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He shot a questioning look at the old rancher. “That looks like your truck, Empty.”
Empty hastily ducked his head and pivoted toward the door, muttering, “Better check on that soup ’fore it boils over.”
Quint had little time to wonder why Empty was so eager to slip into the house. The white pickup had already reached the ranch yard. It made an initial swing toward the barn before the wheel was jerked, aiming the pickup at the house. As it plowed to a stop, kicking up more dust, Quint came down the steps to meet its occupant.
He halted in surprise when Dallas piled out of the cab and charged up the walk to him, her copper hair glinting in the sunlight, a crackling, contagious energy in her swift stride. There was a great swelling lift of emotion within him, something powerful and nameless.
“Dallas.” He had barely uttered her name when the flat of her hand whacked against his jaw.
All of her weight was behind the swing, the impact of it sufficient to knock Quint off balance. She was on him in a flash, unleashing a torrent of abuse. Quint was too busy fending off the forceful blows aimed at his head to make sense of any of it.
His fingers finally closed around a slim wrist. Its capture made the snaring of its twin much easier. But it only intensified her fury as she struggled and kicked.
With his own anger growing, Quint twisted her arms behind her back, bringing her up hard against his body. “What the hell’s going on?” he demanded, looking down at pale brown eyes that seemed to glitter with hatred.
“You dirty lying bastard.” Her voice vibrated with bitter loathing. “All that talk about not wanting to cause trouble for anyone—it was nothing but a lie.”
“What are you talking about?” he demanded again.
“Just let me go!” She struggled wildly, her voice rising. “You’re no better than Rutledge. Do you hear? I swear I could kill you.”
Hatred poured from her, the harshness of it at odds with the rounded feel of her body pressed so snugly against him. With her lips forming more vicious accusations, Quint had only one thought and that was to silence them.
He clamped his mouth across hers, smothering her gurgle of outrage. There was an anger of his own in the driving pressure of his mouth, an anger that it was her hatred she was heaping on him when it was something else he wanted. And a bitterness, too, that she would believe those things about him.
But the natural pliancy of her lips soon awakened needs of another kind. Quint felt the ache of it in his loins and in his chest. It was a regret that it was never likely to be between them that had him easing up on the pressure.
Only when he lifted his head did he notice that she stood motionless, no longer struggling to break free. In absolute silence, she stared back at him, all wide-eyed and a little stunned.
“That’s a fast way of shutting her up when she blows her temper.” Empty’s marveling voice made Quint aware that they weren’t alone.
Breathing a little heavier than normal, Quint released her wrists from his cuffing grip and stepped back from her. The separation seemed to allow his mind to return to its logical thought pattern.
“I take it Dallas is your granddaughter,” he said to Empty without letting his gaze stray from her face.
“You didn’t know?” she murmured, not at all certain she should believe that.
“How could I?” Quint countered. “I don’t even know your last name. In case you’ve forgotten, we never got around to introductions.”
“No, we didn’t,” she admitted, dropping her glance to a midway point on his chest. It snapped back to his face, with some of its previous fire. “How could you do it? Why on earth did you have to hire him to work here? For heaven’s sake, he’s an old man! He’s been through enough!”
“You hold it right there, young lady,” Empty cut in sharply. “Before you throw out any more accusations, you’d better get your facts straight. It was me that approached Quint about working here, not the other way around.”
“It doesn’t matter whose idea it was,” Dallas retorted hotly. “It still ends up the same—you’re working here. Didn’t either of you think that Rutledge wouldn’t find that out?”
“I expected it.” But Quint hadn’t expected that it would involve Dallas in any way.
Empty dragged in a deep breath and sighed it out, then arched a knowing look at Quint. “Like I said a minute ago, trouble never comes from the place where you think it will.” With a certain grimness, he redirected his attenti
on to Dallas. “It’s for sure that you didn’t accidentally find out I’ve been working here. I don’t think you would’ve worked yourself up into such a lather all on your own.”
“Boone came by the feed store and insisted I have lunch with him,” Dallas replied with biting emphasis.
“Obviously there was more to it than that,” Quint stated. “We were just about to sit down to lunch ourselves. You might as well come in and tell us what all he had to say.”
Dallas hesitated an instant. “I promise you, none of it was good.” The heaviness of defeat was in her voice, but she moved past him to the steps.
Chapter Nine
