by Cox, Carol
Andrew made a show of giving the list serious consideration. “I believe I’ll try the roast beef.”
“Bueno. That is a good choice.”
“You recommend it, do you?”
“It is all we have left.” Manuel flashed him an impish grin. “You are our last lunch customer.”
Andrew chuckled at the boy’s saucy rejoinder and settled himself in a chair while Manuel hustled off to the kitchen. He glanced around the dining room. No sign of Jenny, but he knew she would be somewhere on the premises, most likely in her office. And it looked like his timing had been right on target. Only three other diners remained. It wouldn’t take much effort to linger over his meal and make sure he was the last one to finish.
Manuel served the roast beef with a flourish. Andrew smiled his thanks and bowed his head before concentrating on his food, one slow bite at a time.
One by one, the other diners left, until Andrew alone remained. Manuel darted back into the room to wipe the table left by the last vacating customer. “You are almost finished, Señor Garrett? Yours are the only dishes left to wash before we close the restaurant.”
Andrew mumbled an apology and hurried through the last few bites of roast, berating himself for keeping Manuel and his mother from finishing their work.
He laid his napkin next to his plate, then stood, hesitating. He’d been so certain he could catch Jenny if he only stayed around long enough, but apparently it was not to be. He straightened his jacket and turned to leave.
Jenny opened the door to the office at that moment and the two of them stood staring at each other. Andrew saw her start to turn, then check herself, as though her first instinct had been to whirl around and slam the office door in his face. With her wide eyes and parted lips, she looked like a startled doe poised for flight. Then she pulled herself erect and the aloof mask dropped over her face.
“Did you want something?” The quaver in her voice didn’t match the coolness of those aquamarine eyes. Her obvious uncertainty tugged at Andrew’s heart.
“I just finished eating. A wonderful meal, I might add.” He dropped his plan of compelling her to talk to him, during this visit at least. How could he force a confrontation and still call himself a gentleman?
He took a step toward the door and saw her shoulders sag in relief. Obviously, he’d made the right decision. A skittish quarry like Jenny wouldn’t be won over by heavy-handed methods.
Quarry? The thought stung his conscience. This woman was not a prey to be stalked and hunted as a trophy. That kind of thinking belonged to a mentality that saw women only as objects of pleasure, a mentality Andrew abhorred. But the fact remained that the more Jenny pulled away, the more he felt drawn to her.
He had gleaned a few personal details about Jenny from Red. The old miner had been sparing in his comments, but said enough to let Andrew know Jenny was without a family. Andrew knew she had recently relocated to Tucson from Prescott. If she had no family, she must have come there on her own.
Or with Evan Townsend. From Red, he had learned of Evan’s half interest in the Pueblo Restaurant. Could Evan and Jenny be more than just business partners? That might explain her coolness toward him. A sick feeling twisted in his stomach at the idea, but he put that thought away. Whatever the reasons for Jenny’s reserve, he could not believe she was romantically involved with Townsend. A light of purity radiated from Jenny. She was blameless in that regard; he had no doubt of that.
And talk about courage! He couldn’t imagine the kind of spunk it took for a young woman to strike out on her own like that. It showed a strength of character he deeply admired. The kind of character he hoped to find in a wife someday. And could Jenny Davis someday be that wife? The thought tantalized him. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what You have in mind, Lord, won’t I?
❧
Jenny waited until the door closed behind Andrew, then moved to slide the bolt in place. She let her body sag against the wooden plank, glad for the safety it represented.
Last night’s dream still lingered all too vividly in her mind, the memory of those grasping hands all too fresh. Her office had proven a welcome hideaway, its sense of sanctuary almost allowing her to forget the whole ordeal. Then she’d opened the door and come face-to-face with Andrew Garrett.
Had her face betrayed her anxiety at seeing him? She knew in her heart he wasn’t of the same stripe as Martin Lester or Burleigh Ames, but something about his commanding presence and steady gaze made her feel vulnerable, as though he could see straight into her heart.
A knock vibrated the wood under her shoulders. Jenny jumped back, her hands pressed against her cheeks, then forced herself to relax, laughing at her foolishness. The last time this happened, it had only been Red on the other side of the door.
She debated a moment, then squared her shoulders and slid the bolt back. She would not let her bad dreams get the best of her. They filled her with horror enough during the night hours, and she could do little about the effects that lingered on into the day. But if she allowed them to control her whole life, then Lester and Ames had won after all.
Determined to conquer her fears, she swung the door wide with her head held high.
A stranger stood on the other side of the threshold, and Jenny’s brave resolve melted away like a skiff of late spring snow.
“You don’t remember me?” the stranger asked.
Jenny blinked, sensing a spark of recognition but unable to place the man.
“I need to leave this with you.” He held out an envelope. “Would you please see that Townsend gets it?”
Jenny’s memory clicked into place the moment her fingers touched the envelope. “Of course!” She looked up at the hatchet-faced man with a smile. “You left a message for him once before.”
“You do remember me, then.” His eyes held a glint of triumph. “I would hate to think I’d failed to make any impression at all on such a pretty lady.”
