Jenny (16 page)

The Lazy S was as ready as it ever would be for its
first guests. Jenny had worked nonstop to get the
guest house finished in time for Rose's arrival, and
she was thrilled with the way everything had turned
out.

"We've thought of everything, haven't we?" Jenny
asked Evelyn as they left to make the trip into town
to meet their guests. Jenny was driving their carriage
while Tom followed them with the buckboard. They
were going to need all the room they could get for
their arriving guests and their luggage.

"Yes, dear. It's all done. All we need is for Rose
and Tillie and the others to show up, and you'll be
officially in business," Evelyn told her with confidence. "I'm so glad Tillie's coming along. Of course,
they did need a chaperon, and who better than my best friend, who just happens to be Rose's aunt? I'm
glad Tillie is a hardy, adventurous soul."

"Everything has worked out well," Jenny said cautiously. "I guess that's why I keep expecting something to go wrong."

"Nothing's going to go wrong. They'll enjoy their
stay, and the Lazy S will gain the reputation of being
the place to go if you want to experience the real Wild
West."

"I hope you're right. We've got a good cook. We
have comfortable accommodations, and we have any
number of activities to keep them busy. I think they'll
have a good time."

"They will. You and I both know that Rose is coming simply because she wants to see you. She would
follow you to the ends of the Earth if you asked her
to, and Durango is hardly the ends of the Earth." Evelyn reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Jenny squeezed back.

"I'm really excited."

"Me, too."

They reached town and drove to the station to await
the mid-morning train. According to Rose's telegram,
their group of five would be arriving that day.

"I can't wait to see Rose again. It really hasn't been
that long since we were together last, but it feels like
ages," Jenny said as they went inside the station.

Tom stayed behind with their vehicles.

"Well, look at all that's happened to you in only a
few short weeks," Aunt Evelyn said. "Who would have dreamed that you could have accomplished so
much in such a short period of time? I'm proud of
you, honey, and I'm sure your father is, too."

Jenny's smile was tinged with sadness. "I hope so."

"It will be nice to see Richard again, don't you
think?" Evelyn asked, leading the conversation a bit.

She personally thought that Richard would make
the ideal husband for Jenny. She had encouraged her
niece's interest in him when they'd been in Philadelphia. He was handsome, well-mannered, and quite
rich. In Evelyn's mind, that made him perfect husband material. Although, she had to admit, Cole fit
that description, too.

"I like Richard," Jenny agreed easily.

Richard had a reputation of being quite a ladies'
man. She had seen him in action through the years
and knew he could be a charmer. She had gone to
social events with him, and he had kissed her a few
times. She had known from the start not to take him
seriously, and so they had gotten along nicely.

As she thought of Richard's kisses, the memory of
Cole's exciting embrace returned full and flaming.
Jenny knew there was no comparison between the
two.

"I like Richard, and Aubrey, too," Evelyn agreed.

"I'm glad they both decided to come along with
Rose. Melanie is always a delight to be around, of
course, so we should have quite a nice time while
they're here."

"How could they not have a good time with all the plans you've made? You've arranged something for
everybody. There's not going to be a dull moment the
whole time they're here."

"Good. That's what we wanted."

From a distance, the sound of the train's whistle
came to them.

"They're almost here!" Jenny said, allowing herself
to be truly excited now.

They hurried out to meet the train as it pulled in.

The train had barely stopped when Rose came flying out of the passenger car and ran straight into
Jenny's arms.

"I missed you!" Rose cried as she hugged her
friend close.

"I missed you, too!" Jenny hugged her back.

When at last they broke apart, they were smiling
at each other in open delight, like two very young
girls.

"Just look at you! You really are a cowgirl!" Rose
said, staring at Jenny. She was accustomed to seeing
her friend in the latest fashions. It was a revelation to
find her wearing a split leather riding skirt, boots,
blouse, vest, and Western hat. "I like it! I want an
outfit just like that!"

"We can stop at the mercantile before we go out
to the ranch, if you want," Jenny offered.

Jenny knew how fashion-conscious Rose was. Her
friend was always certain to be wearing just the right
clothes for any occasion. She was secretly pleased
that Rose approved of her garb. Jenny wondered what Rose would think if she ever saw her wearing her
pants. The thought made her smile.

"Hello, Jenny."

Richard's deep-voiced greeting drew her attention
away from Rose. She glanced past her friend to see
Richard and Aubrey coming their way. She went to
meet them.

"Richard Aubrey. Welcome to Durango. How
was your trip?" Jenny asked.

Richard took her hands and pressed a kiss to her
cheek. "Long, but worth every mile, now that we're
here with you." His gaze was devouring her.

Aubrey greeted her, too. "So this is Durango," he
said, looking around with open interest.

"As we head out to the ranch, you'll see much
more of it," Jenny told him.

"I'm impressed already. It's much nicer than I expected."

"What were you expecting?" She looked at him
quizzically.

"Oh, I don't know gunfight in the middle of the
street ---a lot of saloons and dance halls maybe a
lynching by a mob of angry townsfolk-"

"We have our fair share of saloons and dance halls,
but generally, Durango is a pretty quiet town."

Aubrey looked a bit disappointed. "Maybe I've
been reading too many dime novels."

They all laughed as Melanie and Aunt Tillie joined
them. Tillie and Evelyn were delighted to be reunited
and quickly fell into catching up on all that had hap pened since Evelyn had come West with Jenny.

"The carriage and buckboard are out front," Jenny
told them now that they were assembled.

