She couldn’t resist a little dig. “Modest, too.”
“Always. Just relax, and we’ll be flying high in no time.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Janie muttered.
She could see him in the pilot’s chair from where she sat. He donned a set of earphones, then flipped switches, turned knobs and consulted charts, plus a hundred other complicated motions she guessed were necessary to make the plane function. Finally, with a slight bump, they started rolling along the ground.
Janie looked over at her mother, who was asleep again, her head resting against the butterscotch-colored leather of her seat, the magazine in her lap. Janie realized her own hands now gripped the arm-rests, but just when she thought she might loosen her hold, they hit another bump. Then another. Were they going to die now?
In the next moment, though, the front end of the plane lifted. The noise of wheels on pavement stopped, and she knew they’d taken off. The plane was flying.
She was flying.
A glance out the window showed her the ground falling away, the sky growing larger, enfolding them, sup porting them…and then the wonders of a bird’s-eye view as they flew southwest, across Yellowstone, the Tetons and Utah. Abby stayed asleep, so before too long, Jesse had lured Janie to the cockpit so they could talk about the wonders she saw beneath the wings.
“I don’t want to land,” she confessed at last, as they neared Las Vegas and the desert floor came closer. “The magic’s in the sky.”
Jesse grinned. “Well, we’ve got to fly back next weekend. Something to look forward to.”
Before she could respond, a cry came from the cabin behind them. “Janie? Janie, help me!”
When she reached her mother, Abby grabbed her arm with both hands. “Janie, what’s happening? Where am I? What is this place?”
“Shh, Mom. Shh. It’s okay.” Janie knelt next to her mother’s chair, trying to be calm despite the pain of fingernails digging into her arm. “We’re going to Las Vegas, remember? Mark’s riding in the National Finals and we get to watch. We took an airplane, so we didn’t have to drive so far. Remember?”
But Abby didn’t remember and Janie spent the rest of the flight trying to reassure her and calm her down, thankful for the seat belt which kept her mother in the chair. Her moans and cries would be easily heard by Jesse up in the cockpit. The last twenty minutes of the trip approached Janie’s worst fears.
Just as her mother had subsided for a moment, Jesse’s voice came over the intercom. “Janie, sorry to bother you, but you’ll need to be in a seat with a safety belt for the next few minutes while we land.”
At the sound of the disembodied voice, Abby became agitated again. With her arm still in her mother’s grip, Janie sat in the seat facing Abby’s and leaned forward to ease the strain on her shoulder. She couldn’t begin to imagine how they would get the hysterical woman off the plane and into a car, much less through a crowded hotel lobby, onto an elevator and settled in a hotel room.
What a terrible idea this had been. Or, rather, how stupid she had been to accept the Codys’ invitation. She should have refused and watched Mark ride on TV.
But instead, she’d let Mark and Nicki persuade her to “join the fun.” She’d grabbed at the chance to experience the Finals for herself, maybe the only time she’d ever attend the biggest event in professional rodeo.
And maybe the last opportunity she would ever have to make an impression on Jesse Cody. Deep in her heart, unconfessed to anybody else, was the hope that she could maneuver some private time with Jesse. Maybe, if she was really lucky, he might see her as something other than Elly’s friend or Mark’s sister. She’d certainly shopped for that chance, running up the balance on her credit card way beyond her ability to pay it off any time soon.
Not only had she spent too much money, but she’d dragged her mother away from the home where she felt safe and subjected her to all the terrors of travel. Sure, Mark’s chance at the championship provided an excuse, and he’d wanted Abby to be there.
But Janie knew the truth. If it weren’t for her feelings for Jesse, she would have had the strength and good sense to keep her mother at home. How selfish could she be?
With just a couple of slight hops, the plane touched down and claimed the runway surface. Janie barely felt the braking action as Jesse slowed their speed and approached the hangar. Only the smallest jolt signaled that they’d come to a stop.
Jesse appeared in the doorway to the front of the plane, and Abby shrank back into her seat. “Who is that man? What does he want?”
