to know how to dress.”
Nelson tipped his glass in recognition of her astuteness and smiled.
“Dress up, pretty lady. We’re flying to Dallas. I’ve got the company jet. I’ll show you a night on the town you won’t soon forget.”
It was quite a distance from Tyler to Dallas by car but, by air, less than thirty minutes. This one was out to impress. It was no surprise to Jenny when Marcus came through the door moments later wearing a practiced look of regret.
“I’m going to have to beg off dinner. It seems a problem has come up that I can’t ignore. Have fun without me, okay?”
Jenny shrugged. It was to be expected. She’d go along for now. Maybe this one would be the trigger to ending Chance’s patience. She couldn’t believe he would let her marry someone else. Although she had no intention of letting it come to that, he didn’t know that. And she knew of no other way to break down his defenses.
Nelson didn’t even try to hide his elation.
Less than an hour later, Chance watched the couple leave. He stood on the front porch of the bunkhouse and watched the sequins sparkle on her dress. He heard the laughter in the man’s voice as he called back to Marcus, who was waving good-bye.
The pain that swept over him was almost more than he could bear. He staggered backward until his boot heels hit the side of the bunkhouse and stopped his momentum.
“Damn your sorry soul to hell, Logan Henry. If you’d only stayed on your side of the tracks…” The bitter regret echoed in his soft whisper, resurrecting a ghost who should have stayed buried.
Just for an instant, Chance felt the pain, and the shame. He closed his eyes and, once again, saw the blood, the fresh earth covering the grave…and felt the fire.
He leaned his head against the wall, balled his fingers into fists and, as he turned to go inside, swung viciously toward a face that hovered in his mind. Knuckles rasped angrily against the rough wood of the house as flesh instantly gave way to blood that flowed. But he didn’t care. The pain in his heart was far worse.
Jenny returned with daybreak. By afternoon, at Nelson’s persistent insistence, they’d gone riding. She was showing him her world and exactly what was expected from the future heir to this dusty empire.
Her heart was heavy, her smile a pasted affair that grew stiffer and less frequent as the day progressed. But she stood her ground.
She knew Chance saw everything they did and that kept her going. If he would just get jealous enough to make a move…
She caught herself daydreaming just in time to dodge a low-hanging tree branch. But her sharp warning was not enough to save Nelson from a bump on the head. His near-hysterical reaction made the horse bolt and it was only through skilled riding that Jenny saved him from a hard tumble into a ditch. His unreasonable anger and acute discomfort mirrored obvious incompetence. It only reminded her how out of place this man was on a ranch.
They rode into the stable area. Jenny was leading Nelson’s horse as he held a handkerchief to his head to stem the flow of blood. She stared pointedly at Henry who sauntered out to take their horses, and breathed a sigh of relief as the older man wisely made no mention of the wound. She looked around, hoping for a glimpse of Chance. He was nowhere in sight.
She sighed, swung her leg over the saddle horn and slid to the ground, then helped Nelson down from his mount.
“Have a good ride, Jenny?” Henry asked.
She sent Henry a frown he promptly ignored. “It was fine.” She grabbed Nelson by the elbow, herding him toward the house before any more remarks could be made. She wasn’t quite fast enough.
“A good shot of whiskey’ll take the edge off of that,” Henry called, and pointed toward Nelson’s makeshift bandage.
Jenny spun around and motioned wildly behind Nelson’s back as she pushed him toward the house. It was slightly humiliating to have gone riding with such a greenhorn, and she
Nelson tipped his glass in recognition of her astuteness and smiled.
“Dress up, pretty lady. We’re flying to Dallas. I’ve got the company jet. I’ll show you a night on the town you won’t soon forget.”
It was quite a distance from Tyler to Dallas by car but, by air, less than thirty minutes. This one was out to impress. It was no surprise to Jenny when Marcus came through the door moments later wearing a practiced look of regret.
“I’m going to have to beg off dinner. It seems a problem has come up that I can’t ignore. Have fun without me, okay?”
Jenny shrugged. It was to be expected. She’d go along for now. Maybe this one would be the trigger to ending Chance’s patience. She couldn’t believe he would let her marry someone else. Although she had no intention of letting it come to that, he didn’t know that. And she knew of no other way to break down his defenses.
Nelson didn’t even try to hide his elation.
Less than an hour later, Chance watched the couple leave. He stood on the front porch of the bunkhouse and watched the sequins sparkle on her dress. He heard the laughter in the man’s voice as he called back to Marcus, who was waving good-bye.
The pain that swept over him was almost more than he could bear. He staggered backward until his boot heels hit the side of the bunkhouse and stopped his momentum.
“Damn your sorry soul to hell, Logan Henry. If you’d only stayed on your side of the tracks…” The bitter regret echoed in his soft whisper, resurrecting a ghost who should have stayed buried.
Just for an instant, Chance felt the pain, and the shame. He closed his eyes and, once again, saw the blood, the fresh earth covering the grave…and felt the fire.
He leaned his head against the wall, balled his fingers into fists and, as he turned to go inside, swung viciously toward a face that hovered in his mind. Knuckles rasped angrily against the rough wood of the house as flesh instantly gave way to blood that flowed. But he didn’t care. The pain in his heart was far worse.
Jenny returned with daybreak. By afternoon, at Nelson’s persistent insistence, they’d gone riding. She was showing him her world and exactly what was expected from the future heir to this dusty empire.
Her heart was heavy, her smile a pasted affair that grew stiffer and less frequent as the day progressed. But she stood her ground.
She knew Chance saw everything they did and that kept her going. If he would just get jealous enough to make a move…
She caught herself daydreaming just in time to dodge a low-hanging tree branch. But her sharp warning was not enough to save Nelson from a bump on the head. His near-hysterical reaction made the horse bolt and it was only through skilled riding that Jenny saved him from a hard tumble into a ditch. His unreasonable anger and acute discomfort mirrored obvious incompetence. It only reminded her how out of place this man was on a ranch.
They rode into the stable area. Jenny was leading Nelson’s horse as he held a handkerchief to his head to stem the flow of blood. She stared pointedly at Henry who sauntered out to take their horses, and breathed a sigh of relief as the older man wisely made no mention of the wound. She looked around, hoping for a glimpse of Chance. He was nowhere in sight.
She sighed, swung her leg over the saddle horn and slid to the ground, then helped Nelson down from his mount.
“Have a good ride, Jenny?” Henry asked.
She sent Henry a frown he promptly ignored. “It was fine.” She grabbed Nelson by the elbow, herding him toward the house before any more remarks could be made. She wasn’t quite fast enough.
“A good shot of whiskey’ll take the edge off of that,” Henry called, and pointed toward Nelson’s makeshift bandage.
Jenny spun around and motioned wildly behind Nelson’s back as she pushed him toward the house. It was slightly humiliating to have gone riding with such a greenhorn, and she
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