“When Neal had an alibi? When I’d showered away all the evidence before I worked up the courage to report it? When he wore a ski mask so I couldn’t see his face? When I’m a divorced woman who dated several different men during the time I went out with Neal? you’re in law enfprcement, Gabe. Be realistic .”

“I still say she knew him before and she swayed the jury so he’d be sure and get off.”

Celia laid down the scissors and took his face in both hands. She leaned down so her dark eyes looked directly into his. “I know you’re hurting, but doxi t strike out at someone who doesn’t deserve it .”

He grasped her wrists. “I want to kill him, Cel: ‘

Fear leaped into her eyes. “No, Gabe. Please don’t talk like that. You’d be the first person they’d come after if something happened to him: ‘

He took a deep breath. “That’s the only argument that’s kept me from wringing his lousy neck. I won’t be any help to you in j all Qr on the run. I won’t add to what you’ve been through.”

“Thank you.”

“But I’m going to get that guy. I don’t care how long it takes. I’m going to get him.”

“And you’re going to apologize to the jury foreperson ?” ,

“Uh…”

“Gabe Escalante! What would our mother and father have said if they were still around to say it? They taught you to be a gentleman, to treat others as you would like to be treated.”

“But I still don’t know that she didn’t “

“I do!” She shook him gently. “And so do you, if you think about it.” She smiled. “I realize apologies aren’t your long suit, but you really acted like a jerk. You owe it to her. Now promise me, or I wozi t finish this haircut”

“Hey, Cel, give me a break.”

“Promise me.”

He sighed. “Okay.”

SATURDAY night when Dallas arrived at the shop she changed the water in the flower vase and made a new diagonal cut on the stem of each rose. Then she placed the arrangement in the front of the shop, just so Gabe Escalante wouldn’t miss it if he happened to come back. Not that she expected him to. And she’d certainly prefer that he didn’t.

She wondered what he’d done about his unfinished haircut. Served him right. She’d saved the money he’d insolently flung on the counter and had placed it in an envelope. If he showed up at Rowdy Ranch, she d get one of the waitresses to deliver it to IZim. There would be much satisfaction in doing that, but, of course, if he didn’t show up, so much the better. She never wanted to see that chiseled warrior face again.

An overflow crowd kept the hair salon busy. Amber had recently started offering manicures, which had become surprisingly popular, so both women worked nearly nonstop for the first three hours they were open.

Finally there was a lull and Amber slipped out to grab a cup of coffee while Dallas took a quick inventory of supplies for her regular run to the beauty supply store on Monday. She was firushing the list when Neal Parnell walked in.

“The roses are looking good; he said with a sly wink. He wore a bright orange shirt patterned with cattle brands, and a rattlesnake hatband on his Stetson

“They’re very nice .” She tucked the supply list in her pocket and hoped she was wrong about what was coming next. He took off his hat and hung it on the rack at the front of the store. Her stomach clenched.

“Thought I’d get myself a haircut.”

She was trapped. Amber was takin ga well-deserved break, and besides, Amber wouldn’t be happy if Dallas passed Neal along to her. She forced a smile. “Fine. Have a seat.”

He took the chair as if it were a throne, leaned back and closed his eyes. “I checked out the routine here. I want the works, whatever it costs.”

“I give all my customers the same service.”

He chuckled and opened his eyes. “That’s not what I hear. The word is you threw some dude out of here last rught when he was only half-done. I woulddt want that happening to me. I like to finish what I start:

‘


“He was rude.” Dallas picked up the massage wand. “I’m sure you wouldn’t be rude.”

“That’s right. During the trial, did I ever lose my temper? Did I ever say anything tenible?”

“No .” She snapped on the wand and eased it across his shoulders.

“Ah, that feels real good, Dallas.”

“It’s meant to relax you.”

“I’m already relaxed, sweetheart. you’re the one who seems uptight:

‘


And she was. She worked with the public nearly every day and she’d learned to accept all types of people Nearly everyone had some characteristic she could relate to, something that would provide enough common ground to last the space of a shampoo and haircut But with Neal she didn’t even want to try.

She recalled her own words to Amber, protesting that Neal deserved to be treated like anyone else. She resolved to live by her belief. “How’s the car-sales business ?” she asked, pumping cheer into her voice.

“I don’t want to talk about car sales, sweet thing. I want to talk about you and me .”

Dallas’s jaw tightened. This wouldn’t be easy, but she’d handled persistent men before. She laughed as she turned the chair to face the mirror and shook out the cape. “Neal, we wouldn’t get along at all. You said it yourself. I’m a workaholic. Always will be. You like to party. Besides, I’m almost thirty-too old for you.”

“I prefer older women. They know the ropes.”

