Hallie's Hero. Nicole Foster

hate you, Jack Dakota,” she said, her eyes narrowed, her fists clenched. “I wish I’d never laid eyes on you. I wish Redeye had shot you when he had the chance.”

      “I never intended for you to get hurt.”

      She didn’t know whether he meant the cactus or him buying her ranch, and she didn’t care. She ignored the throb of pain in her backside and faced him squarely. “Well, you’ve said the words. Now get back up on your horse and ride off. I don’t need you.”

      She started to turn away from him, but Jack caught her arm and pulled her to face him again. “Not without you.”

      For a moment they stared at each other, locked in a silent battle of wills.

      Jack looked at her closely for the first time and realized she’d lost her ugly hat. Her braid had come undone and a wild riot of waist-long hair, a light honey-brown in the sunlight, fell over her slender shoulders, making her look more like a vulnerable young woman than the rough-riding ranch woman she pretended to be.

      The intent way he looked at her only made Hallie feel more agitated. “Don’t you ever listen to anything I say?”

      “Every word. But I’m not leaving.”

      “I need some privacy to tend to myself. Go back to the ranch. I’ll be there soon enough.”

      “Sorry, darlin’,” Jack said, “but I can’t do that.”

      Before she could protest, he slipped an arm around her waist, guiding her to a place in the rocks where she could rest her weight without leaning on her bottom.

      Hallie glared at him. “What does it take to get rid of you?”

      Jack only grinned and began rolling up his sleeves. “You might as well get used to having me around. One day you might even like it. Now—” he eyed her with a glint in his eyes “—let’s have a look at those holes the cactus left behind.”

      Hallie stared. He couldn’t be serious. One thing was for sure, he was crazy if he thought she’d ever let him touch her again. Especially not there. But looking at him, Hallie knew he would.

      And the worst of it was, right now she had neither the will nor the slightest idea how to stop him.

      In fact, she almost said yes. That voice of his, deep, expressive, with laughter running underneath, and the way he looked at her, as if she mattered—it almost persuaded her.

      Then he flashed a grin, as if he knew she was going to give in, and it jolted Hallie to her senses. What was she thinking to consider letting him see her half-naked, and then let him put his hands on her?

      “I know that look,” Jack said.

      “Then you know I plan on tending to myself,” Hallie retorted, pulling away from him.

      Jack seemed as if he was about to argue with her, but after a few seconds he held up his hands and backed up a step. “You might try a mud pack with sage leaves. It’ll help the pain enough to get you back to the ranch.”

      “You get stuck with cactus needles often?” she asked, eyeing him doubtfully.

      “Once is enough, so don’t get any ideas, Hal. Here…” He handed her his canteen. “Take a swig and I’ll get you some sage leaves.”

      The temptation to set him straight about his inclination to order her around warred with the throbbing ache in her bottom. The ache won. Without a word, Hallie limped awkwardly away to find a place among the rocks out of Jack’s view where she could pull down her pants.

      She refused to think about him as she jerked the denim over her hips along with her drawers and used some water from his canteen to gingerly sponge the punctures in her tender flesh. All the while she tensed, listening for any sound of his return.

      “Hallie?” he called after a few minutes.

      “Don’t come any closer!” she yelled, even as she heard the crunch of his boots on the rocky ground.

      “Sorry, my aim’s not that good. Here…” Reaching over the rock outcropping, he dangled a red bandanna filled with dirt and sage near her nose. “There wasn’t much sage, but add some water and it should do for now.”

      Mixing the concoction with her fingers, Hallie dabbed it against her swollen skin, closing her eyes against the sting. On the other side of the rocks, she could hear Jack pacing, humming a little under his breath, and suddenly she felt hot and prickly all over.

      He couldn’t see her, of course. She’d made sure of that. The pacing stopped. She froze. He took a few steps, slower this time. Breathing fast, her heart thudding, Hallie yanked up her pants as quickly as she could, wriggling to get them over her hips and fastened.

      When she finally emerged from behind the rocks, Jack looked her up and down. “How are you doing? You seem flushed. You aren’t feverish, are you?”

      “I’m fine, just great,” Hallie muttered, wondering how he could say that and look so innocent. In truth, her bottom felt as if it was on fire, and she dreaded even the idea of getting into the saddle. But she’d be damned if she would tell Dakota that.

      It would take a blind man not to see how much she hurt. Jack grimaced as he watched her walk slowly and awkwardly toward his horse. How did she think she was going to ride like that?

      “Hallie,” he said, taking a few running steps to her side and reaching out to grasp her arm.

      She tugged free, glaring at him. “Let me go!”

      “Not until we talk.”

      “I don’t have anything to say to you.”

      “Maybe not, but if we’re going to work together, we’ve got to find a way to keep from strangling each other. I’m only trying to help.”

      “Fine, you’ve helped. Thank you,” she added with an effort. “Now I want to go home.”

      “Then you’re going to have to ride with me. I don’t see your horse.”

      Hallie cursed under her breath. She wanted to refuse. She wanted to say she would rather walk back to the ranch than ride with him.

      She did hurt, though, and it was hot and she didn’t think she could walk ten minutes, let alone hours.

      Jack saw her wavering. But she was proud and stubborn, and he guessed it would take a lot more than a few cactus needles to overcome that. Gambling she wouldn’t shoot him, he moved quickly and scooped her up in his arms, being careful to avoid the slightest contact with her backside.

      “Come on, sweetheart,” he said softly when she started to struggle, “you can’t do everything alone. Besides, if something happens to you, I’ll have to start getting up early to do whatever it is you do at the crack of dawn. And I never get up at sunrise unless someone’s shooting at me.”

      He grinned at her and Hallie found herself responding before she could think of a reason why she shouldn’t. “I’ll remember that when I have to roust you out of bed to round up the cattle.”

      “Sounds delightful,” he murmured close to her ear as he carried her to his horse and gently put her sideways in the saddle. Mounting up behind her, he shifted her so her bottom was partly cushioned against his thigh.

      “It’ll have to do until we get back,” Jack said when Hallie gave an awkward wriggle and winced.

      She nodded, not looking at him. She could hardly tell him it wasn’t the pain in her backside making her uncomfortable now, but the closeness to him. With her bottom snuggled up against his thigh and his arm firmly around her waist, holding her against his chest, she was more disturbed by the intimacy of their position than by the cactus pricks, in a way she’d never expected.

      The feel of him against her gave her an unsettling sort of pleasure. She liked it. And at the same time, as the horse started a slow lope across the grass, she wanted to get away from him and the