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.