Jenny (5 page)

The High Time was relatively quiet, and Cole was
glad. He walked straight up to the bar.

"Whiskey," he told Dan, the bartender.

"I heard the news about Paul Sullivan," Dan said as he set a tumbler before Cole and poured him a
healthy serving of liquor. "That's a damned shame.
He was a good man."

"Yes, he was," Cole agreed. He lifted the glass and
took a deep drink. The liquor burned all the way
down, but he was glad for its power.

"Anybody know how it happened?"

"Riding accident," Cole answered. "His horse came
back without him, so some of the hands went out to
search for him. They found him up in a high pasture.
It looked like he'd been thrown."

"I'm sorry." Dan was sincere. "I know you two
were friends."

"We were." Cole took another swallow.

"What's going to happen out at the ranch?"

"It's going to depend on what Jenny wants to do."
His tone was flat, emotionless.

"So she'll be coming back to Durango?" Dan was
curious.

"For a while at least." He didn't want to see Jenny
or to have anything to do with her, but he had no
choice if he wanted to help his friend.

Jenny-

It had been two years since he'd suffered the humiliation of her walking out on him as he stood waiting at the altar. She hadn't been back home in all that
time, and he hadn't missed her.

Cole drained his glass as painful memories of that
day threatened to surface. He fought them down, determined to handle Jenny's return just as he'd handled all the other hard times that came his way. She meant
nothing to him anymore. She hadn't since that night
when he'd discovered she'd left town without a word.
When she finally showed up again, he would make
her an offer for the ranch and send her packing back
East just as fast as he could.

"You want another drink?" Dan asked, interrupting
his thoughts.

"No," Cole answered, but truth be told, he did. In
fact, he would like to stay right there in the bar and
drink for the rest of the day and night. But he
wouldn't. He denied himself. Paul had entrusted the
future of the Lazy S to him. Cole knew how much
the ranch had meant to his friend, and he would not
let him down.

Cole paid his bill and rode for the Lazy S.

Cole stood over Paul's grave, staring down at the
headstone that marked his friend's passing.

"Frances told me you were here," Louie Hayden
said as he came up behind him. "Is everything all
right?"

Cole cast a quick glance his way, a bit startled to
find the ranch foreman there. He had been so deeply
lost in thought that he hadn't heard him approach, and
that was unusual for him.

"I met with Andrew Marsden this morning."

"What did he want?" Louie was curious about what
had transpired. He'd heard the lawyer mention at Paul's funeral that he needed to speak with Cole in
private.

"Paul had made some changes in his will."

"He did?"

"Yes. He named me the executor."

"That only makes sense." Louie nodded and smiled
in sad understanding. "You were one of the few people Paul trusted-one of the few he knew he could
always count on."

"He was a good friend."

"And you were a good friend to him," the older
man told him.

They fell silent, remembering the man they were
both going to miss.

"That means you're in charge now, right?"

"That's what Marsden told me until Jenny turns
twenty-five or marries or decides to sell the place,
whichever comes first."

"What do you plan to do?" Louie asked. "Things
haven't been good around here, you know, ever since
the blizzard. I didn't think it could get much worse
after Paul lost so much of his fortune that winter and
had to struggle so hard just to keep things going, but
then we had that rustling - 'Course you know about
that. All the area ranches have been hit at one time
or another, and now, on top of it all, Paul's dead."

"It has been rough here, but I want to keep the Lazy
S going," Cole answered firmly, though he knew
Louie was right. Things hadn't been good there for
quite a while. "This ranch was Paul's life."

"You're right. The man worked night and day trying to make this place a success."

"He was proud of it. There's no doubt about that,
but in the long run, a lot is going to depend on Jenny."
Cole's tone turned cold as he spoke. "If she wants to
sell, I'll buy the place."

"That'd be the best thing that could happen." Louie
was hopeful. Everyone respected and admired Cole's
business sense. He'd turned the Branding Iron into
one of the best spreads in the area. If anyone could
make the Lazy S a paying proposition again, it was
Cole.

"We'll have to wait and see what happens when
she gets here. Have you heard anything more from
her?"

"No. Last I heard, she said she'd be arriving in
Durango on tomorrow afternoon's train. It's going to
be hard for her, coming home this way, but there was
no easy way to give her the bad news with her living
so far away," Louie said. He and his wife, Frances,
who was cook and housekeeper on the Lazy S, both
loved Jenny. They'd worked on the ranch for years
and had watched her grow up. Louie could just imagine how distraught she'd been when she'd gotten the
wire he'd sent notifying her of her father's death. "I
planned on going into town to meet her, unless you
want to do it, being executor and all."

"No, that's all right. You go on ahead," Cole told
him. "I've got to ride back to the Branding Iron tonight to check on things there, but I'll make it a point to come back over here tomorrow so I can speak with
Jenny."

"Does she know you're in charge?"

"According to Marsden, Paul did not tell her what
he'd done in the will, so I'll have to tell her when I
see her."

"What if she doesn't want to sell? What if she decides she wants to try to run the ranch herself?"

"Since she hasn't bothered to come back once since
she went East, I don't think that will be a problem.
There's nothing left to hold her here now that her
father's dead."

"What should I tell the men? They've been a little
uneasy about what might happen. They're wanting to
know if they're going to have jobs come the first of
the month."

