Jenny (21 page)

As they made their way toward the saloon, a very
handsome couple came out of one of the buildings
and started walking toward them.

"Jenny?" the woman said in delight when she saw
her. "It's so good to see you!"

"Elise-Trace-it's good to see you, too!" Jenny
said as she hugged Elise. She hadn't seen her old
friends since she'd returned. She quickly turned to
Rose to make the introductions. "Rose, these are my
friends Elise and Trace Jackson. They're the owners
of the Durango Weekly Star. This is Rose, my friend
from Philadelphia."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Rose said.

"You're a photographer?" Trace asked, noticing the
equipment Tom was carrying.

"Yes. I'm taking as many pictures as I can here in
Durango. Your town is so beautiful-I'm going to
use them to help promote Jenny's guest ranch when
I go back to Philadelphia."

"So it is true, then?" Elise looked at Jenny. "I had
heard talk that you were considering taking in visitors."

"Yes. Rose brought the first group out this week. I
have a total of five guests staying at the Lazy S right
now."

"And we're having a wonderful time!" Rose put in.

"We'll have to do an article on your success,"
Trace said.

"That would be wonderful."

"Are you staying in town for the dance tonight?"
Elise asked.

"Yes."

"Then we'll see you there."

"And you'd both better save a dance for me," Trace
said.

"Our pleasure," they responded.

Jenny and Rose moved on with Tom following,
still on their quest to find Dan.

"Jenny, are all the men in Colorado good-looking?
Your friend Trace is every bit as handsome as Cole
and Dan."

"I guess we just know how to grow `em right out
here," Jenny laughed. She had to admit, though, Rose
was right. Trace was very attractive. "Trace and
Elise's story is a most interesting one. He used to be
a lawman..." She went on to tell Rose how the two
had met and fallen in love.

"That is so romantic," Rose sighed. "Elise had her
hero right there with her the whole time, and she
didn't even realize it. What a wonderful story."

"Yes, it is."

They saw the sign for the High Time ahead, and
Jenny stopped and looked at her friend.

"How do you want to do this?"

"I'm just going to walk in and ask for Dan. That's
the easiest way, don't you think?" Rose knew it was
a little late for her to start playing the role of the shy,
retiring female.

"To tell you the truth, I've never gone into a saloon
before."

"I can go in for you," Tom offered. He knew how
rough saloons could be and didn't want anything to
happen to them.

"That's sweet of you, Tom, but I'm going to do
this myself," Rose declared. "When I want something,
I go after it."

Rose marched ahead and Jenny followed her. She
bravely pushed the swinging door open and went inside, her head held high. She stopped just inside the
door and let her gaze sweep over the room, looking
for Dan. This was her first ever view of a real saloon.
It was cleaner than she'd expected, though the scent
of cigars and whiskey did hang heavy in the air. There
was a small area that must serve as a dance floor, an
upright piano in one corner, and a bar that ran across
the entire width of the back wall. A few customers
were seated at the tables, and more stood at the bar
with a woman wearing a revealing dress. But she saw
no sign of Dan.

"I don't see him, do you?" Jenny asked.

"No."

Several of the customers at the tables noticed them
and started elbowing their companions. One man got
up and approached them, his gait a bit unsteady.

"Say, girlies, are you here for a good time? Did
you just start working for Fernada? I ain't seen you
here before, have I?" he asked, grinning at them hungrily. Though they obviously weren't dressed like the normal bargirls, he didn't care as long as they took
care of business and that meant pleasuring him.

Just then Tom came into the saloon behind them
carrying all the equipment. The man peered at him in
confusion.

"What the hell's goin' on?"

Fernada had been standing at the bar when the two
women entered the High Time. Since Dan was in
back, she hurried forward to take care of the situation,
not wanting any trouble. She knew how obnoxious
Jimmy Hogan could be after a few drinks.

"Is there something I can do for you ladies? Are
you lost?" Fernada asked.

"No...no, we're not lost," Rose said, still looking for some sign of Dan. "Actually, we're looking
for--"

And then Dan emerged from the back room.

"Someone-" Rose's breath caught in her throat
when she saw him.

Dan was every bit as good-looking as she'd remembered. He was carrying a case of liquor, and she
could see how his shirt stretched taut across his powerful shoulders. She found herself actually growing a
bit nervous about talking to him again. Her reaction
amazed her. Nothing had ever made her nervous, but
this man did. She found it thrilling and a bit unnerving.

Fernada followed the direction of Rose's gaze and
frowned, puzzled. "You're here to see Dan?"

"Yes," she breathed.

The men at the bar had alerted Dan that something
unusual was going on, and he set the liquor aside and
glanced toward the front of the saloon. It took him
only an instant to recognize Rose and Jenny. He
smiled and quit what he was doing to go and speak
with them.

"Well, hello," Dan said.

He'd tried not to think about Rose too much after
their encounter. He had not expected to ever see her
again. But instead of forgetting her, he couldn't shake
her from his mind ever since. Seeing her again now,
he realized why. She was as beautiful as he remembered. He didn't know why she'd dared to come here,
seeking him out, but he was real glad that she had.

"Hello, Dan." Rose smiled at him and him alone.
Although there were others with them, she felt as if
they were by themselves, intent only on each other.

"You know my name...." He was even more surprised.

"I asked George at the mercantile. He told me
where to find you."

"I'm glad he did," he said, still grinning.

"You know these ladies, Dan?" Fernada interrupted. She could not imagine why these two obviously well-bred women had dared to enter the bar.