At least she’d finally let go of Janie’s arm. “This is Jesse, Mom. He’s a f-friend of mine.”
Her “friend” came and squatted down by Abby’s chair. “I’m going to take you somewhere you’ll be safe.” He spoke slowly, in the soothing tone Janie had heard him use with frightened horses and puppies. “Would you like that, Abby?” He fixed his wide, steady gaze on hers.
To Janie’s surprise, her mother nodded without looking away.
“That’s good.” His smile was warm and reassuring. Janie could see her mother relax. “We’ve got a car waiting outside, and then we’ll go to a place where you’ll feel comfortable.”
“I get to go home?”
“Not right away. But Mark is waiting for you. And Janie will be there.” Jesse placed a hand over Abby’s clenched fingers. “You know Mark and Janie would never let anything happen to you. They will always keep you safe.”
Janie smiled through her tears as her mother looked at her.
“I know.” Abby nodded. “They take care of me.”
Jesse nodded. “I know they do. Now, I’m going to make sure the car is ready and then we’ll get in and drive for a little while. Wait for me—I’ll be gone just a minute.”
When he returned, events proceeded exactly as he’d promised. He coaxed Abby down the steps from the plane and then into a waiting limousine, where he offered her some water and a Snickers bar, her favorite candy. After a short trip, the limousine stopped in the drive of a towering resort building, but the crowds and noise Janie expected were nowhere to be seen.
“The hotel allowed us to use their security entrance,” Jesse explained as he helped Janie out of the car. “We’ll take the private elevator straight to our floor.”
Once he had persuaded her mother out of the limo, Jesse smoothly escorted them both through an empty hallway to an elevator as spacious as most rooms in their home. On the fortieth floor, the doors slid apart and Jesse led them along another wide, silent hallway, this one carpeted in forest-green and decorated with quiet elegance. When he knocked on the door at the very end, they were welcomed by a middle-aged woman with bright silver hair and a deep tan.
“It’s good to meet you, Janie. I’m Serena Gable.” Her smile and soothing demeanor lived up to her name. Putting an arm around Abby’s shoulders, she drew the anxious woman into a large, airy suite of rooms. “Miss Abby, let’s get you comfortable.”
In minutes, she’d convinced Janie’s mother to change into lounge pajamas and crawl between smooth, cool sheets. Her calm voice, with its hint of a Southern accent, and her quiet, efficient movements made Janie feel calmer, too. She was able to kiss her mother on the cheek and leave the bedroom without a single protest being voiced.
“I’ll have her awake for dinner,” Serena promised as she closed the door.
“Wow.” Janie stood in the living room of the suite, bewildered by the sudden absence of responsibility in her life. “That was amazing.”
Jesse had waited outside the bedroom while Abby got settled. “I think your mom will be okay while she’s here. Don’t you?”
“Sure.” But the enormity of everything that had happened in the past four hours had finally caught up with Janie. She stared at the man beside her as questions began to pop up in her brain. “How in the world did you arrange all of this?”
“My parents talked to Mark and Nicki, trying to be sure the trip wouldn’t be too difficult for your mom.
”
“Why?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are they making such an effort?” Janie brushed her bangs off her forehead, then down again. “I mean, your dad hasn’t deigned to recognize my mother’s existence for more than thirty years. Why start now?”
Jesse’s eyes narrowed. “That’s kind of a strange question to ask, given that all we’re trying to do is be nice to your family.”
“Maybe so.” With her arms crossed over her chest, Janie lifted her chin. “But smart businessmen like your dad never give away something for nothing. So I want to know what your family expects from the Hansen family in return for all this generosity you’re offering.” She gave the matter a second’s thought. “Just what is it you’re trying to bribe Mark to do?”
Jesse propped his hands on his hips. “I don’t—”
“Or are you spending all this money simply to make him leave you alone?”
Chapter Three
Jesse stared at the woman who’d just accused his family of cheating and lying. “You don’t mince words, do you?”