"Tell them they're still on the payroll until they
hear different from me," Cole said with authority, taking charge just as Paul had intended.

"Why don't you come with me and tell them yourself? They'll be glad to hear the news that you're in
charge." Cole was a man they could all believe in and
trust. As much as Cole might resent the burden of
taking over, Louie knew that Paul had done the right
thing.

"All right. I'll be along in a minute and meet you
there."

Louie walked off, and Cole was left alone with his
thoughts once again. He remained at the graveside,
mourning his friend's passing, wishing things could have been different, but promising to deal with everything the best he could even Jenny. It was what Paul
had wanted him to do, so he would do it.

Cole looked down one last time at the grave, then
turned and walked away. He strode toward the house,
ready to talk to the men and take care of ranch business.

"We're almost there. Are you going to be all right?"
Evelyn asked Jenny as the Denver & Rio Grande train
slowed and headed into the Durango station.

Jenny looked at her aunt, her expression strained.
"I'm going to try..."

Jenny fell silent. She was home. At last, she was
home. In her heart, though, her home and her father
were synonymous. She couldn't imagine returning to
the Lazy S and her father not being there. She didn't
know if she could bear it.

Her father was gone dead and she'd never had
the chance to tell him she loved him. She'd never had
the chance to say good-bye.

Anger suddenly flared within Jenny.

How dare he go and die on her!

Jenny embraced the emotion. The heat of her out rage was far better than the bottomless sense of emptiness and loneliness that had filled her ever since
she'd received Louie's telegram. If she was angry, she
could handle what was to come. If she was angry, she
could cope with the loss that could never be restored.

How dare he have a riding accident! He was an
excellent horseman.

The thought that he'd been killed while out riding
was just too hard to accept. When she'd first received
the wire from Louie, she hadn't believed it, but now,
as they drew ever closer to Durango and to the ranch,
there could be no hiding from it any longer. She had
to face the reality of her situation she had to face
the truth, whether she wanted to or not.

Her father was dead.

"I'll be with you every moment, darling," Evelyn
promised. She was devoted to her niece and thankful
that they'd had these last few years to grow closer.
She knew Jenny would need all her love and support
to get through the heartbreak and devastation of her
unexpected loss.

Jenny gave her aunt a grateful look and then turned
to look out the window as the train finally came to a
full stop. The trip home had seemed to last an eternity. There had been moments crossing the plains
when she'd wondered if they'd ever get there, but
now it was over. They had arrived in Durango.

The sight of the familiar surroundings suddenly left
Jenny aching for the past for the warmth of her fa ther's embrace for the security of a loving home
for her lost innocence.

She was home-

At long last, she was home

Jenny swallowed tightly and struggled for control.

"We're here," she said in a pained voice.

Evelyn said nothing but reached out and took her
niece's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Jenny stared intently out the window, searching the
crowd gathered at the station for some sign of her
father. Logically, she knew he wouldn't be there.
Logically, she knew she would never see him again.
But there were moments in life when the heart and
soul ignored logic. For just an instant longer, she allowed herself to pretend that he might be there.

And then she saw Louie.

Louie was the one who had come for her.

Louie was there waiting for her not her father.

Her father would not he coming for her not today,
and not ever again.

The pain in Jenny's heart as she finally accepted
the brutal truth was devastating. She longed for the
anger that had sustained her moments earlier, but
could find no trace of it. There was only deep, abiding
sorrow in her soul.

Evelyn knew what Jenny was feeling. She, too, had
been brokenhearted at the news of her brother's death.
"Do you see anyone from the ranch?"

"Yes-Louie's here." Her words were choked.

"Are you ready?"

Jenny only nodded, not trusting herself to say anything more. She stood and started from the rail car.
Evelyn gathered her few belongings and followed.

The conductor was waiting to help them descend
from the car, and Jenny allowed him to assist her. He
handed her down, and Jenny stepped out onto the
platform.

She was home. She was in Durango.

She was unprepared for the rush of memories that
returned as she looked around the station. The last time
she was there had been on the night of her "wedding,"
when she'd left town quickly and quietly on the late
train. Images of all that had happened that day surged
in her thoughts-visions of Cole-first, the way he'd
looked standing so tall and proud before the minister
in church waiting to marry her, and then later, the
way he'd looked so dark and dangerous when he'd
stalked from her hotel room and never looked back.
She remembered her father's confusion over her refusal to go through with the wedding, and his anger
over her desire to go back East to school. Ultimately,
though, she remembered how he had supported her
decision to leave. She'd known that he'd disapproved
of what she wanted to do, but he hadn't stood in her
way. He had loved her enough to let her go.

Jenny glanced nervously around the crowded station, dreading the possibility that Cole might have
come with Louie to meet her train. She wasn't ready
to see Cole Randall, and she truly hoped that she
would never have to. Only when she saw that the ranch foreman was making his way through the crowd
alone did relief sweep through her.

"Louie-" She went to greet the older man and was
swept into a warm bear hug.

"Jenny, girl, it's good you're home," he said, his
voice tight with heartfelt emotion.

Jenny clung to his strength and support. Louie and
Frances had always been there for her. They were like
family to her, and she hugged him tight. "I've missed
you."

"We've been missing you, too. I wanted you to
come back home, but not..." Louie stopped himself
from saying like this.

"I know, I know." Her words were tortured as she
drew away, wiping at the tears that could no longer
be denied.