Once in a Blue Moon (32 page)

Instead, she amused
herself by studying the clothes others were wearing. Would Bernie
and Xavier laugh their heads off if she presented them with a line
of western wear? Probably. She’d laugh too, if--

A hand grasped her
wrist and she was hauled to her feet.

Curly Jenkins grinned
down into her face. “Hello there, little lady. Promised me a dance,
remember?”

Slightly breathless,
Melissa regained her balance and shook out her skirt. “No,” she
said pointedly.

Curly laughed. “Feisty
as ever, I see. I suppose I’d better do this right.”

He dropped her wrist,
stepped back and bowed. “Melissa,” he winked at her.

She glared.

“I mean, Mrs. Kendal,”
he chuckled. Apparently he thought himself hilarious. “I’d be
honored if you’d dance with me.” His eyes sparkled. “Pretty
please?”

Melissa was hard
pressed not to smile into his handsome, good-natured face. If she
were honest, she felt a bit flattered. Here she was, certainly not
looking her best, but the young guy acted like she was a runway
beauty. What would one dance hurt? Besides, it would serve Richard
right if she weren’t here when he returned.

She glanced at Hannah.
She’d be all right for a few minutes, wouldn’t she? At worst, Jed
would simply bore her to death. “Hannah? I’ll be right back,
okay?”

Hannah nodded, and
really, she did look fine. And it wasn’t as if she were alone with
Jed. Sarah and Emma chatted on the next blanket, Amanda’s
seven-month-old boy asleep between them.

Curly led her across
the grass to the crowded patch of lawn serving as the dance floor.
She placed a hand in his, the other on his shoulder, and his
fingers settled at her waist.

Curly nodded to someone
behind her and the band stopped mid-tune to play a waltz.

You had to admire a guy
who planned.

It took a few steps,
but she quickly caught on.

“Pleasant day,” said
Curly.

“Yes, it is.”

“Though not as pleasant
as your beautiful face.”

Amused, Melissa dropped
her gaze. “Why, thank you, kind sir.” Her attempt at imitating
Emma’s southern accent was a poor one.

“You’re the most
beautiful woman here. Your eyes are like pieces of green jade that
shine in the sunlight. Your skin, like pearls.”

Oh, boy. Overkill.
Perhaps this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Romeo was
going to fall off the runway. “Ah, thank you. Let’s just dance,
shall we?”

He led her around
another couple to the center of the crowd. “Your hair is beautiful.
So daring. I love how you boldly defy convention and go without a
hat.”

“I don’t have one.”

“I’ll buy you one,” he
swiftly inserted. “Your husband doesn’t take good enough care of
you.”

She arched a brow. “I
thought you said I looked good without a hat?”

“You do! You’re so
beautiful. And so sensitive and refined.”Melissa’s mouth twitched.
Okay, she had to admit there was a part of her that was enjoying
this. Younger man, the whole awestruck schoolboy thing. “You really
don’t know anything about me.”

“But I’d like to. Our
souls already meet on a higher plane. I feel it.”

“Funny that I don’t
feel anything then, isn’t it?” She looked around for Richard, but
didn’t see him through the other dancers. “Of course, the fact that
I’m in love with my husband might be keeping my feet firmly on the
ground.”

Curly’s lip turned up
in a sneer. “Admit it, there is nothing between you. No real
connection like with us.”

“Oh, I don’t know about
that. I’m so connected to Richard that sometimes it feels like we
must have met in another time.” Melissa grinned at her own wit.

Curly sulked for a
while.

Melissa was actually
enjoying his company and his effusive compliments. It was a salve
to her bruised ego since she didn’t win the cooking contest and
certainly wasn’t the best dressed. She caught a glimpse of Hannah,
standing with Jed and the town seamstress.

Ha. The minute
Melissa’s back was turned, the redheaded virago was studying her
work. No surprise there. She was no doubt wondering how to copy
Hannah’s dress.

