Jenny (19 page)

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"There's not much I can do-not knowing how he
feels about me."

"He may very well be angry with you over what
happened. A man does have his pride. But Cole is
definitely worth fighting for, don't you think?"

"Well, I"

"Jenny, I have never known you to back down from
a challenge."

Jenny's spine stiffened at her words, and she
smiled. "You're right, Frances. Thank you! I love
Cole Randall, and I'm going to figure out a way to
win him back."

"Don't thank me. Thank your friend Rose. She
sounds like a very perceptive woman."

"That's why I love her. She never ceases to amaze
me. I think I'll go tell her so right now!"

"Do you think she's awake?"

"Even if she isn't, she'll want to hear my news.
And then we have to start planning-"

"Planning?"

"I have to figure out the best way to convince Cole
that he still loves me and can't live without me!"

Frances was chuckling as Jenny rushed from the
house on her way to awaken Rose.

Rose was not in the least upset by Jenny's excited
entrance into her small sleeping room. She sat up in
bed, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"Time for you to help me finish what you started,"
Jenny told her.

Rose eyed her curiously. "What are you talking
about?"

"I'm talking about Cole."

"What about him?"

"You were right, Rose. I love him. It took me all
night, plus a long conversation with Frances, to finally
realize it, but I do love Cole and I want him back."

"What about Richard?" Rose asked slyly, lowering her voice just in case someone could overhear their
conversation.

"What about him?"

"How does he compare to Cole?"

"There's no comparison," Jenny declared. In her
mind, Richard paled to insignificance next to Cole.

"Exactly!" Rose laughed gaily. "I knew it! You do
love Cole! So how are you going to win him over?"

"I don't know. That's why I came in here to wake
you up early so we could figure out what I should
do."

"We need to make a battle plan," Rose said
thoughtfully, her expression turning serious as she began to plot.

"A battle plan?" Jenny's eyes widened.

"That's right. You're going to have to storm Cole's
defenses."

"You sound like a general going to war."

"Sometimes love is like war. He's hardened himself against any tender emotions, and you've got to
find a way to get past the barriers he's put up. You
have to lay siege to his heart."

"I like the sound of that. When do we get started?"

"How soon will you see him again?"

"Probably not until the dance in town."

"So we've got a little time to plan." Rose was excited as she started to think of ways to reach out to
Cole. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"I hope you're right," Jenny said. Then, suddenly
afraid that it might be too late to win him back, she asked, "But what if he really doesn't love me anymore?"

"Then we'll just have to make him fall in love with
you all over again. We will not be denied! I don't
want to hear any more doubts from you, Jenny. You
love Cole, and you've made up your mind that you're
going to do everything in your power to catch him.
Right?"

"Right."

"Then failure is not a possibility."

They huddled there on Rose's bed in the predawn
darkness, plotting the best ways to seduce a cowboy.
They had four days to formulate a plan of action.

"This certainly makes me appreciate Philadelphia and
a well-sprung carriage," Aubrey declared under his
breath to Richard as they jolted along on a crosscountry horseback ride with Jenny, Melanie, and Rose
later that day.

"You're not giving up already, are you?" Richard
taunted his friend.

"Hardly. I'm no quitter. I just prefer a more civilized way of life, that's all. One of these days I'm
going to have to stop following you on these adventures."

"But think how boring your life would become."

"Boring might be quite pleasant right now. You
see, I don't have a reason for being here as you do."

"You're here as my moral support."

"As if you'd heed my advice anyway," he scoffed. "It all goes back to what I told you before we left: if
you'd proposed to Jenny a month or two ago, we
wouldn't be stuck here in the middle of nowhere
now."

"You need to learn how to relax and have some
fun, Aubrey."

"I know very well how to relax and have fun," he
groused, "and this isn't it. It's bourbon and cigars at
the men's club and then playing high-stakes poker
until dawn."

"I will do my best to find a saloon for you in town,
my friend."

Aubrey only grunted in response as the group
slowed near a scenic viewpoint.

"Rose-I thought you might want to get a picture
from here," Jenny said as she stopped her horse.
"What do you think?"

The vista before them was magnificent. The mountains rose in majestic splendor over the lush valley
below.

"Each time I look in a different direction, I see a
scene more beautiful than the last," Rose told her.

Rose dismounted and, with Tom's help, started to
unpack the eighty pounds of photography equipment
that was loaded on a packhorse. This would be the
sixth photograph she'd taken since they'd ridden out
that morning, and she firmly believed that each one
was better than the last.

"I guess the rest of us can take it easy for a while,"
Jenny suggested.

Rose was getting to be quite professional in her
handling of the delicate equipment. She carefully assembled her camera and then insisted that her friends
pose for her.

"I want proof that you really were here," she explained.

While they all held perfectly still, she took the photograph. She smiled with satisfaction when she'd finished.

"That will be the best one so far."

"If you want to take more than just photographs of
the great outdoors, you could take the camera with
you when we go into town for the dance."

Rose suddenly smiled brightly at the prospect.
"Cole said he was going to be there. Maybe I can get
a picture of him to take back East with me, and maybe
I can find my mystery cowboy and take his picture,
too."

"Still thinking about him, are you?"

"Yes. He was the first real cowboy I ever ran into,"
Rose said with a grin, remembering her encounter
with the handsome mysterious stranger. "I want to see
if I made as big an impression on him as he did on
me."

