Microsoft Word - Jenny dreamed by kps Read Free Book Online

that it shadowed his eyes. "If he's interested, he can get in touch with me at Chicago Joe's place .. name's Cantrel ." With that, he wheeled and stalked out, leaving a now awakened and wide-eyed deputy gaping after him.
    Chicago Joe's place was famous, the best saloon on the line, known for its selection of pretty dance girls in an area that held a huge population of miners and few women to entertain them. After long hours in the gold mines, a man could lose his troubles there, find comfort in a drink, a game of cards, a relaxing hour with one of Jo's talented ladies.
    Joe, of course, was the pretty Josephine Hensley, the owner of the place, a girl a little older than Dev, who had learned the ropes in Chicago and gone west to reap the benefits of keeping women-starved miners happy. Dev had known her for several years, respected her honesty, and valued her warmth.
    Now, as he knocked loudly at the back door of her establishment, a door used only by special customers, he found himself greeted enthusiastically by Duke, the English
    "gentleman" who maintained order in the saloon and acted as Joe's bouncer. There were many rumors about his mysterious background, one that claimed he was the black sheep of a titled English family, but Joe had confided in Dev that she had met Duke in Chicago and knew for a fact that he'd come from a lower-class working family in Manchester, England.
    "I know you didn't ride all this way in the rain just for a little fun, Dev, old boy," Duke teased, then ordered a servant to see that Dev's horse was stabled, rubbed down and fed. Dev waited until he was shown upstairs to Joe's private suite of rooms to explain the reason he had galloped sixty miles in the pouring rain.
    "I see, I see, m'boy. Well, why don't you get into some dry clothes, then I'll see to it that Joe knows you're here. If anyone can tell you what's been happening here in town, it's she."
    Dev pulled a dry shirt and extra pair of pants from his saddlebags. When the door opened to admit the madam known as Chicago Joe, he was already dressed and settled comfortably by the fire. It felt damn good after the chilly rain that had soaked him for so many hours.
    Joe closed the door behind her, carefully balancing a tray that held a full bottle of brandy and two glasses. The smile she gave him was as bright as usual, though her eyes showed a concern for the trouble that had brought her friend out on a night like this.
    "Here now, lovey, this'll warm up your insides." Joe handed him the full glass of brandy she'd poured and bustled off to bring him a large, fluffy towel. "I'm gonna dry that wet mop of hair
    'fore. you catch your death! You just never mind me and start tellin' Jo what kinda trouble you got."
    Joe's maternal attitude, rarely seen in the business end of her establishment, brpught a smile to Dev's weary lips. It did feel good to sit here by the warmth of a strong-burning fire while the brandy brought new life to his chilled body. God, how good it would feel to crawl in bed and sleep for a couple of days straight! But he hardly had any time before he had to go out in the rain again.
    While Joe rubbed briskly at his hair with the towel, he told her the whole story, starting with the letter he'd received from Jared asking him to watch over Jennifer. "That's a hell of a way to repay his kindness, isn't it? He asks me to watch out for his daughter, and before I even get to her, she gets dragged off by a gang of thieves."

    Joe finished drying his hair and sank into the seat opposite him, pouring her own drink and downing it before she answered. "Can't say as I think it's your fault, Dev. What happened
    'fore you met this girl was somethin' you couldn'ta predicted!" Satisfied that she had reasoned away Dev's guilty feelings, she turned to the important business at hand. "Those hooligans of Stanner's was in here about -six weeks back. I had 'em all kicked out for cuttin'
    one of the girls. Those girls are worth a lot t'me; I won't stand for