High Noon: A Sweet Romance (Red Canyon Series Book 3)

by Laura Westbrook

  Vanessa made a clicking noise with her tongue. “Men only listen when they want to. But for your sake, I hope he does. Even if it works, do you really think it’ll change things between you and Luke?”

  “It’s really the only card I have to play at this point.”

  “Speaking of cards,” Vanessa said. “How was my flirting game with Craig at the bar? I was meaning to ask you.”

  Lynn laughed. “What’s that have to do with cards?”

  “I don’t know. The flirting card? Anyway, how was it?”

  “It was pretty good. Considering you basically never talk to him, that was a big step.”

  “I think so too. I think it went pretty well. Maybe if you do well with Luke, then the splash effect will benefit Craig and I.”

  “Oh God, don’t put that kind of pressure on me. I have enough on my plate with one couple, much less two.”

  “Fair enough. Is Luke even working today? I don’t remember seeing him.”

  Lynn shook her head. “He worked earlier today and already left. A half shift, I guess. I was hoping our paths would cross so I could talk to him again, but no dice.”

  “Well, there’s always tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, but tomorrow’s his last day. I’m pretty much painted into a corner and I don’t have anywhere else to move.”

  Vanessa reached for a new stack. “I’m sure you’ll figure out a way. Sometimes I do my best work under pressure.”

  “We’ll see if I’m the same way.”

  Lynn heard another person for the first time since she’d arrived at the office that day. She could hear footsteps coming from the front office area, but around that corner, she couldn’t see down the hallway. Only when a man rounded the corner did she realize who it was.

  “Jasper…what are you doing here?”

  Jasper sighed. “I guess that means everyone knows. Lynn, right? I think Luke mentioned you once.”

  Lynn froze. That could mean a lot of different things. If Luke had talked about her before Jasper had been fired, it would be very different than after. Without knowing which version, she wasn’t sure how to react.

  “That’s me.”

  “I guess you heard about me being fired, since you asked that way. Everyone talks around here, so there’s probably no secrets anymore. Today’s my first day back.”

  Relief flooded her mind while at the same time filling her with questions. Does Luke know? Did Jasper already tell him? It would be terrible if Luke left without at least knowing what she’d done to make things better.

  “Jasper…I have a confession to make,” Lynn said. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Vanessa slipping out the door into the warehouse. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but if I don’t, I’ll feel really guilty about it, and I need to get it off my chest.”

  “Okay,” he said slowly.

  “I talked to Samuel that day you got fired. It’s my fault. He was asking me questions about what I saw around the park, and I mentioned you. How you accidentally ignored a kid. But I promise I didn’t do it on purpose.” She glanced up. “You must be pretty pissed at me.”

  Jasper shrugged. “It’s all right. Samuel didn’t say any names, but he told me that the same person who complained also came back in and fought for my job back. So I guess you could say you’re the reason I got hired back.”

  “Well, yeah, but after I did something much worse.”

  “I believe you that you didn’t mean to, so it worked out. I even got a little bit of time off.”

  “So you’re not mad?”

  “No. Don’t worry about it.”

  She refrained from giving him a thank-you hug. Of course, she cared more about Luke’s opinion than his, but knowing that she didn’t have to feel guilty about it anymore took a weight off her shoulders. “Thank you. I’m really glad Samuel hired you back. I kind of pushed the envelope with him, so hopefully he’s not mad at us both.”

  Jasper rested one arm on a costume rack. “I talked about his favorite baseball team and he practically forgot all about it. He’s too easy.”

  “Well, sorry again, and I’m glad to hear there aren’t any hard feelings.”

  Jasper threw his hand up. “I’ll live. And from now on, I just know not to leave in costume and that’ll pretty much solve all of it. Really, it was my fault to begin with. Anyway, I should get going. You know what costume I’m grabbing today?”

  She looked around. “I should get Vanessa. I’m just here helping out, and I don’t really know what’s going on. One second.”

