Darling Jenny (6 page)

'I'll have to take a raincheck on that, Sheila,' Logan replied. 'I'm sure Mom is worried about me, so I'd better run over there before heading out to the ranch.'

'Oh, you can call her from here,' Sheila insisted, a pleading sparkle in her striking eyes.

'As she would tell you, hearing a voice over the phone is not the same as seeing someone in person,' Logan laughed, his soft gaze trailing over Sheila's black hair down to the teasing smile on her face. 'Besides, you and Jenny will want to have some time together before you have to go to the Lodge.'

'Jenny?' Sheila laughed, glancing over to her sister mischievously at Logan's nickname for her. 'Oh, that must have endeared you to her heart.'

'Jenny Glenn and I,' he paused, gazing speculatively at the smouldering expression on Jennifer's face, 'have made quite an impression on each other. It was a trip I wouldn't have missed for anything.' One corner of his mouth curved mockingly. 'I'd really better go now, Sheila.'

'Don't go, Uncle Logan,' Eric begged. 'Cin and me wanted you to build a snow-fort.'

'Another time, maybe,' he answered firmly, but with a promised nod.

'Since you really must leave,' Sheila sighed, taking his hands in hers, 'then let me thank you for picking Jennifer up and bringing her here.'

Jennifer watched in gnawing agony as her sister reached up and brushed Logan's cheeks lightly with her lips. She felt her worst fears were coming true. Her sister was emotionally involved with this man. She longed to reach out and scratch his eyes when he finally turned to her in his round of good-byes.

'Good-bye, Jenny Glen. I'll see you,' he promised.

'Jenny Glenn,' Sheila echoed with a twinkle as the front door slammed behind the departing man.

'Please don't you start in with that,' Jennifer grimaced.

'I rather like it. It has a ring to it,' her sister teased. 'I wonder why we never called you that before.'

'Probably because of mother's aversion to nicknames, which I heartily endorse.' A frown creased her smooth forehead as she turned away from Sheila. It looked as if it didn't matter what Logan did, it was all right in her sister's eyes.

'Aunt Jenny, do you want to thee my room?' Cindy asked, 'I have lotth of toyth and thingth.'

'Later, Cindy,
'
Sheila hushed her quickly, sensitive to her younger sister's pensiveness. 'You and Eric run out and
play for a while. And for heaven's sake, take Rags with you.'

In seconds she had them bustled out the door and had turned back to Jennifer.

'Come on. Let's go into the kitchen and get some of that coffee. Then you can tell me everything,' Sheila instructed sympathetically, taking Jennifer by the arm and leading her through the living room.

Jennifer didn't tell her everything. Certainly she didn't mention her misgivings about Logan Taylor nor the embarrassing situation the previous night and the following scene in the morning. Sheila seemed to hold a very high opinion of him, one that Jennifer didn't want to alter at this time. As quickly as possible she had changed the subject of their conversation to Sheila, the children and the Lodge where Sheila worked.

Her sister had explained her hesitancy of constantly shuffling the children to Eric's parents on the weekends and as in today's cases during school vacations. His parents were quite elderly, making her two livewires quite a handful for them. Jennifer had gladly volunteered to take care of them and fall in occasionally at the Lodge to give Sheila more free time.

In the days that followed, a pattern developed that not only brought Jennifer and her sister closer together but also Jennifer and the children. It was fun messing around in the kitchen again, fixing meals for a family,
taking care of all the numerous little household chores that had grown into a burden for Sheila. As for Brad Stevenson, he quickly became a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Jennifer wished that Logan Taylor would be that easy. If it wasn't the children saying, 'Uncle Logan this' or 'Uncle Logan that', it was Sheila with 'Logan suggested' or 'Logan said.' No, the unwanted reminders were ever-present. But in the eight days that she had been in Jackson, Jennifer had not been subjected to his unwanted presence. She decided she should be grateful for that. At least, she wouldn't have to put up with that knowing smile of his, although she could hardly deny that his image haunted her. Naturally it was because his name was forever cropping up.

