Jesse shook his head, expression downcast. “I don’t have any plans past talking to Jared Kenner, trying to get him to go back to Boston for his mother.”
She’d completely forgotten about the dinner she’d insisted on at the lumberyard earlier.
Pete’s chin had come up again. “I ain’t going to no orphanage,” he said tightly.
“We’ll figure something out,” she said, and was surprised to hear Jesse’s words echo her own, a half step behind her statement.
Her eyes lifted to his in surprise and she was further shocked to see the determination in his expression. He and Pete shared another of their wordless exchanges.
Her head began to pound.
“Then I’m going to go lie down for a bit.” She put a hand to her forehead. “I’m still tired from sitting up last night. I’ll be dressed and ready for supper at seven. Knock on my door and we can go down together.”
At the door she turned back. “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?” she asked, encompassing both of them in her gaze.
Jesse sucked in a breath like he had something to say, but when their eyes met once again, he shook his head, mouth tight.
She left without looking back.
Chapter Ten
Jesse stuck a finger in the tight collar of the starched white shirt. Something else borrowed, a suit that didn’t fit quite right. Jesse hoped the concierge hadn’t steered him wrong when he’d loaned him the suit. The suit was too tight, and the black jacket he wore bore down on his shoulders like a wooden stock.
Or maybe it was the weight of what he hadn’t confessed to Erin earlier that afternoon, when he’d had the chance. He’d started to say it all, but had chickened out. She’d already been upset, and Jesse hadn’t wanted to add to her hurt feelings.
But the real truth was he’d been scared of how she would look at him if she knew the truth. He’d seen disappointment in many different eyes—his stepfather’s, his mother’s; disdain in others, like Catherine’s, but he desperately didn’t want Erin to look at him in either of those two ways.
“How do I look?” he asked Pete as they were about ready to join her for the evening meal.
“All right, I guess.” The boy shrugged.
Jesse scrutinized him with his new clothes and hair slicked into place with water and a comb. “You’re not having second thoughts about our deal, are you?” The last thing he wanted was the boy tattling on him now.
Jesse tried to take a breath, but felt as if he were suffocating.
“I’m hungry,” Pete complained, moving to the door.
Jesse stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, a hand that the boy quickly shrugged off.
“Erin’s been nothing but kind to you—to both of us,” he amended, “and as disappointed as she was earlier, she’d probably be even more disappointed if you pulled something like trying to steal a wallet out of someone’s pocket. And I don’t want her disappointed tonight, all right?”
The boy looked as if he wanted to make an angry retort, but finally just nodded.
Jesse knocked softly on the door next to their room and Erin opened it.
He gulped, sure as he’d ever been about anything that he was about to make a big fool of himself.
In the soft lamplight from the hall, her fancy gown was an ivory that deepened her eyes even more than they already were, and the shape of it accented her tiny waist. When she turned to close the door, he noticed her hair swept up in a fancy style, with curly dark tendrils clinging to her slender neck.
He pulled at the neck of his shirt again because he couldn’t seem to breathe properly. When she turned around again, her straight, white teeth flashed in a smile. Probably at how dumbfounded he appeared.
“You look real nice,” came Pete’s voice as if from very far away.
All he could do was nod his agreement, but that seemed to be okay, because she took his arm and they were moving toward the elevator and she still wore that smile on her pink, pink lips.
He didn’t remember the elevator ride, unable to concentrate on anything other than the beauty at his side. Until they arrived in the lobby, where Jesse came to earth when he saw the masses of people in dolled-up dresses and dark suits and waiting to be seated at the fancy dining room.
He could dress up in a suit like them, but he didn’t belong here. Pete hesitated slightly beside him.
“That kid’s got a dog,” Pete muttered.
Jesse looked up and decided maybe Pete had paused for a different reason than Jesse had.
Across the lobby, near the wide check-in desk, a rather stout lady in a wrinkled traveling suit raised her voice at the harried-looking clerk. A boy chased a small, fluffy, yapping white dog the likes of which Jesse had never seen before around the lobby until the woman turned and sniped at him, too, and both dog and boy moved to stand next to her with downcast faces.
“I don’t see your friend yet,” Erin said, still hanging on to Jesse’s arm.
He was proud just to have her near him. He tried his best not to stare directly at her, but he didn’t have to be looking at her to know she outshone all the other women in the room. Probably all the women in the entire hotel and Chicago, too.
And for tonight, she was on his arm.
He knew he’d hurt and confused her earlier, and he still didn’t have the courage to tell her the truth about himself, but he resolved to make tonight a good night for her.
The lobby doors opened, sending a rush of cold air in their direction, and Jared walked in with a pretty brunette on his arm. He wore a dark suit, probably his Sunday best, but it looked more like something Jesse would have owned back before his incarceration—not quite in the same class as these rich folks. Folks like Erin.
And yet, she’d taken in Pete and befriended the both of them without any preconceptions about them. She was something he’d never experienced before.
“I’m really sorry about everything this afternoon,” he murmured so only she could hear him.
