Deborah Camp

by To Seduce andDefend

  Chapter 7

  Two days later when Jennie left work, she found Zach lounging against the hitching post. He was obviously waiting for her. The brim of his black Stetson shadowed the top part of his face, but she could see that his mouth was set in a grim line. He looked tall and lean in his dark trousers, gray shirt, and black leather vest. He gave a brief nod as he straightened and squared his shoulders.

  “Good evening. I wonder if you might come to the office for a few minutes.”

  “Of course. Do you have news?”

  “Yes.”

  “I hope you haven’t been waiting long. I’m late leaving work this afternoon because I was working on a dress for Sarah Gladdens.”

  “You are a seamstress now?”

  “Not really. I’m making a few adjustments and changing the buttons and lace on it. That’s all.” She glanced sideways at him as she fell into step. “Is this important news?”

  “It could be.”

  Jennie held her breath, hoping her plan had worked. He was quiet as they walked toward his law office, which was across from Capitol Hill where most of the first structures had been built after the Land Run. Occasionally, he spoke to people on the street, acknowledging their greetings.

  “Did you notice the Cohen and Strauss clothing store opening soon across the street over there?” she asked, pointing to the stately, brick building. “They will have clothing from New York. They will be expensive, but at least they should be fashionable. What are they doing there, I wonder?” She indicated a large lot next to a hotel where men with shovels were busy digging an enormous, deep hole.

  “It’s going to be an underground stable for carriages and buggies to get them off the streets. Parking is a big problem along Division and Harrison.”

  “Good heavens! What will they think of next? Look at all of these utility poles, will you? The whole town is electrified.”

  They fell silent as they neared the law office. He opened the front door and stepped back to allow her to enter first. Following her up the stairs, he reached around her to open the door to the offices. It appeared that everyone had gone home. “Go on into Adam’s office and have a seat.”

  “I’m becoming apprehensive. I hope you don’t have more bad news for me.” She sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, thinking he would sit next to her, but he hung his hat on the tree and turned to fix cool, blue eyes on her.

  “Seems that Luna has had a change of heart. She wants to meet with you.”

  Jennie’s heart bucked, but she managed to keep her tone level. “Really?”

  “No need to play innocent with me. I know what happened and why she wants to talk to you.”

  “Then please enlighten me,” Jennie said, still trying to remain calm, although his steady gaze jarred her nerves.

  “You called her a mangy dog.”

  “I did not!” She blinked rapidly, but couldn’t shake his penetrating gaze. “Whoever told you that?”

  “Four or five different ladies. If you had used a bullhorn, you couldn’t have done a better job. Whatever you said wasn’t neighborly, was it?”

  She scoffed at that. “Why would I be neighborly toward her? I tried that and she practically kicked me off her property.”

  “She’s on the warpath now. Hope you’re happy with yourself. You’ve made my job a lot harder.” He stepped toward her and gripped the chair arms, trapping her. He was so close she could practically count his sable eyelashes. “You just couldn’t wait and let me handle this. You had to shoot off your mouth.”

  She leaned away from him. “I simply wanted to get her attention.”

  “You already had her attention,” he said through gritted teeth, then pushed away from her chair and began to pace in front of her. “You don’t trust me, do you? I’m not sure I can represent you, Jennie, if you keep defying me and going behind my back.”

  “You’re making too much of this,”

  “And you are making too little of it.” He bit off each word. “You don’t go at someone like Luna as if you were a steam engine and you’re aiming to mow her down. She’s not stupid. She knows how to step out of your way and she knows when and how to derail you. Don’t you think she understands exactly what you were up to at the café?”

  Jennie swallowed the apprehension tickling her throat. “I’m not afraid of her.”

  “Who said anything about being afraid? I’m talking about being smart.” He tapped an index finger against his temple and leaned at the waist to engage her attention more fully. “You’re not being smart when you pull a childish prank, get people spouting off about what you said, and force Luna to shut you down.”

