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It was only then, stepping back to allow her family more access to her brother, that she noticed Scotty was not alone. Lingering in the background behind her brother, his hip leaned negligently against the kitchen counter, his black Diamond Jim Stetson curled in his hand, was another man, a stranger to Jenn.
He was tall, six two maybe, with broad shoulders and strong arms, but with the long, wiry frame of a man who spent most of his time in the saddle. His deep, curly black hair was a little long, as if he’d missed his last haircut, and was ruffled from the removal from his hat. He was purposefully hanging back, but his posture was relaxed and his face friendly and open. Jenn guessed the cowboy could be called handsome, in a rugged sort of way.
If one were attracted to that sort of man, which Jenn definitely wasn’t.
He’d obviously come in with her brother, though he looked to be several years older than Scotty—close to Jenn’s own age, she guessed.
He didn’t look uncomfortable at being overlooked. His dark eyes, a color which floated somewhere between blue and black, were brimming with amusement and understanding. His friend was home with family, who clearly adored him. The stranger appeared to be content to wait his turn.
When the man realized Jenn was staring at him, he smiled and winked at her. Flushing, she turned her gaze away and elbowed Auntie Myra, gesturing toward the unannounced guest, knowing her aunt would jump at the chance to welcome someone new to their gathering, especially a handsome young man.
“Why, Scotty,” Auntie Myra exclaimed, “you haven’t introduced your guest.”
Scotty laughed from his belly and gestured the stranger forward, slapping him on the back affectionately. “Sorry. I was so caught up in seeing you all I almost forgot about him.”
“Well, thanks,” the stranger replied, punching Scotty’s arm hard enough to send the boy off balance and sprawling into other family members.
“I can introduce myself,” the man said, his voice deep, yet surprisingly soft-spoken, given his size. He had the slightest bit of a drawl, though not Texan nor Southern. Jenn couldn’t place it.
She was pondering this when his next words blasted over her with the force of a hurricane.
“Glad to meet ya’ll. My name’s Johnny. Johnny Barnes.”
Dead silence.
Even loquacious Auntie Myra was left speechless in the wake of Johnny’s declaration.
Jenn’s breath left her body as if she’d been punched in the gut. And it didn’t return. She wasn’t even sure her heart was beating.
Johnny?
Scotty brings a wrangler from the depths of Wyoming and his name is Johnny?
It figured. It just figured. Now she was going to have to talk her way out of this one, too, because she knew perfectly well her dear family was never going to leave it alone.
So, what if there were a million Johnnys in the world? They were still going to ask if he was the one, Jenn just knew it. And the expressions on her family’s faces only served to confirm her fears. Especially Auntie Myra, who looked as if she was preparing to pounce on the poor cowboy.
Scotty looked around, obviously confused by his family’s odd behavior. Everyone else’s gaze was on Jenn. No one was welcoming Scotty’s new friend to the household, as her younger brother had clearly expected.
“Johnny wrangles with me. I thought it would be okay to bring him along,” Scotty said, hesitantly.
Granddad was the first to recover, always the most sensible of the lot of them. “Of course he’s welcome. Johnny, glad to meet you.” Granddad thrust out his hand for a hearty handshake.
Auntie Myra stepped forward and hugged the man. Johnny returned the unexpected embrace awkwardly, and Jenn smiled despite herself. Obviously, Johnny was not prepared for Scotty’s affectionate family, as he accepted hug after hug from the women and friendly, enthusiastic handshakes from the men.
Only Jenn remained where she was, caught in a trap of her own making. She couldn’t approach the man and greet him. Stranger or friend, her family would be watching her with hawkeyes.
It took a moment, but her brain slowly started functioning again.
What did she have to worry about? This was Scotty’s friend, fresh from sprawling Wyoming ranch land. Surely her family would realize he couldn’t possibly be her Johnny.
There would only be a moment of confusion before things were set to right and she could go back to enjoying the reunion.
“So,” asked Auntie Myra in a casual tone that belied her open, wide-eyed curiosity, “Are you the Johnny we’ve heard about?”
Jenn cringed inwardly, though she reminded herself again and again there was no real danger in him answering that question. The man wouldn’t have the slightest notion of what Auntie Myra was really asking, and would, naturally, answer to the negative.
End of subject.
Johnny definitely looked stunned as he stared from face to face. But after a moment he quirked his lips, shrugged, and announced, “Guess I’ve been found out. Yes, ma’am. That would be me.”
