A touch of love

by Conn, Phoebe

  Aubrey nearly choked on her first bite of cereal. When she caught her breath, she waited until Jesse had joined her at the table. He was wearing Levi's and a navy blue shirt with a cavalry-style bib front. Certain it was no accident, she regretted telling him how much she admired Indians.

  "While I know you must be disappointed in my failure to arrange any free publicity for you, I didn't want to get the killers off my trail by putting them on yours."

  Jesse nodded appreciatively. "Thanks. It will make my job easier if they don't know my name. You want some toast?"

  Aubrey took a long sip of cranberry juice. "Yes, please. Two slices, but I don't use butter, just jelly. Regardless of how helpful you are, I still don't want you coming with me today."

  "Not only am I coming along, I'm going to drive your Volvo." Jesse left the table to fix the toast, but he knew the instant he returned Aubrey would start in on him again.

  For the life of him, he couldn't imagine why he was looking forward to it.

  Trisha knocked before coming in the back door. "Anybody home?" she called out.

  "I left the door open for her," Jesse told Aubrey, "but don't leave it unlocked when you're here alone."

  "I was doing just fhre before I met you."

  "Sure you were," Jesse teased, clearly unconvinced. "Morning, Trish. How was your date with the banker?"

  Trisha saw Jesse spreading jelly on toast and Aubrey scanning the headlines on the Times. They looked like a superbly happy couple to her, and she knew instantly that Aubrey hadn't told her the truth about the weekend. She sat down at the table and smiled happily. "The banker's okay, a little on the conservative side, but that's to be expected, I suppose. It looks as though you two are getting along well."

  Aubrey glared at her assistant.''We are barely speaking,'' she confided, "and Jesse has the absurd notion that I need him to come with us today."

  "Great. I think having another man along is a terrific idea. You can help Gardner, Jesse. He's always swamped."

  "Trish!" Aubrey picked up her bowl and carried it over to the sink. "Forget the toast. We're running late, and—"

  "Well, if you aren't going to eat this, I will," Jesse replied. "Are we late, Trish?"

  "No. We've plenty of time."

  Trisha's sassy smile made Aubrey want to puke. "Need I remind you who signs your payroll checks?" she asked pointedly.

  "We've always been like a family," Trisha reminded her.

  Having finished the toast, Jesse rinsed off his hands. "Every family needs a black sheep, so it looks as though I can serve a useful purpose after all."

  Aubrey eyed him with a cold stare, then decided because he was so insistent about accompanying her, she would agree, but as soon as she opened the seminar, she would call on him to relate what an important factor creative imagery had been in his career. She was taking a chance he might enjoy the attention, but with an audience of bankers, it was far more likely that he would make a complete fool of himself. Still appearing reluctant, she nodded slightly.

  "All right. Come along if you must. I'll even let you drive, but you've got to promise you'll be a real help rather than merely in the way."

  Jesse gave a mock bow. "Your servant, ma'am."

  "This is going to be fun!" Trisha enthused.

  As he straightened up, Jesse captured Aubrey's gaze and held it. He intended to make himself indispensable, and then he would lure Aubrey out to Pete's house for another try at discovering some much-needed clues. He hadn't pushed her to test her ESP simply to pass the time. He needed her in several important ways, but for the time being, he would let her assume his only concern was her safety.

  a clear view of her property from their front windows and which might only catch a glimpse of her house from the side. When he drew even with her driveway, he saw a Chevy truck with red and white Arizona plates parked just outside her garage. He remembered it from the Times photo and figured it must belong to the man he was supposed to avoid.

  The dog paused to sniff a jacaranda's exposed roots, and not wanting to loiter outside Aubrey's house, John gave him only a few seconds to enjoy the mingled scents of the neighborhood's other canines. A pale green Geo Metro was parked at the curb, but he doubted it belonged to Aubrey Glenn. That meant there were at least three people in the house that morning. He hadn't counted on her having so many visitors.

  He gave the dog's leash a quick yank and continued on down the sidewalk. The fact that the neighborhood was so damn quiet would make it difficult to do anything imaginative, but he was still confident he would erase Aubrey Glenn's name from his boss's list of worries in no time at all.

