The Cowboy's Surrender (11 page)

Tossing her purse in the corner, she sat down at her desk. "Okay, what's happened now?" Her head pounded painfully. She felt a headache coming on. One that had started at the cafe.

"The joints in the pipe casing are locking up." Harold ran his fingers through his graying hair. "I checked the pipe dope. Someone mixed motor oil with it. A regular five-minute switch is taking fifteen minutes. Those joints are made every twenty-five feet, so you know what that means. This will shut us down for days."

Gillian massaged her temples with her fingertips. "Damn. Anybody have any idea who did it?"

"No. Whoever's doing this is sneaky as a thief in the night."

"You still think it's Dallas, don't you?"

Harold leaned forward. "So, it's
Dallas
now, is it? Not
Dallas McCade
or
Mr. McCade
? That bastard's not acting sweet on you to get closer to the rig, is he?"

Gillian shook her head and immediately wished she hadn't. "The man doesn't even like me, Harold. And he's not acting sweet on me."
Lust and desire didn't count as sweet, did it?

"A man doesn't have to like a woman to want her."

"Look, I appreciate what you're saying, but I really don't want to discuss my personal life." She smiled to soften her bluntness, then looked at him mischievously. "We could talk about
your
personal life though. I have a message from Sarah Sue."

Harold arched an eyebrow. "
Oh?
"

"She wants you to come to the Founder's Day Jubilee next Saturday."

Harold placed his hands behind his head and leaned his chair back. "She does, does she?"

Gillian thought he looked too much like a satisfied tomcat. She smiled. "Uh-huh. Says she'll meet you around four at the kissing booth."

The legs of the chair thumped on the floor. "
The kissing booth?
"

Now he looked like a scared rabbit. Gillian wanted to giggle, but didn't. "Don't worry. She won't be
in
the kissing booth. At least, I don't think she will."

Harold stood up quickly. "I won't be able to make it. Got to work Saturday."

"You're off and so am I. It might be interesting to mix with the locals and have some fun. You know what they say about all work and no play." Was she really trying to convince Harold to go . . . or herself?

Harold looked at her closely. "You want to go, don't you?"

Gillian felt her cheeks turning red. "Yes, but I don't want to go alone."

"What a mismatched pair we'll be," said Harold.

"We won't be
pair
. Not really
.
Sarah Sue will be there waiting for you. She likes you. And I don't think you're immune."

Harold's eyes held a definite twinkle. "No, I'm not immune. But if I go off with Sarah Sue, where will that leave you?"

Gillian didn't say anything for a minute, then shrugged. "I'll be okay, once I get there."

Harold arched an eyebrow again. "McCade's going to be there, isn't he?"

She straightened a stack of papers on her desk. Her head started pounding again. "I don't know and I don't care. I just think it would be fun to go. I've never been to a country fair before."

"You're not very good at lying. He's going to be there. You're not as indifferent to him as you pretend, are you?"

"That's none of your business."

"You
do
remember that he may be responsible for all the trouble we're having?"

"I don't think he's responsible."

"Is that your heart talking or your brain?"

Gillian sighed. "I don't know. I don't want it to be him."

Harold cursed under his breath. "Someone is trying to shut this rig down, and we need to find out who it is. Dallas McCade is the most likely suspect. Who else could possibly have a motive?"

Gillian swallowed a lump in her throat. "He's innocent, until proven otherwise."

"Yeah, right. Just watch yourself." He picked up his hardhat and left.

Gillian opened the top drawer of her desk and searched for her bottle of aspirin hidden beneath all the pencils, paper clips, and rubber bands. Surely, Dallas wasn't responsible for the mishaps that had occurred on the drilling site. Yet who else could it be?

She found the aspirin and swallowed two tablets. Harold was right. She wasn't very good at lying. To others or to herself. That's what she'd been doing for days. Maybe not exactly lying. She was in denial, that was it. For all her brave words at the cafe, she was extremely attracted to Dallas McCade. It was exciting and frightening at the same time.

She hadn't been attracted to anyone like this since she'd met her husband in college. Her dream of happily ever after had turned into the cold reality of being married to a big brute who drank too much. Before she could file for divorce, she was released from the nightmare when Nick was killed in a car accident.

Gillian twisted the wedding ring on her finger. She still wore it to remind herself about the dangers of getting involved with a man. It also helped ward off the advances of the men on the projects where she worked.

She tossed the aspirin bottle back in the drawer. In the last four years, she had only dated a couple of times. Her escorts were always small-statured men. Men who were complete opposites of her husband. Men whom she felt nothing for. She hadn't allowed herself to be attracted to anyone. It was too dangerous.

Dallas was big and tall. He scared her sometimes. No,
he
didn't scare her. The images he evoked frightened her. Dallas made her angry and frustrated with his rude, abrupt ways. He also made her hungry for passion like no one else ever had. She was definitely attracted to him. Maybe, just maybe, she was ready to do something about it.

****

The tantalizing smells of popcorn and hot dogs lingered on the warm breeze blowing over the fairgrounds. It seemed everyone in town and the outlying areas had come to enjoy the Founder's Day Jubilee. Gillian walked beside Harold, looking at all the booths, smiling at the children running around.

It was nearly four o'clock. Harold set a brisk pace, scanning the game booths and food stalls, trying to discover where the kissing booth was set up.

They passed the dunking booth, where a good-natured man sat on a platform, beckoning passersby to try their luck, taunting friends to hit the target.

"Hey, Kelsey McCade," the man called to a little girl skipping in front of Gillian. "You look like you have a good arm. It's hot up here. Give your old reverend a dunking."

