Jenny (20 page)

"I never looked this good in it!" Rose protested
good-naturedly as she surveyed her friend. "You're
beautiful." She said the last a bit reverently.

Jenny turned to look at herself in the full-length
mirror and was surprised by the vision she made. The gown fit her perfectly, and the color highlighted her
fairness. The neckline was revealing without being
too daring.

"Thanks, Rose." Jenny turned back to her friend,
her eyes aglow with the realization that she truly did
look lovely.

"When we go into battle, we have to be prepared,"
Rose said with a grin as she stepped behind Jenny
and unfastened her hair, freeing it to fall around her
shoulders. She then lifted the heavy mass up and
twisted it into a stylish knot, leaving a few tendrils
loose to fall softly about her face. "And that's what I
want to do with your hair. What do you think?"

"I almost look like a different person."

"Let's hope your intriguing new look works on
Cole. I guarantee you're going to have every man at
the social wanting a dance with you. They'll be standing in line."

"As long as Cole is one of them, I'll be happy."

They shared a conspiratorial look of eager anticipation.

"What time do you think we should start into town
tomorrow?" Rose asked.

"You're the one who wants to take pictures around
town and try to find your mystery cowboy. How early
do you want to get there?"

"Early," Rose said with conviction. "Because once
I find him, I'm going to want to spend as much time
with him as I can."

"We'll leave right after breakfast."

"I'll be ready, there's no doubt about that."

Richard was ready when it was finally time for the
evening meal. He'd cleaned up and changed clothes
and felt almost civilized again. It was a pleasurable
sensation.

He and Aubrey left the guest house just as Melanie,
Tillie, and Rose came out, too. They all walked up to
the main house together.

Frances's cooking was delicious, as usual, and the
conversation centered on the next day's trip to town.

"So we'll be staying the night?" Richard asked, liking the prospect.

"Yes. Then we'll return to the ranch the following
day."

"We'll be ready to leave whenever you are," Aubrey said, equally glad to be going into town. He was
eager to explore some of the saloons he'd heard
about. He was looking forward to a serious round of
poker and a strong drink.

Everyone was tired from the activity of the day, so
no one lingered too long after eating.

Jenny walked out onto the porch to say good night
to everyone as they started back to the guest house to
retire. The night was clear, crisp, and cool with a
slight breeze stirring in the trees. She stood at the
railing, inhaling deeply of the sweet air. This was her
heaven.

"It is a beautiful night, isn't it, Jenny?" Richard said in a low voice. He knew Evelyn had gone back
inside to go to bed, but he spoke softly for he wanted
to keep their conversation as private as possible.

Jenny was a little surprised to find that Richard had
lingered behind.

"Yes, it is," she agreed. "Aren't you tired? Everybody else sounded as if they couldn't wait to call it
a night."

"I was just regretting that my stay here is nearly
half over and we really haven't had the chance to
spend much time together," he remarked, thinking
how pretty she looked in the moonlight. Her remark
about calling it a night had excited him. He would
love to go to bed-if she would go with him.

"Things have been busy," she agreed, suddenly
feeling a bit awkward. She knew Richard was interested in her, but her feelings for him were not amorous.

"You haven't had a moment's peace in a long time,
have you?" he sympathized as he came to stand beside her.

The porch was dark except for the glow of the
lamplight coming through the front parlor windows.

Jenny wanted to step away from him to keep some
distance between them, but she felt foolish backing
away. She could handle Richard.

"It's been a difficult time."

"I'm sorry about your father's death, Jenny," he
said sincerely. "But once you get things straightened
out here, you can go back to living your life again."

She glanced at him, realizing he didn't understand
her at all. "This is my life, Richard."

"What about Philadelphia? You had a good life
there with your Aunt Evelyn. You were happy there,
weren't you?"

"You're right. I was happy, but once I came home,
I knew-This is where I want to be."

"With all that you've just been through recently,
you can't be really sure of that, can you?" he said,
reaching out to Jenny.

Richard's tone was soothing enough, but his attitude irritated her. She allowed him to touch her shoulder, but did not move any closer to him.

"I know you're trying to be kind, Richard, but I do
know my own mind. I won't be going back to Philadelphia. This is my home. I'm staying here."

"Jenny-" he said softly.

When she glanced toward him, he moved quickly
to take her in his arms and kiss her.

Jenny didn't fight him. Richard seemed overly attentive tonight, and so she was not surprised by his
ploy. She accepted his kiss. The whole while his lips
moved over hers, though, they evoked no response
from her at all. She felt no physical attraction to Richard. She was remembering another kiss Cole's kiss.

Cole's kiss had been wild and passionate. It had
seared both her heart and her soul, and had awakened
within her the truth of her feelings for him.

Richard's kiss aroused no desire in Jenny other
than the need to move away from him. When he tried to draw her closer and deepen the exchange, she
broke off the embrace and distanced herself from him.

"It's been a long day, Richard. I'd better go in
now," she said, smiling a little to soften her hurried
exit.

As Richard watched her disappear inside and close
the door, his jaw locked in anger. Damn the woman!
Jenny was as elusive as ever. He was not used to
being denied. He was Richard Donathan III, and he
didn't like her attitude one bit.

Richard believed he could use his money to entice
Jenny, but he wasn't accustomed to having to buy a
woman's affections. As a Donathan, he was guaranteed entry to the best homes and the attention of most
of the marriageable females in his social class. He
didn't understand why Jenny was proving to be so
hard to win over. He wasn't about to quit, though.
That would be admitting defeat, and a Donathan was
never defeated.

