Page 112 of Simon Says

Barber rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh. And lover-boy likes you spiffed up some, right?”

She did want to clean up her act a little for Simon, maybe show him that her one display of feminine dress wasn’t a complete aberration. “He doesn’t like my boots.”

“I think it’s more a case of him liking you without your boots, but sure, shopping sounds like an easy way to occupy yourself. Who’s going with you?”

“I’m a big girl, Barber. I know my wardrobe lacks inspiration, but I’m not hopeless. I can pick out clothes all on my own,andmake them match.”

“Sure you can. I happen to like your boots, and you clean up with the best of them.” He tugged at one earring. “I just thought women liked to do that sort of thing in gaggles.”

Dakota grinned. “I’m not like most women.”

“Ain’t that the truth?” He put his arm around her. “Come on, babe. We don’t want to keep good old Rog waiting.”

He walked her as far as the office, then turned her over to a smiling Roger. Dakota didn’t know what had happened, but Barber was as different as he could be.

She briefly wondered if he’d actually been smitten with Bonnie, and was suffering disappointment. But she didn’t think so. Bonnie wasn’t his type. He tended to lean more toward earthy, easy women, not uptight ladies with ulterior motives.

Tonight, over dinner, she’d grill him. She’d get to the bottom of his odd behavior. But for now, she wanted to work out terms with Roger. She wasn’t an idle type of person and she needed something to occupy her time in Harmony.

She looked back just once to see Barber making a call on his cell, and once again, he didn’t look happy.

BARBERwaited impatiently for Simon to pick up. When he finally did, Barber didn’t bother to identify himself. “She wants to call Marvin.”

Apparently, Simon didn’t need any further explanation. “Like hell.”

“Yeah, that’s sort of what I told her.” Barber rubbed the back of his neck beneath his ponytail. Simon didn’t know it—or maybe he did—but he’d put Barber in something of an awkward predicament by asking him to stick close to Dakota. “But Dakota’s an independent sort. She’s used to doing everything on her own. Maybe I should give the chump a call before she does.”

“I’d rather you let it go for now, at least until I’m back in town.”

“And that’ll be…?”

“I only landed a few hours ago, but the driver had an itinerary for me.”

Barber heard the rustling of paper as Simon checked his schedule.

“I do the show tomorrow morning. Meet with some folks for lunch after that. I don’t know. With any luck, I can be back on a plane by the late afternoon. But I’m not sure yet. Sometimes things come up. It depends on what Drew might have planned. I’m having dinner with him, so I’ll ask and get back with you tonight.”

As Simon spoke, Barber kept walking. He needed to be onstage in ten minutes. “I’m hooking up with Dakota for dinner tonight.”

Silence.

Barber smiled. “No need to worry about her, then. I’m not about to let anything happen to her. But before that, she plans to do some shopping. It’s weird, because Dakota isn’t one who likes that sort of thing. I think she’s only going shopping now because some asshole made her feel bad about her boots, so—”

“I’ll give Dean a call,” Simon interrupted; he sounded more irate by the second. “He and Eve can shanghai her so she won’t be alone.”

Misery loves company, Barber thought, and added, “With us being at the same motel, we’ll hook up in the morning for breakfast, then hit the gym. I’ll work on some new moves with her.”

A low growl sounded through the phone. “I thought you were going to wait a few days on that.”

“No time like the present, right?”

There was a long pause, and then very softly, Simon asked, “Are you going to make me regret asking for your help?”

“Yeah.” Barber laughed. “But Dakota’s a one-man woman, so all you have to suffer is a few ribbings from me.”

“Then if that’s all—”

“Don’t rush off till you’ve heard the real punch line.” Barber had no doubts that Dakota was head over heels in love. Now he wanted to know for sure how Simon felt.

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