Jenny (23 page)

"Richard and Jenny have been seeing each other
for a while," Rose said, and she was secretly pleased
when she noticed that Cole tensed at her words. She'd
have to let Jenny know that he seemed a bit jealous.
She quickly continued on, "And they've had some
good times together in Philadelphia, but I don't see
him anywhere around right now. You're here. You
could be the one to save her."

"She'll be all right. She's danced with Clint before
and survived unscathed."

"Maybe she has in the past, but you're responsible
for her now. Just think of her feet! If she's maimed
and can never walk again, how will she be able to work and save the ranch? And then what would you
do? You'll be responsible for her finances. Think of
the expense of medical care if Clint injures her...."
Rose exhausted all the reasons she could think of to
push Cole toward Jenny. "Dance me over there, go
ahead. I'll sacrifice myself to save Jenny. You take
Jenny. I'll take Clint. That's what best friends are
for."

Cole wasn't quite sure which of the arguments
Rose had used convinced him to intercede, but he
swung them expertly toward where Clint was tromping around in great spirits, enjoying the fast-paced
melody.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" Cole asked Clint, surprising the other man.

"You want to trade?" Clint asked, not stopping his
dancing but looking straight at the woman he'd heard
was named Rose. She was a pretty one, and he'd
wanted to dance with her earlier, but she'd disappeared on him. He smiled broadly. "Sure, Cole. I'll
trade you. Thanks, Jenny."

"You're welcome, Clint," Jenny said, not quite sure
what was going on. She wondered what Rose had said
to Cole to get him to come for her. "Thank you for
asking me to dance."

Rose gave Jenny a secret wink as she went willingly into Clint's arms, and he danced her off into
the crowd.

Jenny and Cole did not have time to stand there awkwardly and stare at each other. They were in the middle of the dance floor and had to keep moving.

Without a word, Cole took Jenny in his arms and
swept her away. They moved gracefully together,
matching each other's rhythm, their bodies instinctively attuned. There was no need for them to speak.
Words would only have destroyed the moment.

Cole held her close while memories of other dances
years before played in his mind. Jenny had fit against
him perfectly then, and she did so now. He glanced
down to find her gazing up at him. She looked lovely
tonight, and he had a great desire to dance her off
somewhere private, miles and miles away from here,
where it would be just the two of them alone. Then
he was going to kiss her not a chaste kiss, but a passionate, hungry kiss that would tell her all that he
was really feeling.

Just thinking about kissing Jenny stirred his body
to life.

The sensual awareness that filled him surprised
Cole. He tried to ignore it.

This was not the time.

This was not the place.

And this was definitely not the woman.

Cole had offered to dance with Jenny only to save
her from Clint nothing more.

Jenny found herself practically floating in Cole's
arms. Cole was such a contrast to Clint in so many
ways. Where Clint had been rough, Cole was smooth.
Where Clint had been wildly enthusiastic about his
dancing, Cole was controlled in his moves. Where
Clint had been open and good-natured, Cole was reserved and seemed almost cautious with her.

Jenny realized vaguely that dancing with either
man could prove dangerous to her, but.for far different reasons. Dancing with Clint had been physically
risky, but dancing with Cole was more threatening to
her peace of mind.

The music continued, and she was glad. She didn't
want the dance to end. She reveled in the feel of
Cole's hard, powerful body in fluid motion against
hers as they circled the dance floor. The moment was
heavenly for her. This was where she belonged. There
was nowhere else she wanted to be but with Cole.

As soon as the music ended, Cole would be gone- back to Mira. She had to find a way to make this
moment last. She wanted to get Cole alone-someplace away from the crowd-away from Richard
away from Mira. Someplace much more private....

Try as she might, Jenny wasn't sure where that
would be. She'd been surrounded by people ever
since they'd arrived. Richard had rarely left her side,
and just when she'd managed to escape him, Clint
had appeared and would not be denied his dance.
Jenny had been thrilled when Cole cut in on Clint,
but she couldn't help thinking that Rose had used
some kind of subterfuge to get him to do it.

A sense of futility threatened Jenny's determination. It seemed she was making no progress at all in
winning Cole back, but then she realized she couldn't
just give up. She loved Cole, and Cole had loved her
once. She intended to make him love her again.

"That's my girl" Her father's voice seemed to ring
out in her mind.

Tears welled up in her eyes. Her determination returned full force, and with it, the courage to do what
needed to be done.

"Jenny?" Cole noticed the tears in her eyes and
couldn't imagine what was troubling her. "Is something wrong?"

"No. No, I was just thinking..." Jenny replied hesitantly, still feeling quite emotional.

"Thinking about what?" he pressed.

Just then the music stopped. They stood there as
other couples milled around them.

"It was nothing... I know you have to go back...
Mira's waiting for you," Jenny said. She tried to force
a smile. "Thanks for saving me from Clint."

With that, Jenny turned and walked away from
him. She deliberately went in the opposite direction
from where she'd last seen Mira waiting for Cole's
return. She was taking a chance by leaving him this
way, but she prayed that Cole would come after her.
It was the only hope she had of getting to be alone
with him that night.

Cole hesitated. Mira was waiting for him, but Jenny
was about to disappear in the crowd. He made his
decision.

He followed her.

What Rose had said to him in partial jest earlier
had made an impression on him. Jenny was his responsibility, she had no one else. Though he knew
Jenny was a strong woman, if something was troubling her deeply enough to reduce her to tears, he had
to go to her and make sure she was all right.

Cole forgot about Mira.

Jenny needed him.

"Jenny wait "he called out softly as he closed
the distance between them.

