“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.
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?”