Chapter Twenty-four
The Women’s Solidarity meetings were usually well attended, but were by no means crowded. Tonight, however, proved to be the exception. As Lyle drove his carriage up before the meeting hall, he was surprised by the number of people he saw going inside.
“It looks like you are a most popular young man, Roderick,” Lyle told him, pleased with the turnout. He had feared that no one would care, but it looked as if the ladies had done a fine job of stirring up interest in the lecture.
Roderick was quite pleased. “I’m glad. It can be most disconcerting to speak at a function when the attendees have no interest in one’s topic.”
Lyle brought the carriage to a stop and waited as everyone climbed down.
“I’ll find a place to leave the carriage, and I’ll be back. Save a seat for me, Adele.”
“Yes, dear.”
“I have to show Roderick where to go, Mother. Can you take Ellen with you?”
“Of course, dear. Shall I save you a seat, too?”
“I don’t think it’s necessary. I’m not sure if they’ll need me to help with any of the arrangements or not.”
“We’ll see you after Roderick’s speech then.”
Adele led Ellen off as Julie and Roderick made their way to the front of the hall to meet with Kelly Nease, the president of the group.
“Kelly, I’d like you to meet Roderick Prescott,” Julie said. “Roderick, this is Kelly Nease. She’s the president of the Women’s Solidarity.”
Dark-haired, green-eyed Kelly was the type of woman who never met a stranger. She had a happy, outgoing personality and was at ease with almost everyone, but one look at the sophisticated, cosmopolitan Roderick left her momentarily speechless. She felt a bit like a young girl at her first dance.
“Why, hello, Mr. Prescott,” Kelly finally managed with a nervous half smile.
“Hello, Mrs. Nease. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for inviting me here tonight.”
“It’s our pleasure, believe me,” she returned. “We’ll be ready to start in about five minutes. Why don’t you have a seat and relax here by the podium?”
“Thanks. I’ll do that.”
“Julie, do you want to sit up here with him?” Kelly asked.
“There’s no need. I’ll sit in the audience.” She looked at Roderick and smiled. “I’m looking forward to hearing you.”
He smiled in return as Kelly showed him to his chair.
Julie made her way toward the entrance of the hall, greeting people she knew as she went. She was truly surprised and delighted by the number of townsfolk showing up tonight, and she hoped there was enough seating for everyone. She paused by the door to watch all that was transpiring and went still when she heard a voice behind her.
“Evening, Julie,” Steve said as he entered the hall and found her standing right there before him. He had hoped to see her tonight, but had had no idea that she would be the first person he met. He thought she looked as lovely as ever.
A shiver went down Julie’s spine at the deep sound of his voice.
“Why, Steve,” she responded, turning to face him. “I didn’t know you’d be coming to hear Roderick tonight.”
“I heard it was the place to be, so I thought I’d better show up.” He smiled at her.
Julie felt her heart flutter at his smile. He was such a serious man, and it was very rare to see him display any emotion at all. She swallowed nervously, but could think of nothing particularly witty to say to him—especially not after what she’d realized while she’d been kissing Roderick last night.
“I see a couple of empty chairs over there.” Steve pointed out the seats to her. “Would you care to sit with me, or are you expected to join someone?”
“No.”
At her refusal, Steve thought she meant she didn’t want to sit with him. For just an instant his disappointment showed in his expression. He quickly masked it, knowing he should have expected as much. He was no competition for Roderick. “Well, it was good to see to you—”
“No, Steve! I didn’t mean that I don’t want to sit with you,” she quickly amended, touching his arm to stop him when he would have turned away. “I meant no—as in no one is expecting me.”
“Oh.” Steve really smiled at her then.
Julie had thought he was handsome before, but now she had to admit she’d never seen a better-looking man. His genuine smile transformed him. No longer did he seem forbidding and withdrawn. She stared up at him, amazed at the difference in him.
“Shall we sit down?” he asked.
“Oh, yes.” Julie actually found herself blushing a bit, and she ducked her head as Steve ushered her to the two empty seats.
They settled in together to listen to Roderick.
Tessa arrived at the meeting with her mother, Sludge, Henry, and Jim. She had hoped that Jared would be able to attend with them, but she hadn’t heard from him all day. She told herself that he must have been very busy, but it didn’t lessen her disappointment. Tessa had convinced herself that she was looking forward to Roderick’s readings. True, she was curious to see what kind of works he’d written, but she really was thinking of Jared and wondering how long it would be before she’d see him again.
* * *
“Good evening, everyone,” Kelly Nease said loudly as she stood at the podium in the front of the room.
The crowd gathered there had been noisy in anticipation of the event to come, but when Kelly spoke they all quieted. They knew that if she had something to say, it was important.
