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gave up and found another girlfriend. Last I heard, she was making weekly trips to the emergency
room up in Billings.
Jillian pulled back, wiping her eyes. It wasn t like that, she whispered. I was fifteen, and he
tried to& Fifteen?
Jillian bit her lower lip. My uncle hired him as a handy man.
Good Lord! You should have had him arrested!
I did, Jillian said miserably. But he got out, and now he s going to make my life hell.
You poor kid! You tell Chief Graves, she said firmly. He ll take care of it.
Jillian s eyes were misty. You can t have somebody thrown out of town without good reason,
she said. He hasn t threatened me or done anything except show up here to eat all the time. And it s
the only restaurant in town, Sandra, she added.
Yes, but he was making some pretty thick accusations, she reminded the other girl.
Words. Just words.
They can hurt as bad as fists, Sandra said curtly. I ought to know. My father never hesitated to
tell me how ugly and stupid I was.
Jillian gasped. Nobody in her family had ever said such things to her.
I guess you had nice people to live with, huh? Sandra asked with a worldly smile. That wasn t
the case with me. My father hated me, because I wasn t his. My mother had an affair. People do it all
the time these days. She came back, but he could never get over the fact that she had me by somebody
else. She died and he made me pay for it.
I m so sorry.
You re a nice kid, Sandra told her quietly. That guy makes any trouble for you in here, he ll
have to deal with me.
Jillian chuckled. I ve seen you handle unruly customers. You re good at it.
I ought to be. I was in the army until two years ago, she added. I worked as military police.
Not much I don t know about hand-to-hand combat.
Jillian beamed. My heroine!
Sandra just laughed. Anyway, you get those cakes arranged and go home. I ll deal with the
visiting problem while you re away.
Thanks. For everything.
Always wished I had a kid sister, Sandra scoffed. She grinned. So now I do. You tell people
I m your sister and we ll have some laughs.
That would have been funny, because Sandra s skin was a very dark copper, compared to
Jillian s very pale skin. Sandra was, after all, full-blooded Lakota.
Chief Graves is Cheyenne, she said aloud.
Nothing wrong with the Cheyenne, now that we re not bashing each other s brains out like we
did a century ago, came the amused reply. Sandra winked. Better get cracking. The boss is giving us
dark looks.
Jillian grinned. Can t have that! she laughed.
Jillian did feel better, and now she had an ally at work. But she was still worried. That man had
obviously come to Hollister to pay her back for his jail sentence, and now she was doubting her own
story that had cost him his freedom.
Seven
Jillian had never considered that she might become a victim of a stalker. And she wondered if it
could even be called stalking. Davy Harris came into the restaurant every morning to eat. But it was
the only diner in town. So was that stalking?
Ted thought so, but the law wasn t on the victim s side in this case. A man couldn t be arrested
for stalking by eating in the only restaurant in town.
But he made Jillian uptight. She fumbled a cake onto the floor two mornings later, one that had
taken a lot of trouble to bake, with cream filling. Harris laughed coldly.
Why, Jilly, do I make you nervous? he chided. I m only having breakfast here. I haven t tried
to touch you or anything.
She cleaned the floor, flushed and unsettled. Sandra had called in sick that morning, so they had a
substitute waitress, one who just did her job and didn t waste time on getting to know the other
employees. She had no one to back her up, now.
I only wanted to marry you, Harris said in a soft, quiet tone. You were real young, but I
thought you were mature enough to handle it. And you liked me. Remember when the little white
kittens were born and they were going to have to be put down because you couldn t keep them all? I
went around to almost every house in town until I found places for them to live.
She bit her lip. That was true. He d been kind.
And when your uncle John had that virus and was so sick that he couldn t keep the medicine
down? I drove both of you to the hospital.
Yes, she said reluctantly.
He laughed. And you repaid my kindness by having me put in prison with murderers.
Her face was stricken as she stared at him.
He got to his feet, still smiling, but his eyes were like a cobra s. Did you think I d just go away
and you d never have to see me again?
She got up, a little wobbly. I didn t realize&
What, that I really would go to prison because you exaggerated what happened? he interrupted.
What kind of woman does that to a man?
She felt really sick. She knew her face was white.
I just wanted to marry you and take care of you, and your uncle, he said. I wouldn t have hurt
you. Did I ever hurt you, Jilly?
She was growing less confident by the second. Had she misjudged him? Was he in prison
because she d blown things out of proportion?
He put a five-dollar bill down beside his plate. Why don t you think about that? he continued.
Think about what you did to me. You don t know what it s like in prison, Jilly. You don t know what
men can do to other men, especially if they aren t strong and powerful. His face was taut with
distaste. You stupid little prude, he said harshly. You landed me in hell!
I m& I m sorry, she stammered.
Are you really? he asked sarcastically. Well, not sorry enough, not yet. He leaned toward
her. But you re going to be, he said in a voice that didn t carry. You re going to wish you never
heard my name when I m through with you.
He stood back up again, smiling like a used car salesman. It was a really good breakfast, Jilly,
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