I’ll get you some mo “

“Never mind that : He grabbed his jacket and started out the door. “Thanks for breakfast.”

After the door closed Dallas smacked her hand down on the kitchen counter so hard her palm stung. But she was glad she’d asked for the ice cream. It looked as if she was going to need that ice cream.

ALL THE wAY BACK to his apartment, Gabe lectured himself for being twenty kinds of a fool. Sure, Dallas had enjoyed last night as much as he had, but she wasn’t losing her head. She, at least, had the sense to put some distance between them. Not an impulsive person, that one. But he, on the pther hand, seemed driven by his impulses.

The pattern was becoming depressingly familiar. Once again he d allowed his emotions to rule where Dallas was concerned, and once again she’d brought him crashing back to reality. Now it was time to mop up.

Sparse Saturday-morrung traffic didn’t demand much of his attention, leaving him free to assess his situation with Dallas. The smart thing would be to stay out of her bed, but he knew himself better than that. With the experience of loving her so fresh, the excitement still humming through him, he couldn’t walk away from the chance of holding her again. Maybe in a ferv days, when the novelty had worn off, he d be able to walk away. Or maybe shed walk away herself. Probably she would be the one. But she wasn’t doing that now. For whatever her reasons, she wanted more or she wouldn’t have invited him back to share her chores. He was at least smart enough to figure that out.

But was he smart enough to get through this brief affair unscathed? His best chance, he reasoned, was if he didn’t allow her under his skin, didn’t repeat this mo ming’s idiocy of pouring out his heart to her. He’d explained why Anna had left him in terms that probably reminded Dallas’why she didn’t want a permanent relationship, either. She was a lot different from Anna, a lot more independent, but that didn’t mean she’d be happy with a guy who lived the way he did.

What was it she’d said? Maybe we’re overreacting. Once again, she wanted to downplay the threat of Parnell He could have told her about Celia, probably should have. Except he could guess how shed respond She’d accuse him of lacking objectivity and using

Parnell as a scapegoat. He couldn’t tell her yet. He needed to wait until there was a chance she’d believe Parnell raped Celia. Right now she was still clinging to the verdict she’d helped deliver.

In the meantime, he needed to remember to pick up his six-pack cooler from his apartment. She’d asked for ice cream, and he’d be damned if he’d bring it to her melted.

DALLAS WAS PUTTING AWAY the last of her clean clothes when Amber called.

“So?” Amber said. “How did last night go?”

“Uh…” Dallas should have expected Amber to call and find out what Gabe had thought of her security system.