Jesse: Merry Christmas, Cowboy. Lynnette Kent

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СКАЧАТЬ one stiff hand. “Cut me off? What does that even mean?”

      “He could refuse to see you again. Refuse to give you a job, or anything else you’re entitled to as his son.”

      “What makes you think I want a job from J. W. Cody? Or anything else, except acknowledgment that he’s my father?”

      “Why would you have accepted this invitation, otherwise?”

      Mark’s cheeks reddened, and after a quick glance at Nicki, he looked at the carpet between the toes of his boots.

      “If you intended to remain independent, then I would think you would have been here on your own, not letting the Codys buy you a fancy room and meals and…whatever.”

      “We thought it would be polite to accept,” Nicki said after a pause. “A gesture of good faith.”

      “But then you involved Mom. And me. That leaves us indebted to a man we’re not at all related to.”

      Mark lifted his head. “The Codys don’t expect to be paid back.”

      “I’m not talking about money. As Nicki just pointed out, there are other mediums of exchange.”

      Her brother looked confused.

      “Hospitality is a gift,” Janie explained. “And it’s one I can’t possibly give back. So now I’m in the Codys’ debt. As are you and Nicki. But at least you could work for him, if you wanted to and he asked. I’ll just be at a permanent disadvantage.”

      After another pause, Mark made a gesture of surrender and sat down on the sofa, bringing Nicki with him. “I still don’t completely understand your point. I think, and Nicki does, too—” his wife nodded when he looked at her “—we think the Codys just want to have the family all together, as they do for every National Finals. If there’s more to it, I’ll deal with that when it comes. But I haven’t by any means decided that I want to be part of the Cody operation. Nicki and I haven’t really had time to talk about it. We were waiting until after the championship.” He curved his arm around Nicki’s waist, and from the gentle motion of his hand along his wife’s hip, Janie could tell that his thoughts had taken a different direction.

      “Fine. Once I’ve unpacked, I’ll apologize to Jesse, and I’ll try to keep my suspicions to myself. See you guys later.” No one, she noticed, was asking her to stay and keep them company. She didn’t turn around to discover why no one answered.

      In the bedroom on the other side of her mother’s, she spent some time hanging up the clothes that would wrinkle, lining up the three pairs of boots she’d brought and laying out her makeup in an orderly arrangement. She didn’t usually wear makeup, and today she could see why. Nobody appeared to have noticed that she looked any different at all.

      Of course, she’d destroyed any favorable impression Jesse might possibly have by attacking his motives and those of his family. “Think before you speak,” her mother used to say when Janie’s big mouth got her in trouble at school. A lesson she clearly had yet to learn.

      She touched up her mascara, shadow and powder anyway, then wandered across the room to stand at the window, gazing out over a psychedelic landscape of hotels, casinos, marriage chapels and traffic. She could just see the ridge of black mountains at the edge of the desert where a pink-and-gold sky anticipated the sunset. Her first night in Las Vegas, and she had no idea where to go or what to do.

      Well, except find Jesse and apologize.

      She knocked loudly on the door of the Cody suite, then waited, rubbing her thumbs over her fingertips in the nervous habit she’d never managed to conquer.

      Jesse didn’t answer the door. He might have gone out again. Maybe he’d planned dinner with friends, people who didn’t accuse him of being the bad guy. He might have set up a date with a woman who knew how to keep her mouth shut.

      Janie debated knocking again, but instead turned to go back to her room. She would check in on her mom, maybe get something to eat downstairs, then—

      “Janie?”

      She swung around with a gasp. Jesse stood in the open door, shirttail half in, half out, rubbing the top of his head.

      “You were asleep.” She stated the obvious. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

      “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He glanced at his watch. “Almost five o’clock. What’s going on?”

      She swallowed. “I, um, wanted to talk to you.”

      He tilted his head to the side and just looked at her for a few seconds. Then he took a deep breath and stepped back. “Come on in.”

      The huge suite she entered reminded Janie of the Cody homestead, with a living room featuring several different seating areas, a long dining table and chairs plus a big flat screen TV and music system.

      “This is nice,” she said, walking across the room to look out the windows, which provided a view to the east. “I can see why your parents feel comfortable here.”

      “Yeah, we’ve been in this same room at the Finals as long as I can remember. What did you want to talk about?”

      Facing him, she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. “Well, obviously, I owe you an apology.”

      He shrugged one shoulder. “Not ‘obviously.’”

      Janie nodded. “Oh, yes. The kindest thing you could say was that I had to let off some steam, after the trip with Mom.”

      A half grin curved his lips. “I can say that.”

      “But whatever concerns I might have about your dad, I don’t have any reason to make accusations that include you, Jesse. I’m sorry I blew up like that. You’ve been a real help today, and I’m grateful.”

      “Okay, then.” He came close enough to put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it anymore. I know J.W. isn’t an easy man to trust, especially for your family.”

      “But you are.” She put her hand over his fingers as they rested against her body. “I’ve always trusted you.”

      Time stopped. Jesse’s eyes widened as he looked down at her. A strange fluttering started up behind Janie’s ribs as she focused on the weight and heat of his hand, the feel of his skin against her palm. Somebody took in a quick breath.

      And then he backed away, letting his hand fall to his side. “So, what are your plans for your first night in Vegas? Gambling? Shopping? A show?”

      Janie shrugged both shoulders, disappointed. “I don’t have a clue. I’ll take any recommendation you’d like to offer.”

      “What are Mark and Nicki doing?”

      “Um, they might be staying in for the evening.” She felt her cheeks heat up as she said it.

      Jesse’s flush showed that he took her meaning. “All these newlyweds are a pain in the butt for us single folks. Well, if you want to see a show, there’s—”

      She shook her head. “I’m not really СКАЧАТЬ