CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

C AIN HADN'T INTENDED TO MAKE LOVE TO J ENNY THAT NIGHT . S HE was battered and bruised and exhausted. But when they'd climbed into bed, she had turned to him, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him, not a sweet, goodnight kiss, but a deep, fiery kiss that made him hard.

After all that had happened, she needed him, he realized. As much as he always needed her.

He had taken her gently, let her set the pace. He was in love with her. It might have taken him a while to figure that out, but he knew it now, deep in his bones.

And Jenny loved him. He had never met a woman he trusted more, never met a woman he respected more, and he intended to keep her.

They slept late that morning, made love again before they dressed and walked down to the Copper Star. Ryder Vance was in jail, his bail denied. Bart Harwell was in the hospital, chained to the bed, on his way to prison as soon as he was well enough to travel.

Cain was grateful to have his own problems wrapped up, but there was still something going on at the Copper Star. Will Price was going to be all right, but he was in no shape to act as Jenny's protector. That left Cain, and he intended to be sure this time she was safe.

He was seated at one of the barroom tables when he looked up to see Jenny getting ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice a little harsher than he'd intended. "I thought we agreed you'd stay close until we figured out what's going on here."

"I was only going to the library. I just wanted to check one more thing before Cleo and I made a plan."

"If I recall correctly, the last time you headed off to the library, Will was shot in the back and you were abducted."

Jenny's cheeks flushed. "That was different. Those men were after you, not me."

"A fine line of distinction. You want to go to the library? Fine, let's go." Since he was no longer a target, he didn't mind the walk. The day was overcast, a chilly wind racing up from the flat desert lands below the mountain.

The librarian, Evelyn Dunning, was at the front desk when they walked inside.

"Maybe Evelyn can help speed this up," Jenny said.

"I'll wait right here." He took a seat at one of the tables while Jenny spoke to the librarian at the counter. He had yet to have the conversation with Jenny he'd been wanting to have.

He wished he had time to make a trip to Scottsdale, pick out an engagement ring. Then again, he had no idea what Jenny would say when he broached the subject of marriage. Loving someone and becoming that person's wife were two very different things. Jenny Spencer was extremely independent, and Cain was demanding and used to people doing whatever he told them. Not an easy man to love.

Cain shoved the thought away and pulled out his cell phone to check his email, but seconds later, he was back to thinking about Jenny.

He'd take her somewhere nice for dinner. Or maybe they would drive up to Sedona, spend the night. There were five-star hotels and gourmet restaurants in Sedona, and the town was only forty-five minutes away. It occurred to him there were first-class jewelry stores in Sedona. Surely, he could find a nice diamond for Jenny.

If she said yes.

Cain straightened in his chair. If he wanted something, he could be damned determined, he reminded himself, and Cain wanted Jenny. He wasn't about to let her say no.

He was smiling, his mind going over his plan, when Jenny walked up beside him.

"You find what you were looking for?" he asked, forcing himself to focus on the current situation.

"I did. It was even more interesting than I thought. Evelyn made me copies of the articles. Let's go back to the hotel, and I'll tell you all about it."

And maybe they would get the chance to talk about that trip to Sedona.

* * *

Jenny walked through the swinging doors to find her brother pacing impatiently in the saloon, waiting for her. Behind him, a few feet away, Summer sat on a barstool, sipping a Diet Coke.

She slipped off the stool and hurried over, gave Jenny a fierce, sisterly hug. "Everyone knows about the kidnapping. I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm okay." She hugged Summer again. "I'm just glad Cain and Nick found me before it was too late."

At one time or another since she'd arrived at the Copper Star, half the town had come in to see her. They all wanted to express their concern over her abduction and tell her how thankful they were that she was all right.

Her brother didn't bother to hug her, just strode up to Cain and got right in his face.

"I'm not having any more of this, Barrett. Everything that's happened to Jenny has been your fault. You're just using her, and everyone knows it. I want you out of her life once and for all."

"Dylan! What on earth is wrong with you?"

Cain didn't budge. "You realize you're insulting your sister. Obviously, my opinion of Jenny is much higher than yours. Your sister is no fool. If I was using her, she would have ended our relationship a long time ago. You're her brother, but I won't tolerate your attitude. Jenny doesn't deserve it."

Dylan just stared.

Jenny tried to get between them. "Dylan, for heaven's sake, this is none of your business."

Her brother's look turned hard. "You were kidnapped! You could have been killed! You know Barrett's reputation. You're smart enough to know what he wants from you!"

Cain eased Jenny out of the way and moved even closer to Dylan, forcing him back a step. Cain's jaw looked as hard as steel.

