Marjorie Thelen: High Desert Detective

Rosemary and Esme grinned.

“You are brave, Fiona, staying up there by yourself,” Rosemary said. “I think you should take Jake up on his offer. Remember what we told you.”

Fiona smiled. “You gals can come visit me and the ghosts anytime.”

Jake liked the feel of Fiona in his arms. It had been too long. As a matter of fact, the times he had held her in his arms he could count on one hand. He had waited long enough for her to decide to come out here. She sure had a mind of her own.

They moved easily around Opal’s huge living room. They had pushed the furniture to the walls when the dancing began. That was two hours ago. Fiona had caught on to the two-step fast, but then again she had a natural grace about her that he found only too attractive. He wanted to monopolize her, but other gents were always butting in, especially Hoover. Not that he didn’t like Hoover. He was an old friend. But he was feeling a little threatened with all the attention to Fiona, and he contemplated taking Hoover aside and telling him to butt out. Not that he had any claims on Fiona, and therein laid his hesitation.

He wondered if Fiona were enjoying herself. He sure was now that she was finally in his arms. How he was going to get her into his bed was another matter. So far she had managed to repel all his suggestions and advances. Maybe he should just throw her over his shoulder and waltz her off to his room.

“Who’s that woman dancing with Hoover?” Fiona asked as they circled the floor.

There was a good crowd on the dance floor with sparse groups of people on the sidelines huddled in conversation.

“Where?” asked Jake, looking over his shoulder in the direction of Fiona’s gaze. He frowned. “That’s Suzie Parker.” He turned them in another direction and headed away from Suzie and Hoover.

“She keeps looking over here.”

“Let her look. No harm in that.”

“I heard she’s your girlfriend.”

Jake missed his footing and stumbled but quickly recovered and kept them turning around the floor. “She’s not my girlfriend. Where’d you hear that? Don’t tell me. Rosemary and Esme.”

Fiona smiled. “You never mentioned anything about her.”

“Wasn’t anything to mention.” He looked into Fiona’s beautiful, dark eyes. Was she teasing him or could it be possible that she was a little bit jealous? “Besides, when did we ever talk about anything personal back in Virginia? We were always chasing or running from someone.”

She smiled again, one of those soft, sexy smiles. Was she flirting with him or wasn’t she?

“That’s true,” she said. “I’m just giving you a bad time, Jake. Just a little fun. She is pretty though. I could understand you’d be interested in such a lovely little thing.”

The dance ended, and Jake reluctantly released his hold on Fiona. “You’re the one I’m interested in. I like tall, willowy women.” He held her gaze. She didn’t say anymore, and those mysterious eyes said even less.

“I could use something to drink,” she said, breaking the spell he thought was beginning to weave around them.

“I bet you want wine.”

She smiled.

“Okay, let’s scare some up.”

He pulled her toward the kitchen where he figured Opal might have a few bottles sitting out. This was a beer and whiskey crowd, but Opal was always accommodating. In the kitchen, which was rather an understatement as it ran half the length of the house and included the long dining table where the picnic had been laid out, some partiers sat at one end of the table talking. There was a pinochle game going on at the other end. Opal and some of the other ladies, mostly nieces leaned against the island counter.

“Got any wine for Fiona?” he asked Opal.

“Sure do. There’s a bottle of red and a bottle of white down at the end of the counter. Should be glasses there, too.” She indicated with a point of her chin.

“Are you having a good time, Fiona?” she asked.

“The best. Everyone’s been very nice.”

“Of course,” Opal said. “We’re nice folk all around. You got yourself a nice dance partner there, too. You help yourself to the wine.”

Opal had been encouraging Jake and Fiona to hook up since they met in Virginia. He appreciated her encouragement, but it didn’t seem to be working with the unfathomable Ms. Marlowe.

“Red wine?” said Jake, holding up a bottle of Oregon’s finest. Fiona nodded, and he tipped a good pour into a gigantic wine glass painted with sunflowers.

“Nice touch, the sunflowers,” said Fiona, taking a sip from the glass.

“A local artist does those for wine tastings. Opal collects them.”

“I didn’t know Opal was a connoisseur of wine.”

“She’s not, but she’s not opposed. She’ll lift a glass every now and again but her drink is whisky. She swears by a pour on her cereal in the morning.”

“She doesn’t.”

Jake laughed. “I’m kidding. But she does like her whiskey.”

“She’s an amazing woman, given her age.”

“Her mind’s pretty good, too. Although she seems to be slipping since Albert died. I hope she has everything in order. I’d hate to be the one to unravel the holdings of this ranch.”

Out of nowhere, Suzie came up to them and slipped her arm through Jake’s. “I thought you’d never get off that dance floor, Jake, honey. “ She smiled at Fiona. “I’m Suzie Parker. I understand you’re the new girl in town.”

“I guess. My name’s Fiona.”

Suzie’s smile was one of her weaker efforts. “Opal says you’re going to remodel her house.”

“That’s the plan, if Opal will ever sit still so we can discuss what she wants done. I’m a designer not a remodeler. I do the design, someone else does the work.”

Jake shrugged out of Suzie’s grip. “Let’s walk outside, Fiona. It’s a pretty night.”

“I’ll join you,” said Suzie.

“You two go on,” said Fiona. “I need to take a trip to the powder room. Catch up with you later.”

Jake watched the love of his life walk away and sighed.

“Such a big sigh,” said Suzie. “She’s tall, isn’t she? How about we take in that pretty night, big guy? I haven’t had a chance to talk to you in a while. Have you been avoiding me?”

Opal watched the interplay between Jake, Suzie and Fiona. She didn’t dislike Suzie. She’d known her all her life. But she was a real man hog and that got tiresome. Her nieces had a lot to say about Suzie stealing boyfriends if given half a chance. The girl must have some psychological deficiency that was beyond Opal’s ability to understand.

The nieces, who were from Henry’s side of the family, were chattering on, something about Suzie. But Opal’s mind couldn’t stay interested. Lately, she’d been forgetting things. Even she noticed, let alone the people who told her about it. She had a weariness in her bones she couldn’t shake. She should get her will updated, get things tidied up legally. She wasn’t getting any younger. But she had no children, and Henry had long since passed away. All the nieces and nephews on Henry’s side were waiting to fight over the place and tear it to pieces. She wished she had someone to leave the whole operation to who would keep it intact, run a good ranch, keep up what she had worked so hard to build. She had been thinking a lot lately about Jake taking it over. He could run the ranch. He loved it like she did. But he wasn’t kin, and she knew the nieces and nephews wouldn’t stand for it. So she kept putting off and putting off what she knew had to be done. She loved her relations, but, Lord, they could be a trial.

“What’s got you so worried?” asked Tillie, one of the more aggravating of the nieces.