Vegas rich

by Michaels, Fern

  He saw her then when he pulled the lever on his last silver dollar, but she looked different. "Hey," he shouted. She didn't hear him. He shouted again, but she was already through the door. He ran then, shouldering and apologizing to the customers as he struggled

  to get to the front door. She was halfway down the block when he skidded to a stop. "Hey," he shouted again.

  Fanny and Bess turned to stare at the man doing the shouting. "That's him," Fanny said breathlessly.

  "That's Ash Thornton!" Bess hissed into Fanny's ear. "It's you he's calling, Fanny."

  "Miss Logan, wait! I need to talk to you. What happened to your hair? I was looking for you earlier and I saw both of you, but you had short hair... I liked your long hair. I got home and no one was there. I scoured this town and no one knows where my parents are. I don't even know why I'm telling you this." He was babbling like a fourteen-year-old. Damn, she was going to think he was the biggest jerk alive.

  "I accept your apology, Lieutenant. To answer your question, I cut my hair. I'm sorry if. . . if you don't like it."

  "It's not that I don't like it, I do. I like long hair better, though. Jesus, where are my manners. I'm Ash Thornton. You're Fanny Logan. I went into Ronzone's and the lady told me where you Hve. I sat on your front porch for two hours waiting for you."

  "You sat on the front porch for two hours!"

  "Do you have any idea how long two hours is?"

  "One hundred and twenty minutes." Fanny laughed.

  "Exactly. Where are you girls going?"

  "We were just walking. We're about to head home. Where are you going?"

  Ash looked at his watch. He felt a lump settle in the pit of his stomach. He looked around, his eyes wild. "I only have seventeen, sixteen minutes left, and then I have to head for Nellis. I'm on leave, and I have to get back to my ship. I want to see you again."

  "How are you going to do that. Lieutenant Thornton, if you only have sixteen minutes, fifteen now?" Fanny said, looking at her watch.

  "I should know the answer to that, shouldn't I?"

  Fanny smiled. "You could write to me."

  "I'll do it. I have your address. The lady at the store gave it to me. Here's mine," Ash said, scribbling on a scrap of paper he tore from the paper that had Fanny's address. "You won't lose it, will you?"

  In the time it took Fanny's heart to beat twdce, she fell in love, totally and completely, with Lieutenant Ashford Thornton. "I won't lose it. You have to write first, though."

  "It's a deal. Where do you work?"

  "For an attorney here in tovm. His name is Devin Rollins."

  206 Fern Michaels

  "Old Devin, huh? Okay. If I can't find you in one place, I'll find you in another."

  "This is my friend, Bess Otis, Lieutenant,"

  Ash smiled and held out his hand.-"It's nice to meet you, Bess."

  "Likewise, Lieutenant."

  A taxi pulled to the curb. "Time to go, son! You don't have a minute to spare."

  "I guess I'll see you. One of these days. Sometime." He had one leg inside the cab when he shouted, "Swear you'll write,"

  "If you write, I'll answer, I promise," Fanny said solemnly.

  "I like you. I really like you," Ash said as he poked his head out the moving cab window.

  Fanny laughed. "I like you too."

  The sound of Ash's laughter seemed to settle around Fanny as she huddled against Bess.

  "Wow!" Fanny said when the taxi was out of sight.

  "Yeah, wow! I don't know, Fanny, there was something in his eyes. Maybe you shouldn't be so impulsive. Look, there's Mr. and Mrs. Thornton and Mr. Rollms. They look upset. Something's going on. There's that guy from the casino, he's some kind of boss. Look, he's pointing at us. What should we do?"

  "Do? Why do we have to do anything? I thought we were going home. I want to go home, so I can go to sleep and dream about this."

  "They're coming this way. Get that stupid look off your face, Fanny."

  "Miss Logan, Bess, was that Ash you were talking to? The doorman said he saw you and your friend talking to my son."

  "Yes, ma'am," Bess said.

  "Was he going to Nellis?"

  "Yes. The driver said he didn't have a minute to spare."

  Fanny stared at the trio in front of her. Sallie Thornton looked angry, the man who must be Mr. Thornton looked sad; she swore she saw tears in his eyes. Devin Rollins just looked miserable. "Your son said he did everything he could to find you," she said quietly.

