A Rich Man for Dry Creek / a Hero for Dry Creek

by Janet Tronstad

  She’d sorted through what her sister had told her and decided Robert could be taking her to Billings to meet some mystery woman who was flying in to the airport there. That would explain the confusion in the tabloid editors’ minds. Laurel must have said something about another woman. The fact that Jenny was one of only four single women in Dry Creek right now who were under seventy and over seventeen must have been what made the editors take such a leap of faith.

  “Good thing it’s not the road to Billings. We’d be stuck about now. Last I heard the road to Billings is closed. Too much drifting.”

  The sun shone a thin gray light down on the snow-packed road they’d taken out of Dry Creek. The air inside the Jeep was steamy warm, but the outside air had been heavy and damp. It could snow again anytime.

  Jenny looked at Robert more closely. She wished the editors could see the man now. He didn’t look like a man on his way to meet a woman he was planning to marry. There were no little twitches of repressed excitement. He hadn’t even styled his hair. He’d combed it, but that was about it. Of course, that might just be because no one really styled their hair around here. Between the wind and the wool scarves, there were too many ways to mess it up.

  “You never told me who owned Charlie.” Jenny said cautiously. She wondered why she’d never considered that that old man in the desert might not have a daughter or a granddaughter or something. That would explain why Robert had spent five months there. He might have been doing more than chopping wood. Five months was plenty of time to fall in love.

  “Charlie?” Robert looked over at her blankly. “I told you about Harry. He’s the old man. Reminded me of Mr. Gossett who came to the lobster dinner the other night. He was hanging around the café the other day, too. Lonely, I suppose.”

  “The man you gave your coat to? The one the FBI is worried about—”

  “Well, Mr. Gossett is more paranoid than Harry, but outside of that they’re a lot alike. They live alone except for their pets. Harry has Charlie and I hear that old man Gossett has a whole bunch of cats. Feeds them real well from what I hear. Duane says it’s mostly tuna—and not cat tuna, either. That’s got to be quite a sacrifice on his Social Security income.”

  “So Harry lives alone.” Jenny wondered if the sun wasn’t suddenly shining a little warmer. “Just him and Charlie.”

  To the right of the road, Jenny could see the foothills of the Big Sheep Mountain range covered in a thick collar of snow. Snow hadn’t collected on the sides of the mountains and they were a gray-brown. On each side of the narrow country road were wide ditches that caught the snow. Beside each ditch was a fence running along the road, dividing the grassland. The road rose and then dipped along with the low rolling countryside.

  “At least this road looks usable,” Jenny said. Things were looking up. All she had to do was screw up her courage and tell Robert about the latest engagement rumor. He knew all about the tabloids. He’d understand how a mistake like that could happen. All she had to do was tell him. Then they’d chuckle about the whole thing.

  But not yet. She stalled. “Yes, the road is really all right.”

  Robert grunted. “If you don’t count the bouncing.”

  Jenny felt the bumps in the road. She couldn’t help it. The gravel road they were traveling over had obviously frozen solid after a muddy spell. The snow ahead filled in the ruts and made the road look smooth when it wasn’t.

  Thin lines of barbed-wire fence divided the various sections of land on each side of the road even though there were no cattle near the road.

  “Makes me remember why I took up flying,” Robert added as the Jeep bounced over another rut. “The ride’s a lot smoother up in the sky.”

  “Speaking of flying, isn’t your plane out this way?”

  Robert turned to flash her a grin. “No questions. This is a surprise, remember.”

  “I thought you’d bring Mrs. Hargrove, too.” Jenny unwrapped the wool scarf she’d wound around her head earlier.

  Jenny should have told Robert about the rumors this morning at breakfast with Mrs. Hargrove and Laurel looking on. The older woman would have found a lesson in the absurd situation and afterward they wouldn’t need to dwell on it. Laurel would have seen to that. She would turn the conversation back to herself as soon as possible. Yes, Jenny should have spoken up when the two of them were around.