Jenn felt her legs buckle underneath her and moved quickly to the sofa and sat before she fell down. She had no idea why the unknown cowboy had answered the way he had, but now she—and he, for that matter—had, as the old saying went, a lot of ’splaining to do.
She was suddenly furious at the gall of the cowboy. Never mind that this whole set up was her doing in the first place.
How could he say he was the Johnny? There was no Johnny! What kind of a game was he playing?
Everyone rushed at him at once, deluging him with questions.
When had he met Jenn?
How long had they been together?
And how long had it been since they’d seen each other last, what with him wrangling and all?
Johnny sent a panicked glance at Scotty, but his friend just grinned and shrugged. Obviously the boy would be no help in sorting this out.
Who was Jenn? What were these nutty people talking about?
Suddenly he spied the young woman seated on the sofa, the pretty woman who’d been the first to notice him when he and Scotty first arrived. She was also, he’d noted, the only one of her spirited family who’d held back in the initial greeting, not offering him a welcome, much less a hug. She must be the sister Scotty had mentioned.
She now looked a little woozy. Her eyes looked glazed over and she was gripping the arm of the sofa like a lifeline. He guessed her to be around his age—twenty-five or twenty-six at most. She had gorgeous, short golden curls, a pretty, perky little nose, intelligent blue eyes, and a face as red as a Macintosh apple.
Obviously, she was the woman they were all talking about. What he didn’t know was what they were talking about.
He’d thought Scotty’s family had recognized him from a magazine cover or a television news story, but apparently that was not the case. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or alarmed.
He had to figure out what was going on, and fast. He thrust his fingers through his hair and tapped his Stetson against his thigh. If these people didn’t know who he really was—and they clearly didn’t—he didn’t want to tip off his own hand.
He hesitated in revealing his true identity—just yet. Not to this happy, real family who apparently didn’t keep up with national news all that well.
But he still didn’t know who they thought he was. He had to figure out some way to gain the information he needed without giving himself away.
And then he realized the answer to his problem, that other way, was staring straight back at him, half glaring, half beckoning, as if she expected him to say something that would clear up everything. To say that he was in no way connected with her, apparently.
And he supposed he would…in time. At the moment, he just wanted to hear what was invariably going to be a highly amusing story, especially if it came from the mouth of the lovely woman on the sofa.
He grinned widely as he looked away from Jenn and tipped his head toward her aunt, his fingers tugging at the imaginary brim of his hat. Cowboy style, he thought, his smile growing even bigger. “I’m mighty pleased to meet you all,” he said, giving a show at his most charming drawl. “But I wonder if I might have a moment alone with—uh,—Jenn?”
He couldn’t remember everyone’s names in the enthusiastic jumble of introductions, but Jenn’s name was sealed firmly in his mind.
“Why, of course,” answered a fine-looking middle-age woman who could only be Scotty and Jenn’s mother. She had the same golden curls—albeit with a bit of white—and the same vibrant blue eyes as her daughter. “You two probably haven’t seen each other in ages.”
Which was the understatement of the century, Johnny thought, his lips twitching with amusement.
“We’ll all retire to the kitchen to get sandwiches prepared for everyone,” Jenn’s grandmother suggested, “and give you two a little privacy.”
Jenn was on her feet in an instant. “I don’t think—” She stopped, looking around with wide eyes. A deer caught in the headlights, Johnny thought. She looked as if she were about to be run over by a blaring semi truck.
Johnny still had absolutely no idea what was going on, but it had to be one good story. He probably would have laughed out loud if the poor young woman by the sofa didn’t look so pitifully miserable.
He hadn’t felt like laughing—really laughing—in a very long time, and he savored the feeling. He’d let his work get the best of him, stealing away his teenage years, not to mention the first half of his twenties. Taking this summer off was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Especially now, when he’d somehow landed in the midst of a happy, if chaotic, family, and a mystery he was eager to solve.
“Now, Jenn,” said Scotty’s and Jenn’s grandmother, “be gracious to your guest. Fresh-ground coffee is on its way.” She turned to Johnny. “Please, young man, be seated.” Her forceful sideways glance at Jenn clearly indicated she should do the same.
Jenn nodded mutely at her family as all but her brother departed for the kitchen.
Scotty didn’t budge. He was grinning at Johnny like he’d just roped a steer on the first try. Scotty didn’t speak, but he chuckled and lifted one eyebrow.
Johnny just shrugged.
“Scotty,” Jenn said, her voice just a little bit shaky and very much pleading, “please.”
Scotty laughed rowdily but moved to join the others in the kitchen.
