A Cowboy for Christmas (4 page)

Dan immediately noticed how serious the older man was and grew worried. “Is something wrong?”

Fred’s expression was troubled as he answered, “Oh yeah.”

“What is it?”

“It’s Jack.” He glanced up toward the main house. “The doc was here yesterday and . . .”

Dan knew it had to be serious if Jack had agreed to see the doctor. Over the years he’d worked for him, Dan had come to understand what a strong-willed, hard-driven man Jack Anderson was. Jack didn’t back down when he believed he was right, and he always tried to tough things out when times got bad. “What happened?”

“Don’t know for sure. It came on real suddenlike and after he finally agreed to let me get the doc to come see him . . .” Fred paused as he glanced up toward the main house. “The news was bad.”

“How bad?”

Fred looked up at Dan and told him the grim truth. “The doc says he ain’t got long to live.”

Dan heard him, but he didn’t want to believe it. As strong and vital a man as Jack was, it seemed impossible he could be this ill. “Why?”

“Something with his heart, I think.”

“Can’t Doc Clemens do something for him?”

“The doc said it was just a matter of time, a few months if Jack’s lucky.”

“I’ve got to see him,” Dan said. Jack was the closest thing he had to a family. The thought that he was sick and might be dying tormented him. He had to do everything in his power to help Jack through this.

“I’ll finish tending to your horse for you,” Fred offered.

“Thanks.”

Dan hurried up to the house and found Jack sitting at the desk in his office.

“You’re back,” Jack said, looking up as Dan entered the room. “How did things go?”

“Fine until now.”

Jack saw how serious his expression was. “I take it you’ve already talked to Fred.”

Dan nodded as he came to stand before him.
He immediately noticed how pale Jack was. Generally, he was a hardy, robust man, but there was little color in his face now. His features seemed drawn and almost haggard, as if the life was somehow draining out of him. Dan found it hard to believe that he could have gotten this weak in just the short time he’d been gone. “He saw me ride in and came out to tell me the news.”

“It’s not good,” Jack said without emotion, having already accepted his fate. He’d known even before he’d seen the doctor that he was feeling worse than he ever had, and the news the doc had given him hadn’t surprised him.

“Maybe the doc’s wrong.” Dan wanted to encourage him to fight whatever was ailing him.

“No, he’s not wrong,” Jack told him, looking up at him to meet his gaze.

In that moment, Dan could see the pain mirrored in his friend’s eyes and realized just how much Jack was suffering. “There’s got to be something we can do.”

In the time he’d spent alone since Doc Clemens had given him the bad news, Jack had done a lot of thinking. He had accomplished a lot in his life, building the Lazy Ace into a successful ranch, but there was one thing more he had to take care of before he died. He would never be able to rest in peace unless he got Penny to come home.

“Yes, there is. I need your help.”

Dan had no idea what Jack was about to ask, but he could deny his friend nothing.

“I need you to go back to St. Louis and bring my daughter home. I need to see Penny again before I die.”

“Your daughter?”

Jack had rarely spoken of his wife and daughter. What little Dan knew was that Jack’s wife had left him six years ago and had taken their daughter with her. The other hands had told him how Jack had made a trip back to St. Louis to see them some months after they’d left, but his wife had been so determined not to have anything more to do with him that he’d stayed away ever since. Jack had tried to bring Penny back to the ranch for visits, but his wife had refused all his efforts, and the hands knew he’d hardly ever heard from his daughter. When Jack had gotten the news of his wife’s death two years before, he’d tried to contact Penny again hoping she would come home then, but when she had not responded to his letters, he’d given up. Despite all that, Dan knew this time things were different.

Jack handed him a small oil portrait of Penny he kept on his desk. “Yes. Go get her for me, Dan.” He opened the top drawer and took out a sealed envelope. “I know she might refuse to come, but give her this letter.”

“I will,” he promised. He took the letter.

“Here’s the money you’ll need for the trip.” Jack took another envelope out of the drawer and gave it to him.

“Why don’t you come with me?”