  “I don’t appreciate you inferring that I’m lacking intelligence,” she said, her spine stiffening and her feelings stinging against his insults.

  “What you did was foolish and it hasn’t accomplished one blasted thing.”

  “I disagree. She wants to meet me now, doesn’t she?”

  “Yes, but that’s not going to happen. Not this way.”

  She pushed up from the chair. “I am going to meet with her.”

  “No, you are not.” His tone was low and steady; rock hard.

  “And why not?”

  “Because when you meet with her, I want to be sure that we have the upper hand. Right now, we have nothing. All she wants to do is lord it over you. She will tell you to keep your mouth shut about her or she will sue you for slander. And she will. She is married to a judge. They know how to make people miserable through the court system. Do you want to spend most of your money on lawyer fees and court costs?”

  “No.” She hated that she sounded meek, but he was definitely taking the wind out of her sails. “I think that if I could talk with her, she would understand —.”

  He swept his hand through the air, cutting her off. “It’s not in her interest to be sympathetic to your situation. Riling her up, calling her names, and acting like you’re better than her and that she is somehow beneath you isn’t helping. She is armed to the teeth and you’re handing her another box of ammunition.”

  Frustrated, Jennie started to whirl away from him, but he gripped her upper arms to hold her in place. She tipped back her head to lock gazes with him.

  “I want to help you, Jennie, but I can’t do that if you keep tripping me up.”

  “How well do you know her?”

  “Who? Luna?”

  “She is the subject of this conversation, is she not?”

  He arched a brow and one corner of his mouth quirked up. “She is. I never represented her, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  “No, I was actually wondering if you knew her in a carnal way.”

  “A car —.” His fingers tightened on her arms for a second. “Now, why would you be asking me that?

  “You seem to have made quite an impression on a lot of women in this town. It’s difficult to know which ones are your clients and which ones you know in a personal way.”

  “For your information, I don’t mix business with my personal life.”

  “So, if Luna wasn’t ever part of your business …” She tipped her head to one side, waiting for him to finish.

  “We were never a couple,” he said, then he seemed to realize that he was holding her. He flexed his fingers and stepped away. “I know the judge fairly well and I have known my share of women like Luna. She comes from nothing and she has clawed her way up to a nice life. She has acquired property, money, and she’s the wife of a respected judge. She isn’t going to let loose of any of it without a knock-down drag-out fight.” He sat on the edge of his desk and aimed a forefinger at her. “I get the feeling you’re used to getting your way, but I don’t want you fighting with her, understood? I want you to give me time to sniff around and see what I can find. My gut tells me that something isn’t right. Just the fact that Luna is avoiding talking to me about Charles and her marriage to him makes me suspicious.”

  “What do you mean, you think I’m used to getting my way?” sh
e asked, wondering if he thought she was spoiled.

  He shrugged and crossed his arms on his chest. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just think that you might possess a more forceful nature than your husband did. From what I have heard around town, Luna wore the pants in their relationship.”

  “Charles was his own man,” she said, feeling that she should defend him, although it was getting harder and harder to do. “However, he did want me to be happy.”

  He chuckled under his breath and his eyes filled with sparks of mischief. “I’ll just bet he did.”

  She angled up her chin. “What are you suggesting?”

  Shaking his head, he straightened from the desk. “Do we have an understanding now, Jennie? If you don’t think I can handle this case, you need to quit me and hire someone you feel is competent.”

  “No, I …”

  “Then for the love of God, let me do my job.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. You can understand my impatience, can’t you? I didn’t come here to live in a boarding house and work in a dry goods store.”

  “You aren’t enjoying your time in Guthrie? Seems to me that you’re making friends and becoming an independent woman. Can’t see anything wrong with that.”

  “I’m making the best of an unfortunate situation,” she said, adopting a lighter tone as she turned away from him and walked to the doorway. “What will be your response to Mrs. Luna Lee Bishop?”

