Jenny (31 page)

"You think he might be involved in this?" Dan was
stunned by the thought, then realized Cole had good
reason to suspect the other man after that night at the
dance.

"I don't know," Cole said tersely as he held Jenny
close and got to his feet. He moved as slowly as he
could, not wanting to jar her. "But I want to find out."

Dan, coming to his aid, took Jenny from Cole to
give him time to swing up into the saddle. Then he
gently handed her up into Cole's keeping.

"Cole-" Jenny clung to him as he held her sideways before him, carefully cradling her to his chest.

"I'm taking you home, Jenny. Just hang on. I'll go
as slow as I can to keep the pace steady for you," he
told her quietly.

Cole kept an arm supportively around Jenny as he
urged his horse back toward the ranch house back
toward safety.

Dan mounted up and rode to his side.

"You sure you'll be all right riding alone with
her?" Dan asked worriedly.

"Yes. Just hurry up and get back here with the
buckboard. I'll be watching for you."

Dan galloped off, determined to get to the Lazy S
as quickly as he could.

Cole kept Jenny nestled against him, taking care
not to make any sudden moves. He figured they had
less than an hour of daylight left, and he hoped Dan
made good time going back. Jenny rested quietly in
his arms as they rode on toward home.

Horror reigned at the ranch after Dan rode in and
alerted everyone to what had happened. He quickly
sent one of the hands who'd stayed behind at the
house into town to get the doctor and to speak to
Marshal Trent and directed another to bring back
Gene's body. Then he loaded up the buckboard with
pillows, blankets, and a lantern.

Evelyn and Rose insisted on going with Dan to
help take care of Jenny. The three of them were solemn as they rode from the ranch. They knew the going would be difficult. Still, they were determined to
get to Jenny as soon as they could.

Cole's progress had been slow and painful for Jenny.
He'd tried his best to protect her and keep her safe,
but any movement at all was hellish for her. He was tempted to stop and make a camp for the night, but
he knew the sooner he got her back to safety, the
better.

Though it appeared that whoever had done this to
Jenny was long gone, Cole couldn't let his guard
down. He was alert and watchful, ready for trouble,
even as he tried to soothe Jenny and reassure her.

It seemed an eternity before Cole finally heard
Dan's shout and saw the buckboard in the distance.
He reined in.

"Dan's back with the wagon, Jenny," he told her
gently.

Jenny rested against him, relieved that they weren't
riding any more.

"We got here as fast as we could," Dan called out
as he stopped next to Cole and Jenny. He handed the
reins to Rose and jumped down to help Cole.

Jenny was trying to be brave, but a whimper escaped her as Cole handed her down to Dan.

Cole heard her cry and hurried to dismount. He
took her back in his arms from Dan and carried her
to the buckboard. As gently as he could, he laid her
on the blankets. Evelyn and Rose were waiting and
they were beside her in an instant. They lighted the
lamp they'd brought along so they could see.

"Oh, God," Evelyn cried softly at the sight of Jenny
so wounded. There was dried blood on her face and
hair. She was pale and lying deathly still as they
tended to her.

"Jenny?" Rose said as she took her hand in hers.

Both women waited breathlessly to see if she'd respond, and they almost burst into tears of joy when
her eyes slowly opened.

"Aunt Evelyn Rose "she whispered.

"We're here, sweetheart," Evelyn said in a voice
choked with emotion.

"Aunt Evelyn-"

It seemed Jenny had something to say that was important, so both women leaned close to hear her better.

"Cole saved me again-" Jenny finally managed.
She tried to smile, but it hurt too much.

Cole was standing beside the buckboard, close
enough to hear her words. Instead of feeling good,
though, Jenny's words were like a knife in his heart.
She might think he'd saved her, but to his way of
thinking, saving her would have meant keeping her
from harm. In that, he'd failed miserably. She could
have been killed

Cole was furious with himself and with whoever
had caused Jenny harm. Once he married her, he was
going to make sure that Jenny never came to any
harm again.

"Cole was wonderful," Evelyn said gently. "We're
just so relieved he found you. Now we're going to
get you home safe and sound."

"Cole?" Jenny called out to him.

He quickly climbed into the buckboard to speak
with her. "I'm here, Jenny."

"Stay with me, Cole-"

He remembered the last time she'd begged him to
stay and he'd walked away. This time he knew that
for as long as she wanted him, he would be there with
her. "I won't leave you again, Jenny ever."

Her heart sang at his words, but she was too exhausted to say any more. When he took her hand, she
clutched his fingers and let her eyes close. Only now
did she feel safe again. Cole was with her.

They put out the lantern, ready to finish the long,
painful trip home. Dan tied Cole's horse to the back
of the wagon, and with the women sitting up front
with him, they started off.

No one at the ranch was able to rest. The hours passed
with dreadful slowness. Some of the men who'd gone
looking for Jenny and Gene had returned emptyhanded and learned what had happened. They waited
impatiently and worriedly with Frances, Tillie, and
Melanie for Jenny's return.

It was very late by the time Dan drove the buckboard up to the house. At the sound of their arrival,
everyone came running out to meet them.

Cole immediately jumped down when Dan stopped
the buckboard. He carefully lifted Jenny from the
wagon. His expression was stony, his manner rigid as
he started inside with her.

"Bring her upstairs, Cole," Frances said from the
porch, where she was holding the front door open for
him.

He entered the house, and at Frances's direction he carried Jenny upstairs to her room. Jenny mustered
strength enough to loop one arm around Cole's neck,
and just that little gesture relieved Cole's fears
greatly.

Dan stayed with him in case he needed any help,
and Rose and Evelyn went along, too.

