Lone Calder Star by Janet Dailey

filled it with beer from the tap, and carried it back to him. She stopped short of setting it on the counter before him, her eyes narrowing into dark points.
    "Are you that new guy that took over the Cee Bar?" she demanded.
    "Yes."
    "I figured you probably were." She plopped the mug on the counter. "That'll be two dollars, cash." She stood there, making it plain that she wasn't about to leave until he paid for his drink.
    Quint took a couple one-dollar bills from his pocket and pushed them across the counter to her.
    She scooped up the money and stuck it in her apron pocket, then reversed direction and headed to the opposite end of the bar.
    Within minutes, Quint sensed a change. There were no more curious glances directed his way.
    Any that he happened to encounter were quickly averted. One by one the stools closest to him were vacated until only those at the opposite end of the bar were For the first time, he questioned the wisdom of asking Dallas to meet him here for a drink, aware that his reasons were completely seIfish. He had just decided to leave before she could arrive when she walked through the door.
    He was held motionless by the sight of her. Her hair was down, falling loose and soft about her face. All the previous times it had been confined by a clasp or tucked under a cap; the change was stunning.
    But it was more than her hair that was different. Gone was the plain white blouse that she'd worn at the restaurant. In its place was a snug-fitting T-shirt that molded itself to the rounded contours of her breasts and stopped a centimeter short of her waist. It was a soft green color that highlighted the coppery sheen of her hair and the tan shade of her eyes. The result was all woman, breezily confident and subtly sexy.
    Quint tried to be sorry that he hadn't left before she came, but he couldn't. Those twinges of conscience weren't nearly as strong as the raw desire he felt.
    "Hi." She climbed onto the stool next to him, her lips glistening with a fresh coat of coral gloss that seemed to invite him to test their slickness. "I got through sooner than I thought."
    "Sooner than I expected." He was glad about that.
    "Hello, Tillie." She smiled at the woman with easy unconcern. "I'll have a beer, same as him," she said, pointing sideways at Quint.
    Quint had the money out and on the counter when she returned with Dallas's beer. Tillie glanced Page 36

    at the bills, then shot a pointed look at Dallas.
    "Are you going to let him pay for it?" The question bordered on a warning that forcibly reminded Quint of his previous misgivings.
    "That's the general idea," Dallas replied.
    The woman shook her head in mild disapproval, swept up the money, and stuffed the bills in her apron pocket with the rest. Quint waited until she moved out of earshot.
    "Maybe it was a bad idea for you to meet me here," he said, still keeping an eye on the bartender.
    Dallas glanced sideways at him, a smile showing. "I knew what I was doing when I came. But it's nice that you're a little concerned."
    "If Rutledge retaliates over this," Quint began, anger fisting in side him, "I want to know."
    Dallas smiled at his noble words, wise enough to know there way absolutely nothing Quint Echohawk could do about it if Rutledge chose to make an example of her.
    "A warning is likely all I'll get," she replied, knowing that the threat would come only if she repeated the offense.
    "He has that much leverage that a warning would be enough?" Quint lifted the beer mug and took a sip from it.
    "This is a small town," Dallas reminded him. "If he isn't the landlord or employer, then he's the biggest customer. He has the leverage. As the old saying goes-it's his way or the highway."
    "What keeps you here?" There was something more personal than idle curiosity in the warm probe of his gaze.
    "Right now it's practical. The rent's cheap, my job at the feed store pays above average, and it's an easy commute for my night courses at college." Dallas omitted any mention of