“No, I need to stay here on the Lazy Ace. Bring her home, Dan. If I could just have her here for Christmas . . .” He fell quiet for a moment, remembering how they’d celebrated the holidays when she was young and living on the ranch.

“All right.”

Dan realized it probably wasn’t going to be an easy task to convince her to give up city living and return to Texas. If she’d had little to no contact with her father in all this time, he wondered if she would even care that Jack was sick and dying. Somehow, he was going to have to find a way to convince her to return to the ranch. Friend that Jack was to him, Dan knew he wouldn’t return without her.

“I can get ready and head into town tonight. There should be a stage coming through tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

Taking the envelopes with him, Dan started from the room without saying any more.

“Dan—”

Jack’s call stopped Dan before he could walk out the door. He turned back to see his friend looking very weak and frail.

“Hurry back.”

“I’ll get her back to you as fast as I can,” Dan promised, and he meant it. One way or another, he was going to see Jack reunited with his daughter. It was the least he could do for a man who’d
given him so much. He left the main house and went to pack.

As foreman, he had a small two-room house off to the side of the bunkhouse. Some of the hands were wondering what he was doing when they saw him come out carrying a traveling bag. Dan quickly explained the reason for his trip.

“Jack’s going to need you boys more than ever now. Lou, you take over running things while I’m gone, and all of you keep a close eye on Jack,” he instructed.

“We will,” Lou said, giving Dan a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“I’ll get back here with Penny as fast as I can.”

“Good luck to you,” Lou said.

“Thanks. I think I may need it.”

“That you might,” he agreed. “As a little girl, Penny was as headstrong as her father. I can just imagine what kind of woman she’s grown into after living in the city all this time.”

Fred put in, “I wonder why Jack even wants to see her again. She hasn’t been back in all these years.”

“The ranch will be hers when he dies,” Lou pointed out, “so she’d better come back and show her father some respect.” He looked to Dan. “I’ll ride with you into town and bring your horse back. You’re going to be gone a spell.”

“I know.” Dan was grim. “There’s no fast way to do this, but if I can get out of Sagebrush tomorrow, hopefully I can have her back here before
Christmas. I have to bring her home before anything happens to Jack.”

Lou could tell Dan was determined not to fail. “If anyone can bring Penny back in time, it’ll be you. You’ve never let Jack down yet, and you won’t this time, either. Come on, let’s get you into town.”

Fifteen days later

Penny was excited as she pulled another gown out of her wardrobe to show her friend. “Since you don’t like the pink dress, what about this one, Amanda?”

Amanda smiled as Penny held up the turquoise dress. “That’s definitely the one! Try it on and let me see.”

“All right, but you’ll have to help.”

Penny presented her back to her friend and waited while Amanda unfastened the buttons. That done, Penny quickly took it off and slipped into the modestly cut, turquoise gown before turning around to pose.

“Well, what do you think?

Amanda nodded in delight. “I was right. It’s perfect! Richard will be so impressed.”

“Good. I do want to look my best tonight.”

“You will,” Amanda said. “Everybody who’s anybody will be there.” She paused. “Penny . . .”

Amanda’s tone was so serious all of a sudden that Penny glanced over at her questioningly. “What?”

“Do you love him?”

Penny was quiet for a moment as she thought of the handsome, debonair Richard Williams. “I really haven’t gotten to know him that well yet,” she answered.

“How could you not love him? He’s handsome and he’s rich! What more does a man need to win your heart?”

“It sounds to me like you’re in love with him!” she countered, laughing.

“It would be unrequited.” Amanda sighed dramatically.

“I like Richard. He’s always been a gentleman with me, and I will admit he is good-looking.”

“Very,” she agreed, thinking how the tall, blond banker set female hearts fluttering all over town—her own especially.

“I’m just not ready to think about marrying anyone yet, no matter what Aunt Matilda says. After what happened between my mother and my father, I don’t know if I’ll ever get married.”

“Penny!” She was shocked by her friend’s honesty. “You were definitely not meant to be an old maid!”

“And what’s wrong with being an old maid?” Penny grinned at her impishly. “I think it would be rather liberating to be free to do whatever you wanted to do, whenever you wanted to do it.”