Her smile slipped. She glanced at his face and he saw the hurt lingering in the depths of her eyes; she hadn’t forgotten what had happened, no matter that she was putting on a cheerful face.
“It was certainly an unexpected afternoon,” she said and he sensed she was going to leave it at that until she suddenly turned her head and their eyes connected. “I have to ask—you’re not even a real cowboy, are you?”
He held her gaze, but didn’t say anything and she knew the truth, he saw it in her gaze. Something flickered inside her eyes and he closed his other hand over the fingers she clasped on his forearm, wanting to hold on to the moment, on to her regard. She lowered her eyes, hiding her emotions from him behind her sooty lashes.
“If I could go back and change things, I would,” he murmured again, conscious of Jared and his gal approaching them. And he would; he’d tell her from the start that he wasn’t a cowboy and that Pete wasn’t really his responsibility. He’d have found another way to stay on the train to Chicago, to be near Erin...
But he’d started out with the deception and now there was no turning back. He was a con man, after all.
* * *
It was silly to be disappointed. Erin knew it, but it didn’t stop the stinging hurt that lanced her insides and prickled behind her eyes.
Before they’d met two days ago, Jesse had been a complete stranger to her. He didn’t owe her honesty, he didn’t owe her anything.
But she’d thought there had been something between them. Especially after their morning together and the kiss in the park, she’d hoped...
But that was foolish. She was leaving to continue on to Wyoming first thing in the morning. And he was staying here to start his new life as he’d said before. It wasn’t her business what he did or how he did it.
Although she did worry
about Pete. Without a real big brother, without a mother or any relative to take care of him, what would happen to the boy?
She knew Jesse probably thought there was a distinction between not telling her the truth—his omissions—and outright lying; she’d thought the same as he and Pete had scrambled through their explanations earlier that afternoon. But even his omissions smacked of lying and all of the deception reminded her entirely too much of what had happened with her father before she’d left Boston.
She’d told herself that afternoon after she’d escaped to her room that it didn’t matter, that she would be able to go on her way to Wyoming without further thought of the man beside her and his unlikely young companion, but perhaps she was even getting good at lying to herself. She wanted to make excuses for him, wanted to think perhaps he hadn’t meant to deceive her, but he certainly hadn’t been forthcoming about any of it.
She took a deep breath to steady herself as his friend approached, and was able to greet them with a smile.
“Evening, Mr. Baker,” the newcomer said, looking a little uncomfortable and glancing at all the couples surrounding them. “I didn’t get a proper introduction earlier...” He allowed his voice to trail off but indicated Erin with his eyes.
“This is Miss Erin O’Grady of Boston,” Jesse said, and then placing a hand on Pete’s shoulder, which the boy promptly shrugged off. “And a...friend we met on the train, Pete. Erin, this is Jared Kenner.”
“And my best gal, Amelia Minor.” Jared completed the introductions with a proud glance at the young woman on his arm, who glanced around with starry eyes.
“It’s lovely to meet you, both of you,” Erin said, disengaging her hand from Jesse’s arm to shake hands. Pete followed her example, mumbling a hello.
“Shall we see if our table is ready?” Erin tucked her hand back into the crook of Jesse’s elbow.
Pete kept pace with Jesse and the other couple followed behind as Erin and Jesse approached the maître d’ to see if they could be seated.
“I’ve never even been inside anywhere this fancy before. Are you sure you can afford a dinner here?”
Erin glanced at Jesse to see if he’d heard Amelia’s whisper from just behind them. Judging by the tightness around his mouth, she knew he’d overheard the whisper, as well.
“Baker invited me,” came Jared’s soft answer. “I’ll work it out with him.”
She knew Jesse was concerned about money, but even if she paid for both hotel rooms and the dinner tonight, it wouldn’t put a dent in her pocketbook. She’d been saving up her weekly pin money for a while, in hopes that her father would allow her a trip on her own, or possibly to do something worthwhile with the hospital. Certainly she’d been blessed and didn’t mind sharing those blessings with others.
But she sensed that Jesse’s pride might make it difficult for him to accept it if she paid for everything.
They were seated at a lovely white cloth-covered table, and Erin immediately saw Jared and Amelia and Pete all glance warily at the table settings in front of them. Jesse seemed frustrated, glancing with hooded eyes at the man across the table. Erin knew it would be up to her to smooth things over, start the conversation.
Certainly it wasn’t a bad thing that her mother had insisted on extensive training on matters of etiquette. She smiled warmly around the table, first nudging Pete’s elbow in the seat next to her.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. I heard someone say they have an excellent chocolate cake here.”
The boy’s eyes lit. “I can have cake?”
“Certainly. As long as you don’t eat so much you make yourself sick,” she teased gently.
He wrinkled his nose at her, but his shoulders lowered from up around his ears.
“How long have you two known each other?” She directed the question to Amelia, hoping to draw the other woman into conversation. “Jared mentioned earlier that you were fairly serious.”
