Jenny by Bobbi Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

proud of me."
    "He was always proud of you," Evelyn said with
certainty.
    Jenny knew there had been times when he hadn't
been proud of her-like when she'd walked out on
Cole. But that had been then, and this was now.
    "Well, I'm going to make him prouder. I want the
Lazy S to be the best ranch around." She went to look
out the window. The land stretched before her in
seemingly unending glory. "It's so beautiful here, Aunt Evelyn. This is my home. This is where I want
to stay. I hope you understand."

    "Oh, I do, dear, and if you want me to, I'll stay
here with you," she offered.
    Jenny looked at her in surprise. She'd expected her
aunt to be anxious to leave. "But what about your life
in Philadelphia?"
    Evelyn smiled gently at her as she went to stand
beside her. "You're my family, Jenny. I love you and
want to help you in any way I can."
    Jenny hugged her. "We'll make Papa proud, you'll
see. It may have taken me a while to realize that this
is where I belong, but now that I'm back, I never
intend to leave again. I'm home, Aunt Evelyn. I've
come home."
    Jenny turned to gaze out the window again at her
beloved ranch, and her heart filled with love and
fierce determination.
    She was going to do this for her father and for
herself.

     

So, Jenny planned to stay.
    The ride to his ranch was a long one, and Cole was
glad. He needed the time to calm down. He'd known
that seeing Jenny again was not going to be easy, but
he'd had no idea it was going to be this difficult. He'd
thought that he would only have to meet with her two
or three times, and then she'd be gone from his life
forever. But it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
    Cole could only hope the lawyer and banker could
talk some sense into her tomorrow and make her see
that it was pointless for her to stay around and try to
run the Lazy S.The easiest thing for her to do would
be to let him buy her out. He would pay her a fair
price, and then she would be free to go on her way and do whatever she wanted to do. If only she would
listen to reason.

    Paul had once told him that his daughter was as
stubborn and headstrong as he was, and Cole was
finding out for a second time just how right his friend
had been. He had wanted her out of sight and out of
mind, but it was obvious that she wasn't going to
cooperate with what he wanted.
    As always, Jenny was going to do exactly what she
wanted to do when she wanted to do it.
    Cole's irritation grew as he thought about her. He
hadn't thought it possible, but Jenny was even prettier
now than she had been two years before. She'd been
lovely then, but she was even more beautiful now. He
had been in love with her for some time before he'd
finally proposed. He'd waited until she was old
enough to marry, and he'd been thrilled when she'd
said yes. He had played the perfect gentleman-never
letting on how much he desired her. There had been
any number of occasions when he'd been tempted to
do more than just give her a chaste kiss, but he'd
controlled himself He had always respected and honored her, for he had wanted their wedding night to be
special for them.
    Cole's mouth twisted bitterly at the thought of their
wedding night.
    It had been special all right especially painful.
    Cole vaguely recalled all those hours he'd spent
drinking at the High Time. He had thought he would
be making love to Jenny that night, not downing a large portion of a bottle of whiskey all by himself at
a saloon.

    He had thought Jenny loved him as much as he
loved her.
    He had thought they would have a wonderful life
together.
    He'd been wrong.
    Cole had sworn he was never going to make a mistake like that again. It didn't matter how beautiful a
woman was or how much he wanted her, he was
never going to let himself care about anyone the way
he'd cared for Jenny. He'd learned the lesson the hard
way, and it was a lesson he would never forget.
    When the main house at the Branding Iron came
into view,