  "Oh, God!" Sallie Thornton said.

  "Did he say anything else?" Philip Thornton asked, his eyes pleading for a response.

  Fanny told the first direct He of her life. "He said he didn't realize how much he missed you until he . . , couldn't find you," Devin Rollins recognized the lie and nodded his head ever so slightly, "Good night."

  "Good night, Miss Logan," the trio said in unison.

  "That's a very sad family," Bess said.

  "Yes, I sensed that. Do you think he'll write?"

  "Absolutely."

  "I can't wait."

  10

  Fanny Logan received her first letter from Lieutenant Ash Thornton on a crisp day in early October. The moment she saw the red-and-blue stripes on the envelope she knew the letter was from him.

  Fanny carried the letter upstairs to her room. Torturing herself was exquisite pleasure as she held the flimsy envelope up to the light. One page. Large writing. She laid it on her pillow, picked it up, and smelled it. It smelled like paper. She started to compose her response. Something to do all night. Pages and pages. Of what? News? There was no news. What would she write about? Silly things? Bess and her boyfriend? Open it! her mind screamed. Not yet. Fanny tried to imagine what the letter said. Guys didn't write much. Her father said her brothers wrote one-paragraph letters and he was lucky he got that much. They were fighting a war, and yet they wrote home and said there was no news. Was Ash like that?

  The supper bell rang. Fanny laid the letter on the maple dresser and walked downstairs to the dining room.

  "We're having chicken potpie today and fresh garden salad. I managed to get some Crisco this morning. Of course I had to stand in line for almost an hour. They had twenty-four boxes of Duz detergent, but they ran out by the time I got to the front of the line. I did manage to get a pound of coffee and some extra tea." Mrs. Her-shey spoke so proudly, Fanny felt like she should stand up and cheer. She thought about it a second and did exactly that, the other guests joining in. The landlady smiled, her face pink with her guests' praise.

  Fanny hardly tasted the food. Her thoughts were upstairs with the blue-and-red-striped airmail letter on her dresser. She passed on the strawberry-rhubarb pie.

  The flimsy paper yielded to a slight pressure from Fanny's fingernail. She unfolded the all-in-one letter. She was right, Ash Thorn-

  208 Fern Michaels

  ton scrawled his leuei-s. Condensed, the letter was like the kind her brothei-s wTOte. one paragraph. Fanny's heart haiiiniered in her chest as she read.

  Dear Fanny,

  I wanted to umU sooner, but it's been one mission (^Ur the other. No time. IJinaUy got myj^ meatball, and that makes me an Ace. My CO is trying to get me ajtoe-day leave. So far, no luck. He knows how important leave is or we bum out. Fm counting the days till I get out of this so I can go home. I hope you're still there. If I get leai^ in December, how wouldyoufeel about coming to Hawaii? I could send you the airfare. It would be a wey to realfygetto know each other. Did your hair grow? Write to me whenyou have time. I look forward to mmL

  Sincerely,

  Certain Ash Thornton

  Fanny flopped back onto her pillows, her e es wild. Captain Ash Thornton. She was up a second later, dancing about the room. GodI Did she dare to een thmk about going?

  It was a week before she sat dovvii late one evening to compose a letter to .^sh Thornton. She cominced herself that it was okay to be a pen pal to a man ser-ing his countiy. She said so in the first paragraph of her
lener. In the second paragraph she explained the position he'd put her in in regard to his mother. She ended the second paragraph with, "Fm not good at subterfuge, and while I do not blun things out, there is even,- chance I might say tlie wrong thing in your mother's presence. My suggestion would be for you to tell her you are corresponding with me. It Nill make things much simpler on this end.''

  Fanny continued to write. Wlien she was finished she had three full pages of pure drivel. She read the letter once, rvsice, and then a third time, then tore it into httle pieces and climbed into bed. Shed tr>- again tomorrow. Mav'be she'd t>pe the letter at the office if she finished her work on lime.

  Ten da^ later, Fanny felt comfonable enough with the letter she'd written to mail it. She licked the airmail stamp and put it on upside down. Bess said il'she did that, everyone would know she was .sh's girl and he was her guy.

