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The next day passed with little event. Sue listened as Jake sat down and discussed how to effectively manage money. When he discussed business, he handled himself with confidence and professionalism, so it was easy for her to see why he attracted so many customers at the bank. She found that she enjoyed watching him work. He still wore a suit, but she noticed that he didn’t have his tie so tightly knotted around his collar. He seemed to enjoy watching her family’s good natured banters and even followed her and her siblings to the barn and the pig pen. She hid her laughter at his apprehension about being so close to dirt and animals. He was a true city boy at heart. On the farm, he was clearly out of his element but he maintained himself with a quiet dignity that impressed her. Though her family did like him and went out of their way to be nice to him, he was still an outsider to their world. At lunch on the fourth day of their visit, Jeremiah brought in the Rocky Mountain
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Later that evening, she discovered the first part of her brothers‟ plan, and even worse was the fact that her parents were a part of it. “Well, we do like Jake,” her father said. “It would be nice to keep him in the family.” “He treats you well too,” her mother added. “I like to see my children taken care of.” “But we don’t love each other,” she protested. “Give it time.” She shook her head in bewilderment that Jake could come into her home and win these people over in less than a week. That night as she pulled on her nightgown in Trevor and Luke’s bedroom, she decided that she wasn’t going to explain the sudden sleeping arrangements to Jake. The last thing he needed was to be pulled into her family’s elaborate schemes. Jeremiah claimed that there was a mouse running loose through his cabin, so he and Gloria had to sleep in Patty’s bedroom with Patty sleeping on the floor. Trevor and Luke offered to sleep in the parlor. There wasn’t enough room for Ja
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Jake was tired as he ate his breakfast. He was keenly aware thatSue was sitting next to him. Though she was wearing pants, she couldn’t hide the fact that she was a woman. In a strange way, it made him notice her more since she was trying so hard to hide it. He didn’t believe for a minute that a mouse was loose in Jeremiah and Gloria’s cabin. Her brothers were up to something and he intended to find out what it was. For the time being, he was content to mess with them as they had messed with him over the Rocky Mountain oysters. He grinned as an idea came to him. “Do any of you want to ride into town?” he asked as he glanced around the table. “Can’t wait to get back to the city?” Jeremiah replied. Trevor smirked. “A few days on the farm and he’s given up.” “I can handle anything you throw at me,” Jake quicklysaid. “I feel the need to return a favor.” “What kind of favor?”“You introduced me to Rocky Mountain oysters. I’m going to introduce you to caviar
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When they got off the horse, she said, “You handle yourself better on a horse than you let on. If you keep it up, you could master riding her.” Jeremiah burst out laughing. She peered around the horse’s nose. “I didn’t see you there.” “Apparently not.” He walked over to them. “So, city boy, you got the caviar?” “I sure do.” Jake widely smiled. “Do you think you’re brave enough to eat some?” “If you can eat Rocky Mountain oysters, I can eat your fancy food.” “We’ll see about that.” “That sounds like a challenge.” “It is. Are you up to it?” He scoffed. “I’m always up for a good challenge.” “Then let’s go.” As soon as Jake got Jeremiah, Trevor and Luke at the dinner table, he handed them the crackers and took out the caviar. “You smear it on the cracker with a spoon or knife. Then you eat it.” He ate his and looked at them. “Now, it’s your turn.” Sue and Gloria sat at the table, interested to see
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He set up several chairs. “Now pretend this is a train.” Jake chuckled at his enthusiasm. Trevor really got into his work. “They like to do this a couple times a year,” Sue’s father said. “They get better each time they do it.” Trevor went back to the kitchen to get ready for his part. Larry shoved Jeremy onto the train. He pointed a fake gun at Jeremy. “Don’t do anything to arouse suspicion.” Jeremy nodded his consent and sat down. Larry sat next to him. “This is real simple. As long as you do what you’re told, I’ll let you live. Your father will be worried about you by now. Surely, he’ll bring the ransom money to the designated spot.” Jeremy sat quietly and stared out the window. Jake tried to hide his shock as Sue appeared. They did a good job of disguising her as a middle-aged fat man with graying hair and thick mustache who wore tattered old green and black clothes and a faded black hat. He hardly recognized her. How can a woman look so beautif
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Sue had never been so humiliated in her entire life. It was one thing for Jeremiah to make all those subtle jokes while she and Jake were on the horse but it was another thing for him to keep making her feel like she wasn’t attractive as a woman. She was glad when he couldn’t eat the caviar. She enjoyed watching him squirm under Jake’s intense stare. Jake had a perfect poker face. No one could tell for sure what he was thinking if he didn’t want them to. It probably helped him succeed in business since he had to deal with some crummy people. She sighed as she got out of her costume for the play that Trevor wrote. She was glad to be out of those clothes. She bit her lower lip as she looked at the clothes she had packed. She brought a couple of dresses but had been so busy riding horses and helping with fixing parts of the barn her family hadn’t had time to get to yet, that she hadn’t bothered to wear a dress. Dresses weren’t practical on the farm, though Gloria managed to wear them. Glo