Amanda couldn’t help laughing. “I’ve always known you were a wild one. Society doesn’t respect a woman without a suitable husband.”

Penny gave her a mischievous look. “Do we really care what society thinks?”

“Well, I know that society thinks we should show up on time at the ball tonight. I’d better go get ready myself. I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, you will,” Penny said as her friend left the room.

Amanda stopped by the parlor on her way out. “It was lovely to see you again, Aunt Matilda.”

The older woman smiled, glad that Penny’s friend liked her enough to call her aunt, too. “You as well,” she returned. “You and your parents will be at the Chases’ ball tonight, won’t you?”

“Of course! We wouldn’t miss it for the world. I can’t wait! Penny is going to look so pretty. She’s picked the turquoise gown to wear.”

“Good, good. I’m sure you’ll both be lovely.”

Matilda walked Amanda to the door. She believed the young woman was a good influence on her niece, and she was quite fond of her.

When Amanda had gone, Matilda started upstairs to speak to Penny. Having never married and had children of her own, she had accepted her sister Elizabeth and her niece into her home when they’d returned from Texas. They had lived comfortably together on the family money they had inherited. But since Elizabeth’s death, life had become more complicated. She could only hope she was doing all she could do to help her niece.

Matilda knew Elizabeth would be proud of the lady her daughter had become. Penny was strikingly beautiful with her dark hair and eyes and slender figure, and there was no doubt she was a very intelligent young woman. She just hoped Penny married well when the time came and that her marriage would be a happy one—unlike her mother’s.

Elizabeth had become so estranged from her husband that she destroyed any attempt at communication between him and his daughter. Matilda still felt guilty for not telling her niece that her father had written, but she’d promised her sister to keep silent.

Matilda reached Penny’s room and knocked on the door. “May I come in?”

“Of course,” Penny responded.

Matilda let herself in to find her niece had changed back into her day gown. “Amanda said you’ve chosen the turquoise gown for tonight.”

“Yes, will you help me pick out what jewelry to wear with it?”

The older woman was delighted to have been asked. They went through her jewelry box searching for the perfect necklace, finally selecting a strand of pearls and matching earrings.

“These will be perfect with it,” Matilda told her. “And we’ll need to leave by seven.”

“I’ll be ready,” Penny promised.

“Good. Now it’s my turn. I’d better go pick out
which gown I’m going to wear. I certainly want to make myself presentable. This is an important evening.”

“You’ll be pretty in whatever you decide on.”

“I do love having you around, dear.” Matilda was smiling as she left her niece’s bedroom.

When her aunt had gone, Penny sat down on her bed, her thoughts all on the evening to come. It would be nice to see Richard at the Chases’ Thanksgiving ball tonight. As Amanda had said, he was good-looking, and she did enjoy his company. He certainly was one of the best dancers in town, that was for sure. It was just when Amanda had asked her if she was in love with him that she’d grown troubled. After watching what had happened to her parents, she wasn’t sure she could ever risk falling in love and get married.

Facing the truth of her feelings wasn’t easy for Penny, so she quickly put those thoughts from her. She had a party to think about. For now, she was going to concentrate on just having fun that evening.

Dan was glad he’d brought his heavy coat along as he stood outside the train station in the cold weather. He couldn’t help noticing how much the city had changed in the years he’d been away. The station was a busy place, and the streets were crowded with warmly dressed folks coming and going. He was impressed. St. Louis was called “the Gateway to the West” and he knew it was true. He’d certainly headed west when he’d left.

Dan hired a carriage and told the driver the address for the orphanage. He wanted to see it before he checked in at the hotel.

The driver gave him a puzzled look as he helped him with his bags. “You sure you want to go there?”

“I’m sure,” Dan answered.

“All right,” the driver agreed as they started off, “but there ain’t much left there to see.”

“Why? What happened?”

“The orphans’ home burned down some years back and nobody ever bothered to rebuild it.”

“What about the children?”

“There are other homes in the city. They took them in.” He asked, “Why do you care?”

“I lived at the orphanage for a while.”