  Jesse followed Aubrey's directions to Shelley Sandler's house. It was one of eight small bungalows built around a central courtyard. The exterior had been repainted recently a sunny yellow with white trim and it looked as cute as the day the first resident had moved in in 1922. Shelley, however, looked hopelessly forlorn as she came walking out to the car with her head bowed.

  Aubrey turned toward her as she slid into the back seat "Is Ricky giving you a bad time?"

  Confused by Jesse's presence, Shelley responded with a questioning glance, and she didn't relax when Aubrey assured her he was merely serving as their chauffeur.

  4 'Annie stayed at my mother's last night to give us a chance to talk. He wants us to get back together."

  ''Well, you sure don't look happy about it," Trisha observed pointedly. "Is he finally ready to settle down and get a job to support you and Annie?"

  Shelley shrugged slightly and pulled the collar on her pink sweater up around her throat. "He says he has something in the works."

  Jesse couldn't bear to see anyone as miserable as Shelley appeared to be. "Excuse me if I'm speaking out of turn, Ms. Sandler, but this Ricky of yours doesn't sound like much of a catch for a young woman as pretty as you. He had to support his child, but—"

  "Ricky claims Annie isn't his," Trisha informed him. "That proves what a prince he is."

  Jesse glanced over at Aubrey, who simply shook her head in disgust. He knew Shelley had to put her own life in order, but he couldn't resist offering another bit of advice. "You're bright and have a good job with Ms. Glenn. There's no reason for you to let anyone in your life who doesn't make you happy."

  Shelley sighed sadly. "I know, but I've loved Ricky since we were in the seventh grade."

  "And he denies your daughter is his?" Jesse asked incredulously.

  Shelley hugged her oversized purse to her chest. "He knows that she's his. He just isn't ready for the responsibility of raising her is all."

  "Then he sure as hell wasn't ready to make love to you," Jesse swore. "Can't your father talk some sense into him?"

  Exquisitely uncomfortable, Shelley sank down a little lower in her seat. "He died of cancer when I was twelve. Ricky was real sweet to me then. The other boys laughed at him for walking me home after school, but he didn't care."

  "Well, at least he had some character at one time, 1 'Jesse mused aloud.

  Trisha leaned forward. "Maybe he did, but that was before he started spending all his time boozing and getting high. Now he's completely worthless/'

  "Trisha, please," Aubrey scolded. "Shelley's well aware of Ricky's faults."

  "Then why doesn't she do something about it?" Trisha countered.

  Jesse was having a difficult time keeping one eye on the morning traffic and another on the pair in the backseat. Trisha was adamantly opposed to letting Ricky anywhere near Annie, while Shelley kept mumbling something about a father having the right to see his litde girl. Jesse had heard one too many pretty young women swear they loved some weasel who never gave their feelings a moment's thought.

  "Do you ever give seminars strictly for women?" he asked Aubrey. "You'd be performing a valuable service if you taught them how to recognize a decent man when he comes along so they don't waste their whole lives tagging along after some bum who probably can't even recall their name let alone their birthday, or anything else that matters to
them."

  Aubrey wondered what had inspired that hostile outburst. Clearly Jesse didn't see himself as that type of man, but she was certain he must have broken his share of hearts. Perhaps he was protesting too much. After all, he had come on to her with a haste that made it difficult to believe he used much restraint where women were concerned.

  "Didn't you have groupies when you were on the rodeo circuit?" she asked.

  Growing defensive, Jesse shot her an accusing glance. "Yeah. Plenty of them, but I never promised more than I intended to give. I was also extremely careful not to father

  any children. But if I had, I would never have denied they were mine."

  The hushed silence in the back seat made it plain Trisha and Shelley were waiting for Aubrey's answer, but she didn't want to spar with Jesse in front of them. "That's commendable of you. I think you'd do just as well giving seminars on how to choose a man as I would. After all, my track record proves just how little expertise I have. Now let's abandon the personal topics in favor of concentrating on today's seminar. It should go according to plan, but let's not risk having it sound stale."

