“That should work.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” He looked around the floor before reaching for his flannel shirt behind the floor-length mirror. “Grandpa and Grace must have been wild ones in their day.”
“Grace must have been one happy prostitute.” Jen glanced down his lean body, settling on the slight bulge. “I can’t wait to find out how happy.”
He only groaned at her comment.
Chapter 10
The room above the bank filled slowly to capacity in no time at all. Jen sat between William and Jack in the front area, and waited until the last person finally entered the room and stood near the door. The older man leaned toward a familiar looking younger guy, whispering to him. She glanced behind the two men—so much alike she assumed they were father and son—looking for Adam.
It didn’t seem like he was coming to the meeting.
The younger of the two men nodded in her direction before bending down to say something to his father which caused the other man to glance up at her with an interested look on his face.
Adam’s brother, she suddenly remembered. Did that mean the other man was Adam’s father?
“Will everyone please settle down?” William said loudly. “We need to start this meeting. I’d like to ask Mr. Craine to come to the front of the room.” He looked toward the doorway. “Mr. Craine?”
The elderly Craine nodded at the group of people milling around before stepping through the crowd.
“William, what’s going on?” Jen asked. “Why wasn’t I informed of this meeting?”
The elder Craine looked toward Barb, and she grinned at him. Rose lowered her head shyly as Adam’s brother looked at her. Flushing, Rose stared at her folded hands.
Guilt rang clear in both of her friends’ actions.
Jen didn’t like this at all.
“Mr. Craine has a proposition to make to us.” William looked at her. “If everyone would quiet down, we can hear what he has to say.” When the crowd hushed to a softer roar, William continued, “As you know we’ve had amazing results with one of our recent poll questions on the website. This particular question has generated more traffic to the site than any other question this year.”
Jen glanced at him. “Rose told me it had something to do with cows.”
“Yes.”
“But that’s not one of the questions the three of us agreed on at the beginning of the month,” Jen said. “Why wasn’t I notified of the change?”
“The topics we decided on were possible ones, Jen,” Jack said, turning in his chair. “Have you even checked out the website this week? The question about the cattle drive has brought in many fascinating comments from the visitors.”
“The cattle drive?” Jen asked.
“Jack, Jen, let’s listen to what Mr. Craine has to say, shall we?” William didn’t wait for their response. “Mr. Craine, you have the floor.”
The elderly man turned to the mumbling crowd. He was a commanding figure, larger than life. “Unlike our sweet history professor, I have viewed your website. The responses to your questionnaire were engrossing to say the least. I never realized how many people were interested in being part of an old-fashioned cattle drive.”
Jen straightened in her chair, intrigued against her will at the tone of the conversation.
“Every one of the poll takers expressed an interest in at least watching,” Mr. Craine continued. “Our cowboys have to herd the cattle across the prairie anyway, so I figured why not.” He didn’t give Jen the chance to question him. “We always move the herd early April and late October when the town is officially closed for the season, but it wouldn’t hurt the cows any if we move a dozen or so a few weeks earlier and later. And it wouldn’t hurt them if a few greenhorns helped with the drive.”
Jen leaned forward in her chair. “Mr. Craine, I don’t understand. Are you saying the visitors will be allowed to participate in the cattle drive?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying, sweet thing.” He grinned. “I need a regular route back and forth across this land, and you need a way to bring more people into your town. My family and Winter Creek will both benefit if we allowed a few of the visitor to be a part of the drive.”
“We would’ve allowed your herd to go past the town, Mr. Craine,” Jen admitted, seeing the logic of his request. And the man was right; it would bring the town more publicity. “I was just waiting to tell Adam later today. I thought he’d be here.”
“Sweet thing, I wanted him to come with me.”
Now she knew where Adam got his teasing, make-a-woman-feel-beautiful attitude. Like father, like son.
“He said he had a previous engagement in Helena.” A little smirk wrinkled over his mouth. “He seemed out of sorts when he woke up this morning.”
She looked down, casting her gaze beyond the man to the knowing look burning from Barb’s eyes.
Jen returned her gaze to Mr. Craine.
“Well.” William cleared his throat. “If no one has any objections, I think we should put this to a vote.”
Affirmative nods and raised hands gave the majority “yes” vote before the question was even asked. Jen was the last person to nod her head.
“It’s done then.” William grinned at the elder Craine still standing in front of the three deciding members of the board. “We have a deal, sir.” He stood up and extended his hand for a handshake. Jack followed suit.
Jen stayed in her seat, and only nodded slightly when the man looked her way. Many seconds later, at the noise of people moving about the room, laughing and talking, she lifted her gaze from her lap. Adam’s father stood in front of her chair, looking with vague unease in her direction, with his son standing beside him. Jack and William stood on either side of them. Barb and Rose sat in their chairs behind the group of men, their heads close together.
Now what was going on?
Jen should be pissed at her so-called friends for not letting her know about this meeting when it was first planned. They’d known about the meeting with Craine for days, and no one deemed it necessary to tell her.