He stepped back with a half bow, and Jenny closed the door on both him and his obnoxious flattery. She fingered the envelope curiously. It wasn’t thick enough to hold a pile of greenbacks. At least it wasn’t someone coming to deliver some of Evan’s gambling winnings, she thought grimly.
She twisted the envelope gently. No, it was much too thin to hold any substantial amount of cash. It didn’t feel like it contained more than a single sheet of paper.
Why would that man continue to deliver messages to Evan at the Pueblo when he looked like he would be more at home among some of Evan’s saloon cronies? She shrugged. The envelope and its strange bearer were Evan’s business, not hers. She had enough to think about between the restaurant, learning about her mine investment, and trying to figure out how she felt about Andrew.
Without a sound to announce his presence, Evan stepped through the office doorway. Jenny shrieked and lurched back against the front door.
“Jumpy today, aren’t you?” Evan asked, his gray eyes glowing with suppressed mirth.
Jenny tried to laugh and smoothed her hair back with shaking hands. What’s going on today? Every time I turn around, someone’s popping up unexpectedly. “I’m just getting ready to leave,” she said. “I had a couple of customers stay later than usual.”
“My good fortune.” Evan moved nearer to her and slouched against the wall, a pleased smile warming his chiseled features. “I was hoping I’d get to talk to you. . .alone.”
A prickle of unease ran up Jenny’s arms. Hadn’t he caused her enough distress already with his audacious proposal and the nightmare it set off? The dream had haunted her throughout the day, making it impossible to concentrate or accomplish anything worthwhile.
Why, she’d barely been civil to Andrew. What must he have thought when she stared at him in the same way she’d look at a toad in her bedroom? Hardly the way to cement a solid business relationship.
She remembered the envelope in her hand. “I’m glad you stopped by,” she said. “I needed to give you this. That same man dropped it off for you just a few moments
ago.” She held the envelope out to him, hoping the change of subject would divert his attention.
Evan straightened and moved nearer, so close the scent of bay rum tingled her nostrils. He took the envelope and tossed it negligently on the nearest table, then planted his hands against the door, one on either side of her.
Jenny drew back, pressing her shoulder blades against the unyielding door. Her heart raced and her legs quivered so, she feared they would refuse to hold her up.
Outwardly, she tried to maintain a semblance of calm. Not for anything did she want Evan to know how his approach chilled her. She lifted her chin and stared into his eyes. Eyes the color of a cloudy day, with a gleam that had surely set many a young woman’s heart aflutter. Why didn’t they have that effect on her? Granted, her heart was pounding at an alarming rate, but it was a speed born of near panic rather than infatuation.
Holding her arms rigid, she fought down the urge to shove him away and make her escape out the back door. If she ran now, he would always have the upper hand.
“What did you want to see me about?” she asked, pleased at the cool note she injected into her voice.
“Do I have to want to see you about anything specific, Jenny?” He trailed the fingers of his right hand along her cheek, then cupped her shoulder. “Maybe I just wanted to enjoy your presence, nothing more.”
She forced a smile to her lips. “Well, you’ve seen me. But it’s been a long day, and I didn’t sleep very well last night. If you’ll excuse me, I need to be getting home. It’s siesta time, you know.”
A look of irritation flashed across Evan’s face, to be replaced by a regretful smile. Rather than stepping back to release her, he bent his head nearer to hers. “Ah, Jenny. You do have a way of keeping a man humble, don’t you?”
Without warning, he pulled her into his arms and crushed his lips against hers. Jenny struggled to push him away, but he wrapped his left arm around her, clamping her arms tight against her sides.
Panic seized her, and she acted purely on instinct rather than thought. Twisting from side to side, she attempted to evade the unwanted embrace. In response, Evan moved forward, pinning her between himself and the door.
A dark fog swirled through Jenny’s mind, threatening to engulf her. Just when she thought it would overtake her entirely, Evan released his hold and stepped back, a satisfied grin creasing his face.
“I know I promised you time to think things over, but I wanted to give you a convincing reason to say yes.”
Jenny stared at him, her chest heaving, her whole body shaking so hard she could barely stand. “And you think that speaks in your favor?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it. Why can’t we be honest with each other? For whatever reason, you’re determined to hold on to this pose of outraged virtue, but you don’t have to keep up that pretense with me. I’ve known too many other women to believe in that for a moment.” He lowered his voice to a low purr. “Go ahead, Jenny. Why not give in to your feelings?”
You have no idea what I’m feeling right now. Before she could stop herself, Jenny’s hand flashed out and struck Evan full on the cheek. He fingered the bright red imprint her fingers had left, his eyes clouded with a look of disbelief.
Jenny folded her arms across her chest in an effort to stop their trembling and drew herself erect. “Don’t do that again. Ever. Do you understand me, Evan? I don’t need more time to think about your proposal; I can give you my answer right now, and it’s no. I came here to be your business partner, nothing more, and I have no intention of changing that.”
She fumbled for the bolt behind her and pulled it back, keeping her eyes on Evan all the while. “I’m going home now. I think it’s best if we try to forget what just happened and keep things as they were. You tend to your other businesses and I’ll run the restaurant. I’ll keep you informed about anything you need to know, but the less we have to see each other, the better.”