  After bringing Vanessa out and watching her help pick out Jasper’s costume for the day, Lynn leaned back against the door frame. Luke’s going to be so proud. It took a lot of effort, but this time, it had paid off. She couldn’t wait to see his reaction.

  The moment Jasper left, Vanessa rounded on Lynn. “That was amazing. I didn’t think Samuel could be talked into doing anything, but you pulled it off.”

  “I know! I had no idea if it would work. At any moment, I thought Samuel might make me wish I never tried.” Lynn stared at the far wall. “I just wish Luke was working today. If I knew that he knew…that would make everything a lot easier.”

  “I’m sure he’ll find out tomorrow. Try not to stress about it too much today. And hey, on the bright side, look how much work we’ve done just in the short time you’ve been helping.” Vanessa made a broad sweep with her arm across the room. Sure enough, while they had been talking, most of the piles were gone. The topic must’ve kept Lynn’s mind off things that much.

  “I mean, that’s nice and all, but that just means I have to change into my costume that much sooner. I guess I should ask what my clothes are for the day.”

  Vanessa moved to the far table and brought out several pieces, including shoes, stockings, and a dress, this one a more drab brown color. “Here you are. And tomorrow, I have a surprise for you.”

  “Oh boy. Good or bad?”

  “I can’t tell you, otherwise it wouldn’t be a surprise. You’ll see tomorrow.”

  Lynn accepted the pile. “I suppose I will. I better get dressed and get out there. It looks like we’ve pretty much got things wrapped up in here.”

  “It was fun while it lasted, right?”

  “Okay, fine. You win,” Lynn said. “I’ll see you tomorrow if you’re not still here when I get back.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Today is the day. That morning, she’d woken up with an extra spring in her step. As she drove into work, the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. It couldn’t be a more perfect day if it tried, but the most important part of that day meant that Luke would finally come to work and find out that because of her, Jasper had his job back.

  Then she imagined that the heavens would open up and cast down a sunbeam in the perfect shape of a spotlight, illuminating their kiss as he swept her up into his arms and chased all the breath from her lungs. That would be when the horse would show up, because every fantasy needs a horse riding off into the sunset. Every fantasy that takes place in an Old West park, anyway.

  She was so into the little fantasy that she didn’t even bother chastising her imagination. She simply went along with it as the road stretched out in front of her. As she pulled into the park, there was a guy picking up bits of trash along the property who waved to her. She didn’t recognize him, but she figured he was just friendly. It was that kind of day.

  The costume area of the office was full of people for the first time in a while. She must be starting at the same time as most everyone else for that half of the day, which would be a good way to mingle with some of her co-employees, especially a particular one.

  The long stretch of fold-out tables in the character paperwork room had holes in the line-up, as many of the face characters had already picked up their marching orders. There was a big performance that day, and everyone had known about it since last week. She scanned until she found her own name, written in pen along the top with immaculate handwriting. Carol’s, unless
Lynn missed her guess. She also guessed that about half of them had already come and gone. She tried to scan the tops for Luke’s name, but there were enough people in the way that it was difficult.

  “Hey Rayleigh,” Lynn said. “Who’s running this today?”

  Rayleigh was in the process of scooping up her papers. “Who else? Carol. She’s working today. I think she’s in the front office part.”

  “Thanks.” If anyone knew who was on the clock and who wasn’t, it would be Carol.

  Lynn walked down the hallway and stopped at Carol’s office, sticking her head just inside. Going any further usually meant either trouble or a half hour conversation. “Morning Carol.”

  “Almost afternoon.” Carol glanced at the slim watch on her wrist. “Yes?”

  “I was just wondering if you knew if Luke had already started his shift yet or not.”

  Carol tapped her pen. “He’s not working today.”

  Lynn blinked. “What do you mean? Today’s his last day.”

  “Yesterday was his last day.”

  No! “Are you sure? I didn’t see him.” Was he here and I simply didn’t notice?