  Jesse thought they could make better use of their time coaching Shelley to bolster her self-esteem, but fell silent as Aubrey and her assistants reviewed the day's exercises. When they reached the bank, he pulled into the underground parking, and Aubrey handed him a placard to place in the window which would allow them to park in a convenient spot for the entire day. As they walked toward the elevators, he could not help but notice the way Aubrey was eyeing his suede jacket. A natural golden tan, with long fringe dripping from the sleeves and yolk, it would have made an Indian proud.

  "I bought this last year," he bent down to confide, "long before I met you or knew about your passion for Indians."

  Embarrassed that she had ever mentioned it now, Aubrey forced a smile. "It's a handsome jacket. That was my only thought. Honest."

  "Sure," Jesse replied with a knowing wink, and he thought Aubrey's resulting blush utterly charming.

  The conference room where the seminar was being held was painted a stately forest green. The matching carpet and upholstered chairs also conveyed the impression of old money, but none of the executives gathered for the second day of Aubrey's stress reduction seminar was over thirty-five. Eager for the session to begin, they found their

  chairs as soon as she called them to order. Evenly divided between male and female, they were fashionably dressed in well-tailored suits or classic, slim dresses. They were well groomed, but gave the appearance of extras assembled for a commercial extolling the benefits of their institution's services, rather than real human beings with varied and distinct personalities.

  Gardner had arrived first to set up the sound and recording systems. He looked surprised to see Jesse with Aubrey and her assistants, but welcomed his help when Aubrey explained he was there specifically to be useful. Gardner's horn-rims continually slid down his nose, but he gave them a quick nudge into place before he extended his hand.

  4 'Have you worked with audio equipment in the past?" Gardner asked.

  Jesse purposely turned his back to the bankers. " Never, but if you'll just tell me what to do, I'll be happy to give you a hand."

  Before Gardner had the opportunity, Aubrey opened the session and he had to monitor the recording. She introduced Jesse and provided a flattering summary of his success on the professional rodeo circuit. "Mr. Barrett has been using creative imagery for years, and I'd like to call on him now to share some of his experience with you. Then I'm sure he'll be happy to answer whatever questions you might have."

  Caught off guard and completely unprepared, Jesse nevertheless raised his right hand and sent Aubrey a lazy salute as he walked toward the front of the room. There had been plenty of time for her to ask him to speak as they rode into town, and that she had preferred to surprise him made him wonder if she had a malicious streak she kept well hidden. He glanced out at the three dozen men and

  women who were obviously at home in the corporate world and thanked them for their welcoming applause.

  He hooked his thumbs in his belt and began to pace up and down slowly. "Ms. Glenn is absolutely right, but rather than rediscovering creative imagery as an adult as she did, you might say that I simply refused to allow the schools to suppress the lively imagination that is any child's natural birthright. I was born in Montana, in a town so small the people used to go down to the railroad station on Saturday nights in hopes someone interesting might be coming in on the train.''

  He paused and looked out at the crowd. "As far as I recall, no one ever did." He waited for a ripple a laughter to die down, then continued. "My father was a copper miner by trade, and when he decided he couldn't take another Montana winter, he moved my mother and me down to Arizona. The town wasn't much of an improvement when it came to excitement, but at least we enjoyed warmer winters. We had always kept a few horses, and so I knew how to ride almost from the time I could walk.

  "Being the new kid in town, it took me awhile to make friends. Until I did, I'd go out riding alone and I'd make up adventures: pretend I was a U.S. marshal tracking desperados one day, and play a desperado's part the next"

  Aubrey had wanted to put Jesse in his place, but his relaxed manner and gentle humor captivated her as quickly as it did the audience. As he explained how he had gotten into competing in junior rodeos, first riding bucking broncos, and later moving up to bulls, she thought his addition to the day's program definitely worthwhile. Then as he detailed how he had visualized each ride beforehand, she noticed how intently both Trisha and Shelley were watching him, and had second thoughts.