Evan only stared at her, his eyes taking on the hue of dark thunderclouds. More shaken than she wanted to admit, Jenny let herself out of the restaurant and hurried home.
She bolted her door behind her and managed to cross the room to the sofa before her tottery legs gave out. Sinking back against the cushion, she dug her fingers into the upholstery and looked around at the room she had decorated with such care. Where was the security she once felt within these walls?
Gone, she realized. Dissipated like a puff of smoke after Evan’s advances. She trembled again, but this time in anger instead of fear. Back in Prescott, he had offered her a business opportunity and a new life, a chance at a new beginning. How dare he ruin it with his disgusting overtures?
Jenny dropped her forehead onto her knees, her anger giving way to despair. Had she traveled all this distance to escape her past only to find herself enmeshed in the same kind of vile trap. . .with no one to come to her rescue this time?
fourteen
Bright sun streamed through the bedroom window. Jenny turned her head to escape its glare, and she wrapped her fingers around the bedpost, wishing she could squeeze it hard enough to chase away the pounding in her head.
Lack of sleep and the memory of Evan’s behavior the day before had combined to give her the headache of a lifetime. Telling herself that morning would bring a diminishing of the pain, she had endured the incessant throbbing throughout the night hours, only to find no relief when dawn finally arrived.
Instead, she found herself unable even to get out of bed and stand. For the first time she could remember, Jenny stayed home instead of going to work. Manuel had rapped on her door, then her bedroom window, about seven, calling to her in a worried voice. After being reassured she was not on death’s doorstep, he agreed to return to the Pueblo, giving Jenny his word that he and his mother could handle everything for the rest of the morning.
After he left, Jenny slipped into a restless doze and a light sleep. When she awoke, the pain seemed to have eased somewhat. Her stomach growled, and she knew she needed to get some food before hunger created its own problems.
Gingerly, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and eased herself into a sitting position. So far, so good. The throbbing quickened with the increased rhythm of her heartbeat, but it soon settled down to a dull pounding. Holding one hand to her forehead, Jenny slid off the mattress.
With faltering steps, she made her way to her tiny kitchen and sliced off a chunk of cheese. The combination of food and movement seemed to work. She felt her headache loosen its grip with every passing moment.
She risked a glance out the window, shielding her eyes with her hands as she did so. Too late now to do much good down at the restaurant. Manuel and Jacinta would be shutting down for the afternoon before she could get dressed and make her way there.
Jenny caught sight of the papers stacked on top of her cylinder-front desk. Her pulse quickened, and this time her headache didn’t follow suit.
Retrieving her robe from its hook behind her bedroom door, she slipped it on over her nightgown and slid into her desk chair. She’d spent so much time on the restaurant’s books, she had neglected keeping up with her own finances of late. She might as well catch up on those and feel she hadn’t completely wasted the day.
An hour later, Jenny’s headache had dissipated completely, replaced by excitement and a sense of wonder. She stared at the column of figures on her paper and tallied them up again for the third time.
She came up with the same total she’d gotten twice already. Could it be possible? She knew the restaurant had been bringing in a steady profit, but she hadn’t bothered to tote up her own accounts for some time. When she left Prescott to start her new life in Tucson, she’d dared to dream that eventually she might earn enough to make a comfortable life for herself, but the figure that stared back at her surpassed her fondest hopes.
And that reflected the result of only a couple of months in business. If the restaurant continued to do that well throughout the coming y
ear. . . Jenny pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and covered it with new figures, projecting what might lie ahead.
Her heart pounded and she caught her lower lip between her teeth. If business at the Pueblo did no more than keep pace with what it had done since it opened, she would be in a very comfortable position in another few months. The income from the expansion of the restaurant would only add to it.
And if the Silver Crown lived up to even a fraction of Red’s expectations. . .
Jenny sank back into her chair, overcome. Without her even being aware of it, she had somehow become a woman of modest means and had every reason to anticipate her income growing even more.
She closed her eyes and let herself dare to dream of the possibilities that would open up. With that kind of income, she could build a bigger house, if she chose.
No, she decided, looking around her cozy little adobe, that wouldn’t be necessary. This was her home, and a home was what she wanted, not a showplace. She might, however, add another room or two and pick up a few more pieces of quality furniture.
So what would she do with her money? It seemed ridiculous to work so hard to amass such a sum but have no idea how to use it. Some of it should be saved, she supposed. She wouldn’t stay young and strong forever. But did she need to hoard all her money for a time that lay in the distant future?
Jenny left her desk and paced the room. New clothes were probably in order, but what after that? She halted abruptly in the center of the room when a bold idea shot into her consciousness.
Could she do it? Why not? She stood still a few moments longer, assessing the possibilities, then gave a decisive nod. Hurrying to her bedroom, she donned her favorite dotted-Swiss dress and dressed her hair, exulting in the fact that her headache had completely disappeared. She checked her appearance in the mirror glass one last time, then snatched up her reticule and headed out the front door. The only questions now were whether she would find Evan at the restaurant, and whether he would go along with her newly hatched plan.