Jessica Frost: The Good, the Bad, and the Naughty

Trevor took one last swig of his whiskey while he stared in anticipation at the pretty lady. She stood up from the bar, slowly straightened the creases in her dress, and strolled toward their table, heading for the stage. Glancing at them briefly, she bowed her head, her cheeks reddening.

“She looks nervous,” James whispered into his ear while he stared at her.

Trevor gestured his agreement. She hardly seemed like the flamboyant singer Sally said she was. But Trevor kind of liked her shy demeanor. It intrigued him.

When she sat at the piano and began playing, though, her hesitation visibly dissolved, and her confidence surfaced. Trevor could see it by the smile in her eyes when she gazed at her audience.

The song she played started slow, but as soon as her sweet voice caressed his ears, he sighed silently. It enamored him, and he sat there entranced by the spell of her singing and piano playing. And each time she glanced at the crowd, him and James especially, his heart skipped a beat.

She must have had the same effect on James because Trevor noted he didn’t budge throughout her whole performance. He just sat there, fixated. Even his breathing seemed shallower, as if he reached a level of serenity.

He had never seen James so smitten with a female before. His focus always remained on their cases, never on the opposite sex. It amused Trevor to see his work-centered partner fall for the sweet singer.

When she ended the last song and stood up, the crowd clapped and cheered. She smiled, blushing, and Trevor’s heart melted. Her modesty was becoming.

James tapped him on the shoulder then as he leaned in. “When she walks by the table, let’s start talking to her. Put on the charm.”

“Will do, partner. It’ll be my pleasure.” He smiled as many thoughts of what he’d say crossed his mind. They all had to do with her musical talent, her voice, and her beauty of course.

But his excitement turned to disappointment when an older man came to talk to her at the piano.

“Great,” he whispered.

“Don’t worry. Their talk won’t last long,” James replied.

After a few moments, though, it became clear to Trevor that James’s guess was wrong, because the man escorted her to a table to continue their conversation. From the way they acted, he appeared to be talking and she only listening, nodding in agreement every once in a while.

“Partner, that doesn’t look like a quick conversation to me. I think we got a long wait ahead of us.”

“No, I don’t think so. At least I hope not.”

Sally strolled by then with her empty tray by her side. James called her attention. “Sally.”

She glanced around as if she couldn’t figure out from where the voice came. The crowd was certainly loud in the saloon.

When she turned in their direction, James repeated, “Sally.”

A smile broke her blank face, and she swayed her body as she headed over to their table. “Well, boys, what can I do for you? Would you care for more whiskey?”

James replied before Trevor could speak. “No, but Trevor here,” he motioned with his chin, “would like to know who the man over there is who’s talking to Belle.”

Trevor cleared his throat. “Actually, what James really means is he would like to know when she’ll be finished with the man, so he can go talk to her. And James may not want a shot, but yes, I’d like another whiskey.”

James gave him a crooked frown. Served James right for answering for him like he did. James may hate whiskey, but Trevor didn’t.

“I’m sure you’d both like to talk with the lady.” She grinned glancing at them both. “How about I bring you each a shot? That there with Belle is the boss man. And once he starts yapping, he doesn’t stop. So you boys have a lot of time to waste.”

With disappointment in his eyes, James huffed, tapping his fingers on the table. “I’d care for some water instead, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Sally nodded. “One whiskey and one glass of water it is.” And she walked away.

They continued to observe Belle’s table while their drinks came. Twenty minutes later, Belle and her boss were still conversing, but they had both stood up. Belle appeared to be getting ready to leave.

James nudged him. “Follow me.”

Perplexed, Trevor held his lightweight bag in one hand and cursed. He followed James through the loud horde of men. Once out the saloon doors, they descended the stairs and stood in the plentiful moonlight.

“Why the hell did we come out here, partner?” Trevor asked.

James scanned the perimeter. Most of the crowd still remained in the saloon. Only a few cowboys stood outside chatting.

“Because it was too crowded in there to talk to her. Maybe we’ll get a chance to talk to her here. She’s bound to come out any second.”

“Good idea,” Trevor said, rubbing his itchy chin. His stubble made a brushing sound by the friction of his fingers sliding over it. He hadn’t used his razor since yesterday and needed a shave badly. His thick beard grew quickly. He hated the feel of stubble. But unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything about it. For now, he had to live with the stubble whether he liked it or not.

Deflecting his thoughts from his grooming woes, he stared at their surroundings. The wind blew gently, making the leaves in the tree next to the saloon rustle softly to and fro. The scenery calmed Trevor, but didn’t seem to affect James, who paced before him.

“So what are you thinking about?” Curiosity compelled Trevor to ask.

“Belle.” James huffed.

Trevor had to snort. “The same here, partner.”

“Mmm. She sure has a voice, doesn’t she?” James half chuckled.

Trevor didn’t speak, just nodded.

James resumed his pacing while he combed his fingers through his hair. “But something just doesn’t add up.”

“Oh, what?” Trevor swore he could hear the gears in James’s fine-tuned brain turning. He was mystified at how his mind worked. At times, he wished his worked in the same intricate way, but other times when he saw James worrying and obsessing, he was happy his mind didn’t think like his did.

No, his easygoing nature served him just fine. Letting James deal with the complicated problems was okay with him.

“The way Belle acted tonight has me confused.” James tapped his finger on his lip.

“Why?” Trevor gazed at the crowd exiting the saloon.

“She was shy, humble, nothing like Isabelle LaRue is said to be.”

Trevor had to agree. “True, but maybe she’s acting. Putting up a front so no one will figure out who she is.”

James nodded. “Could be.”

Just then, Trevor saw Belle walking out the saloon door. He nudged James in the ribs and pointed his chin up high in her direction.

“Quick, here she comes.”

James turned around in time as beautiful Belle strode in their direction. She looked at them, smiled slightly, and then averted her gaze to the ground as she came closer.

Both Trevor and James bowed their heads as she walked by them. Trevor expected James would speak first since it was his plan to come outside and he usually always took the lead where work was concerned, but when he saw his partner became tongue-tied, Trevor decided to take over the reins of conversation.

“Ah, Miss Samson. Howdy.” He took off his hat and bowed his head once more. Putting his hat back on, he continued. “My friend and I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed your songs tonight.”

He glanced at James and gave him a coaxing look. “Isn’t that right, James?”

James nodded and mumbled, “Mm-hmm. Yes, miss.”

Trevor tried to contain a smile. Seeing his friend dumbfounded and acting awkward was humorous. Usually, James’s mind churned at high speed as he pondered their next move, and Trevor followed his lead, figuring his way while they went along. How the tables had turned in this case. He didn’t blame his friend. Belle could dumb many men. But to have it happen to his genius partner, who barely noticed women and who obsessed on every assignment like it was his life, had him amused.