Sheila had had the afternoon free today and had insisted that Jennifer spend some time taking care of her personal chores. Since she did have some Christmas shopping still to be done, Jennifer reluctantly agreed. The children had been easy to buy for, but she wanted to take more time selecting just the right present for her sister. Her previous expeditions into town had been in the company of Cindy and Eric, who were not given to idle wondering through the stores. As it was, Jennifer had been in three stores before she found a matching sweater and slacks outfit in blue that would ideally suit Sheila.

With the gift-wrapped package under her arm, Jennifer dashed across the street to the town square where she paused briefly in front of the antlered archway that marked the path entrance through the square. She had seen it several times, but to Eric and Cindy it was old hat, not worth the extra seconds that Jennifer had longed for to study it.

The intricate network of interlocking antlers as they weaved in and out and up and over to form this strange arch amazed her. She had soon learned that antlers and trophy heads were commonplace decorations in Jackson; even the Lodge where Sheila worked had several large trophies of Big Horn sheep in the lobby, appropriately, since its name was Big Horn Lodge. But this arch was a magnificent work.

'Don't try to count them, because there's too many,' a voice behind her spoke.

Jennifer spun quickly around to see Logan Taylor standing beside her, gazing down at her with a speculative gleam in his eye.

'I wasn't counting,' she replied abruptly.

'Just admiring our quaint western novelty?' he retorted just a trifle sarcastically.

'Yes, if you must know. I find it fascinating,' Jennifer answered scathingly.

'Most people do. They're all elkhorns, you know.'

'How did they find so many?' she mused to herself, looking once again at the arch.

'It's not difficult at all, really. North of the town is the winter refuge of the elk or "wapiti", their Indian name. All the males shed their horns once a year, just as the deer do,' Logan explained.

She was uncomfortably aware of his eyes on her, feeling again the quickening of her pulse.

'I heard someone mention the refuge, but I hadn't really thought too much about it. How many elk are out there?' Her voice had a nervous lilt to it as she tried to keep the conversation on an impersonal level.

'From six to eight thousand.'

'That many?' Jennifer exclaimed. 'What do they do with all the horns?'

'Only the bull elk have antlers,' Logan laughed. 'Each spring the Boy Scouts gather the antlers and have an auction here on the town square, with the proceeds going towards scouting activities.' He stopped abruptly as she turned to face him. She felt caught by his demanding gaze. 'It's cold standing here on the corner,' he finally spoke. 'Come have a cup of hot chocolate with me?'

'I…' she shook her head hesitantly. She didn't want to be with him, to let his maleness arouse that physical attraction she tried to stifle.

'Afraid?'

'Of course not!' Jennifer retorted, suddenly finding the voice that had forsaken her a minute ago.

'We'll go to the "public" restaurant down the street,' Logan stated with a chiding emphasis on 'public'. 'You can see the skiers come down Snow King Mountain.'

'All right,' Jennifer gave in reluctantly, unable to think of a satisfactory excuse not to go. She quickly quelled the thought that secretly she wanted to go with him. The very idea was preposterous.

His arm rested lightly and uncomfortably naturally across her waist in back. Despite the thickness of her coat she could feel the flat of his hand guiding her along.

'I see you're still wearing those silly boots,' he said, a smile teasing down at her.

'The walks are all shovelled, and it didn't seem necessary to wear my new ones,' Jennifer replied evenly.

'Then you did get some real boots.' His brown eyes glinted down on her rosy red cheeks that dashed with the coppery red colour in her hair.

'They're so bulky I feel like a lumberjack in them,' she laughed.

'And you once accused me of being vain, Jenny Glenn,' Logan baited her lightly as he turned her towards the restaurant door.

'Stop calling me that!' she answered sharply in a lowered voice, angered that she had succumbed to his easy charm and hating the skipping beat of her heart for reacting to his caressing abbreviation of her name. 'Arrogant is a better word than vain for you.'