  She already knew Trisha wasn't his type, but Shelley, while painfully shy, could easily be described as a leggy

  blonde, and the possibility of her becoming involved with Jesse was simply appalling. She could see it all in a flash of brilliant clarity. Jesse would shower Shelley with attention, give her the confidence to finally jettison Ricky Vance, and then leave for Arizona without a backward glance. Shelley would be devastated, and she didn't deserve any more heartbreak.

  Jesse noticed Aubrey's slight frown and assumed he had been talking too long. He ceased pacing, turned to face the audience squarely, and tried to offer a coherent summary. "Now you may think you've nothing in common with a rodeo rider who's seen better days, but let me assure you the very same imagery which kept me in the prize money for a number of years can make your dreams come true. You've got to want something so bad you can't simply taste it, but catch the scent, and luxuriate in its silken texture. It's not easy, and it forces you to make difficult choices, but you can believe me when I say it's well worth the effort. I own a ranch just outside Sedona to prove it, and I wish you good luck in realizing your dreams."

  Pleased with his presentation, if not Shelley's worshipful gaze, Aubrey quickly moved to Jesse's side. "Thank you so much. Are there any questions?"

  An auburn-haired man in the second row raised his hand. "Can you describe what it feels like to ride a bull?"

  Jesse laughed. "Sure. Have you ever rolled your car?" When several people nodded and groaned, Jesse offered another image for those who hadn't. "If you've ever tossed ice cubes into a blender to make Margaritas, you know they get ground into mush. It's just that brutal, but I swear I loved it, and it wasn't just the rush. It was also the joy of knowing I could succeed at something few men have the guts to try, and the bruises were a badge of honor."

  An attractive brunette in the first row raised her hand. "May I have your autograph, Mr. Barrett?"

  4 'It's Jesse, and I'll be happy to give you one during the break."

  The man beside her quickly asked, "What did your father think of your riding bulls?''

  "He thought I was a damn fool, which I expect a lot of you must think, as well. It wasn't until I started winning prize money on a regular basis that he warmed to the idea. After I put myself through the University of Arizona and bought land for a ranch, he was very proud of me.

 
; "I hope all of you are wise enough to know you can't live your parents' dreams. That attempt traps too many good people. Banking is a respectable profession, but don't let the money you're making keep you at a job you hate. You probably don't want to become rodeo riders, but don't wait until you reach retirement age to do what you'd love to be doing right now."

  Aubrey saw the appreciative nods in the audience and hoped the entire group wouldn't be inspired to quit their jobs that very day. She asked for another round of applause for Jesse, then opened her portion of the seminar with a challenge for everyone present to connect as deeply with their dream as he had with his. "Open your journals and make a list of the things that bring you the greatest pleasure in life. Don't be embarrassed to put making love in first place. After all, it's wonderful for relieving stress, and that's what we're here to discuss."

  Jesse walked back to Gardner's table where he found the sound engineer gaping at him as though he had just revealed he was an alien visitor from another galaxy. He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'll bet impressing Trisha would be high on your list."

  Jesse surveyed Gardner's frizzy hair, plaid shirt, knit vest, and baggy trousers with a reproachful gaze. He wasn't a bad looking young man, but he sure didn't do much with what he had.

  "You could use some fashion advice, a good haircut, and contact lenses. Then I'll bet you'd be as good looking as the rest of the men here/' That Jesse included himself in that catagory was plain in his teasing grin.

  Gardner hurriedly busied himself checking out an extension cord. When he straightened up, his face was still flushed with embarrassment. "Who told you I liked Trisha?"

  "Hell. No one had to tell me. I could see it every time you glanced her way."

  Gardner gave a strangled moan. "I didn't know it showed."

  "Don't worry about it. Now I've only seen Trisha a couple of times, but I can guarantee you she's the type who likes to chase men until they stop running. After work tonight, go to one of the big department stores and ask a clerk in menswear to help you pick out some new clothes. Tell them you have to look sharp for a job interview. Get your haircut and make an appointment with an optometrist for a pair of soft contact lenses. You won't even be able to tell you're wearing them."