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After the three men took baths, they joined everyone else for dinner. “I heard you taught your brothers a lesson in the pig pen today,” her father chuckled. “You were always good on a horse, whether riding one with a saddle or not.” “They had it coming,” she said. “I couldn’t let them get by with naming a pig after me.” That wasn’t why she really did it, but she didn’t want to embarrass Jake by reminding him of his earlier dirty condition. He had looked mortified to be covered in filth. “I don’t know,” Jeremiah said. “You and that pig are a lot alike. You like to run poor unsuspecting people over.” “That’s true. I’ll give you that. We don’t tolerate anyone misbehaving.” “We hope you can keep her in check, Jake.” Trevor grinned. “You’re our last hope.” “I kind of like her the way she is,” Jake began as he smiled at her, “full of passion and intensity.” She felt her cheeks go red. Jeremiah gave her a knowing look. She glared at him. Stop it! How long we
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The next morning, she woke up and saw that Jake had put his blankets on her. She rolled her eyes. She was covered under a mountain of blankets. She shook her head and closed the window and placed some of the blankets on him. How could he sleep when he was so cold? Is he really having that hard of a time keeping his hands off of me? The thought pleased her. She never thought she could be appealing to a man before. Sighing, she collected her clothes for the day and went to the bathroom to change. As soon as she came out of the bathroom, her brothers stood around her. She rolled her eyes. “No.” They grumbled. “When are you going to stop this nonsense?” she asked. “Poor Jake spent the night freezing because he had to give me all the blankets, and I got hot so I had to open the window.” “Oh, really?” Jeremiah grinned. “So it’s working.” She realized her mistake. “He knows what you’re doing, so you might as well quit while you’re ahead.” “Quit? What we’re
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It was about time Jenny‘s brothers stopped their harassment, Owen thought as they took in the bright, shiny deputy badge that Sheriff Meyer returned to him. Owen‘s chest puffed up with a sense of pride as he closed the door of the jailhouse and placed his hat on his head. ―Afternoon, gentlemen,‖ he said and buttoned his coat. ―Getting ready for Christmas?‖ ―We had some errands to run,‖ Tom replied. ―Even if women say they don‘t want anything but our love, they don‘t mean it.‖ Joel snickered. ―And you had to learn that the hard way.‖ Tom‘s face grew red. ―I can‘t wait until you get married, Joel. I don‘t care what you argue about. I‘ll take her side each time.‖ ―Unlike you all, I have no desire to tie the knot,‖ he replied and gave them a smug smile. ―I‘m going to stay single forever.‖ ―Since when?‖ ―Since I saw how you all ended up. No woman is going to tell me what to do.‖ ―Oh really?‖ Dave asked. ―Then what are you doing in town looking for gifts?‖ Joel sighed. ―I g
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Jenny flung a dish at Clyde‘s head. Drats! She missed! ―Get off my property!‖ She picked up another plate from the stack she held to her chest and threw it at him. Again, he expertly dodged it as he made his way to the porch. She grunted and threw the whole stack at him. This time two plates hit him in the face. He yelled and touched his cheek which had a bloody cut on it. Glaring at her, he took a step toward her. ―Not this time, Jenny! I‘m getting my boy.‖ She grabbed her broom and swung at him. Unlike last time, he jumped back. She stepped forward but someone came up behind her and held her arms in place. She screamed and kicked at her captor, but his hold only grew tighter. ―Get the boy and let‘s get out of here,‖ the man growled at Clyde. ―Run!‖ she yelled at Jeremy who was supposed to be in his room. She prayed he would make it to the attic before Clyde found him. Clyde climbed the rest of the porch steps, and as he passed her, sh
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Owen recognized that gruff voice anywhere. And there was no way he was going to play possum now. He leapt over the counter, nearly knocking over the startled owner who ran to retrieve his gun. ―This is my store. You have no business being here!‖ the owner barked. Then he fired his rifle at the doorway. Owen didn‘t bother seeing if the man hit Big Roy or not. He just ran. He ran down the narrow space that led to the backdoor and found himself in another alley. The scene was eerily familiar. Except this time Mitch and Lance weren‘t chasing him. Nope. Big Roy was doing the honors this time. Owen raced past the dumpsters. He heard a door open and almost got hit with a bullet. He swerved to the right and found himself on a less traveled part of the business district. He bent to hide behind stagecoaches and buggies as he scampered as fast as he dared without giving Big Roy ample opportunity to get a clear shot. Where was Irving anyway? Some stellar deputy he was turnin