She led the way to where Tom was waiting. Once
the luggage had been loaded, the men climbed up into
the buckboard with Tom, while the ladies all rode
with Jenny in the carriage. They made their way to
the mercantile and spent the better part of an hour
there while Rose and the others outfitted themselves.

Jenny found the shopping trip an adventure in itself, watching her friends pick out hats and boots and
other more practical clothing. Rose took the longest
and after the others had gone outside, Jenny stayed
with her while she finished making her selections.
They had often shopped together in Philadelphia and
always had a good time.

"What do you think, Jenny?" Rose asked as she
turned to her friend, modeling a white Stetson for her.

"Try the dark one on," Jenny suggested.

Her friend did, and they both smiled as they realized it was the perfect hat for her.

"I think I'll wear it now!" Rose announced, carrying her last selection up to the counter where Jenny
had been standing with George Lansing, the owner.

"Now, Jenny, don't forget we've got the big dance
and social coming up Saturday night. We'll be looking forward to seeing you and all your guests there,"
George told them.

"This is going to be so much fun. I'm madly in
love with Durango already!" Rose declared as she paid for her purchases and then gathered up her bundles and started from the shop.

"Thank you, Miss Stanford."

"Thank you, George!"

Jenny had one thing to pay for, too.

Rose looked over her shoulder at Jenny to say
something as she was making her way toward the
open door. She wasn't paying any attention to where
she was going, and she gasped as she ran into the
solid wall of a man's chest.

"Oh!"

Rose's movements were less than graceful as her
purchases went flying along with her new hat. She
struggled just to stay on her feet, and she was thankful
when a pair of strong arms came around her and
steadied her.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" a deep voice asked.
Rose looked up into a pair of the most startlingly
blue eyes she'd ever seen, and she was instantly mesmerized. A tingle ran though her as she became aware
of the warmth of her contact with the hard body of
the man gazing down at her. He wasn't tall, but he
was solidly built and very attractive. Words failed her.
She could only stare at him.

"Ma'am?" he said again, this time sounding more
concerned as if he truly believed she might have been
injured in their collision.

"Rose?" Jenny called, hurrying toward her.

"Oh, dear "Rose heard herself babble nervously
as the man suddenly released her.

Rose wanted to sway toward her handsome
stranger just so he would hold her again, but she realized that would be too outrageous and too obvious.

"Are you all right?" the man asked.

"Yes-thank you-I'm sorry-I'm the one who
ran into you. Are you hurt?"

"I've survived worse," the man told her, grinning
as he bent to start picking up her strewn parcels.
"Here's your hat." He held it out to her.

Rose reached for it and only then realized that her
hand was trembling. That reaction was very unusual
for her.

Jenny looked on, amazed by what she was witnessing. She'd known Rose for a long time and had
never seen her act this way around a man before. She
hid a grin as she watched her friend struggle to compose herself.

"Can I help you out to your carriage?" the stranger
offered.

"Why thank you," Rose said breathlessly.

The stranger stepped back to let her pass before
him. He waited for Jenny, too, then followed them
outside.

The carriage and buckboard were waiting for them.
He handed the packages up to Tom on the buckboard,
then turned to help Rose into the carriage. Jenny had
already climbed up to the driver's seat.

"Thank you, sir. You are a gentleman," Rose said
in her most elegant manner.

"It was my pleasure, ma'am." He tipped his hat to her and was gone, disappearing back into the mercantile.

"Who was that man?" Rose asked, looking back,
craning her neck as they started to drive away.

"I don't know," Jenny answered. "I've never seen
him before."

"Oh." Rose was disappointed.

"He certainly was handsome, wasn't he, Rose?"
Aunt Tillie remarked.

"He certainly was," Rose agreed as she put her hat
back on. If this was what the Wild West was like, she
loved it already.

Dan Lesseg went back inside the mercantile, this time
entering without incident.

"You have any more wild women in here,
George?" he asked with a grin as he made his way
down the aisle.

"No, it's safe now, Dan," the owner answered,
laughing with him.

"Who was that woman?" Dan asked as he came to
stand at the counter. "I heard the other woman call
her Rose, but I've never seen her around town before."

"Her name's Rose Stanford. She's from back East,"
George explained. "That was Jenny Sullivan from the
Lazy S with her. Jenny's turning the Lazy S into a
guest ranch of some sort, and your Rose is one of her
first visitors. She was a pretty one, wasn't she?"

Dan glanced back toward the doorway, hoping to catch sight of her again, but they'd already driven
away. He thought of the dark-haired, dark-eyed
beauty and gave an amused shake of his head.

"Yes, Rose was a pretty one."

"So how are things at the High Time?" George
asked. He knew Dan was the bartender at the saloon.

"Busy as usual," Dan replied. "I'm heading there
now. It's about time to get back to work."

"I know the feeling," George agreed as more
women came in to do their shopping.

Dan purchased the few things he needed, then
started out of the shop. It was as he made his way
toward the door that he noticed one of Rose's packages that he'd missed earlier. He picked it up, frowning as he tried to decide what to do.

"George-" He returned to the counter and explained the situation. "Do you think they'll be back
in town for the dance, or should I take it out to the
ranch?"

"I'll take care of it. Don't you worry about it,"
George assured him.

Dan left the package with George, thanked him,
and went on his way. Still, he couldn't help feeling a
little disappointed that he had no excuse to see the
lovely Rose again.

With Jenny driving the carriage and Tom driving the
buckboard they made the trek to the Lazy S in good
time. Rose had moved up to sit with Jenny on the
driver's seat.