  “I will tell her that I’m your lawyer and if she has anything to say to you, she can say it to me and I will relay the message to you.”

  “She will think I’m a coward who talks behind her back but won’t speak to her face to face.”

  “No, she will know that I have spoken to you and we have come to a meeting of the minds.”

  Smiling at him over her shoulder, she remarked, “Is that what we’ve done?”

  “You disagree?

  “Oh, I was thinking it’s more like you are used to getting your way and that’s what happened here.” Before he could respond, she left the office and went down the stairs, his husky chuckle drifting after her. “Good day, Counselor!” she called up to him as she opened the door and stepped outside.

  For the good part of the next hour, Zach sat in the office and mulled over the feelings that stirred in him when he was within touching distance of Jennie Caldwell Hastings. He knew he was headed for trouble if he didn’t get these jittery, tingling feelings under control. Adam was already worried that he might break their cardinal rule about not romancing any of their clients. That had never been a problem – until now.

  It wasn’t just that she was lovely to look at – there had been many lovely clients – or that she had a honeyed voice and a laugh that was almost like a purr. It was more than that. He liked her. Sure, he liked most of his clients or he grew to like them, but once the case was over, he didn’t miss their visits together because he never felt a personal connection with them. Somehow, Jennie had breached his armor and it had become personal with him. Even when he was so mad at her he could shake her, it was tempered with a grudging admiration.

  Take this whole incident at the café. He had heard from several of the town gossips and do-gooders that Jennie had fairly shouted to anyone who cared to listen that she had no desire to be in the same room with the likes of Luna Lee and that she was sure Luna had plied Charles with liquor to get him to say, “I do.”

  He had known immediately what she was up to and that she was setting a trap for Luna – or so she’d thought. As soon as he had entered the courthouse that morning Judge Bishop had pigeonholed him. The judge was fit to be tied about the disparaging comments said about Luna by Jennie and he was ready to sue for slander. Zach had managed to cajole the old boy into a better humor and had promised to warn his client to keep her opinion to herself or she would find herself in court.

  Before the judge had left, he had invited Zach to a dinner party that evening. Not wanting to ruffle his feathers again, Zach had accepted.

  Zach reached into his vest pocket, withdrew the watch and chain, flipped open the lid, and saw that he had to get a move on if he wanted to be on time for dinner with the Bishops. He would much rather have a bowl of ham hock and beans and a mug of beer at the Blue Belle Saloon, but duty called.

  Leveraging himself up from the chair, he went to the mirror and straightened his tie before shrugging into his suit coat. He ran a comb through his hair and stared for a few moments at his reflection, noting the lines fanning from the corners of his blue eyes. Most men his age had settled down with a woman and had a couple of children already. But he wasn’t like most men. He had seen more than his share of relationships that had begun with blissful love and had deteriorated into lies and loathing. No thanks.

  Suddenly, the winsome face of Oliver Hastings swam past his mind’s eye and he felt a strong urge to protect the boy, to teach him the ways of manhood, and to be sure he didn’t stray from the path of honor. Oliver was probably at the age when he was no longer content just to be his mama’s baby. He needed a man in his life.

  Zach shook his head, erasing the image of him showing Oliver how to ride, rope, and shoot straight. Jennie would marry someone else, he thought, and that someone would become Oliver’s papa. She wasn’t the type of woman to be alone for long. He could tell that she liked being married.

  “Which is another reason why you need to keep your distance from her,” he told himself in the mirror. “She’ll be swinging her rope soon enough, if she isn’t already and you don’t want to be lassoed. That won’t end well for her or for you.”

  Plucking his hat from the tree, he rocked it onto his head and went downstairs, out the front door, and around to the side of the building where he’d tethered Mercy. She nickered at him as he cinched the saddle tighter before he swung up onto it. Heel-tapping her into a trot, he wove her through the slower buggies and wagons toward the judge’s house. The wind blew from the north and carried the scent of rain. He dipped his chin, angling the brim of his hat to keep the damp gusts off his face. Music and laughter floated out from the Blue Belle Saloon to tempt him like a Siren’s call, but he resisted and focused on what lay ahead of him.