The child laughed and paid for three balls. She took careful aim and missed the first two times, but the third ball hit the red and white bull's-eye, sending the reverend splashing into the clear vat of water. He came up sputtering.

"Are you cooler now?" the little girl asked, laughing. "Or should I go get my dad and uncles? I bet they could make you real wet and cool."

Gillian didn't stay to see the outcome, but hurried to catch up with Harold. That blond imp was a McCade. Probably one of Dallas's nieces.

Sarah Sue stood near a bright pink stall decorated with large red and white hearts. She was talking to an older woman and a very pregnant one, whom Gillian recognized as Jessie McCade. The waitress's face lit up when she spotted Gillian and Harold.

"Well, darlin'," she said to Gillian. "Glad you made it. And I'm real glad you brought Harold along, too." She winked at him, laughing when his cheeks reddened.

"My goodness, where are my manners?" said Sarah Sue. "This here is Ruth McCade. Dallas's mother. And this is my good friend, Jessie. Ruth and Jessie, this is Gillian and Harold. They work at the drilling site."

Gillian nodded at Ruth and smiled at Jessie.

Sarah Sue linked her arm through Harold's. Gillian watched the scared rabbit-look come into his eyes. The waitress was staking her claim and it seemed there wasn't much Harold could do about it.

"You ladies don't mind if we leave now, do you? I'm going to show Harold the sights." Without waiting for a reply, Sarah Sue whisked him away. They were soon lost in the crowd.

Gillian stared at Ruth and Jessie. All three burst into laughter.

"She isn't shy about what she wants, is she?" Gillian said.

Ruth shook her head. "That's our Sarah Sue. Not a shy bone in her body. She minds everyone's business, then takes care of it and her own. It's been a while since she took a fancy to a man. He doesn't stand a chance, does he, Jessie?"

"No, when Sarah Sue sets her mind on something, she usually gets it." Jessie fanned herself with her hands. "I need to find some shade and a cool drink."

Ruth opened her big black purse, produced an old-fashioned folded fan and handed it to Jessie. "Let's get you out of this blazing sun. You're welcome to come along with us," she said to Gillian.

"Thanks. I'd like that."

Ruth smiled and led the way. They stopped at one of the picnic tables near the concession stand. Ruth helped Jessie settle on the hard bench.

"I'll get the drinks," said Gillian. "Lemonade okay for everyone?"

Ruth patted Gillian's arm. "That would be lovely, dear. You're such a sweet young lady. I know I shouldn't like you, because you're working for Copper River Oil. I'm just going to ignore all that and pretend that you don't. Run along and get those drinks. Jessie looks like she's about to faint."

Gillian stood for a moment, not knowing how to reply to such a candid speech. Before she could take offense, she caught Jessie's amused look.

"You do seem to get the worst treatment from my relatives, don't you?" Jessie smiled with affectionate exasperation at her mother-in-law.

Ruth stared round-eyed at Jessie. "Whatever do you mean? Did I say something wrong?" She turned to Gillian with tears in her eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or offend you. It's just that Dallas is so upset about the drilling and I'm not too happy about it either. And you're such a sweet girl, like I said. Oh, dear." She searched in her purse again, pulled out a delicate lace handkerchief and blew her nose.

Gillian didn't dare catch Jessie's eye. "It's okay, really. I'll get those drinks now." She hurried to the counter and placed the order.

When she walked back to the table, she almost stumbled and spilled the drinks. Dallas and two other men were talking to Ruth and Jessie. She recognized the men from Billie G's. Gillian's heart flip-flopped when Dallas stepped toward her.

"Here, let me help you with those." His deep voice, for once devoid of anger and rudeness, squeezed at Gillian's heart.

He set the two drinks on the table. Jessie accepted hers gratefully and drank deeply. Color came back into her cheeks.

Dallas frowned at his sister-in-law. "You ought to go home. You don't look well."

"I'll be fine," she said, taking another drink.

"Keep an eye on her," he said to his mother.

Ruth nodded. "Don't you worry. I'm going to take good care of her."

Gillian stood a little away from the group, sipping her lemonade. She studied the men near the table. They must be Dallas's brothers. There were definite physical similarities. She caught the eye of the younger one who was staring openly at her.

He strolled around the table and extended his hand. "Since no one seems inclined to introduce us, I'll do it myself. I'm Tyler McCade and that's my brother, Austin."

Austin nodded to her and she smiled back. She shook Tyler's hand. "Gillian Bankston. I work for Copper River Oil."

"I already figured that out, honey," Tyler said. "Dallas told me all about you. He has his eye on you, if you haven't figured that out by now." He glanced sideways at his brother and grinned. Dallas scowled at him.

"There's nothing between us," she said. It wasn't a lie exactly. Sure, the chemistry between them could burn a hole in the ozone, but neither Dallas nor she wanted to acknowledge it or act upon it.

Tyler leaned closer. "There's something definitely going on between you two. He has it bad for you, honey. Just look at him. I don't think Dallas likes me talking to you."

"Why ever not?" She looked at Dallas. He was frowning, as usual.

Tyler chuckled. "Because I have a reputation with the ladies." He winked.

Gillian smiled at the younger McCade brother. He was a charmer, all right. She took another drink of lemonade and nearly choked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dallas stomping toward her. Her hand trembled slightly.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to exit, stage right." Tyler tipped his Stetson to his brother and stepped away.

Dallas took her elbow. "Walk with me."

Three words. Just those three words and she was ready to follow him anywhere. Gillian swallowed hard and nodded. She had it bad for him, too. The thing was, she didn't know what to do about it.