"For your information, Dylan, I'm in love with your sister, and I'm going to ask her to marry me. I have no idea what her answer will be. Whatever it is, Jenny's right—it's none of your business."

Dylan flashed a surprised look at Jenny, then glanced back at Cain. His dark frown relaxed. Little by little, a wide grin spread over his face.

"Sorry. I guess I can be a little overprotective when it comes to my little sister."

The tension in Cain's powerful shoulders eased. He smiled. "That's a good thing, I guess. As long as you remember we both love her."

Dylan's smile broadened. He stuck out his hand. "I hope she says yes."

Cain gripped his hand. "So do I."

Jenny felt a stinging behind her eyes.

"I'm hoping those are happy tears, or I'm in big trouble," Cain said.

Jenny turned and went into his arms. "I love you so much."

Cain kissed her. "I refuse to ask you in here. We're going somewhere romantic. I was thinking Sedona. Maybe we could leave tomorrow, spend the night, maybe two."

Jenny just nodded. She wanted to say yes right then and there, but she could see Cain wanted to do it right, do it his way.

Inwardly, she grinned. Nothing new there.

"Sedona sounds perfect," she said.

It was an hour before Dylan and Summer slipped away. They would be spending the night in a room upstairs in the old wing. Dylan always stayed at the hotel whenever he was in town. Lately, he'd been showing up more and more often.

Jenny thought of Summer and smiled.

With the cold weather moving in, there were plenty of rooms. Jenny was still not certain what was happening in the new section, so she'd kept those rooms unrented.

She needed to talk to Cleo—and soon.

* * *

The afternoon was sliding into dusk by the time there was a lull in business and Jenny sank into a chair next to Cain, where he sat behind his laptop at one of the tables.

"You were going to tell me what you found out at the library," Cain said, closing the computer down.

"It's about this article I read." She went on to tell him about the woman who had been staying upstairs at the hotel. "It happened in March of 1921, right here in the saloon, which was then a café."

She told Cain how the woman had been so jealous of her husband that she had come down to the café during breakfast and, believing her husband was having an affair with the town's pretty schoolteacher, threw carbolic acid into the teacher's face.

"She was insanely jealous," Jenny said. "Apparently, she had a history of violence even before the acid incident. Her husband was a wealthy, powerful man in Jerome, so she kept getting away with the things she did."

Jenny looked at Cain. "Today's the first time I've had a chance to read the whole story."

"I'm listening."

"According to the internet article, the woman was beautiful and desirable, able to wrap men around her finger. Even the governor was charmed by her. In May, she was arrested for the assault and put in jail. In June, on her birthday, the governor sent flowers and a birthday cake to her in prison. At the end of August, she got out on parole."

"Must have been some woman."

"More like a devious, jealous, half-crazy woman. After she died in an asylum in L.A., her ghost was supposedly seen walking the halls upstairs in the hotel."

Cain just smiled.

Jenny smiled back. "Who knows, right? But the thing I found most interesting was her name."

"Which was?"

"Anna Hopkins."

One of Cain's dark eyebrows went up. "I doubt Anna Hopkins and Anna Hobbs are related."

"Probably not. Have you seen Anna lately?"

Cain frowned. "She stopped by the Grandview Wednesday morning on her way back to Scottsdale. She said she'd spent the night with her girlfriend and was just heading home."

"You didn't mention it."

"No. Anna's not one of your favorite people, and I didn't want to upset you. For the record, she's not one of my favorites, either. I told her I was busy, then headed down to meet Max and his crew at your place."

"I trust you, Cain—that isn't it. The thing is, Anna Hobbs is obsessed with you. The same way Anna Hopkins was obsessed with her husband back in the twenties. It made me wonder if there was a chance Anna could have something to do with what's been happening at the Star."

"Wait . . . what?"

"Maybe Anna thinks that if she could get me out of the picture—"

"I haven't encouraged Anna. I've told her we were through a dozen times."

"I'm not sure Anna believes it. I'm just wondering how far she would go to get what she wants."

His eyes darkened. "Which you think is me."

"Maybe."

Long seconds passed as Cain considered her words. "She'd have to have help. Someone on the inside."

"I know."

"And she'd need a professional to install the right equipment to create the illusions upstairs."

Jenny made no reply. She could see Cain's mind sorting through possibilities.

"Who's bartending tonight?" he asked.

"Troy should be here any minute to take over for Barb. He's working the night shift and closing up."

Cain shoved to his feet. "Which leaves us free to head back to the Grandview. I've got some calls I need to make."

Jenny rose beside him. "Including Nick Faraday?"

"He's my first call, but he won't be my last. Let's go."