  “Yes. Today was supposed to be his last day, but he asked Samuel if he could change it to yesterday. Apparently, today is something to do with his dad’s company. I didn’t catch what it was. I believe that’s why yesterday was a half day for him.”

  “I didn’t see him.”

  Carol tilted her head. “He worked on the far side, so I’m not surprised your paths didn’t cross.”

  Lynn felt like putting her back against the wall and sliding down to the floor. “So this all happened yesterday? The change, I mean.”

  “As far as I’m aware.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  Lynn shuffled her feet as she walked back into the marching orders room. On the way in, Vanessa called out to her. “Hey.” She stopped just short. “What happened to you?”

  “Luke’s not working today,” Lynn said in a flat voice.

  “Seriously? Then that means yesterday was—”

  “His last day,” Lynn finished for her. Lynn didn’t realize Vanessa was going in for a hug until it was already happening. Lynn completed the motion, but for the most part, she just stood there.

  Vanessa patted her on the back a few times. “It’s going to be all right.”

  Lynn broke first. It was a nice gesture, but it wasn’t for her at that moment. “Not really. He’s already gone, and with the job he has now, he’s definitely not coming back. That’s a permanent change. You don’t go back from a desk job to playing dress-up. It just doesn’t happen.”

  “You’ll find a way. I know you will. You’re as resourceful as anyone.”

  “I’m just going to go to work. There is that big performance today, so maybe that’ll take my mind off things.”

  “Is that the one about the railway?”

  Lynn nodded. “It is. Not as exciting as a shootout but I guess they have to change things up.”

  “The park already has a section for the railroad, so I never quite got why they’re doing a performance about the ‘new’ railroad, but whatever works.”

  “I guess the performances aren’t always in chronological order. I don’t really care. I just want to get today over with. I’m tempted to cut out early.”

  “Best to save your sick days for when you really need it. Are you ready for your surprise, by the way?”

  “What surprise?”

  “The one I talked to you about yesterday. I feel bad now, since you’re not having a good day. It’s not a surprise I imagine you’ll like, but…well, I’ll just show you.”

  Vanessa dipped into the warehouse and came back with two hangers. One of them featured an emerald-colored dress with a plunging neckline and lace tipping the sleeves. On the other hung a corset with a plethora of ribbon-like strings hanging down from the back, like a tangle of hangman’s nooses.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lynn said.

  Vanessa went right to work. “Hear me out. This is a relatively simple corset. It’s molded for another person, but you’re close in size, so it won’t be too bad. This dress is gorgeous and would look great on you. The stockings are fashionable and won’t be itchy at all. You’ll see.”

  Lynn didn’t even notice the stockings curled around the bottom of the hanger just inside the dress. “Come on, Vanessa. Today of all days?”

  The hangers drooped a little in Vanessa’s arms. “I didn’t mention the other thing yet. The other dresses you normally wear are getting cleaned. I won’t have them back in until tomorrow.”

  With a groan, Lynn accepted the two hangers like a soldier on the eve of battle. She wasn’t exactly rushing when she changed into them and only realized partway through that she needed help putting on the corset, as she’d never worn such a thing before. She flagged a nearby woman walking by for help. They didn’t know each other, but helping someone change sure sped up the process of getting to know someone.

  With every ribbon lace done up in the back, Lynn could feel the contraption pulling tighter and tighter. She had no idea what was even going on back there. Thankfully, the woman was a face character and had worn similar ones herself. Hell, for all Lynn knew, the corset was hers, or at least had been on her once. As far as Lynn was concerned, the woman could keep it.

  When Lynn left the dressing room, she felt a little lightheaded. The thing had transformed her figure into an hourglass. She resisted the urge to pat herself down to make sure everything was still there. She normally considered herself thin, but with this on, it took it to another level. But the cost was too great. She’d still trade it for jeans any day.