  Jenny added, “We should have brought Mrs. Hargrove. There’s room in the Jeep for three people—even four. Laurel could have come, too. If it’s some sort of rock formation or something, Laurel would like to see it.”

  “Laurel?” Robert snorted. “The only rocks she’s interested in are the kind that slip on her finger. Besides, it’s not a rock formation.”

  “Mrs. Hargrove says we’re close to the Chalk Mountains. They have strange rock formations. She says the only things out this way are rocks and cattle.”

  The older woman had been excited that Robert was taking Jenny for a little drive with the promise of a surprise at the end of it. She’d bundled them both up and thrust a thermos of coffee into their hands early this morning before they’d started off.

  “It’s not a rock and it’s not a cow. And Mrs. Hargrove doesn’t know everything that’s out here this morning.”

  Jenny revised her earlier opinion. Robert was beginning to look more and more like a man on his way to meet a special woman. His blue eyes were filled with anticipation. He looked boyish with his secret.

  “So is it smaller than a bread box?” Jenny decided to play along.

  Robert grinned. “I hope not. If it is, that means it got squashed.”

  “Bigger than a truck?”

  “No.”

  “Is it a living thing?”

  “Not at this moment.”

  Jenny considered a moment. “Would this thing interest the tabloids?”

  Robert laughed. “You know, it just might at that. I’ll have to ask your sister if she’d like to know the kind of gift I’m giving these days to impress a woman. That should convince them I’m not bachelor list material.”

  “I think they’re already beginning to wonder about you being bachelor material.”

  “Really? You talked to your sister.”

  Here it goes, Jenny said to herself, as she took a deep breath. “Not this morning. It’s from yesterday. She told me their latest theory—seems they still think you’re engaged.”

  “I knew Laurel was talking to them.”

  “Not to Laurel.”

  “They know I’m not engaged to Laurel?” Robert looked even more carefree than he already had been. “That’s great!”

  Jenny should speak now and finish the revelation. But she didn’t. The road turned and she shifted on the seat. Then she looked out the side window and saw what was ahead. “What’s your plane doing there? I thought it was back at Garth Elkton’s ranch.”

  Jenny remembered that plane well. She and Robert had flown from Seattle to Montana in it and landed it on a small road near Garth Elkton’s ranch. The containers of lobster had filled up the back of the plane and she’d been strapped into the copilot’s seat for the flight over. Robert had been preoccupied during the trip and she’d spent her time watching the instrument panel and wondering what all of the extra features were meant to do. She’d heard he had the instrument panel custom-made so he could include some high-tech gadgets.

  “I moved the plane when you were napping yesterday. I needed to get it off the road. Besides, I needed it to be in a more open area. I’m using the homing device in it to coordinate with the plane that flew over.” He turned to look at her. “You know, that’s just great about the tabloids. Those guys are smarter than I gave them credit for being.”

  “Don’t give them any credit yet.”

  Robert looked over at her. “Why not? They figured out Laurel was lying.”

  Jenny took another deep breath. She’d spit it out this time. “They think it’s me.”

  “You?” Robert put his foot on the brake and turned
to look at her. “What have you got to do with Laurel lying?”

  “Not the lying.” Jenny squared her shoulders and looked out the front window. The window was splattered with dirt. “They think it’s me you’re engaged to.”

  She couldn’t see Robert, but the silence in the vehicle could only come from astonishment.

  Jenny continued to study the dirt on the windshield. “My sister is young, you know, and really very romantic. Not that she told them we were engaged. I’m sure she’d never do that. But she might have mentioned the kisses—and, well, they’re just so intent on having a story now that anything will do.”

  “Well, the old foxes,” Robert said softly. “I’ll never underestimate the tabloids again.”

  Jenny slipped a glance at him. He had eased up on the brake and was driving again. He looked happy. Maybe he hadn’t understood.

  “Hopefully they won’t print their nonsense. I just thought you should know. Of course, I’ve told my sister to tell them once again that it’s not true. You’re my employer and I’m just working a job here.”

