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”

“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: ‘