  Fanny was back to waiting, rushing home at lunchtime, and then again at five o'clock, with one thought in her mind: today there might be a letter. Because Ash said he liked to get mail, she continued to write; long, chatty letters, oftentimes clipping articles out of the newspaper to include with her letter. She stopped at the post office every other day to mail them, careful to put the stamps on upside down.

  The week before Thanksgiving, Fanny found two letters waiting for her on the hall table of the boardinghouse. One was from Ash, and the second was an invitation from Sallie Thornton. Her heart thumping in her chest, Fanny ripped at the square white envelope that bore Sallie Thornton's return address. It was an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner.

  She ripped at Ash's letter and read the contents in what seemed like mere seconds. When she was finished, she was so disappointed she wanted to cry. This was nothing like the letter she'd dreamed of getting—"I think about you all the time, you're on my mind when I'm up above, soaring like a bird, I dream of you, you are so beautiful, you're prettier than any girl I've ever dated. I can't wait till Christmas in the hopes you can join me if I can manage to get leave." Fanny felt like crumpling the letter she'd waited for for so long, and throwing it in the wastebasket.

  She picked up the letter and smoothed it out. She knew she'd never throw it away—it would be like throwing away a part of her heart. Maybe she had missed something in the letter, something that held a double meaning. Maybe he was waiting for her to take the lead in the romance area. The thought was so funny, Fanny almost choked.

  At least he had asked for a picture of her. He also promised to send one of himself in full flight gear, in his next letter, or as soon as he found someone who had a camera. That had to mean something. Maybe he'd carry her snapshot in the pocket of his flight uniform. She'd just seen a movie where an aviator did that. The only problem was, the guy in the movie died with the snapshot clutched in his hand.

  Fanny bolted for the bathroom.

  The pilots were weary, their eyes red and bloodshot from the cigarette smoke in the wardroom. Ash Thornton nudged the pilot next to him. "If I fall asleep, give me a kick."

  210 Fern Michaels

  "I was just going to tell you the same thing, Thornton. Christ Almighty, I can't remember when I've had one full hour of sleep. My body's shot to hell. Right now if I had my choice of having sex with Betty Grable or getting two hours of sleep, there would be no contest."

  Ash leaned his head into the palm of his hand. He knew if he closed his eyes, his elbow would slip off the chair, and he'd slide to the floor. He was tempted to try it to see what would happen. Instead, he fired up a cigarette he didn't want and gulped at his cup of cold, bitter, black coffee. "I'm convinced this stuff will corrode the fillings in your teeth," he hissed to the airman on the other side of him.

  ■'That must be why my teeth ache ail the time." The airman grinned.

  "Mail's in," someone said.

  "As usual, Thornton got the most. How the hell many women do you have on the string. Ash? I counted twenty-three letters, and you got that many a couple of days ago. Listen to this roster of names, Adele, Janet, Mona, and Fanny. Fanny writes the thickest letters, pages and pages of sweet nothings, right, Ash? There's one from your mother, too."

  "I told you to keep your mitts off my mail, Esposito."

  "That's kind of hard to do since I was assigned mail this week. Next time I'll leave yours in the sack, and you can damn well scrounge for it. I don't personally give a shit if you're an ace or not."

  "Hang it up, you guys, and listen up," the flight trainer said. "I know tempers are short, and I know you are bone ass tired, but we're fighting a war, and war doesn't aUow for siestas and these charming exchanges. You sleep when you can, and you fly when I tell you to fly. Nobody said this was going to be a frolic in a daisy patch.

  "You're all being transferred to the Enterprise. It's a temporary transfer for a special mission. You'll be briefed once you're aboard the Big E. You'll get to sleep around the clock and I'm told you're going to get some real Texas beef, some fresh vegetables, and fruit for your supper. Chocolate ice cream. You can't beat that!"

  "Sounds like a condemned man's last meal," Ash said.

  "What's our ETD?" someone asked.

  "At 0600 hours."

  "That's it?" Ash snapped.

  "From me, it is. This shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you, but in case it does, the commander of the Pacific Fleet doesn't confide in me. Don't give me that wide-eyed stare, Thornton. I want to

  remember you as the cockiest son of a bitch I've ever served with."

