Janet Tronstad - A Rich Man For Dry Creek And A Hero For Dry Creek

Then a final man appeared in the doorway and Jenny relaxed. Robert. I mean, she corrected herself, Mr. Buckwalter, was back safe. “No, he’s not a bad guy.”

“I wish you luck with him,” the rancher offered quietly.

“Oh, no, I’m not—I mean there’s no need—”

Just then Jenny heard the cell phone ring. The ring was faint and hard to hear over the talking of the ranchers and teenagers. She remembered Mrs. Buckwalter making a call so she assumed the older woman still had the phone and she was right.

“This is for you,” Mrs. Buckwalter shouted to Jenny as she moved through the couples who were now brushing snow off of each other. The older woman was weaving between couples and getting closer to the refreshment table but she continued to yell, “Something about a pudding order that’s late—”

Jenny winced. She was a full ten yards away from Robert. But she could hear his low chuckle over the murmured conversation of everyone else.

“Tell your sister hi,” Robert called over to her. “And tell her I want a case of chocolate pudding with sprinkles if they have such a thing.”

“Your sister sells pudding, dear?” Mrs. Buckwalter asked as she handed the phone to Jenny.

“She will be if she’s not careful,” Jenny said as she took the phone and stepped behind the refreshment table where it was quieter.

“I heard that,” Jenny’s sister said when Jenny put the phone to her ear. “And rest assured, I won’t need to be looking for a new job. My boss is very happy with what I’ve discovered.”

“And what would that be?” Jenny kept her voice low so that no one else could hear. Six or seven of the teenagers had drifted over to the refreshment table and were staring down at the punch bowl trying to decide whether or not to scoop some of the watered-down beverage into their plastic cups.

“Well, for starters, I know where Robert Buckwalter the Third is.”

“Any number of people know that. It’s not a secret.”

“Well, none of the other tabloids know where he is these days. And I know something’s up. I told my boss that the man was very touchy about talking to the press.”

“He thought you were a pudding salesman, for Pete’s sake. It had nothing to do with the press.”

“Still, I think he’s hiding something. Some secret.”

“Well, if he is, it’s his to keep. I, for one, am not going to ask him another thing about his life.”

“Oh, you’ve been talking to him?”

“No, I haven’t been talking to him.”

“Oh.” The disappointment in the voice of Jenny’s sister was more personal than professional. She was suddenly Jenny’s little sister again. “I’m sorry. I thought maybe after that kiss…”

Jenny couldn’t help herself. She darted a quick look over her shoulder to be sure that no one was close enough to hear. “Well, he did ask me to dance.”

“You danced with him!” Jenny’s sister shrieked.

“You danced with Robert Buckwalter the Third! Wait until I tell Mom! You really danced with him.”

“It was a short dance,” Jenny was forced to admit. “The kidnapping sort of got everyone distracted.”

“Kidnapping! Somebody kidnapped him! Why didn’t you say so! Now that’s a newsbreak.”

“No, no, not Robert. It was someone else. He didn’t have anything to do with it. It’s all tied up with some rustling that’s going on.”

“Oh.” Jenny’s sister paused. “Rustling? You mean for cows? You’re sure the kidnappers weren’t really out for him and they just grabbed the wrong person or something. I mean if you were going to kidnap anyone, he’d be the one to pick. He’s got more money than the president of the United States. He certainly has more money than some cow.”

“Yes, I’m sure. He wasn’t the target.”

Jenny sensed someone standing slightly behind her before she heard the man clear his throat. She looked up.

“Make sure she knows I didn’t even know the kidnap victims,” Robert said firmly. Snowflakes were melting on his hair and he still looked as if he’d stepped out of the pages of a catalog. “Make sure she knows the kidnapping had nothing to do with me. It would have happened if I hadn’t been here.”

“That’s what I told her. I said you wouldn’t have even gone with the men if it hadn’t been for the bus. I mean your mother rented it and all.”

“Well, I don’t know about that.” Robert frowned. How is it that he had never noticed Jenny’s eyes turned a snapping black when she was annoyed? Fascinating. He wondered if she was annoyed with her sister or with him. Maybe she thought he should have ridden to the rescue on a horse like the FBI agent instead of worrying about a big old bus. He guessed a bus wasn’t very dashing. If that was it, he needed to explain. “I would like to think I would go to anyone’s aid if they were being kidnapped. It wasn’t just the bus.”

“What’s this about some bus?” Jenny’s sister asked on the phone. “Was it a school bus? Were there kids in danger? That would make a good angle.”

“There is no angle. Robert—I mean, Mr. Buckwalter—was just driving.”

Robert frowned deeper. He wasn’t sure he liked the turn this conversation was taking. Granted, he didn’t want his life splattered all over some tabloid in the morning, but he didn’t know that he cared to have Jenny dismiss his efforts so lightly.

“It wasn’t just easy driving,” Robert finally said. “The gears had been stripped. I had to get everyone back here. It was cold enough out there to freeze to death if we didn’t get back.”

There, that should let her know his actions were important, he thought.

“What’s that?” Jenny’s sister spoke forcefully in Jenny’s ear. “Put the receiver out more. I need to hear. I got the part about the kids in the school bus almost freezing to death. This is great. My boss will love this story.”

“There is no story,” Jenny said firmly.

“But what about the children?”

“There are no children.”

“Well, then, what was the school bus doing? Work with me here, Jenny. It’s not like this won’t hit the local papers anyway. School bus kind of stuff always does. This is practically real news.”

“Listen, to me—there are no children. There was no school bus.”

“Well, then, give me a little something. Right this minute—what is Robert Buckwalter the Third doing?”

“He’s just—” Jenny looked up at Robert. The snow had melted and his hair was wet now. His cheeks were still red and his nose was white. His hands shivered slightly as he held a cup of coffee in them. “He’s just warming up.”

“Ohhh, that’s a good quote. Can I use that? Sources close to the man said that he is warming up and looking to be hot again.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Well, then, can I talk to him? Ask him if I can do an interview.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t—”

“Just ask him. Please.”

“Oh, all right.” Jenny began as she put her hand over the receiver so her sister could not hear the conversation. “I know you won’t want to—that’s why I only said I’d ask. Not that you’d agree.”

Robert watched the blush creep up Jenny’s face again. Her eyes had lightened again until he could see the caramel highlights in them.

“I’ll do it,” Robert said.

“But I haven’t asked—”

“Oh.”

“Not that you might not want to anyway. You might be able to sway the decision on the bachelor list and if that’s what you want—”

“Did she give any hint of that?” Robert’s face came to attention. “That she’d be willing to speak to the editors and plead my case?”

Robert wasn’t sure that Jenny’s sister could do anything to get him off that list, but if she was anything like Jenny he didn’t want to underestimate her.