  But even with all that, her mind was elsewhere. She could only think about one thing and that was Luke not knowing or remembering anything about her other than her betrayal of his friend. Of course, the situation was more complicated than that, but that was probably his take away.

  She stopped briefly to talk to a couple and their four-year-old, but her heart wasn’t in it. She hoped it didn’t come across during the conversation, but either because of that or another reason, the interaction wasn’t long and the couple didn’t ask very many questions. She just wasn’t in a pioneer woman kind of mood.

  By the time she reached the performance area, everyone else was already there. She was pretty sure nobody waited on her, exactly, but everyone looked ready to go. This one was a fairly basic scene. They were essentially in the street, if a wider part of it near the entrance. If the park was adjacent to any other businesses, she would’ve guessed the performance’s purpose was to snag foot traffic, but there wasn’t anything or anyone else for a mile on either side.

  “Got your lines down?” Rayleigh asked.

  Lynn dug the toe of her shoe into the dirt. “All four sentences? I’m pretty sure I can manage.”

  “More than I have. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, sorry. I’m not exactly having the best day.”

  Rayleigh passed her a parasol. “Here. There were extra. A woman in a dress like that would have one outside. Nice, by the way. I like the color.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Anything you want to talk about?”

  Lynn shook her head. “I don’t want to drag down anyone else’s good day. Besides, we’re probably starting soon.”

  “Probably. The main guy for this performance was brought in from another park. We’re borrowing him for a week. Probably until we get another sheriff.”

  That was a punch to the gut. Lynn grimaced. “I don’t think they’ll find anyone quite like Luke.”

  Some people just behind the podium were milling about, and it looked like there was some movement. She might be right that it was starting, after all.

  “Probably not. They’ll probably have one of the junior sheriffs take his place.”

  Now that would be ironic if Jasper took Luke’s place, especially after everything that had happened. Life had a way of turning out funny sometimes.

  F
rom out of nowhere, a man in a beige bowler hat rang a handheld triangle, the type people in black-and-white TV shows used to signal dinner time. She guessed maybe back in the nineteenth century there weren’t too many ways to get people’s attention other than yelling. Points for creativity, at least.

  Although a good dozen people had gathered to sit on park benches to watch, people continued to filter over. Before long, they had a small crowd gathered, on the edge of their seat for the adventure to unfold. If it were an action scene, like the other one she’d been part of, she could see the appeal, but for this, not so much. Then again, audience goers may not have any idea which ones were action orientated or not. Maybe they were in for a letdown. She decided to pay attention to the audience to see if it narrowed down any.

  The man in the bowler hat stepped up onto the platform carrying a board and easel along with him. When he flipped open the board, it turned out to be posters glued to a spine in the way a modern sketch board would be. He flipped to the first page, and the word ‘railroad’ jumped out at the reader, spanning the entire length of the poster. Where the poster lacked information, it made up for it in pizzazz.

  The man whipped out a metal pointer from his pocket and smacked it against the page. “That word, ladies and gentlemen, says railroad. That’s right.” To his benefit, perhaps the audience of the time wouldn’t have been entirely literate. He didn’t hold back on anything he said—quite the contrary, he spoke in a theatrical sort of way, so that his voice would carry all the way from there to Chimney Rock.

  “Now, I’ve come a long way, all the way from the city limits of Richmond, Virginia, to tell you something exciting. A locomotive is coming here to your town. That’s right, a genuine steam locomotive weighing four hundred thousand pounds of pure metal muscle, pulling an inconceivable force of fifty thousand pounds of pulling power. This is innovation like you’ve never seen it before.”

  The people in the face character crowd, including Lynn, all whispered and muttered to each other as part of the act. This didn’t bother the man at all, and he continued along. “Of course, you’ve all heard of these metallic beasts ripping up and down the East Coast, but now modern marvels are coming to the wild frontier, connecting people together like never before. Gone are the days of the Oregon and California Trails, contending with rattlesnakes and oxen carts. No thank you sir!”