“I want to know the truth,” she said. “That’s all.”
At that moment, the bedroom door beside Jesse opened. “Janie?” Mark Hansen looked at his sister, then at Jesse. “I thought that was your voice I heard. What are you two arguing about?” He crossed the living room to Janie and gave her a quick hug. “Tell me how the trip went for Mom.”
Jesse took a step back, preparing to turn around and go to his own room.
But Mark motioned him to stay. “Have a seat. Nicki will be here in a minute and she’ll be glad to see you.”
Jesse hated to admit it, but Nicki’s marriage had changed how he felt abut his best friend. He didn’t feel comfortable with her these days, not since Mark Hansen had become her husband. “Thanks, but I need to return a few phone calls.”
“Okay.” Mark assessed him with a keen stare all too similar to J.W.’s. “What did Janie say that’s got you worked up?”
“You’ll have to ask her. I’ll catch up with you all later, okay?” Without waiting for an answer, Jesse left and headed down the hallway to the suite his parents always reserved for the Finals. In past years, J.W. and Anne had occupied the master bedroom, Elly had taken the room with only one queen-size bed and the four brothers had slept wherever they found space in the remaining bedroom and on various couches.
This year, the other Cody kids were staying in their own rooms with their new partners, leaving Jesse his choice of both secondary bedrooms. Standing in the silent living room he realized that, like everything else about the Cody family, the time they spent together at the Finals this year was going to be very different.
And he didn’t like the changes. He wanted his normal family back—his dad as the honest, upfront husband Jesse had always believed he was, his mother as a contented and cherished wife, his brothers and sister as the playmates and allies he’d grown up with.
What he did not appreciate was having a new brother who’d already appropriated his best friend and might very well beat him in the championship and take over his job at the ranch. And he did not appreciate being insulted by a woman he was just trying to be nice to…especially when he couldn’t swear that his dad wouldn’t pull exactly the kind of trick she accused him of.
J. W. Cody had always been a canny negotiator, capable of wheeling and dealing to get the best advantage for the Cottonwood Ranch. Jesse couldn’t think of a single reason to doubt the possibility that J.W. would manipulate his bastard son with gifts and attention to further some purpose of his own. If Jesse asked for the truth, his dad would say whatever suited him at the moment.
So he’d have to ferret out proof of what J.W. planned, if anything, on his own. Just like he’d had to hire William Jackson, Elly’s fiancé, to prove Mark’s paternity—all in the name of looking out for the Codys and the Cottonwood Ranch.
Walking into the bedroom Elly used to occupy, Jesse dropped facedown on the bed. Sometimes, protecting the ranch and the family felt like a burden he just couldn’t carry another step.
And sometimes, these days, he was tempted to believe that Mark Hansen, always strapped for cash and unaware of his heritage as a Cody, had been the luckier man.
WHEN JANIE TOLD MARK what she’d accused J. W. Cody of, Mark stared at her in much the same way Jesse had. “Why would you think something like that, let alone say it out loud? To Jesse, of all people?”
Nicki’s expression conveyed the same disapproval. “The Codys aren’t like that, Janie. Especially Jesse. You of all people should know how honest he is.”
“Maybe Jesse’s being duped, just like the two of you.” She felt all the more aggravated because she knew she’d been wrong to bring it up. Sometimes her mouth galloped off before her brain settled fully into the saddle. “J. W. Cody isn’t above using Jesse to get what he wants.”
“And just what do you think that is?” Mark stood with his arms crossed tightly over his chest, as if the position helped him keep his temper.
“Well…” Janie gathered her thoughts together. “If he’s seen by everybody at the National Finals being nice to you—taking care of your mother, paying for me to be here, who knows what else he’s got planned—that’ll be the story people accept about you and the Codys. Then, back at home, he can cut you off and nobody will believe it wasn’t your idea. Or—”
Mark made a chopping motion with one stiff hand. “Cut me off? What does that even mean?”
“He could refuse to see you again. Refuse to give you a job, or anything else you’re entitled to as his son.”