“I’d like to welcome everyone and thank you for coming this evening. You’re in for a treat tonight. We are honored to have as our guest speaker noted university professor and author Roderick Prescott. He will be reading from his own published works. Professor Prescott asks that if you have any questions, please do not interrupt him, but hold them until the end, at which time he will be more than happy to entertain any questions you might have,” Kelly explained. Her excitement at having such a prestigious visitor in their midst was obvious. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Professor Prescott.”
Kelly turned toward Roderick and began to applaud, and the audience followed suit.
Roderick rose and went to stand at the podium. He was so handsome and debonair that all the women were already impressed with him. The females looked on, enraptured, as he began to read.
Jared couldn’t believe how badly his luck had been going the last few days. Every time he’d been about to get the chance to spend some time with Tessa, something had happened. Now here he was stuck at the jail when all he had wanted to do was accompany Tessa to the lecture.
After his talk with Trace the night before, Jared had been ready to propose. He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to go about it yet. Just coming out and asking her seemed the simplest way, but he didn’t want to blurt out his proposal in front of her mother, Sludge, Henry, and Jim—not to mention the Emersons, too. He wanted the moment to be special, private, something she would remember forever.
But fate kept interfering with his plans. Things had been peaceful most of the day; then Darren and Curt Moore had come into town on ranch business and had decided it was their night to stir things up. They were now cooling their heels and sobering up, safely locked in a cell in back.
It was Nathan’s night off, and Deputy Tom Colvin had come in to work with Jared. Tom had gone to check around town and wouldn’t be back for a time. So Jared was forced to sit and wait and hope that he would have the opportunity to see Tessa for at least a little while sometime tonight.
His eagerness to get out of the office and go to the lecture surprised Jared. He truly loved his job, but tonight sitting there at his desk was reminding him of her visit and the kisses they’d shared in the back.
Disturbing the peace.
Trespassing.
Indecent exposure.
Jared grinned and shook his head slightly. If it wasn’t for the Moore boys locked up in back, he might have considered arresting Tessa tonight, just to have her to himself for a while. The way things were working out, it seemed that course of action might be his only hope.
Jared chuckled to himself as he imagined the public outcry that would erupt if he arrested Durango’s “angel,” not to mention the headline Trace and Elise might come up with to go with the story. He supposed he’d better think of another way to get Tessa alone—although he had enjoyed helping her “disturb the peace.”
“All’s quiet,” Tom Colvin announced as he returned to the office a short time later.
Jared was delighted to hear his news. “I like hearing that. Think you can handle things here for the rest of the night?”
“No problem,” Tom assured him.
“The Moore boys aren’t saying much in back. I don’t think they’ll give you any trouble.”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night.” Jared tried not to look as if he was in too much of a hurry as he left the office.
Jared went straight to the meeting hall. The lecture had already begun, and he didn’t know if he’d be able to get close to Tessa or not. He was surprised by the large number of people in attendance. He’d known more people than usual were going to show up to hear Roderick’s readings, but he’d had no idea this many would turn out.
Making his way to the door, Jared stood there silently and listened to Roderick as he read from his books at the podium. He let his gaze sweep the room and caught sight of Tessa sitting with her mother and the others from the boardinghouse on the far side. There were no empty seats near her, so he realized he was going to have to wait until the end of the lecture to speak with her.
“Jared!” Melissa said in an excited whisper. She had seen him come to the doorway and had immediately jumped up to go to him. “I have an empty seat right by me.”
Melissa brazenly took Jared’s arm before he could say a word and drew him along with her.
Jared was trapped. There was no way to resist her without making a scene, so he was forced to accompany her.
At that moment Tessa noticed the movement by the doorway and looked up. It shocked her to see Jared entering the hall and making his way to the back of the room with Melissa clinging to his arm. Melissa! She could see the way the other woman was gazing up at him, and she felt the sting of jealousy that he was with her tonight.
Tessa’s mind began to wander, and she remembered that the night she’d gone to the jail, Melissa had been there right before her. Now here Jared was with Melissa again. She didn’t think he cared for the girl, but then why was he sitting with her? Had he kissed her at the jail, too? Disturbed by the images that thought brought to mind, Tessa turned her attention back to Roderick, but she found she couldn’t concentrate at all.
Roderick read for over an hour, during which time several men in the back of the audience fell asleep. He didn’t notice, he was caught up in the brilliance of his own work.
Julie noticed the sleeping men and was very glad they didn’t snore. Julie knew Roderick certainly sounded intelligent, but most of the townsfolk didn’t really care a whole lot about the obscure, esoteric ideas he was expounding on. They were mainly simple folk who were concerned with day-to-day living and making ends meet. She could tell that a large majority of the attendees had grown restless after the first half hour.
