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rush back. Enjoy yourselves,” she said.
    “Oh, I intend to,” Joshua replied, his gaze lingering on Garrett’s scowling face.
    “You are impossible,” she informed him twenty minutes later when they met outside. “Do you have to have everything your own way?”
    “I’d be happy to accommodate your wishes,” he said.
    “Then leave me alone.”
    “This trip wasn’t my idea.”
    “You could have told her no.”
    “She’s my boss.”
    “Who are you kidding? You don’t need her business. You’re only here as a favor to Cal.”
    “I can’t very well be rude to his grandmother, though, can I?”
    “You’d be rude to God himself, if it suited your purposes. That must mean that this trip into Cheyenne suits your purposes. Would you mind telling me how?”
    “I wanted to spend some time alone with you,” he said bluntly.
    She regarded him with frank skepticism. “Why?”
    “You fascinate me.”
    Hands on her hips, obviously seething with indignation, she faced him. “Maybe we ought to get something clear now, Mr. Ames. I may live a simple life, but I wasn’t born yesterday. I’ve met men like you before, rich men who think the whole world should be at their beck and call, callous men who don’t give a damn about the feelings of the people they hurt. I am not about to become your personal toy while you’re in town. If you’re bored without your usual bevy of adoring women, then get your work done and go home.”
    Joshua might have been stung by her analysis of his personality and integrity, but he was more intrigued by the story behind her anger. It was apparent to him that some man had hurt her deeply and for a surprising instant, he wanted to find him and beat him to a bloody pulp. The thought of trying to avenge Garrett’s honor, when she had made it quite clear she could take care of herself, was amusing. It was made all the more ironic as he recalled all those infuriating years in his youth when he’d been too frail even to stand up for himself, and it had been Cal who’d come to his rescue more times than he cared to remember.
    He owed Cal more than he could say for his staunch defense and for ultimately teaching him to defend himself. By the time he’d eventually rallied from the recurring childhood bouts with illness, he might have been resigned to being an unathletic weakling, but a fiercely protective Cal had seen to it that hadn’t happened. He’d taught him to stand up to his overly protective mother and given him the skills to fend off bullies. Now, with regular workouts at the gym, he took his physical strength for granted. He’d be almost glad of the chance to use it to slay dragons for the woman who hid her vulnerability behind a facade of tough talk.
    Instinctively wanting to help, he reached over and caressed her cheek. “Who hurt you?” he asked gently.
    For a fraction of a second she seemed to be lost, caught up in the tenderness of his touch. Then she blinked away a faint sheen that might have been the start of tears and backed away. “We’ll take the truck,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’ll drive.”
    “We’ll take my car. I’ll drive.”
    Garrett scowled. “Mr. Ames, this isn’t some test of wills here. We’re expecting more snow today. Your car won’t be able to handle it.” She directed a scathing glance at the convertible. “What on earth possessed you to rent something so unsuitable?”
    “I like convertibles.” He dropped his voice to a seductive murmur intended to play across her senses. “Haven’t you ever ridden in one with the top down and the wind blowing through that long blond hair of yours, whipping it into your face?”
    For an instant she looked almost wistful, then she said dryly, “Not when the windchill factor sets the temperature twenty degrees below freezing and there’s snow in the air.”
    He shivered at the reminder. “You have a point. Okay. We’ll take the truck, but I’ll drive.”
    “It’s straight