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he going to do with her? A woman,
especially a permanent one, was not what he needed.
    From the way she had acted, Jodi Parker
wanted nothing at all to do with Hershel, and that was good.
Hershel was a no-good, snot-nosed kid who used his gun instead of
his head. He was trigger happy and had a mean streak. But he was
obviously interested in the Parker girl. Hunter wondered why. It
wasn't that she wasn't tolerable to look at, but as green as
Hershel was about being a man, Jodi was about being a woman, Hunter
decided, and in her innocence lay her value. Hunter stopped singing
and nudged his horse faster.
    He stopped a time or two to pour himself some
coffee from his flask where he'd saved it, and he pulled some jerky
from his saddle bag, then he took off again. He knew he'd have to
keep a steady pace to make it on time. He crossed a couple of
streams along the way, and his horse actually balked at having to
cross them, shallow as they were. They were bone cold, Hunter
noted. Spring wasn't entirely in the picture yet. That wasn't good
for a cattle drive. Dealing with heat would be better, to his way
of thinking.
    It was a long, lonely ride, but he'd made it
by sunup.

    CHAPTER FOUR

    Jodi twisted a bit in the saddle and her
mouth fell open as Hunter rode up to her, startling her. She hadn't
expected him to make it, at least not on time. But he was here,
just like he said he would be.
    Hunter reached the distance and closed her
mouth. His touch was gentle and unexpected. Jodi felt it to her
toes, but for nothing would she speak of it. Disoriented, she
spurred her horse onward, determined not to have a conversation
till she could clear her mind.
    Why had she let a man like Hunter Johnson
affect her so? His hand, though calloused, was gentle against her
chin.
    He'd shaved and cut his hair. He'd actually
cleaned up, and she was shocked beyond words at how handsome he
was. None of her men were shaved or clean. Why had he done it? Most
men she knew grew beards, or at least a mustache early, and rarely,
if ever, shaved. To Jodi it was like he wasn't wearing any clothes.
He was just too darn good-looking.
    Not only that, but when he’d touched her
chin, he’d smiled and looked at her enigmatically. It seemed as
though the touch had softened something deep inside him.
    Jodi squirmed, wondering if he had forgotten
about his proposal. She'd hoped so. She wasn't up to a hot
conversation this morning. It had taken two days to get the cattle
this far and they’d swam half of that.
    He rode along side of her and she wanted to
let loose with her horse and give him rein.
    “Guess you didn't recognize me since I shaved
and got a haircut,” he said, peering openly at her with a
smile.
    “I can see that. But what for?” She couldn't
stop the question in time.
    “A man should clean up if he's going to get
married,” Hunter said matter-of-factly.
    Jodi cringed. Married. To Hunter Johnson.
Surely, he wouldn't hold her to that bargain.
    She stopped and turned her full attention to
him, unable to stop the little flurries of excitement skittering
through her when he turned that smile full blast on her. His face
dimpled, making him appear harmless. But she knew better. He was
lethal.
    “Look, let's get something straight. We
aren't getting married,” she snapped, angry more at herself than
him.
    “We're not?” he said, trying to sound
surprised and just a tad hurt.
    “Nope, we're not,” she said as though that
were the end of it.
    She didn't know if he was relieved, or sore.
She couldn't tell. She simply didn't know him well enough to gauge
his reactions.
    “Don't care for my company?” he asked with an
impish grin.
    “That's right.” She gave him a quick
once-over.
    “Well, I'll say one thing for you. You are
honest.”
    He sat his horse as though they were one and
the same and she envied him. Some men were just naturals in the
saddle. He was one of them. Dad-blame-it, she hadn't found one
thing not to like about him, and she knew she