Sherryl Woods - The Calamity Janes - Gina and Emma

Gina gave him a sharp look. “Was he really?”

He grinned. “Emma was certainly hopeful that I might. In all honesty, I was heading for the store to buy some clothes.”

“You don’t look like a man who wears a lot of jeans,” Emma said. “In fact, if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say you usually wear thousand-dollar suits. I recognize the type. I go up against them in court every day. In fact, again if I were guessing, I’d say you’re either a lawyer or a stockbroker, Mr. O’Donnell. Which is it? Or are my instincts totally wrong?”

Rafe looked to Gina for some sense of what she expected him to do under the circumstances. She sighed.

“Oh, for heaven’s sakes, he’s a lawyer,” she said with no attempt to hide her exasperation. “Now that we know you have razor-sharp instincts, Emma, can we please go get some breakfast? I’m starved.”

“Not until we clear up one more thing,” Emma said, her gaze locked with Rafe’s. “Why are you hassling Gina?”

“Maybe I’m just a suitor who won’t take no for an answer,” he said, enjoying the flash of indignation in Gina’s eyes. Apparently she liked that explanation even less than the truth.

Emma’s gaze turned to Gina. “Is he?”

“He’s the most annoying man I know,” Gina said with heartfelt sincerity. “And that is all I intend to say on the subject.” She latched on to Emma’s arm. “Let’s go.”

This time her friend allowed herself to be led away, but not before pointedly meeting Rafe’s gaze. “I’m keeping an eye on you,” she warned.

Emma and half the rest of the people in Winding River, Rafe thought with resignation. Would a thief inspire that kind of protectiveness and loyalty? He needed to ask more questions about Gina, but doing so would stir up a real hornet’s nest. She might never forgive him for unfairly dragging her friends and family into this, and for reasons he didn’t care to examine too closely, that bothered him way more than it should.

* * *

“So, I was telling Mommy that I think we should live here forever and ever,” Caitlyn told Gina, her eyes shining. “Grandpa has already gotten me my own horse.”

“Grandpa ought to know better,” Emma grumbled under her breath, then smiled at her daughter. “Darling, we live in Denver. You’d miss all your friends if we moved here.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Caitlyn insisted. “I already have a lot of friends here.” Her expression brightened. “And I have cousins here. I don’t have any cousins in Denver.”

“She’s got you there,” Gina said, grinning.

“Oh, stay out of it,” Emma snapped. “I don’t see you moving back to Winding River.”

“You never know,” Gina said. Of course, if Rafe was successful in his attempts to make her part of Bobby’s scam, she might be in jail instead, but it was seeming more and more likely that she was going to have to leave New York once this mess was straightened out. Customers could be fickle. If Café Tuscany’s reputation was tarnished, they would stay away in droves. Any chance she might have of paying off the old debts would vanish.

She sighed, then realized that Emma was staring at her with a shocked expression. “What?” she asked.

“You aren’t seriously considering coming back here to live, are you?” Emma asked. “I thought you had your dream job in your dream city.”

“I do, but things could change.”

“Does this have something to do with Rafe?”

Gina nodded. “Let it alone, though, Emma. You have enough on your plate without me dumping my worries on you.”

“Hey, we’re friends. Friends can always share their troubles with each other.”

“Then why don’t you tell me why you’re wound tighter than a string on Pete Sampras’s tennis racket?”

“Too much work, too little time,” Emma said succinctly.

“Mommy is never, ever home,” Caitlyn said. “She works really, really hard.”

Emma winced at the matter-of-fact assessment by her six-year-old. “It’s going to get better, baby. I promise.”

Gina studied her worriedly. “When? I know you’re thinking about taking on a big case here with Sue Ellen. How much time will you have if you’re commuting between here and Denver?”

“I’ll manage,” Emma said tightly.

“And Caitlyn?” Gina persisted gently. “Will she manage, too?”

“Look, I’m doing the best I can, Gina, okay?” Emma stood up. “I have to get over to the jail. Will you take Caitlyn back to my mom’s?”

“Of course,” Gina said at once. She winked at the little girl. “But only if she’ll go to the toy store with me first. What do you think, Caitlyn? Want to help me pick out some toys?”

Caitlyn bounced up and down on the vinyl seat of the booth excitedly. “Who’re you buying toys for, Aunt Gina? Do you have kids at home?”

“Nope.” She grinned. “I guess if we find something really, really special, I’ll have to give it to you.”

Caitlyn’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Emma shook her head, looking amused. “You’re going to spoil her.”

“That’s what an honorary aunt is supposed to do, right, Caitlyn?”

“Uh-huh,” the little girl said solemnly.

“Okay then, have fun, you two.” Emma kissed Caitlyn on the forehead. “See you later, sweet pea.”

“Bye, Mommy,” Caitlyn replied distractedly. “Aunt Gina, I was thinking. There’s this really, really neat Barbie I’ve been wanting. Do you think maybe the toy store has it?”

“If it doesn’t, we’ll go find ourselves a computer and look for it online.”

Caitlyn bounded out of her seat. “I’m ready. Are you?”

Gina drank her last sip of coffee, then joined the eager child. Truthfully, she was almost as enthusiastic as Caitlyn. Henderson Toys had been one of her favorite places as a child. She would save up her allowance for a whole month, then go into the store with her mother and walk up and down the crowded aisles studying the dolls and the trains and the board games before making her selection.

Sometimes, between the cost of an item and indecision, it was several months before she made a purchase. One memorable year, she bought a miniature stove, in which she could actually bake cookies, albeit very tiny ones. Her excitement over that purchase should probably have been a clue about the direction her life was likely to take.

Back on the street, they ran into Rafe standing outside of Henderson’s, his gaze locked on an elaborate train display in the window. The expression on his face was surprisingly wistful for a man whose every boyhood whim had probably been fulfilled.

Caitlyn slipped up beside him, her gaze every bit as fascinated as his. “It’s a really cool train, isn’t it?”

Surprised, he glanced down at her, then grinned. “It sure is. Do you like trains?”

Caitlyn nodded. “But I like dolls better. Aunt Gina is going to buy me a Barbie if they have the one I want.”

Rafe’s gaze shifted until it met Gina’s reflected in the window. “Is that so?”

“It’s not an expensive toy,” Gina said defensively.

He frowned at her. “Did I suggest it was?”

“No. Never mind. Come on, Caitlyn. Let’s see if they have the doll you want.”

The little girl gazed up at Rafe. “You can come, too, if you want,” she said politely. “I’ll bet they have lots more trains inside.”

“Maybe I will take a look,” Rafe said, ignoring the frown Gina directed at him.

Inside, Nell Henderson rushed out from behind the counter to give Gina a hug. “And this is your family,” she enthused. “How lovely that you’ve brought them in.”

“Actually, this is Emma’s daughter, Caitlyn. You remember Emma, don’t you?”

“Well, of course. The two of you were in here often enough, right along with Cassie, Lauren and Karen.” She beamed at Rafe. “They were some of my best customers, at least until they discovered boys. Then I lost them to the cosmetics counter over at the drugstore.”