"Fernada, this is Jenny Sullivan from the Lazy S
and her friend Rose. I ran into them the other day
over at the mercantile." As he said it, his gaze met
Rose's and they both smiled.

"So you two don't work for Fernada?" Jimmy Hogan said in confusion.

"No, Jimmy, they don't," Fernada explained. "Why
don't you belly up to the bar and I'll buy you a drink
in a minute."

"Why, I'll just do that," he said as he staggered off,
disappointed, but happy to be getting free liquor.

"So is there something we can do for you?" Fernada asked. She wanted to get the women out of the
High Time as quickly as possible.

"Actually, I needed to speak with Dan," Rose said,
looking up at him.

"I'd better go take care of Jimmy, Dan. You hurry
it up here, all right?" She gave him a look that spoke
volumes and let him know that she wanted the women
out of the saloon fast.

"What can I do for you?" Dan asked sincerely.

Rose could come up with a list a mile long of what
she'd like him to do for her. First on the list would
be "kiss me."

As she realized the direction of her thoughts, Rose
chastised herself.

"I just wanted to thank you for seeing that the package I dropped at the mercantile got delivered to me."

"I was just glad I found it for you."

The moment seemed to be growing more and more
awkward. Rose knew she should leave, but she didn't
want to. "I've never been in a saloon before."

He knew that. She was a lady through and through,
and she had no business being in a place like this. He
knew he should encourage her to leave, but he wasn't ready to say good-bye to her yet. "What do you think
of the High Time?"

"It's a world unto itself, and that's the other reason
why I came here," she told him. "I've brought my
camera, and I wondered if I could get a picture of
you standing out in front of the saloon near the sign."

"You want to take a picture of me and the High
Time?" He looked from her to where Tom stood with
the equipment.

"Yes. I'd like one of you, and Fernada, too, if she'd
be interested. I'm going to use them when I go back
home to Philadelphia to show everybody what Durango and the Lazy S are really like. I hope the pictures get people excited about visiting the West. I'm
sure there are any number of men back East who
would love to come to a place like this," Rose explained, looking around once more. She didn't tell
him that she planned to keep at least one copy of his
photograph for herself.

Dan looked back toward the bar. "You boys all
right on your drinks for a while?"

"Yeah," they answered, all watching him with open
interest. They couldn't wait to find out what was going on.

"Fernada? Can you come here a minute?"

She didn't know what Dan wanted, but she served
Jimmy his drink and followed them out of the saloon.
"What's going on?"

"Rose wants to take our picture," he told her.

"She does?" Fernada was thrilled. She'd never had
her photograph taken.

Jenny and Tom stayed out of the way as Rose went
to work setting up the tripod, adjusting her equipment,
and making sure there was enough light to get the
best shot.

"I'd like to take one with you together, and then I
want to take two more one of each of you individually."

When she'd finished setting up her camera, she directed them where to stand and made sure the exposure was right. That done, she took the pictures.

"Can I get a copy of your photographs?" Fernada
asked, eager to see how they turned out.

"I'll be sure to develop an extra print for you."

"Thanks. Are you both staying in town tonight for
the big dance?" Fernada asked.

"We wouldn't miss it," Jenny told her.

"It should be a good time. Almost everyone turns
out."

"What about you, Dan?" Rose asked without a bit
of embarrassment. "Will you be at the dance?"

She was hoping he would be there. She wanted to
dance with him to have his arms around her and...
The image in her mind was wonderful, until he answered her.

"I have to work tonight."

Dan had never, ever resented his job before. He
had always put in long hours and usually enjoyed it,
but right now, it irritated him that he had to work that night. He'd never wanted to go to a dance before, but
tonight he did. And he knew very well what the reason was. Rose would be there.

"Oh. Well, I'll see you when I get the photographs
developed, then."

He brightened at the thought of being with her once
more. "I'll look forward to it."

"I can't wait to see them!" Fernada added, still excited about the photographs and missing completely
the underlying tension between the two. "I'd better
get back to work."

"Thank you for your help," Rose told her as Fernada disappeared inside.

"And I'll see you again later?" Dan asked Rose,
his gaze meeting and holding hers.

"Yes," she answered firmly. "Should I bring the
photographs back here?"

"Yes. It's not very often that I'm anywhere else."

"Then I'll find you."

Dan went back to work as Rose carefully packed
up her things and gave them to Tom. They started
back to the hotel.

"That went nicely, don't you think?" Rose asked
Jenny.

"Actually, I'm surprised that it went as well as it
did."

"You were really worried?"

"If my papa had been alive, he would have had a fit if he'd found out I'd been in there," Jenny told her
with a grin.

"I guess I'm a bad influence on you," Rose
laughed.

"Yes, and I'm enjoying every minute of it."

Jenny stood before the mirror in the hotel room, critically studying her reflection.

"Do you think I look pretty enough?" she asked
Rose.

"You are gorgeous tonight. I wish I'd looked this
good in that gown. I may just have to let you keep
it. It's absolutely wonderful on you."

The gown was enticing. It set off her figure to perfection, and Rose had arranged her hair up in an artful
style that bespoke elegance. Jenny looked sophisticated and worldly.

Jenny nodded at her reflection, her expression determined. "Cole Randall, here I come."

"There will be no way he'll be able to ignore you
and neither will any of the other men who are there,"
Rose told her with confidence. "Who knows? Maybe Richard will propose to you tonight." Her grin was
wicked.

"I don't even want to think about that. Richard's
nice enough, but I'm not attracted to him not the
way he'd like me to be."