As far as deep thoughts went, Julie found herself ignoring Roderick as she pondered the mysterious reality of time. Why was it that there were moments in life when time passed very quickly, and then there were moments when it seemed to move so incredibly slowly? She was certain that the minutes were seeming like hours to everyone but her there at the lecture hall.
Here she was, sitting with Steve at her side, and she didn’t want the speech to end. She was enjoying having Steve so near. Their chairs were close together, and so the hard strength of his thigh was pressed to hers. Roderick had worn a heavy cologne this evening that had nearly gagged her when he’d sat next to her in the carriage on the ride over. Steve, however, had only a clean, manly scent about him, and it was very refreshing—and, she had to admit, very sensual. Julie knew that when Roderick was finished speaking, she and Steve would part, but she wanted to enjoy every minute of having him close while she could.
“In closing, I’d like to thank the Women’s Solidarity so much for inviting me here tonight,” Roderick finally said.
Applause sounded, not raucous, as it would have been at a saloon after a performance by dancing girls, but polite and energetic. Roderick was beaming, convinced that he’d impressed everyone with his brilliant writings and deep thoughts. He held court as reporters from the newspaper hurried to the front to talk with him, and numerous females closed in, wanting to speak with him privately.
Those seated all rose and started to exit the hall. Tessa had been determined to be one of the first out the doors, and she made it. She’d already told her mother that she was going to leave as quickly as she could, so Maggie wasn’t surprised.
Jared found himself trapped with Melissa. It took him a good ten minutes to extricate himself from her possessive grip, and by then Tessa had already disappeared. Puzzled by her sudden departure, he left the hall and went in search of her.
Lyle, Adele, and Ellen sought Julie out as soon as Roderick had finished his readings.
“He’s a very accomplished young man,” Lyle said, impressed by Roderick’s works. “I’m sure your brother has a great future in academia.”
“He does love it so,” Ellen told them. She turned her attention to Steve, thrilled to see him again. “What did you think?”
Steve had been so preoccupied with Julie’s presence beside him that he’d paid scant attention to Roderick’s ramblings. All of his attention had been on Julie and how right it felt to have her with him. He searched for a good answer for Ellen. “Your brother is quite a speaker.”
“Did you enjoy the presentation?” Ellen pressed.
“Every minute,” Steve answered honestly—and he had enjoyed every minute of it, because Julie had been by his side.
Ellen beamed at his response. She knew Steve wasn’t just any run-of-the-mill gunslinger. He was an intelligent man. She wondered, if she told her brother Steve’s opinion of him, whether Roderick would think any better of him. It was certainly worth a try.
“Let’s go congratulate him, shall we?” Adele suggested.
Steve started to withdraw and go his own way, but Julie touched his arm.
“You’ll come with us, won’t you?” she invited.
“I won’t be intruding?” He glanced toward the front of the room, where Roderick was surrounded by legions of women vying for his attention.
“Not at all,” she answered, not wanting him to go.
They made their way toward Roderick.
“Well done, Roderick,” Lyle told him.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Will you be ready to leave in a few minutes?”
“Actually, you might as well go on. A Mr. Jackson from the Weekly Star wants to interview me for his next edition, so I need to stay here awhile longer, and Ellen can stay with me.”
“You’ll be all right getting back to your hotel?”
“We’ll be fine. Thanks so much for picking us up tonight.”
“We’ll plan on seeing you sometime tomorrow then,” Lyle said.
“That will be fine,” Roderick answered, dismissing them as he turned his attention back to the women who were still gathered around him. He glanced toward Julie, expecting to find her looking quite disappointed, and was a bit shocked when he saw that she was walking away with Steve. He had expected that she would wait for him to do the interview. He almost called out to her, but was interrupted by another lady’s question and could do nothing but let her leave.
As the Stevens family made their way toward the door, Lyle was stopped by a business acquaintance who invited him to a late dinner.
“Julie? Your father and I are going to dine with the Duttons. Would you care to join us?”
“No, I think I’ll go on home, Mother.”
“Let me speak to your father. We can drop you there on the way.”
“Mrs. Stevens, there’s no need. I’ll be glad to walk Julie home,” Steve said.
“Are you sure?” Julie looked up at him, a bit surprised, and very pleased, by his offer.
He nodded and waited to hear what her mother had to say.
Adele had had nothing but high regard for Steve since the day of the fire. “Why, thank you, Steve. That’s very thoughtful of you. I don’t imagine we’ll be out very late, Julie, so we’ll see you when we get home.”
Adele moved off to join her husband and the Duttons, leaving Julie and Steve to their own devices.