response. “She’ll have a cup, too,”he concluded with a warm smile for the timid girl who took their order.
Silence settled when they were left alone. Dodge guessed Starla’s rigid corset frame was all that kept her upright. She stared straight through him with those expressionless eyes, and he wondered what went on behind them.
The confrontation on the walk had obviously upset her, but instead of becoming vaporish or even angry, she withdrew behind an eerie stillness that had him on edge. He’d seen the look on the faces of men in his unit when they were traumatized beyond their ability to cope. Something had scared the brash Starla Fairfax to the point of blankness, and it was more than just the manhandling of a couple of bullies.
“I wasn’t sure you’d welcome my intrusion after you sicced your brother on me.”
She blinked slowly. A furrow of confusion marred her brow. It was a response, anyway.
“He paid me a visit the other night and warned me to steer clear. I was afraid my stepping in out there might be interpreted as another nuisance.”
“Tyler spoke to you?” Vague puzzlement reached through her daze.
“I understood it was at your request. I hadn’t realized I’d made that big an impact on you. Folks don’t usually dislike me until after they’ve met me more than once. If you’d told me yourself to go to hell, I’d have gotten the idea right off. You didn’t have to send someone to give me that message.”
“Lieutenant, if I wanted you to drop off the edgeof the earth, I’d have said so. I wouldn’t send Tyler.”
He grinned. “That’s the impression I got, ma’am. Just checking. Does that mean you don’t want me to fall off the face of the earth?”
A faint curve touched her lips. “I’m reserving judgment, sir.”
Dodge relaxed back in his chair, now that he was certain she didn’t plan to bolt from the table. She was looking better, the color edging up into her parchment-pale cheeks, the glassiness in her stare becoming a gradual awareness. Her fragile defenselessness had him knotted up with the need both to protect and to comfort her. The first she’d allowed. The second he approached more cautiously. When their coffee arrived, he watched her unsteady hands curl about the cup as if desperate for the heat. An unsettling fierceness threaded about that want to see her safe. A desire to punish those who’d shaken her from her confidence.
“Did those boys hurt you? Maybe you should talk to—”
“Maybe you should mind your own business, Lieutenant Dodge.”
The steel in her tone cut rapier sharp. Apparently her recovery was progressing quickly.
“That wasn’t the impression you gave me earlier.”
His reminder brought a flash of temperament to her gaze. He liked the fire better than the chill.
“I appreciate your help, sir, but don’t think my gratitude extends to an obligation to bare my soul.”
“Consider my presumptions duly corrected.”
She glanced about as if aware of her surroundings for the first time—and of whom she was with. She studied him for a long moment, her look more suspicious than flattering. He could see her asking herself what his motive might be, so he figured it was time to relieve her mind.
“I can’t abide bullying. You don’t owe me any thanks. Any ‘gentleman’ would have come to your rescue.”
But not any “gentleman” had. Starla frowned slightly. The only one to step in on her behalf was this brash Yankee who now felt entitled to intrude into her life. She couldn’t allow that.
“I have to go.”
His hand covered hers in a staying gesture. There was no pressure, no clutching fingers, just that firm, warm covering. An unexpected spark of response caused her breath to catch. That spark Patrice had foretold. She didn’t pull her hand away.
“You haven’t finished your coffee,” he pointed out agreeably.
“I really don’t—”
“—Have a choice. You don’t want to risk bumping into those
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