“Well, this older woman is not a possibility for you ” she said and adjusted the chair backward toward the shampoo bowl. As she tucked a towel under his neck, he grinned up at her. “you’re playing hard to get. That can be lots of fun. Just don’t run away too fast.”

“You completely misunderstand me, she said, and turned on the water with more force than necessary. As she worked the shampoo through his dampened brown hair, he angled his elbow so she had to work to avoid brushing her leg against it. She’d encountered that maneuver , too, but not so much recently. Usually the signals she sent out were received and her customers enjoyed the experience without pushing for more than she offered.

“You have wonderful hands, Dallas, he said.

She didn’t reply, but some instinct made her glance out the front of the shop into the dance complex. There at one of the nearby pool tables stood Gabe Escalante.

Even though he wore a hat, she could tell that the sides of his hair had been evened by someone. The job didn’t look quite up to her standards, but it was passable His brown plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled back looked like a twin of the one he’d worn the day before. She could still remember how the soft material yielded as she’d moved the massage wand over the tight muscles of his back.

He held a cue stick in one hand, and his hair sprinkled forearm flexed as he tightened his grip. He glanced with disdain at Neal reclining in the chair. When his gaze returned to her, his uncompromising expression told her exactly what he was thinking. She lifted her chin defiantly, and he turned away.

“Dallas, you’re not paying attention to your customer ; Neal complained.

She looked down at her hands and realized she’d stopped lathering his hair. She finished up quickly and rinsed the soap away.

Gabe had figured Parnell would return to Rowdy Ranch tonight. The punk had dragged along a couple of his drinking buddies this time, both of whom had been carded at the door. Gabe wasn’t surprised that Parnell’s friends were younger than he was. They were obviously his lackeys, impressionable kids who were susceptible to a guy with money to throw around.

Parnell had danced a little and had a couple of beers while he watched Dallas and Ambe in the shop. When Amber had left, Parnell had started over. Gabe had decided he could use a game of pool. And there was the matter of an apology. He might as well get the damn thing over with once Parnell left the shop.

He hadn’t counted on having such a visceral reaction when Dallas began running her lathered hands through Parnell’s hair. Gabe didn’t want her touching that piece of slime. It took all his self-control not to go in and drag Parnell from the chair, or better yet, drown him slowly in the shampoo bowl-although drowrung was too good for him. As Gabe had followed the bastard around the past two days, he’d amused himself by dreaming up all sorts of exquisite tortures designed to punish a rapist.

But he could do nothing now-except maybe get the six ball in the side pocket. He was lining up the shot when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He glanced around and saw a man with a full gray beard eyeing him none too graciously. Gabe straightened.

“I don’t know what’s going on around here; the man said, “but I don’t much like it when my friend Dallas has to put up with scum.”

Gabe braced his cue stick on the carpet and leaned against it. “And?”

“She told me what you accused her of last night: ‘

Then Gabe remembered who the guy was. “you’re the photographer.”

“I’ve known Dallas for better than a year, and you won’t find a straighter shooter than she is. I don’t think much of that Parnell fellow, either, but if Dallas believes he’s innocent, then I believe he s innocent. And I won’t have you or anybody else tarnishing her good name. “

“I appreciate that, Mr.-?”

“Fogarty, Dave Fogarty.”

Gabe held out his hand. “Gabe Escalante: ‘

Fogarty hesitated, then shook his hand with obvious reluctance. “I meant what I said, Escalante.”

Sizing up Fogarty and digesting his loyalty to Dallas , Gabe was beginning to see just how wrong he’d been about her. His gut had told him she was okay, but he’d ignored his instincts-always a mistake-and jumped to some stupid conclusion. Celia had been right. He’d gone off half-cocked. “Well, I plan to apologize to Dallas tonight for what I said.”

A gleam appeared in Dave Fogarty’s eyes. “Do you? I’m glad you told me that. Should be fun watching.”

Gabe glanced uneasily at the hair salon. “Why is that?”

“If you knew Dallas better you’d understand just how deep you cut with that accusation. I’m not sure a simple apology will do the trick, but it’ll be entertaining to watch you try.”

Gabe groaned inwardly.

“I also have to ask myself why you seem to be around whenever this Parnell shows up : You following him or something?”

“You might say that .”

Fogarty’s gaze narrowed. “Are you one of those guys that takes the law into his own hands?”

“No. I just want to keep an eye on him. You and Dallas can believe he s innocent if you want, but I don’t .”

“Why do you care?”

Gabe forced himself to remain casual. “Let’s just say I’m a concerned citizen.”

“and you’re not such a bad pool player, either; Fogarty said, his tone reflecting grudging respect. “I’ve been watching you.” ,

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.