  Luna would no doubt be a handful. She would flirt, flaunt, and flash her jewels at him. She would probably have a few choice words about Jennie and expect him to apologize for Jennie’s bad manners. He wasn’t sure how he would handle that, but he knew he would need to keep a cool head and select his words carefully. He didn’t want to rile her or make her feel that he was against her, even though he was representing Jennie Hastings. He needed to keep it friendly with Luna so that she would eventually talk to him and give him more insight about what happened between her and Charles. Tonight he hoped to test her again and see how resistant she would be when he brought up her marriage to Charles again. It intrigued him that she refused to discuss it. If she continued to be obstinate, it would be a clear sign that she had something to hide.

  Inez Rainwater opened the front door of the Bishop’s home and stepped back to let Zach enter the foyer.

  “It’s good to see you again, Mrs. Rainwater,” Zach said.

  The woman blushed. “You can call me Inez, Mr. Warner.”

  Zach smiled. “That hardly seems fair, seeing as you won’t call me Zach. He handed her his hat. “It’s started to blow up a rainstorm out there. Am I the last guest to arrive?”

  “I believe so, sir.”

  “Who is it, Inez?” the judge emerged from the parlor and grinned broadly when he saw Zach. “It’s about time, Warner! We were about to give up on you and sit down for dinner.”

  “Sorry, Judge. I had a late meeting at the office.” He shook the man’s hand.

  “Glad to see you. Come on. Some fishing buddies and I caught a boatload of catfish in Cottonwood Creek and the cook has fried them up.”

  “I’m your man,” Zach said, allowing the judge to guide him toward the parlor where the others had convened. He knew everyone there – a couple of other attorneys a
nd their wives, a school teacher, a Baptist preacher, and Theodore Wilson, the banker who had built this house for his now departed wife.

  Zach was seated between Agnes Kendall, the school teacher, and Theo Wilson at dinner. The catfish was delicious and was served with the traditional fried potatoes, slaw, chow-chow, and hush puppies. At either end of the long dining table, the Bishops held court. Judge Bishop kept the conversation lively with salty stories of courtroom dramas and comedic outcomes and Luna smiled serenely throughout. She conducted the maid and butler with flicks of her fingers and nods of her head. A couple of times Zach felt her gaze on him, but he gave all of his attention to Agnes, Theo, and Judge Bishop.

  Near the end of the dinner, the conversation dwindled and Luna cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention.

  “I want to know who Zachary Warner is squiring around town these days,” she said, her gaze sliding to him. “I haven’t seen you with any particular lady lately and that’s not like you. I expected you to bring along a town lovely tonight. Are you hiding someone from us, Zach?”

  “You know better than that, Luna,” he said, smiling as he glanced around the table at the others. “I am not one to hide a beautiful woman. I didn’t know if the invitation included a lady friend.”

  “And you know better than that,” Luna said, a slight chill in her tone. “We would never deprive you of feminine company.”

  Zach sent her a cool smile. “As it turned out, you didn’t. I have enjoyed the company this evening of Mrs. Agnes.” He stood and helped the widowed school teacher from the chair. She giggled like a girl and pink stained her cheeks. She was in her forties, a small, birdlike woman who wore her brown hair in a tight knot at the top of her head. But she could quote Shakespeare, Longfellow, and Browning as effortlessly as the Baptist preacher could spout Bible verses.

  “Let’s go into the music room,” Luna said. “I believe that Diana has agreed to entertain us with her piano playing this evening.” She dipped her head toward one of the attorney’s wives.

  Zach thought he would rather have a tooth extracted than listen to a piano concert. For a few desperate seconds, he was tempted to say that he was feeling ill and had to leave, but he tamped down the impulse and went with the others to the music room.