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gradually closed the distance between us. The
State Trooper turned on his lights and siren when I passed him, and
the truck dropped back and turned around. By the time I told the
Trooper what happened, the men had disappeared. The Trooper
followed me to the Snyder city limits to be sure they didn’t
reappear."
    Will face was grim. "Man, I hate to think of
that sort of thing going on around here. We've always had a pretty
safe and friendly community." He took a sip of his Dr Pepper and
asked, "Can you identify them?" He had given his entire attention
to her while she spoke, but now picked up his hamburger and took a
large bite from it.
    "You bet I can! Since I have no license
number for the truck, I don't expect that to happen. You know how
many red trucks there are in this state." She gave a shrug of
dismissal. Without more details than she offered authorities, she
knew the chance of locating the truck and the two men to be almost
nonexistent.
    "There must be thousands of pickups in West
Texas that fit that description." He gave her a searching
appraisal. "Well, at least you got away."
    Aurora hated thoughts of those two men. Even
more, she hated their escape. They might try the same thing on
another woman, with more success next time. She waved her left
forefinger in the direction of his cast and changed the subject.
"So, what about you? What did you do to your leg?"
    He took another sip of his drink and
straightened the cutoff jeans above his cast before he explained.
"About two months ago, we moved some cattle from one range to
another. This one big cow and her calf took off in the wrong
direction and I rode around to turn her back."
    A flush of embarrassment crept across his
face. "I watched the cow's progress instead of mine. My horse
jumped a bush, not realizing a big drop off waited on the other
side of the bush. One minute I sat on my horse, the next minute the
horse lay on me. We both landed in a gully on a giant red ant
bed."
    He looked with disgust at his leg. "I'm
stuck with this thing on my leg for about another month or so."
    Her green eyes held total innocence. "Oh,
my. That's too bad. I do hope the horse is okay."
    Will flashed a sardonic grin. "The horse is
fine, thank you." He should be angry at her goading. The truth
struck him that her impish grin and sparkling green eyes made him
forget he ever experienced anger at her.
    He watched her as she very carefully put a
mound of catsup on her plate. With great care she dipped just the
tips of her French fries into the catsup. Damn, this woman was
crazy, he reasoned. Well, yes, his heart countered. It's a nice
crazy, though, and she makes you feel a little crazy yourself.
    He contemplated these new feelings with awe.
After more than three years of life by remote control, he acted
like a randy kid again. The flick of her tongue across her lips to
catch an errant bit of catsup sent his dormant hormones boiling to
the surface. He shook his head slowly. What in hell’s happening to
me?
    He shook his head before he saw twinkling
emerald eyes regarding him with amusement. "I thought good guys
wore white hats and bad guys wore black. Why is your hat gray? Does
that mean you can't decided whether you're good or bad?"
    Damn! This redhead really had his blood
pressure rising. If she could read his thoughts, she would realize
just how appropriate her question seemed. He adjusted his frame on
the booth’s seat and grinned.
    "I'm not a bad guy, just a good guy who's a
little worn around the edges." Is that interest sparkling in her
eyes? Damn! If it is, what do I do about it? Harrison, you’re too
out of practice for this verbal parrying.
    The two ate in silence for a few moments.
Aurora glanced at him from under her lashes, hoping he wouldn't
notice her interest. Visions appeared in her mind with him as the
cowboy in a western movie. In her mind's eye she saw him calmly
riding across the range into the sunset, or racing after the bad
guys. I wouldn't mind being rescued by