'And here I thought that you had mellowed towards me,' he said with false regret as he pulled out a chair for her facing the window near the front. 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.'

'You've seldom been absent,' she retorted frostily as soon as Logan was seated opposite her. At the quizzical raise of his eyebrow, Jennifer explained, 'If it isn't Sheila telling me of your many virtues than it's the children raving on about "Uncle Logan". Why do they call you "uncle"? Whose idea was that?'

The waitress came at that moment, delaying Logan's answer until after he had ordered for them.

'It was the children's idea. One that neither Sheila nor I saw any harm in.' His expression was serious with a lordly tilt to his head as he answered. 'I imagine they felt they were staking a claim on me, making me an honorary member of their family. They take it seriously, and so do I.'

The waitress returned, placing before each of them a cup of hot chocolate with swirling dabs of whipped cream floating on top. Wordlessly Jennifer concentrated on hers, feeling rebuked by his statement, and knowing hers had been offered in defense of his magnetism. She glanced at him briefly, taking in the light brown sweater with the band of white circling it and the brown stag's head inside the white. There was an allusion of hardness underneath the knitted material and beneath the smiling face as well, a determination to succeed. Brad had been ambitious, too, but with a streak of cunning in him that Jennifer had just now recognized, because she suddenly realized it was absent in Logan.

'You try so hard to figure me out, Jenny. Why don't you just accept what you see?' Logan asked softly.

'Once bitten, twice shy,' she answered brightly, trying to laugh at the wariness he always aroused in her.

'Ah, but you see, I'm not trying to bite you.' Jennifer tried to catch where the slight inflection of his voice placed the emphasis, on 'bite' or on 'you'. A strange sinking feeling told her it was on the last.

'Are you saying that a worldly man like you doesn't try to score with every girl he meets?' she asked, using a smile to hide the cutting tone of her voice.

'Are you asking specifically about strawberry blondes or girls in general?' His knowing smile teased an angry fire alight in her brown eyes. 'I believe you think that kiss in the snow has branded you a fallen woman. It was only a kiss, nothing more.'

She longed to reach across the small table and slap that mocking smile off Logan's face. The anger sent a trembling through her clenched fists on the table. At his amused laugh, Jennifer flashed a burning glance towards him.

'Poor Jenny Glenn,' Logan smiled, a dancing gleam sparkling in his own eyes, 'so filled with righteous indignation! You have the innocent face of an angel, but the devil lurks behind those flames seething inside you. The truth is, I simply enjoy erasing that puritan look from your face.'

'Then let me suggest that you find someone else to have fun with, because I'm not a bit amused.' Determinedly she controlled her temper as she gathered up her bag and gloves to leave.

'Finish your chocolate, Jennifer.' Logan's expression was unchanged, but there was a hardening in his gaze indecision. He would probably be highly amused if that momentarily halted her. An eyebrow raised at her indecision. He would probably be highly amused if she stomped
out the door right now, in spite of his 'order' for her to remain, Jennifer thought. With deliberately controlled movements, she replaced her gloves and purse on the table. She averted her attention to the window where she watched the dots of skiers coming down Snow King.

'Do you ski?' Logan asked.

'Yes,' Jennifer replied calmly, her gaze remaining on the skiers as she sipped the hot chocolate.

'Do you ski well?'

'I'm an experienced amateur,' she answered.

'We'll have to make sure you get the chance to try the slopes while you're here.' Logan's voice was friendly, but Jennifer wasn't about to be drawn out by him.

'I don't require an escort to go skiing.' Her glance as it flicked over him was coolly dismissive.

She felt the amused speculation of his gaze as he replaced his cup in its saucer.

'What you really meant was you didn't require me, Jenny Glenn. But don't go up the slopes alone the first time. Have someone with you.' For all the concern in his words, the tone of his voice was completely indifferent. 'If you're ready we'll go. My car's outside, and I wanted to have a word with Sheila. Rest assured that's my only motive for taking you home.'