“What makes you think I want a job from J. W. Cody? Or anything else, except acknowledgment that he’s my father?”
“Why would you have accepted this invitation, otherwise?”
Mark’s cheeks reddened, and after a quick glance at Nicki, he looked at the carpet between the toes of his boots.
“If you intended to remain independent, then I would think you would have been here on your own, not letting the Codys buy you a fancy room and meals and…whatever.”
“We thought it would be polite to accept,” Nicki said after a pause. “A gesture of good faith.”
“But then you involved Mom. And me. That leaves us indebted to a man we’re not at all related to.”
Mark lifted his head. “The Codys don’t expect to be paid back.”
“I’m not talking about money. As Nicki just pointed out, there are other mediums of exchange.”
Her brother looked confused.
“Hospitality is a gift,” Janie explained. “And it’s one I can’t possibly give back. So now I’m in the Codys’ debt. As are you and Nicki. But at least you could work for him, if you wanted to and he asked. I’ll just be at a permanent disadvantage.”
After another pause, Mark made a gesture of surrender and sat down on the sofa, bringing Nicki with him. “I still don’t completely understand your point. I think, and Nicki does, too—” his wife nodded when he looked at her “—we think the Codys just want to have the family all together, as they do for every National Finals. If there’s more to it, I’ll deal with that when it comes. But I haven’t by any means decided that I want to be part of the Cody operation. Nicki and I haven’t really had time to talk about it. We were waiting until after the championship.” He curved his arm around Nicki’s waist, and from the gentle motion of his hand along his wife’s hip, Janie could tell that his thoughts had taken a different direction.
“Fine. Once I’ve unpacked, I’ll apologize to Jesse, and I’ll try to keep my suspicions to myself. See you guys later.” No one, she noticed, was asking her to stay and keep them company. She didn’t turn around to discover why no one answered.
In the bedroom on the other side of her mother’s, she spent some time hanging up the clothes that would wrinkle, lining up the three pairs of boots she’d brought and laying out her makeup in an orderly arrangement. She didn’t usually wear makeup, and today she could see why. Nobody appeared to ha
ve noticed that she looked any different at all.
Of course, she’d destroyed any favorable impression Jesse might possibly have by attacking his motives and those of his family. “Think before you speak,” her mother used to say when Janie’s big mouth got her in trouble at school. A lesson she clearly had yet to learn.
She touched up her mascara, shadow and powder anyway, then wandered across the room to stand at the window, gazing out over a psychedelic landscape of hotels, casinos, marriage chapels and traffic. She could just see the ridge of black mountains at the edge of the desert where a pink-and-gold sky anticipated the sunset. Her first night in Las Vegas, and she had no idea where to go or what to do.
Well, except find Jesse and apologize.
She knocked loudly on the door of the Cody suite, then waited, rubbing her thumbs over her fingertips in the nervous habit she’d never managed to conquer.
Jesse didn’t answer the door. He might have gone out again. Maybe he’d planned dinner with friends, people who didn’t accuse him of being the bad guy. He might have set up a date with a woman who knew how to keep her mouth shut.
Janie debated knocking again, but instead turned to go back to her room. She would check in on her mom, maybe get something to eat downstairs, then—
“Janie?”
She swung around with a gasp. Jesse stood in the open door, shirttail half in, half out, rubbing the top of his head.
“You were asleep.” She stated the obvious. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He glanced at his watch. “Almost five o’clock. What’s going on?”
She swallowed. “I, um, wanted to talk to you.”
He tilted his head to the side and just looked at her for a few seconds. Then he took a deep breath and stepped back. “Come on in.”
The huge suite she entered reminded Janie of the Cody homestead, with a living room featuring several different seating areas, a long dining table and chairs plus a big flat screen TV and music system.
“This is nice,” she said, walking across the room to look out the windows, which provided a view to the east. “I can see why your parents feel comfortable here.”
Jesse: Merry Christmas, Cowboy Page 3