Jenny Read Free Page A

her hope-filled gaze to her aunt's. "I'm
going to go back East to school."
    Evelyn nodded. "Then we shall leave town on the
next train heading east. There's no reason why you
should stay here and suffer the gossip that's bound to
come. You pack. I'll find your father and tell him
what our plans are."
    Cole was drunk. There was no denying it, and,
frankly, he didn't care. After leaving Jenny, he'd
headed straight to the High Time Saloon, and he'd
been sitting there drinking at the back table ever
since.
    "Hey, big guy, you ready for some fun now?"
Suzie asked as she sashayed up to his table.
    She had been watching Cole all night, waiting for the right moment to approach him. She'd heard the
talk at the bar about what had happened with Jenny
and knew he could use some soothing-and she was
more than willing to do it. Cole Randall was one hell
of a man-sexy, rich, and handsome as all get out.
She thought Jenny Sullivan was a stupid fool to have
passed up the chance to marry a man like Cole. She
would have married him in a minute not that a girl
like her would ever have a chance to marry a man
like him.

    "No." Cole's answer was sharp as he looked up
from where he'd been seriously contemplating the
whiskey in his glass. There was only one woman he
wanted, and she wasn't Suzie.
    "Well, you just yell if you change your mind,"
Suzie said seductively as she moved sinuously away.
She was certain she could have shown Cole a good
time. She could have helped him forget, if only for a
little while, but she couldn't force him to come upstairs with her. "I'll be waiting."
    Cole gave a disgusted grunt and took another
healthy swallow of the potent liquor. This was supposed to have been his wedding night! He'd been
waiting for tonight, excited by the prospect of finally
getting to make love to Jenny. It felt as if he had
loved her forever, and yet he'd held his passion for
her in check. He'd controlled his desire, allowing
himself only a few chaste, stolen kisses, when all he'd
really wanted to do was make mad, passionate love
to her. He'd been eagerly anticipating this night the night he would finally make her his. Now the only
consolation he had was in this whiskey bottle. All he
wanted to do was drink himself to oblivion.

    Damn her!
    Cole didn't understand how Jenny could have done
this to him-to them. He had thought they'd loved
each other-cared about each other. Certainly, he
loved her. He'd wanted to spend the rest of his life
taking care of her, having children together, building
a Randall empire on the western slope of the Rockies,
but she'd walked away from him with only an "I'm
sorry."
    He snarled a vile oath and lifted the glass to his
lips.
    "You've had about enough there, don't you think,
cowboy?" Fernada said as she came to sit down at
his table. She all but ran the High Time and was beloved by those who knew her. She was a gentle, caring spirit who took care of her girls and her
customers.
    Cole slid his gaze toward Fernada, but even as
drunk as he was, the fury he felt was still etched in
his expression. "I don't know if there's enough liquor
in this place to satisfy me tonight, Fernada."
    She had heard what had happened at his wedding
and knew he could use some real kindness right now.
"Getting falling-down drunk isn't going to help anything, but talking about what's bothering you might."
    He gave her a lopsided grin. "I already tried talking."

    "You did?"
    Cole nodded. "I went to the hotel to talk to Jenny,
but it was no use."
    "What do you mean?" Fernada frowned.
    "She doesn't want to marry me."
    She shook her head in confusion. "You're a man
in a million, Cole Randall. A woman would have to
be crazy not to want to marry you."
    11 'Crazy Jenny' -I like the sound of that." His
words were sarcastic and slightly slurred.
    "What did she say when you went to see her?
Maybe she was just having wedding jitters. Maybe
she'll have second thoughts and come around."
    "I don't