Curly’s big chest
expanded. “I think about you all the time. I’ve written another
poem. Can I recite it for your pleasure?”

Oh dear, not again. One
taste of his poetry had been enough. And at least the cabin had
been semi-private. In a crowd, the cringe factor would increase
dramatically. “Please don’t.”

“You’re a beauty and so
very fine, I wish we were together and that you were always
mine.”

Had
he raised his voice, or was it just her imagination? Either way,
heat warmed her cheeks. She never should have danced with
him.
Stupid
,
stupid
,
stupid
.

Melissa looked around at the other dancers; some were
definitely staring. “Look, I’m
really
not comfortable--”

“You are different from
other women I’ve seen--”

He’d
definitely raised his voice that time. “You need to
stop
.” Melissa
whispered.

“--If we were together,
we’d be happy as a pot of beans.”

Startled, Melissa
huffed out a laugh. “A pot of beans? Well, at least it rhymes.”

Curly grinned,
obviously pleased he’d made her laugh. “I’m still workin’ on the
poem. But I mean it with all my heart and soul, Melissa. I love
you.”

She blew out a breath,
and looked around for rescue. His fantasy was getting a little too
weird for her. Where was Richard? “Look--”

Curly stopped dancing
and leaned down to kiss her.

What
was he
doing
?
Melissa quickly put a hand to his mouth. He kissed her fingers, and
there was slobber involved.

“Yuck!” Melissa jerked
her hand away and wiped it on his chest. “That’s it, I’m outta
here.”

Thankfully, the music
ended.

Curly tightened his
grip on her waist and reclaimed her hand. “Let’s dance again.” He
signaled to the band and another waltz started.

“No.”

“Just one more
time.”

Melissa tried to pull her hand out of his. “I said
no
!” She whispered the
word, not wanting to draw more attention from the other
dancers.

He wouldn’t let go.

Did the guy have a
death wish? “Mr. Jenkins. I’m leaving the dance floor. Find another
partner.”

“You’re the only one I
want.”

“Then you have a
problem.” Melissa struggled.

He wouldn’t let go.

She stilled and took a
deep breath. “I’m going to lose my temper.”

Curly grinned.
“Really?”

Melissa’s eyes
narrowed. The guy wanted her to lose it? “I didn’t want to make a
scene, so remember, you asked for this.” She grabbed his hand from
off her waist and got him in a finger lock that brought him to his
knees.

Curly
laughed, half from pain, half from enjoyment as he knelt in front
of her. “You are
some
woman!”

Melissa dropped his
hand, jumped back out of his way and left in disgust, well aware of
the stares from the other dancers. The chuckles.

“
I love you,
Melissa
!”

More laughter.

Mortified, she hurried
her steps.

Richard appeared in
front of her and she sank into his arms.

“
Get me out of
here
.”

Richard looked past
Melissa. “He’s leaving now. I think I’ll just go and have a little
chat with the guy.”

Melissa was surprised
by the steel in Richard’s voice. Was he jealous? The thought
surprised her; astounded her actually. They’d been married for
fourteen years and his unwarranted possessiveness surprised her and
made her want to grin.

She
grabbed his arm and studied his face. He
was
jealous! His gorgeous brown eyes
were narrowed as he stared after the other man. “Don’t waste your
time. Curly is harmless. Believe me, I won’t make the mistake of
dancing with him again.”

Richard hesitated, then
pulled her into his embrace and they started to dance.

Melissa relaxed against
him, probably dancing too closely for nineteenth-century decency,
but she didn’t care. Richard felt right, smelled right, was
right.

His arms tightened
around her.

Poor Curly.

She lifted her head.
“Did you eat my pie?”

“None left or I would
have.”

She looked at him
skeptically.

“Scout’s honor. It was
all gone.” Richard gestured with his chin. “Look over there.”

Jessica was dancing
with a cute boy about her own age. Jed and Hannah were also
dancing, their awkward shuffling making them look like a couple of
twelve-year-old kids too. It was sweet. Melissa smiled. “I’m pretty
good, aren’t--”

And faster than she
could have believed, Richard was jerked away from her by a crowd of
rough men.

