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around the rodeo, and admittedly he hadn’t turned a blind eye to them. But those women knew the score. They were nothing like Mary Beth. They were looking for a good time, not for happily-ever-after.
    “Don’t believe everything you hear,” he said, deciding to play that part of rodeo life down. He wasn’t about to give her a reason to lower her opinion of him even more. “If you’re finished,” he said, abruptly getting to his feet, “I’ll clean this up.”
    “You don’t need to,” Mary Beth rushed to tell him. “I’ll take care of them later.”
    “Don’t worry about it. It won’t take me that long.”
    “Deke—”
    He scowled down at her. “Do you have to fight me on everything?”
    “Do you have to be so obstinate about everything?” she countered.
    Deke mentally began counting to ten. He got to five andfelt more in control. “Look, why don’t you go in and watch television or something? I’ll take care of this mess, then get out of your hair.” At her disbelieving expression, he drew an invisible cross over his heart. “I promise.”
    Giving up, Mary Beth sighed heavily. “I think I’ll just get ready for bed.” When she started to get up, Deke grasped her arm. To prove she could walk on her own, she put a little weight on her ankle. The sudden jolt of pain made her wince. “Oh!”
    Deke swore under his breath as he swept her up in his arms again. “Hold on.” His gut clenched when she slid her arms around his neck. “Don’t say a word, woman,” he cautioned, his eyes dark and stormy.
    Mary Beth clamped her lips together as he carried her through the house to her bedroom. Once there, he deposited her gently on her bed, then looked around the small room. Satisfied she could reach her dresser from the bed, he turned his gaze back on her.
    “I’ll leave you to get ready.” He pointed a finger at her. “Don’t get off that bed. When you’re ready, call out, and I’ll help you to the bathroom.”
    “Yes, sir.” She gave him a military salute.
    “Someday that smart mouth and sassy attitude’s gonna get you into trouble.”
    “I’m scared.” It was obvious she wasn’t.
    Deke’s gaze ran intimately over her. “You should be.”
    Mary Beth watched him storm from the room. What on earth was wrong with her? All she had to do was bide her time, thank Deke for everything and watch him walk out of her life the way he’d done so easily two years ago. But no. She couldn’t do that. Instead, she’d gone out of her way to provoke him.
    It just wasn’t in her nature to let another man run roughshod over her. She’d had enough of that from her father.She no longer had to listen to anyone tell her what she could or couldn’t do.
    “Especially Deke,” she muttered, scooting to the edge of the bed. Pushing off, she hopped on one foot to the closet, opened the door, then took her nightgown and robe off of a hook.
    Knowing he’d probably return at any moment, she struggled out of her clothes and tossed them on a nearby chair. Quickly she slipped on her nightgown and robe. Instead of waiting like Deke told her, she opened the door. Limping and hopping, she made her way to the bathroom in the hall.
    She looked longingly at the tub, then decided there was no way she was going to get naked and take a bath with Deke McCall in her house. Then she caught a look at herself in the mirror and gasped. A wild mass of her curls had escaped her barrette and fell around her face in disarray. She removed the barrette, brushed the tangles out, then subdued it behind her neck again.
    It took her a few more minutes to wash her face and brush her teeth. When she was ready to leave, she unlocked the door and opened it. Silently she peeked out into the hallway. Deke wasn’t anywhere in sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, she started to make her way back to her room with the same techniques she’d used to get to the bathroom. About halfway back to her room, she tripped when her foot caught on a throw