And now the four were staring at her with a painful intensity.
Where was Adam anyway? The one person who’d thought it important enough to tell her about the special meeting, hadn’t bothered to make an appearance.
“I think the little lady is mad at the four of you.” Mr. Craine’s booming voice broke through her fuming thoughts. “I guess keeping her out of the loop wasn’t such a good idea after all.”
“No, Mr. Craine, it wasn’t.” Jen stood and placed her hands on her hips. “Jack, William, what were you thinking?”
“Barb told us your grandfather is ill,” William volunteered. “She also mentioned some promise you made to him.”
“Some promise?” Jen focused her gaze on her older friend. “My promise wouldn’t have affected my decision in this matter.”
“Well, Barb thought your feelings…” William glanced toward Barb. “Rather, Adam would be a burden on you.”
“Adam?” The elderly Mr. Craine looked over at her. “What does my son have to do with this?”
Mark grinned, studying Jen with a boldness she could almost feel.
“Adam hasn’t done anything to you, has he?”
“We’ve…just met.”
Mark’s grin widened. “Now I understand why he stayed home Saturday night.”
“Didn’t he have a date with that…friend of his in Helena?”
“Yeah.” Mark didn’t lift his eyes from her flushed face. “Erin, but he canceled it. I couldn’t figure out why until now.”
The older Craine stared hard at his son for a long moment before casting a sharp look in Jen’s direction. “Oh, I see.”
“Yeah.”
“Hopefully this time it’ll work out for him.”
Jen moved away from her chair, confused by their conversation. “I’m not sure what the two of you are referring to, but I do know my promise to my grandfather wouldn’t have stopped me
from doing the right thing by you. I would have let you move the herd past Winter Creek.”
“Through it now,” Jack said quickly. “In order to benefit Winter Creek and their ranch, the Craines need to be able to move the cows through the town.”
“You mean, right through Main Street?”
“Yes.”
“Adam mentioned something to me about that when I saw him last…” She stopped the sentence quickly, adding, “Is that why you got all the painting done, and you got all the business signs up over the buildings?”
“And don’t forget the gate and security company we hired,” Jack answered. “Now all we need to worry about is finishing up the interior of the individual businesses.”
“My saloon is finished,” Jen offered.
“And my dressmaker’s shop,” Barb said, standing from her chair. “The school building and the church are completed too.”
“So is the bank.” Jack waved his hand around the room. “And the sheriff’s office and jail.” He looked at William. “And the O’Malley’s, I believe, are coming up next week to finish the repairs on the hotel and restaurant. What else is there to do?”
William glanced at Jen for a moment before saying, “I think we may have a problem with the person running the mercantile. He’s in the hospital now, with a possible heart attack. We won’t know for a few months if he can still participate.”
“I hope he’ll be all right,” Jen said. “Maybe you should ask his personal sponsor to pick a replacement for him.”
“Jack and I are already on it.” William glanced around the room. “So what else is there for us to worry about?”
“The livery and corral,” Jen said, feeling a chill enveloping her at the memory of her bizarre vision. The chill quickly left her body. “And what about the stagecoach station? I know it’s technically not a part of Winter Creek, but a stagecoach is a major part of the way people lived at the time. One of the ways they traveled then was by stagecoach.”
“That’s taken care of, Jen.”
“What do you mean, William?” Jen glanced at the man. “Did the two of you forget to tell me something else?”
“Sweet thing, don’t fret over that.”
If he calls me sweet one more time… The endearment grated at her nerves.
“My family has decided to sponsor that station.”
Adam’s sudden appearance in the wee hours of the morning in the back of her saloon made sense now. He’d had an ID card to enter the town.
Adam was part of her grandfather’s dream now.
Like Jen, he had become a part of Winter Creek.
“Are you all right with this, Jen?” Jack’s voice broke through her strange thoughts. “I know we didn’t get your opinion on this, but it was imperative we get going on the cattle drive right away.”
“All you had to do was call me, Jack.”
“Don’t be angry at your friend, Jen,” the elderly Mr. Craine said. “He meant well.”
Mr. Craine’s use of her given name sounded fine to her. If he’d called her ‘sweet thing’ one more time in that condescending way, she would’ve pounded him.
“But we need to get the herd to the winter pasture soon.”
“I understand, Mr. Craine.” She glanced toward him. His look of discomfort mixed with a hint of satisfaction sent her temper away. Why be mad at this man? Stretching out her hand, she gripped his rough, larger one and shook it. “I’m glad to have you join our family.”
* * * *
Jen was still upset the following Tuesday over not being told about the special meeting. During her classes, she’d been preoccupied by their lack of consideration for her. She didn’t understand why Jack and William would think she’d have a problem with a regular herd of cattle being driven through the town twice a year. The longer she thought about Mr. Craine’s suggestion the better it sounded to her.
And, when she finally found the time to check out Winter Creek’s website, she realized why it was voted for without discussion.
No other poll question had ever generated that many visitors to the site.