  Ash gave the flight trainer his famous middle fmger salute. It was returned. Both men laughed.

  "Is Bill Halsey calling the shots on this one?" one of the pilots asked.

  "Looks that way from where I'm standing. One last thing, I want each and every one of your asses back on board this ship in one goddamn piece when your mission is over. In my opinion you're the best of the best. Show those guys on the Big E what you're made of You have twenty minutes to get your gear together. I want to see letters home before you board that chopper. I'll see that they go out on the next go-round. That's a goddamn order. Good luck."

  Ash was last in line. "It's that bad, huh?" he said in a low voice.

  "Scuttlebutt has it that it's the biggest mission so far. Keep your eye on Kelly, he's your only weak link. Maybe some sleep and good food will perk him up."

  "His wife just had a kid. He's down is all. Once he's in the air he does what he's supposed to do." Ash extended his hand. The handshake was bone-crushing.

  "Ash?"

  "Yeah."

  "You're one of the best pilots I ever trained. Don't take chances. I meant it when I said I want to see your sorry ass back on board this ship. You don't have to prove anything to those pilots on board the Big E, or anyone else for that matter. Only yourself"

  "Jacobs, if I don't make it back . . ."

  "Captain Thornton, I gave you a goddamn fucking order. I told you I want your ass back on board when the mission is over."

  Ash favored the major with the snappiest salute of his career. "Yes, sir. Major, sir!"

  "Dismissed."

  In his quarters. Ash packed his gear. He took five minutes to scribble a note to Fanny and one to his mother and father. He jammed the thick packet of mail into his bag along with all his other mail he hadn't bothered to read. In his haste to get on deck he didn't notice when the letter to his parents slipped from his grasp.

  Ash's eyes burned as he stared at the flight deck as the chopper lifted into the air. He wondered if he would ever hit the Hornet's flight deck again with his F4F.

  212 Fern Michaels

  "This place is gorgeous, even in the wdnter," Bess said in awe. "I can't wait to see the inside. What do you think, Fanny?"

  "\Tiat I think is, why are we here? Mr. Rollins isn't coming; he went to his house in Arizona yesterday. Mrs. Thornton doesn't really know me. I just don't understand why she asked us. Do you think it's because she saw us talking to Ash that night on the street?"

  "Maybe she's just being nice. After all,
you are alone in a board-inghouse. She knows Pop closed the drugstore and took Mom to Virginia. He's been telling everyone in town for weeks now to stock up on their sundries and prescriptions. That must be why she invited me."

  "Did she ever invite you before, Bess?"

  "No."

  "Then I rest my case," Fanny said quiedy.

  Bess stared at her friend imeasily. She'd been wondering for days what the indtation really meant.

  Sallie stood in the open doorway dressed in a flowing caftan the color of ripe raspberries. Her hair was done in swirls and curls on top of her head. Diamonds dripped from her ears and throat. "Come, come, it's cold out here. We've all been waiting for you. I'm so glad you could both come. Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday. I'm sorry, Bess, that your parents are away. I didn't want you and Fanny to be alone."

  Fanny smiled nervously as she extended a small box of gift-wrapped candy. "After-dinner mints," she said shyly.

  "That's so nice of you, Fanny," Sallie Thornton said, hugging her.

  Fanny wondered what kind of a mother-in-law Sallie would be. Her heart started to thump at the thought.

  "They're here, everyone! This is Fanny Logan and Bess Otis. Girls, you know my husband Philip, and this is my friend Red Ruby. My sister, Peggy, and her husband, Steven. On the other side are some very old friends of mine, Zack, Peter, Martha, and Colette. We've been friends for years and years. This lovely girl standing next to me is Su Li and her husband Chen. Both of them are doctors. To her left is Dr. John Noble. Standing next to him is Akia and her husband Chue. Now, what can I get you to drink?"

  "Whatever everyone else is having," Fanny said. Bess nodded.

  Fanny accepted a wine flute that was so fragile she was certain her teeth would crack the edge.

  "I diink you should make a toast, Sallie," Philip said.

  "Thank you for reminding me, Philip. Let's drink to peace, family, and the return of our sons."