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softened. “I better take you back to your motel. Your truck will be here
tomorrow.”
    “I said thank you,
but I think I can drive myself back safely,” she declared hotly. “I’m not that
frazzled by a few overgrown juvenile delinquents.”
    “You might want to
look a little more closely at your transportation, Ms. O’Hanlon,” Clint replied
dryly. “It’s not usually a good idea to drive on rims.”
    “The dirty
bastards!” Cassie shrieked, racing around the pickup. All four tires were flat.
Each had been punctured with a sharp object.
    “Afraid you can’t
prove it was them.”
    “Son of a bitch, I
can’t believe they did that.” She was reeling. If they could slash her tires…”They
invaded my space. They violated me. My god.” Her hand flew to her throat. “What
might they have tried if you hadn’t come along?”
    Clint shrugged. He
looked uncomfortable. “Don’t know,” he drawled. “I’ve seen those boys around,
but don’t really know them. I don’t think they were as drunk as they made out
to be. Or maybe your toe sobered them up quickly.”
    “Oh my god,” Cassie
cried. “I’m so prepared in Chicago, but here, I thought I was safe for some
reason. Thanks,” she said, throwing herself into the security of Clint Travers’
arms.
    She trembled. She
cried. She clung to him, garnering strength. A shock of energy emanating from
her loins raced like a runaway horse through every fiber of her body. She
pulled herself up short. Oh no, that was more than comfort; that was raw sexual
desire. Hers. She didn’t know about him. Actually, his hardness pressing
against her belly allowed for little doubt.
    Embarrassed by her
momentary lapse, Cassie staggered away from him. “Sorry for being such a
blubbering idiot,” she muttered, wiping tears away with her knuckles. “My kids
would laugh like hell right now if they could see me.”
    “Kids!” Clint said,
taking a step backwards. “Didn’t know you were married. You don’t wear a
wedding ring.”
    “I’m not married,”
Cassie said. “Oh. Not my kids.” Why couldn’t she speak coherently around
the man? And why was it so important that he understand? “The kids I work with.
Troubled kids, delinquents.”
    “Ah, you’re one of
those liberal do-gooders.”
    She bristled
immediately. “I’m a social worker. If that means I do some good, so be it. But
I’ll have you know I’m damn good at kicking ass.”
    Clint bent back his
head and howled. “I never doubted that for a moment. There’s some guy limping
around here wishing that was all you kick.”
    “Oh,” she
sputtered, stomping the ground with her foot, “you’re impossible!”
    Why did this man
get to her so? He was a hunk—no question about that. But hunks had never
mattered before. He was conceited and always bothering her. Well, he had been
helpful tonight. Why did her muscles tense and then turn to mush whenever he
smiled, which wasn’t often, but still?
    Damn, he looked
good. Her brain seemed to do a double click. It had been a while. Had she
forgotten the alarm bells? Could her body be telling her it was ready for a
safe, out of the way fling? No muss, no fuss. Just good uncomplicated sex. Clint
stood with hands on hips grinning crookedly at her as if he were inside her
head. Never mind, she told herself, it wasn’t a good idea anyway.
    “Guess we might as
well go,” she fumed, kicking at a flat tire. “Maybe it won’t look so bad in the
morning.”
    “My truck’s right
over this way,” Clint said, leading the way. “Is it okay with you if we stop by
shedrow? I’ve got a horse to medicate yet.”
    “Sure,” she agreed.
“That’s fine. It wouldn’t hurt for me to check on Hope’s knees again.” Being
with her horse might help take her mind off the night’s events and off her
escort.
    Once in the truck,
Cassie couldn’t figure out what to say. Maybe she was coming down from the
adrenalin rush caused by her would-be tormentors. The silence