Richard stalked off into the night, not quite ready
to return to the guest house. Tomorrow they would
go into town for the dance. Surely he would get another chance to be with Jenny there, and perhaps it
was time that he gave some serious thought to Aubrey's suggestion....

Maybe he should think about marrying her.

Rose's excitement was even greater than usual the
following day as she and Jenny left the hotel and
began their search for "her cowboy," starting at the
mercantile. Because she wanted to take the camera
with her, Tom had been recruited to come into town
with them and help carry things. He trailed after them
now, weighted down by the expensive equipment.

"I'm ready. Are you?" Rose asked.

"We'll give it our best effort," Jenny promised. "I
hope George remembers the man we're talking
about."

"Even if he doesn't, I'm going to find a way to
track him down."

"Why is this cowboy so important to you?" Jenny
was curious. She hadn't noticed anything unusual
about the man.

"I'm not sure," Rose said thoughtfully. "There was
just something about him - I mean, the moment our
gazes met, I..." Rose stopped talking, realizing how
ridiculous she sounded.

"From the moment your gazes met, what?" Jenny
prodded. This wasn't a normal conversation with
Rose. She'd never known her friend to give in to romantic flights of fancy.

"Oh, nothing. I'm probably just imagining things,
and that's why I want to see him one more time to
find out."

"Well, if he's in Durango, we'll find him. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that."

They reached Lansing's Mercantile.

"Here we are," Jenny announced as they stopped
out in front.

"I hope the same gentleman is working."

"George should be here. He's the owner."

They entered the store to find the older man hard
at work behind the counter.

"Why, Jenny! It's good to see you again. Are you
in town for the big dance tonight?"

"We sure are, George. You remember my friend
Rose, don't you? And this is Tom; he works for me."

"Of course. Nice to see you, too, miss." He was
staring with open interest at the camera equipment.
"Is one of you a photographer?"

"I am," Rose told him, "and I was wondering if I
could get you to pose for me, George? I've been tak ing pictures out at the ranch and I wanted some from
around town. I'd love to get one of you standing in
front of the store."

George was thrilled. "Why, yes, ma'am." He
started to take off his apron as he came around the
counter.

"Don't take off your apron. I want to capture the
feel of Lansing Mercantile."

"You sure?" He wanted to look his best for her.

"Yes. I like you just the way you are," Rose insisted.

George nervously smoothed down his hair as they
went outside. Rose quickly set about arranging her
tripod and camera. She directed George exactly where
to stand for the best light and was pleased with the
final pose George centered on the porch in the front
of the store with the big "Lansing Mercantile" sign
hanging above him.

"That's wonderful," Rose told him when she'd finished. "Thank you."

"Oh, it was my pleasure, believe me. It isn't every
day that I can get the chance to have my picture
taken."

He was feeling quite special as they walked back
indoors. Some of the townsfolk had gathered around
to watch, curious as to what she was doing.

Tom stayed outside with the equipment.

"I'll make sure you get a print. And by the way, I
wanted to thank you for sending that other package I dropped out to the ranch. I hadn't even realized it was
missing."

"Dan found the package after you'd gone," George
answered easily.

"Dan? Is he the man I ran into?" Rose asked.

"Yes, that's Dan. Dan Lesseg. He found it in one
of the side aisles when he was leaving that day. I told
him I'd see to it that you got it."

"I appreciate your help, and I'd like to thank Dan,
too, if I could. Do you know if he's still in town?"
She tried to sound casual, but her heartbeat had quickened when she'd learned his name. Dan. Dan Lesseg.
She thought Dan was a wonderful name.

"Oh, sure, Dan's in town, but I don't know about
a lady like you going to find him...."

Jenny heard the hesitation and awkwardness in
George's voice and wondered at it. "Is there a problem, George?"

He looked a bit sheepish. "Well, Jenny, you see,
Dan works at the High Time. He's the bartender
there."

"He's a bartender?" Rose was amazed. Of all the
things she'd imagined him doing, working in a saloon
wasn't one of them.

"That's right, and a darned good one, too. I can
attest to that," George told them with a smile.

"Where is the High Time?" Rose asked.

"It really ain't no place for a lady to go," George
cautioned.

In good humor, Rose was tempted to ask him why he thought she was a lady, but she controlled the impulse. "But a picture of a real saloon and a bartender
would be wonderful! What says `Wild West' better
than a saloon? Besides, we'll have Tom along with
us."

"Well um I suppose it would be all right."
George glanced outside to where the young hand was
waiting and guessed the boy could help the women
out if they got into any trouble. He hadn't run into
anyone like Rose before and was completely charmed
by her vivacity. His common sense was telling him
to discourage her interest in the saloon, but her excitement erased his fears. "The High Time's just past
the railroad tracks..." He gave them the directions.

"Thanks, George," Jenny told him.

"You be careful," he cautioned, wondering if he'd
done the right thing.

"We will, don't worry."

Jenny, Rose, and Tom started off toward the High
Time.

"This is so exciting!" Rose said. "I'm going to a
real saloon!"

"You're sure you want to do this?" Jenny asked.

"Of course I'm sure. That's why I came out here.
I wanted to experience this kind of excitement."

"All right. Let's hope your Dan is working."

"If he isn't, maybe we'll just stay at the bar and
wait for him to show up," Rose said smiling.

Jenny laughed. She could only imagine the reaction around town if the news got out that they had frequented the High Time.