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It was a week later when Big Roy finally arrived in Omaha. And Owen had just finished breakfast when the fateful knock came at the door. He put his napkin down and went to answer it. ―Amos?‖ he asked, surprised to see the boy with his two friends standing on his porch, holding fishing rods. ―Isn‘t it a little cold to be fishing?‖ It was December after all. ―Big Roy‘s in Omaha,‖ Amos said, looking unusually excited by the prospect. Owen‘s eyes grew wide. ―How do you know this?‖ ―We saw him. Oh, he‘s big and angry alright. He was asking where you were.‖ ―You didn‘t tell him, did you?‖ Owen demanded as he watched the boy practically dance with glee. Was everyone but Jenny and Jeremy eager to send him to an early grave? ―Course not! We‘d never do that,‖ Amos assured him. ―In fact, no one‘s telling him anything. But Irving wants you down at the jailhouse.‖ Amos motioned to his fishing rod. ―You don‘t need to worry about a thing. We‘re ready to help you!‖ Amos and h
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Jeremy ran to the front door and jumped into Owen‘s arms. Surprised, Jenny turned from the sandwiches she‘d been making and went over to him. ―They let you out of jail?‖ ―As long as I promised not to run away.‖ He gave Jeremy a big hug. ―I missed you, squirt.‖ ―Was it scary in there?‖ Jeremy asked. ―No, but it was lonely. It‘s good to be home with my family.‖ He leaned forward and gave Jenny a kiss. ―I can‘t believe how much I missed you two.‖ ―We missed you too,‖ she said, hugging him as much as she could with Jeremy between them. ―I was just making supper. Are you hungry?‖ ―I didn‘t get much to eat, so yes.‖ He set Jeremy down and took off his coat and hat. ―It‘s nothing fancy. Just sandwiches,‖ she warned. He put up his holster on the hook next to his coat and hat. ―After eating nothing but beans and jerky, sandwiches will be a treat.‖ He turned to them and gave them another hug. ―It feels so good to be back home.‖ She laughed and hugged him back. ―It
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Jenny heard Sally knock on the front door but hesitated to answer it. No one had been out to see her since the day they found out about Owen, probably because Mary managed to talk them into giving Jenny time to herself, so she didn‘t know why Sally came out. She pushed the curtain aside in the parlor. Sally was alone. She exhaled. At least, the cavalry wasn‘t coming out again. She quickly thought of a way to distract her sister from the matter at hand and opened the door while Sally was in mid-knock. ―Oh good! I wanted to talk to you.‖ Jenny pulled her into the house and peered out the door. Good. Sally really was alone, just as she thought. She shut the door and turned to Jeremy. ―Take your blocks and play upstairs. I have to talk to your aunt.‖ Jeremy obeyed and went up the steps. As soon as he was in his room, Jenny led Sally into the kitchen and sat her down. ―Would you like a snack?‖ ―No thanks,‖ Sally said. ―I came to talk to you.‖ ―Yes, and I‘m glad yo
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She relaxed. ―Oh. I thought you meant...‖ She had thought he meant that he didn‘t want her to stay married to Owen. But he hadn‘t, and she didn‘t want to explain it. Looking at Irving, she knew that they wouldn‘t have made a good match. She would have married him for her son, but he wouldn‘t have been her first choice. She glanced inside the jailhouse. There, in the cell, sat the man she would have chosen. Returning her gaze to Irving, she asked, ―So I can talk to him?‖ ―Follow me.‖ He led her into the building. ―Meyer, I got the wife wanting to see her husband.‖ Jeremy broke free from her and ran over to the cell, calling out ―Pa!‖ Owen‘s face lit up and he eagerly ran over to the bars so he could hug Jeremy... Well, as much as he could with the bars between them. The tender moment brought tears to Jenny‘s eyes. How many times had she seen fathers and their sons and wished Jeremy could have a pa that loved him too? Wiping her eyes, she turned to the sheriff and de
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Jenny didn‘t feel like dealing with anyone at the moment. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, and her relatives weren‘t helping. Her brothers and Sally sat around the kitchen table trying to decide what to do about the situation while Greg, Jeremy, and Isaac played with the dog in the backyard. Mary stayed out there to watch them from where she sat in the chair next to the house. Maybe Jenny shouldn‘t have come to Sally‘s house after they left the jail. Maybe she should have just gone home. She watched the children as they laughed and took turns throwing the ball for the dog to catch. It was simple for them. Children didn‘t sit and analyze things. They either liked something or they didn‘t, and they acted accordingly. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window. Her hand fell to her abdomen. She should‘ve realized it sooner, but she and Owen had stayed up well into the night to enjoy lovemaking. The fatigue was ea
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Owen jumped up as soon as the door to the jailhouse opened. He rushed over to the bars to see if Jenny came. She did. But she also brought Sally and her four brothers with her. Four very angry looking brothers. He immediately stepped back as the four glaring men surrounded the cell. He examined the bars. He hoped the steel was strong enough to keep them out. They looked like they were ready to rip him apart and feed his remains to the vultures. ―You‘re lucky you‘re in there!‖ Tom barked, pointing an accusing finger at him. ―Because if you weren‘t, we‘d run you out of town.‖ ―How could you do this to our sister?‖ Richard demanded, shaking the bars. Owen swallowed the lump in his throat and backed up until he hit the wall. He glanced at the small window and wondered if he could escape if he squeezed through it. No. That was ridiculous. He was much safer here with the bars protecting him than in the open where these men could chase him down. ―First Clyde an