  “You can’t be working now.” Robert started to whistle. “You don’t have your hairnet on.”

  Jenny’s hands automatically went to her hair. “Well, I’m not working right now, of course, but—”

  “Good,” Robert interrupted her. “Because we’re on a date.”

  Jenny gasped. “But we can’t be on a date!”

  “Granted, it’s not a common date.” Robert reached over and turned on the radio. Instrumental guitar music came from the small speakers on the front panel. “I wanted to get flowers, too, but we’ll have to start with music. I had to call a station in Billings and beg them to play this stuff for us. Did you know that the guitar is one of the most romantic musical instruments ever played?”

  “No.” Jenny swallowed. Her hands were suddenly clammy. “No, I didn’t know that.”

  “Some people hold out for the harp,” Robert continued as he steered the Jeep to the side of the road and turned it to go down a small path that ran on the field side of a fence. “I’ve always found a harp to be almost too sweet for my taste. Reminds me of funerals. But maybe you like the harp. I don’t think I’ll find a radio station that even has it on file around here but I could patch it in from someplace else through my satellite connection on the plane. I get radio, phones and television from anywhere. Custom designed. I can get you harp if you like harp.”

  “No, no, the guitar is fine.”

  Jenny twisted the wool scarf she held in her hands. The man really must not have understood. “There’s probably no need to worry. I’m sure the tabloids have to verify their facts before they print anything.”

  Robert stopped whistling. “These are the tabloids! They print interviews with Big Foot!”

  “Well, maybe they don’t always verify. But space aliens can’t sue. And I’m going to call my sister and tell them you’ll sue them for everything they’re worth if they print a story about you being engaged to—” Jenny’s throat closed, but she pushed the words out “—to me.”

  “You want me to sue them?” Robert’s voice was quiet. “For saying we’re engaged.”

  Jenny glanced over at him. He was starting to frown. Good, she thought, he was finally beginning to understand. “Well, there won’t be any need to sue if they just back off. I’m sure they’re reasonable people and will understand it is in their best interests to not print such nonsense.”

  “You think it’s nonsense?”

  “Well, it’s not true.”

  There was another moment of silence in the Jeep. Then Robert spoke. “It might not be true today, but who knows what might be true tomorrow.”

  Jenny’s mind blanked. He couldn’t be saying he’d consider—no, that was nonsense. If he was going to marry anyone, surely he’d pick someone like Laurel. Even the tabloids had. Jenny’s mind stopped. Of course.

  “I forgot that it would be convenient for you to be engaged to someone.” Jenny’s voice was small. “Even someone like me would stop the list. And I’m not like Laurel. I wouldn’t be any trouble.”

  “Not any trouble?” Robert’s voice was incredulous. “I can’t even get you to date me. How do you figure you’re no trouble?”

  “Well, no one would know me.” Jenny had helped her younger brothers and sisters get out of scrapes. She wondered if she’d be able to help this man, as well. “I mean, in your world, no one would know me. Your friends wouldn’t be asking any awkward questions.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it. I’ve found people always ask the awkward questions.”

  “Well, at least no one knows me except your mother. And you’ll have to tell her the truth, so no one will be disappointed when the wedding doesn’t come off.”

  “What about me? Maybe I would be disappointed.”

  No, Jenny thought to herself. She couldn’t help this man get out of his trouble. “Fine. Be that way. If you’re not going to take any of this seriously, you can just be on that list. It’ll serve you right. Forget I even offered to help.”

  “I don’t want you to pretend to be engaged to me.”

  Jenny blinked back a tear. “Of course not.”

  The Jeep stopped. Robert turned off the ignition. The radio stopped. The hum of the heater stopped.

  “I just don’t want to have any pretending between us,” Robert said quietly.

  Jenny nodded. She put her hands up again to feel her hair. The static from when she pulled the wool scarf off made her hair fly. She tried to press her hair down. She should have worn her hairnet after all.