Reservations jumped for the special ‘Live History Week’ the foundation had planned for the beginning of the season. Jumped enough to allow it to be changed into a ‘Live History Month’. She was pleased to see how the public was responding to her grandfather’s idea. He was the one who had suggested devoting a week before Memorial Day and a week after Labor Day for visitors to actually live the way people of the time lived. It was turning out to be an interesting idea. And from the looks of the new numbers, the one week at the end of the season may have to be turned into a month too.
She was looking forward to teaching those adventurous people how to live like their great-great-grandparents.
Jen hoped her grandfather was still around to see it.
Now where did that come from?
“Professor Ferguson?”
The dean’s voice interrupted her thoughts, causing her to drop the last report she’d just finished grading onto the floor beside her desk. She glanced at the opened doorway of her office, and sighed.
What had David done to her now?
“Dean Reynolds,” she said, reaching down to retrieve the report. Placing the pages on the top of her desk, she glanced up to him. “What can I do for you?”
He didn’t move from the doorway. “I’ve received some disturbing news about you, involving a certain cowboy.”
She looked down at the paper, fisting her hands tightly against its top. “Dean Reynolds?”
“David is upset.”
Sweet Jesus, must not have the redeemer of the college upset. “David and I said our goodbyes, Dean. I made a promise to my grandfather I plan on honoring, not one to David or to this school.”
“You made a binding agreement with this school too, Professor Ferguson.” He stepped into the office and shut the door behind him. “You made a promise to this school and to David, and I expect you to respect that promise too.”
“I have respected it, sir.” Bitterness roughened the edge of her voice. “I’ve done more than respected my agreement with you and this institution. Nothing I’ve done with my friend Adam dishonors my agreement.”
“So you do admit to having a relationship with a cowboy?”
“I have a friendship with a cowboy, yes.” Sarcasm sang out loud in her voice now, mixed with a hint of bitterness.
She should’ve never allowed this man and David to browbeat her into accepting their stupid agreement. It was probably illegal as hell, but she’d made it. It was none of their business who she dated or who she slept with. If she wanted to have a threesome or get tied up, it would be her business. Yet she did sign that agreement after breaking it off with David, and she always honored her agreements. She thought it would help quail the rumors about her, but they still continued.
“If you have nothing else to speak to me about, Dean Reynolds, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. My grandfather is waiting for me. I’m taking him out to Winter Creek today.”
“I’m only thinking of our students,” the dean said. “They’re impressible young men and women. We need to live acceptable lives so as not to show them the wrong way.”
“I understand.” She wanted to add ‘I’m the only one that needs to live it though’. Instead she said, “I made you a promise, and I always keep my promises. Adam and I are only friends now.”
“Now?”
“After the semester is over…” She glanced up at him, feeling a wicked smile curving her mouth. “Who knows what can happen? But it’ll be between the two of us if anything does, won’t it?”
“David would be upset.”
“Good!”
His fretful look burned in her, but he didn’t comment about it again. “You mentioned Winter Creek. Your last report stated the repairs to the area were almost finished.”
“They are except for the livery stable and the stagecoach station.”
“Jack and William still have two more months,�
� the dean said. “Is there a reason they’re so far ahead of schedule?”
“We’re adding a semi-yearly cattle drive to the town’s attractions.” She gathered the report and placed it in a file behind her. “And we also found a family to sponsor the stagecoach station.”
“That’s wonderful!”
Jen sensed that his attitude was genuine. If anything, the pompous son of a bitch wanted to see WCHA achieve its goals. Like David, the rebuilt town would give the small college a boost in the donations department.
“I’m glad to hear everything is working out for the foundation,” the dean said. “I was thinking of asking David to join the foundation, as an honorary member.”
Great, just what I needed to hear. “You can ask anyone you wish, Dean. The college owns the ghost town.”
“I wish you wouldn’t refer to it as a ghost town, Professor.”
“It’s an old town.” Jen picked up her briefcase and walked around the desk to stand a few feet in front of him. “And there are ghosts there.”
“It’s your imagination.”
“Are you so sure about that?”
He didn’t answer her question.
“Well, if you don’t have anything else to discuss with me, I’m going to have to say goodbye.” She moved past him and opened the door before stepping aside to let him leave ahead of her. “Like I said, my grandfather is expecting me in a few minutes.”
He stepped out of the room and waited as she closed and locked the door. “Do you think it’ll be possible for me to go up there and see the remodeled town?”
“You’re the dean of the college that owns it,” she said simply. “I couldn’t stop you.”
“Good. Then I’ll get David and go out there today.”
“Suit yourself,” she muttered. “But don’t expect me to greet your golden boy with open arms.”
“Did you say something, Professor Ferguson?”
“It was nothing.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
By the look on his face, Jen knew he’d heard every murmuring word she’d spoken.
* * * *
“He was always a pain,” Jen’s grandfather said two hours later. “He only got worse after they made him dean of the college.”
Forgotten Memories Page 11