"It will be interesting trying to find him. I guess
we could start by asking George at the mercantile. He
might remember what happened and know who he
is."

"You're right! We'll go there first," Rose decided.

"And while you ladies are taking your photographs, Aubrey and I will take the time to explore the more
manly entertainments in your town," Richard told
them.

"I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time," Jenny
said.

"The trip into town is still a few days away yet,"
Melanie said. "What are we going to do tomorrow?"

As they got ready to ride again, Jenny told them
of the day-long hunting trip Louie had scheduled for
the men and the three-mile hike she'd arranged for
the women. She was looking forward to having time
with just Rose and Melanie. They had a lot to talk
about and a lot of plans to make before the night of
the dance.

Richard was not a happy man. His whole purpose in
coming on this expedition was to spend some time
with Jenny, but it wasn't turning out that way. Every
minute of his time had been filled with carefully
scheduled activities.

He had gone horseback riding.

He'd hunted.

He'd hiked.

He'd ridden along on a roundup and helped repair
a damaged fence line.

Now as they were finally heading back to the ranch
for the night, Richard decided that he'd had enough.
He had not had a minute of privacy with her in all
the days they'd been there.

He intended to rectify the problem that very night.

"Why are you looking so grim?" Aubrey asked as they rode along together a short distance behind the
others.

"I've been trying to get Jenny alone, but there's
always somebody around. And now tomorrow we go
into town for the dance."

"That'll be the time for you to make your move."

"I hope so. The only reason I made the trip out
here was to be with her."

"Talk to her tonight. You don't have anything to
lose, and it's not as if she's being courted by anyone
else. She's just really serious about making the ranch
a success and probably isn't thinking too much about
romance-or anything else, for that matter."

Richard grunted in reluctant agreement. Jenny certainly had no social life to speak of, and the only other
man who'd been around was her ex-fiance. Richard
was certain Cole posed no threat.

"I've been thinking. If you tell Jenny that she can
use your money to fix the place up once she marries
you, she'll probably rush you to the altar."

"But then that would mean we would have to live
here," Richard complained. He was more than ready
to head back to civilization.

"Maybe for only part of the year," Aubrey offered
hopefully. "You do love her, don't you?"

Richard didn't answer. He knew he desired Jenny
and wanted her badly. But love and marriage? That
was a far bigger commitment than he wanted to make.
He would have to see how things went between them during the next day or two. He was definitely going
to seek her out tonight.

Mira gave a lot of thought to what she would wear
to the dance the following night. Since Jenny was
back in the area, she might very well show up, too,
so Mira wanted to look her absolute best. She didn't
want Cole to have any reason to look at another
woman. She selected a dark blue gown with a lowcut bodice. She hoped the revealing decolletage
would keep Cole's attention focused on her all night
long and maybe a few other men's, too. A little
competition from other men might spike his interest
in her. She was ready and willing to do whatever it
took to make him her own.

When they returned to the ranch from the ride, Rose
accompanied Jenny to the main house.

"I want to take a look at your gowns. Whatever we
choose for you to wear tomorrow night has to be really special," Rose advised her. "It's got to be romantic, yet exciting."

"I hope I've got something like that," Jenny said,
trying to think of what was in her wardrobe. When
she'd packed so hurriedly to come back to the ranch,
she hadn't worried about bringing any of her fancier
gowns.

"If you don't, I brought two gowns with me, and
one of them just might work for you. We'll find something, don't worry. We are going to be staying
overnight in town, right?"

"Yes. It will be late when the dance is over, so
we'll take rooms at one of the hotels."

"Good. That will give us a place to fix your hair
before the dance."

"My hair?" Jenny was surprised. She'd always
worn it tied back or she'd let it fall freely about her
shoulders.

Rose looked pensive. "I've been studying you today, and I think your hair would look wonderful if
we styled it up some way. I'll experiment with it and
see."

"But-"

"You love Cole and you want to win Cole over,
don't you? You have to remember, this is war, and
this will be our first attack. We have to make you
look so gorgeous that he won't be able to take his
eyes off you. Trust me in this."

"If you're so good at capturing men's hearts, why
haven't you married yet?" Jenny asked. She knew that
Rose saw quite a variety of men, but she'd never gotten serious with any of them.

Rose looked thoughtful, then finally answered,
"I've never been in love. I've liked a lot of men, and
I've enjoyed their company, but no one's ever swept
me off my feet. I guess I'm still looking for that handsome prince to woo me."

"A prince?"

"Every girl can have her fairy tale to believe in,
can't she?"

Jenny laughed. "If you say so."

"I do. Now, back to you and Cole. We have to
figure out a way to get him to dance with you."

"I don't think he'll want to."

"We'll make him want to," Rose insisted. "After
all, he can't snub you in public. When he asks you
to dance, there must be some way you can maneuver
him into a quiet corner somewhere."

Jenny smiled at Rose. "I like the way you think."

"Good, but do you know what you're going to do
with him once you get him alone?"

"I've got a pretty good idea."

"That's my girl. That will be assault number two."

"How many `assaults' is it going to take?"

"Does it matter? I think you're going to be enjoying every one of them."

"You're right!"

They made their way up to Jenny's room and spent
the next hour going through her wardrobe. When they
didn't find the perfect gown, Rose went out to the
guest house and returned with one of her own. A few
minutes later, Jenny was standing before her wearing
a rose-colored gown that was stunning on her.