She glanced back, thrilled that he had come after
her. She took care, however, not to let her pleasure
show in her expression. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk," he said seriously as he took her
arm and guided her away from the lights and the
people.

Cole sought a secluded spot. He led her on until
he found a quiet place about a block away from the
festivities. It was deserted and dark, close enough so
they could hear the music, but far enough away so
they had some privacy to talk. He stopped and faced
her, looking down at her in the darkness, trying to
read her expression in the heavy shadows of the night.

"Why were you crying?" he asked gently. "Why
are you so upset?"

She drew a ragged breath. "I'm sorry. I was just
thinking about how strange life can be."

"What do you mean?"

"I was thinking about how you can have something
so very precious and not realize it until you've lost
it." Her voice was a husky whisper.

Cole stared down at Jenny. Her words had touched
him and torn at the defenses he'd erected against her.
He thought she was talking about losing her father so
unexpectedly, and he was allowing himself to feel
sorry for her. He wanted to soothe her somehow.

Jenny decided to take a lesson from Rose and blurt
out the truth. "I was thinking about us, Cole and
what we could have had together...."

He was caught completely off guard by her confession. He wasn't sure what to think or say, or what
to feel. He just knew that he wanted to hold Jenny
and kiss her and never see her cry again.

"Jenny-"

He reached out to draw her near, wanting to tell
her with his embrace that the past was over and they couldn't change it, but they could have a future.

"Cole! There you are!" Mira's voice was piercing
as she appeared out of nowhere, closing on Cole and
Jenny like a hound hot on the scent. "I've been looking for you."

Cole stopped, his hands dropping away from Jenny
even before he could touch her.

Mira marched right up to them, a woman determined. She took Cole's arm in a possessive grip as
she turned a cold, dismissive glare on Jenny.

"You will excuse us, won't you, Jenny?" she said
indifferently, then gazed up at Cole, her expression
one of open adoration. "Cole, darling, I was so worried about you. I didn't know where you'd gone."

She tried to press his arm to the side of her breast
as she held on to him, but he resisted her efforts.

"Jenny-I-" Cole began.

Jenny just smiled and walked away from them. She
didn't look back. She was concentrating too hard on
keeping her expression blank. She didn't know that
Cole's gaze followed her until he lost sight of her in
the crowd.

"Jenny! What happened? Did dancing with Cole
help? Where is he?" Rose came hurrying toward her,
eager to learn all the details of their time together.
She had seen Jenny leave and had watched as Cole
followed her.

"Well, I'm not sure," Jenny told her as they stood
together a little ways from the dance floor and out of
sight of Cole and Mira. "Cole did come after me, and I really think he was about to kiss me, but then Mira
showed up."

"Oh, no," Rose groaned in sympathy. "I should
have thought of that. I should have suggested to Clint
that he dance with Mira next! I didn't think she'd be
keeping such a close watch on Cole."

"Obviously she was, but at least I did get one dance
with him," Jenny said triumphantly. "That's more
than I would have gotten a week or so ago, and I'm
certain it's all because of you."

"Me?" Rose tried to look innocent.

"Yes, you. How did you convince Cole to cut in
on me and Clint? What did you say to him? Whatever
logic you used, it must have been good."

"All I told him was that it was up to him to keep
you safe and that I'd heard how dangerous it could
be for any woman to dance with Clint."

Jenny couldn't help herself. She laughed out loud.
"I guess he must at least care about my physical welfare."

"He could have refused, you know. So I think the
fact that he did save you from Clint means a lot."

"We can only hope," Jenny said, still smiling. "And
just how did you fare, taking on Clint for me and
putting yourself in harm's way like that? That's the
mark of a true friend, you know. I owe you."

"I suffered no lasting damage. My quick reflexes
kept me safe and sound."

"I'm proud of you," Jenny declared.

"And so am I," Aubrey put in as he walked up to join them. "But just what am I proud about?"

"Of how good a dancer Rose is," Jenny told him.

"Then I think it's time I found out for myself. Rose,
may I have the honor?" he asked gallantly.

"It will be my pleasure."

Rose and Aubrey moved out onto the dance floor,
leaving Jenny alone with her thoughts.

Jenny tried to forget what had just happened with
Cole and Mira, but it proved difficult to do. She was
certain that Cole had almost been ready to kiss her,
and she'd been ready, too. But then Mira had
come....

Jenny was almost glad when Richard appeared before her and invited her to dance. It would distract
her for a while. Accepting his offer, she allowed him
to lead her out onto the floor, but as he twirled her
expertly around, she saw Cole and Mira join the dancers, too.

"Where did you go?" Richard asked. "I was looking for you but couldn't find you."

"I had to talk with Cole for a minute."

"It must be difficult for you to have to deal with
him so much. After what happened between you, I
know how you both must feel about each other."

He sounded very confident of his opinion.

"What do you mean?" Jenny bristled at Richard's
assuming he knew anything about her or her life.

"Well, when you think about it, if it hadn't been
for your father's will, you two probably wouldn't
even be speaking to each other right now. I know I certainly wouldn't want to have anything to do with
a woman who'd broken an engagement with me."

Jenny was tempted to tell Richard that he didn't
have to worry, he would never have that problem with
her, but she controlled herself. "That was a long time
ago. Cole and I have both gotten past that. We're
mature adults, and we deal with one another as such."

Richard definitely didn't want to spend his time
talking about Cole. He sensed there was still something between Cole and Jenny, despite her denials.
He decided to use the rest of the evening to his advantage. He was going to find a way to have a romantic moment with her and make her forget all
about the other man.