Jenn cringed inwardly. Count on her baby brother to give her trouble about this. About Johnny. As if she weren’t in enough trouble already.
Jenn regained her seat on the sofa with a deep sigh, burying her face in her hands. Johnny sat down on an armchair opposite her, leaned his elbows on his legs, and waited.
Jenn said nothing for the longest time. This was absolutely, totally surreal. She couldn’t get her mind around what was happening, never mind what to do with the situation.
She was alone in a room with a man she’d just now met—a man whom her family assumed was some sort of significant other in her life, a relationship obviously serious enough to warrant flowers being delivered to her out in the middle of nowhere.
Quickly, she composed her thoughts. There had to be a simple way out of this mess, even if she couldn’t see it now. She just had to think rationally. Starting with the obvious.
“Why did you call yourself the Johnny?” she asked, her voice more demanding than she’d intended, but she was under a lot of strain.
“We’ll get to that,” the man replied in his soft, rich baritone. “But first, I think you need to tell me who these people think I am.”
Jenn nodded. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. You must be stupefied by their reaction to your presence.”
He laughed. “Yeah, well, stupefied isn’t the exact word I’d use, but let’s just say I am more than just curious.”
She couldn’t help but laugh with him. It was funny, or at least it would be in twenty years when she looked back on this moment.
Right this second though, she felt dreadfully serious. Her stomach hurt.
“It’s my family. I know you’ve only just met them, but I’m sure you’ve noticed how overwhelming they can be.”
“You’re lucky to have a family,” Johnny said, his expression suddenly serious. Then he smiled and shrugged. “I’m an orphan, myself.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, and meant it with all her heart. Her job as a social worker in downtown Denver brought her in contact with many orphaned and abandoned children. She knew firsthand the pain and suffering they experienced, being all alone in the world. She wondered what Johnny’s story was, what he had been through. But now was not the time to ask.
“I love my family, I really do,” she stated emphatically. “I look forward to these yearly gatherings. It’s the only time I see most of my family, even my parents. I work in Denver, and it sometimes feels like Wyoming—where the rest of my family lives—might as well be Mars.”
“You’re busy with your work?” Johnny asked.
He had guessed accurately. “Yes. I’m a social worker. I work long, hard hours—sometimes seven days a week. And I’m on call many of the nights.”
Johnny nodded. “I know what you mean.”
She supposed he did, in a backward, cowboy sort of way. Wrangling cattle was pretty much a 24/7 job.
“There’s just this one thing, you see,” she explained. Oddly, she was beginning to feel comfortable in this cowboy’s presence. He was a large, intimidating man, to be sure, but he had kind eyes and a playful quirk to his lips that set her at ease.
Still, she had to be careful where she trod, especially since Johnny seemed so sincere.
It was best simply to get down to business and have it done with. They needed to work out a feasible solution to the problem she’d created, not become friends. Not that she wanted that, anyway.
“You may have noticed there are no children about.”
He cocked his head a little to one side, and then nodded. “I have to admit I was a little surprised—a family reunion with no kids.”
“My Auntie Myra—she’s my great-aunt, really—lost her husband in Vietnam. They had no children, and her heart was so broken she never remarried.”
“I see,” he said, though the look on his face told her he had no idea whatsoever where this conversation was leading.
“Basically, Johnny, the lot has fallen on me. Everyone wants squealing little children running rampant through this farm, and they want them now.”
“Well, sure they do,” he said with a soft drawl. “But you’re all of what, twenty-four years old? Twenty-five, maybe? And Scotty’s only just finished his high school diploma.”
“I’m twenty-six,” Jenn clarified wryly. “And as far as my family is concerned, it’s time for me to settle down and start popping out some sweet little babies for them to spoil rotten.”
She paused thoughtfully. “It’s not all that surprising, really, given everyone’s circumstances. I don’t blame them. It’s just not where I’m at in my life right now.”
Ever, she thought grimly, but she didn’t say the word aloud.
Johnny pursed his lips. “So, then, let’s see. The real problem is that Mr. Right hasn’t come along yet to sweep you off your feet?”
Jenn chuckled. “I don’t even know if there is such a man. For me, at least.”
“You’re pulling my leg,” he replied, with a shake of his head. “You can’t tell me you don’t have men knocking down your door every day of the week. A beautiful, intelligent woman like you?”
He was teasing, but that didn’t stop Jenn from flushing from her toes to the tips of her ears. “I really don’t have time for dating.”
“Well, you ought to make some.” His midnight-blue eyes were alight with amusement.