Amelia blushed, becoming pink roses blooming in her cheeks. She glanced affectionately at the man next to her. “We met about a year ago. He asked me to accompany him to a reading at a local university and we came to realize how much we liked to spend time together.”
She and Jared shared a smile. Erin envied that they seemed to be able to converse without words.
“How do you know Jared?” Amelia asked Jesse, seeming to warm to the conversation.
“I don’t. I knew his brother, Jim, back in...Boston.”
The hesitation in his answer and the quick cut of his eyes to her made Erin wonder just what he wasn’t saying about this Jim.
A waiter arrived and filled their glasses and explained the evening’s menu. Pete grinned when the man mentioned the chocolate cake Erin had heard about earlier in the day.
“I’m trying to convince him to go back to Boston to visit his sick ma,” Jesse continued with a winsome smile.
The other woman suddenly drooped and sent a pointed look at her companion. “Your mother is sick?”
Jared glowered at Jesse. “I haven’t heard from my ma herself. Don’t even know if it’s serious.”
“His sister says it’s plenty serious. The doctor isn’t sure his ma will make it.”
Jared shot Jesse another glare and Erin thought that perhaps this wasn’t the correct conversational route if Jesse intended to convince the other man to return to Boston. Jared certainly seemed to bristle at the very mention of his mother, which caused Erin to wonder about his character.
“Perhaps you could send a telegram to check on your mother and sister,” Erin suggested.
“That’s a grand idea,” Jared agreed quickly with a relieved glance at Erin. “I could find out without having to leave here.”
“If your ma is sick, you should go to her,” Amelia insisted quietly to Jared.
“She didn’t protest when I left home and I doubt she really cares if I’m there now,” he said, voice low so that it almost didn’t reach Erin above the gentle hum of other diners’ conversations. “She’s probably worried about my sister.”
“Well, she may have reason to be worried,” came Amelia’s answer. “If she’s really sick, she probably wants to get everything in order, and taking care of your sister must be important to her.”
“I’m not leaving,” he answered firmly. He seemed to realize that the rest of the table was attempting not to overhear their private conversation, and said a gruff, “Sorry.”
“Excuse me,” said Amelia. “I’ve got to visit the powder room.” She scooted away from the table and disappeared.
It was clear she was upset and the glare Jared turned on Jesse was fierce. “I’d appreciate it if you’d change the subject.”
When Jared looked away, Erin was able to see something beneath the raw anger—genuine concern.
“Amelia’s ma has been sick for a good while and Amelia has the responsibility for taking care of the both of them.” It was obvious by his tone he respected her, loved her. Erin realized that by bringing up Jared’s mother’s situation it was putting Jared in an awkward place. Amelia would feel that he should go, while it was obvious he was torn between staying and supporting the woman he loved or returning to help his mother.
“It should be the obvious choice to go help your ma—”
Erin touched Jesse’s arm gently, breaking off his sentence.
“Come into the lobby with me,” she murmured, then turned to the table. “Excuse us a minute.”
He looked as if he wanted to protest, to stay and press his case, but when she stood, he reluctantly joined her.
Pete barely looked up from his plate when they left.
Jesse followed close behind her, looking back toward the table. “Erin, I want to get back and talk to him while his girl is away from the table—”
“Jesse.”
He stopped when she said his name and allowed her to tug him into an alcove half hidden in shadow. They could speak with more privacy here, where the other noises of the restaurant were muted.
Jesse looked at her, waiting for her to speak, and she realized how far off her assumption from earlier at the clothing store had been. He valued her opinion.
“I know this is important to you, getting Jared to go back to his mother in Boston. It’s an admirable task that you’ve taken upon yourself. But perhaps it might be time to start thinking that you’ve done as much as you can. You came and told Jared that his mother is in bad health and needs him. You’ve completed the task you set yourself.”
He stood silent, gazing over her shoulder, with that familiar muscle ticking in his jaw.
“It’s not for any admirable reason you might be thinking,” he finally said. “Jared’s brother Jim? He saved my life. Someone...came after me with a knife and Jim stepped in front of it. I owe him.”
Again, she had that sense that he wasn’t telling her everything, was possibly sparing her some of the details of such a violent event.
“I watched him die.” Jesse stared away, eyes focused on events of the past. “For me. I promised I’d take care of his family.”
Erin reached out and touched him. Not a touch on his arm, through the material of his jacket as she’d done before. She slipped her hand into his, palm to palm, and laced their fingers together. It was all she dared in such a public place—if they had been alone together she would have thrown her arms around his neck.
His hand closed around hers and he blinked, seeming to come back to the present. The open emotion still on his face struck to her core. She squeezed his hand tightly, unable to help her reaction even though—especially after the events of the afternoon—she knew she should keep her distance from him. Even with her brain telling her to be wary, her heart was drawn to him....
“You know I’m not one to preach at you, but whatever guilt or burden Jim’s actions have set on you, you can find relief by giving your burdens to God.”
Counterfeit Cowboy Page 10