Frances already had her bed turned down, so Cole
ever so gently laid her upon the welcoming softness.

"Thank you, Cole," Jenny said quietly as she
looked up at him.

Their gazes met.

Unable to help himself, Cole reached out and tenderly touched her cheek. He wanted to take her in his
arms and hold her to his heart and never let her go,
but he couldn't for fear of hurting her. He had to force
himself to step away as Frances took charge.

"We've sent for the doctor. He should be here
soon. Let me see what I can do to make you more
comfortable. Cole, you go on downstairs. This is no
place for you or Dan either," she said, shooing the
men from the room.

Cole went reluctantly, unaware that Jenny's gaze
was upon him until Frances closed the door. He stood
in the hallway with Dan, feeling totally useless.

"I guess we can go downstairs and wait for the
doc," Dan suggested, feeling just as lost as Cole.

Evelyn and Rose had already gone down and were
in the parlor with Tillie and Melanie. As Dan and
Cole descended the stairs, they could hear Rose talking. Dan's heart lightened. He needed to see Rose right now. He needed her to smile at him. There was
something about being with her that made everything
seem all right.

But as they reached the bottom of the staircase,
Dan could hear her crying.

"Aunt Tillie, I am sorry we ever came to this
place!" Rose said vehemently, sobbing as she spoke.

"You don't mean that," Tillie said, trying to calm
her.

"I do! I do! I wish Jenny's father had never had
his accident. Then we'd all be back in Philadelphia
where we belong! And Jenny would be safe and
sound. What horrible thing is going to happen next
around here? First there was the rustling, and now that
ranch hand was murdered and Jenny is almost killed
shot down in cold blood for no reason! I hate it here!
I want to go back to the city! I want to go back to
civilization! I want to go home!"

Dan stopped where he was. He was shocked by
Rose's revelation.

Rose hated it here

She wanted to go back to Philadelphia

Dan's expression grew grim. He'd thought they
might have a future together, but now he realized the
painful truth. Rose had never been serious about him.
To her, he'd only been a diversion, someone to pass
the time with while she waited to go back home.

In the study, Tillie opened her arms to Rose, wanting to comfort her. "Oh, darling."

Rose was sobbing as she went into her aunt's protective embrace.

Dan and Cole made their way to the parlor doorway and silently observed the scene before them.

Up until that moment Dan had believed that Rose
was the woman of his dreams-the woman he'd been
waiting for. He'd honestly believed he'd been falling
in love with her and that they would live there in
Durango happily together.

Now, though, having heard the truth of Rose's feelings, Dan knew they had no future together. His
dream of a life with Rose was over. He would leave
for Durango once he was sure Jenny was going to be
all right, and then he would never see Rose again.

Cole and Dan spoke briefly with the women, then
retreated to the porch to watch for the doctor's arrival.
They said little. Both men were too worried about
Jenny to speak of anything else.

Marshal Jared Trent strode into the Mother Lode Saloon, a man on a mission. He stood quietly just inside
the doors, looking around the saloon. He'd just received the news from a Lazy S ranch hand about what
had happened to Jenny Sullivan and her hired hand,
and he was going to follow up on Cole Randall's
suggestion to check on Richard Donathan's
whereabouts at the time of the ambush. Cole didn't
see the man anywhere in the saloon, so he approached
the bartender, Gary Knehans.

"Evening, Gary."

"Marshal. Can I get you a drink?" the barkeep offered.

"No, I'm here on business. I'm looking for a man
named Donathan, Richard Donathan. He's from back
East."

"Oh, yeah him."

"You know Donathan?"

Gary nodded. "He's been a regular here the last
couple of nights. He's a big spender. The girls are
enjoying him a lot."

"Where is he?"

"Upstairs with Caroline right now."

"Which room?"

"The last one on the right," the bartender directed.
"What are you wanting him for?"

"There was some trouble out at the Lazy S. I just
want to talk to him about it."

"What kind of trouble?" Gary was instantly interested.

"Jenny Sullivan was ambushed and shot and one
of her men was killed.

"Is she alive?" He stared at the lawman, shocked
by the news.

"Yes, thank God."

"Who'd be low enough to shoot a woman?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Jared said
with fierce determination as he walked away.

Gary watched the lawman run up the steps. He
knew what a good marshal Jared Trent was, and he
knew it was not smart to mess with him. He hoped the Easterner had sense enough not to cause any trouble. Caroline wouldn't appreciate the interruption, but
Gary supposed a lawman had to do what a lawman
had to do.

Jared reached the door of Caroline's room and
knocked.

"Go away!" came a woman's voice.

"This is Marshal Trent. I need to talk with Richard
Donathan," Jared said tersely.

He could hear muted voices behind the closed door,
but was unable to decipher what was said. It didn't
really matter. Jared knew he was going to get his
answers one way or another.

Jared waited another minute, giving them time to
open the door, but he heard no one moving about
inside. He knocked again. "I want to talk to you now."

Jared was almost ready to kick the door in when
he heard the lock turn and the door was opened just
enough to let the woman peek out at him.

"What do you want, Marshal?" Caroline asked. She
was standing before him wearing only a red silk wrapper.

"Excuse me," Jared said, ignoring her state of undress as he pushed past her into the room. He wasn't
there to worry about half-naked women. He was there
to talk to Richard Donathan.

"You want something?" Richard asked in irritation,
aggravated at having been interrupted in the middle
of enjoying the pretty, young Caroline. He was still
lying in the bed with the sheet drawn up to his waist.

Jared stared down at Richard, noting his black eye
and bruised face. "You're Richard Donathan?"

"Yes."

"Where were you yesterday afternoon?"