* * *

Richard’s cowboy friends hauled him toward the edge of the
park. One thing was for sure; Richard did
not
trust their smiling faces.
“What’s up, guys?”

Merrill smirked, his
grip tight on Richard’s upper arm. “It’s poker playin’ time.”

Now why didn’t he
believe them? Richard tried to pull away; tried to yank his arms
out of their grasps.

They held him fast.

Richard cocked his head
to the side and attempted a grin. “Sorry boys, I already told you.
No money.”

Everyone laughed. It
was not nice laughter.

James, who strode in front, turned to walk backward. “See,
we’re going to give you a chance to
earn
some money.”

Tex, his grip
tightening, grinned. “Real easy to earn too. Isn’t that nice of
us?”

More laughter. More men
ran to catch up.

Richard’s eyes
narrowed. He didn’t know what was going on, but he suspected that
whatever it was, he was the one who would be sorry. He tried to dig
his heels in, but it didn’t do any good. They simply dragged him
along. His biceps knotted as he jerked his arms, trying to get
free. It didn’t work. “Easy money, huh? I’ll believe that when I
see it.”

“Oh, you’ll see it, all
right,” said David.

They laughed even
harder.

Richard suddenly
realized he wasn’t the only guy being dragged along. Four other men
he didn’t know were also being shanghaied by cowboys. One fought
furiously, for all the good it did him.

Richard looked back
over his shoulder. A crowd followed. Others hurried to catch
up.

What was going on?

They reached the edge
of the park and Richard was lifted feet first over the fence of a
corral. A hard shove in the back sent him stumbling and he stirred
up some powdered sugar dust, but managed to stay upright.

The four other men--or
perhaps he should call them boys since they were young--were
treated similarly. One fell, scrambled up and ran for the far edge
of the corral, but his friends quickly pushed him back.

Willie stood up on the fence. “Okay, everyone, listen
up.
These greenhorns have volunteered to
play cowboy poker
!”

The crowd laughed,
applauded, and Willie grinned, lapping it up.

Richard lifted a hand
to block the glare of sunlight. They wanted him to play cards
against the other boys? In the corral? And everyone wanted to
watch?

Willie held up his hands to silence the crowd.
“
Last one out of the corral is the
winner
!
Win it
for the MacPherson Ranch, Kendal
!” He
lifted his hat in the air and threw back his head.
“
Yee haw, set him loose,
boys
!”

What?

One of his companions
turned terror-filled eyes on the far side of the corral.

Maybe the crowd didn’t
want to watch them play cards.

Richard followed his
gaze, turning just in time to see a big, black, angry, Mexican
fighting bull set loose through the gate. The monster tried to hook
his horns on one of the men setting him free, but missed when the
man curled his feet up above the high fence. Barely missed.

Oh,
boy
.

Richard’s mouth dried and he froze. Adrenaline rushed though
him. He felt the blood drain out of his face.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy
!

Richard searched for an escape. The edges of the corral were
lining with people. The crowd yelled, getting louder by the second:
egging the bull on, egging the four men on. He needed to get out of
there,
fast
.
Needed to jump the fence.

But everyone was
excited. Cheering. He didn’t want to disappoint anyone, and he
didn’t want to look like a coward.

His flight response
slowly switched over to fight. His fists clenched.

David
cupped his hands to his mouth. “
Come on,
Kendal
.
The
winner gets a five dollar gold piece
!”

Breathing hard, a slow
grin spread across Richard’s face. Five dollars? Okay, that was
motivation enough for him. He was older and smarter than these
other boys. He’d win the money for Melissa. If he got out of here
alive.

The bull lowered its
head, pawed the ground, blew out a loud snort and headed full speed
toward Richard. The animal was fast!

Nathan, standing on the
rail, yelled. “Run, Kendal!”

Richard didn’t need to
be told twice.