  “Especially not to just feed the tabloids some story,” Robert added. He opened the driver’s door. “Now, if it was your sister doing the writing, that would be one thing.”

  “She’d never write about an engagement that wasn’t true!”

  A cold wind edged around the partially open driver’s door. Robert turned to look at Jenny. “Then she should stick to selling pudding. Or move to another paper.”

  “She’s just getting experience. It’s not easy starting a career when you don’t have connections.”

  “I know.”

  “She just needs a break.”

  Now this was the Jenny he knew. Her color had returned when she defended her younger sister. She no longer reached for a hairnet that wasn’t there. Her eyes flashed.

  “We’ll give her one.”

  Jenny looked up at Robert. He looked serious.

  “The next big thing that happens, it’s all hers,” Robert declared. “And if nothing happens on its own, I’ll make some news.”

  “Like what?”

  “Maybe I could invite the Queen Mother to tea with a group of Elvis impersonators. Give your sister an exclusive press invitation.”

  “You know the Queen Mother?”

  Robert nodded. “I even know the world’s best Elvis impersonator. He’s better than the King.”

  “And the Queen Mother would come if you invited her?” Jenny was stunned.

  “Well, I’d probably need to rent a suite at some fancy London hotel—she doesn’t travel much—but I could do that. Maybe invite the queen, too. Has your sister ever been to London?”

  Jenny shook her head. She’d gone on a drive with a magician. What would he pull out of his hat next?

  “Have you ever been to London?”

  Jenny shook her head.

  Robert nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Then it’s settled. You and your sister will both come.”

  Robert liked the dazed look in Jenny’s eyes. It had occurred to him last night that his surprise of boxes of food might disappoint her. He knew it would disappoint most of the other women he’d dated in his life. Now he knew he had London in his pocket just in case.

  “To London? To meet the queen?”

  “And the Queen Mother if you want.” Robert congratulated himself. He was making progress.

  Jenny looked at the dirt on the windshield again. What did one say to an invitation like that? “The guitar music was
sweet. Thanks for arranging it.”

  Robert started to whistle. “My pleasure. And now for the other surprise—it’s not much. But you need to let me come help you out of the Jeep before we go see it.”

  Robert fully opened the driver’s door and stepped out. Jenny watched him walk around the front of the vehicle. That’s when she noticed that the white outside was uneven. A wide piece of land had been scraped clean of snow. Probably yesterday. There was a dusting of white snow on it now, but the layers of snow that sat on the ground around it had all been scraped off the land and pushed to the side of an area. The scraped strip could be a runway for a plane.

  The runway wasn’t the only thing unusual beside Robert’s small plane. There was a large white tarp—or maybe a parachute—that was draped over a lumpy pile of what looked like boxes next to the plane.

  Robert opened Jenny’s door with a bow. “The surprise awaits. Permit me to help you down.”

  Jenny had borrowed an old pair of Mrs. Hargrove’s snow boots this morning. Then Jenny had pulled the bottoms of her gray sweatpants down over the tops of the snow boots and she’d wrapped a very old black wool jacket on before tying a beige scarf around her head.

  Jenny knew she looked fat as a snow bunny and as uncoordinated as a church mouse. But Robert looked up at her like she was royalty.

  “The surprise is in the boxes,” Robert said.

  Jenny gave him her mittened hand and swung around. “You didn’t need to actually get me a surprise. I thought the surprise was something to look at.”

  “Well, the first step is to look at the boxes,” Robert pointed out as he helped her down from the Jeep. “I had a pilot I know make a special drop for me.”

  In Robert’s mind, he had planned to kiss Jenny when she stepped out of the Jeep. But he didn’t. She was looking skittish and he didn’t want to scare her off.

  The air was damp and heavy with the promise of snow. Gray clouds hung in the sky. Jenny tightened the scarf around her neck.

  Robert picked up one end of the parachute and pulled it off of the boxes. Ten industrial-size boxes stood in the middle of the tangle of cords. Two other smaller boxes were on one side of the pile.