He opened to door to Delia, dressed in a feathery, pink outfit. She was wearing makeup, and feathers in her hair, too. Jesse was too shocked for words.
“Can I come in?” she asked.
“I’m sorry.” He held the door wide so she could walk in.
“I stopped by before work. I need to talk to you.” She pointed at his settee in the sitting room. “Can we sit?”
After they had settled on the settee, he said, “What’s up?”
She pressed her red lips together before blurting, “Are we a couple?”
“What?” Jesse shook his head. “No, we’re friends.”
Delia pouted. “We’ve been having lunch together for over two weeks; I'd call that courting.”
“We’re friends. You’re beautiful, so I asked you to have lunch with me. I wanted to get to know you better, is all. I’m not courting anyone. If a friendly lunch is courting, I wasn’t aware of it.”
Delia moved closer to Jesse. “People saw us meeting at the general store every day. People will gossip if you don’t propose soon.”
“Propose?” Jesse nearly choked on the word. “Hel—Heck, I’m not ready to marry yet. I’d need to get to know you a lot more than I do now before I propose.”
Delia started weeping into her handkerchief. “I’ll be the laughingstock of the entire town.”
Jesse stood. “I don’t believe this.” He paced the floor while Delia cried. Jesse looked closely, and he didn’t see a single tear. Why would she do that? He knew she wasn’t in love with him, so what could she want? His property? His money? He’d kept a low profile around town. He didn’t even use the bank, keeping a safe for his money instead.
“Delia,” he said finally, “why can’t we just remain good friends?”
Delia stood and moved closer to him. Before he could move away, she threw her arms around his neck. “Take me. I’m yours.”
“What’s going on in here?” a male voice shouted.
Jesse pushed Delia off of him. “Roy! What are you doing here?”
“You’ve just compromised my sister-in-law. I’ll expect a marriage settlement by the end of the week.”
“Your sister-in-law? You never let on that you knew her at the saloon. What’s going on? If you think I’m falling for this con job... it’s as old as the hills. I never touched Delia, and you both know it. And I didn’t invite her here tonight, either.”
Jesse gazed at Delia, hoping she’d defend him, but she just stood there with her hands to her mouth. “Tell him, Delia,” he said, but Delia ran from the house. Several moments later, he heard her horse galloping away.
“If you want a fight over this, Roy Barkley, put’em up,” Jesse said, his fists raised and ready to fight.
“I’ll fight you in court.” Roy stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him.
Jesse covered his eyes with his hands. What had he gotten himself into?
Chapter Seven
A pounding on the door woke Jesse abruptly. He peeked at the window through half-open eyes to see that the sun was just cresting the horizon. He shook his head to clear it. Living away from other people as he did made him wonder because no one ever knocked on the door except for Judd. The thought made him spring up. Maybe Judd had an emergency. He jumped from the bed and slid on his britches. As he ran to the front door, he pulled on a shirt and yanked the door open to find Delia.
He sighed loudly. “What in blazes do you want?”
Delia looked contrite. “I came to apologize for last night.”
Jesse hastily buttoned his shirt. “Apology accepted. Now, please leave.”
“Jesse, let me explain,” she said as she tried to keep him from shutting the door. “Please.”
Jesse let out a louder sigh and let Delia in. He pulled out a kitchen chair. “I’d offer you coffee, but I haven’t had time to make it yet.”
“It was all Roy’s idea. I did something bad a year or so ago, and he told me to get you to the altar or he’d turn me into the sheriff.”
Jesse nodded, giving her a knowing look. “This all began the night we met. How could you play me like that?”
“I hated doing it. I do care for you, but I don’t want to go to prison or be hanged either.”
“What in blazes did you do?”
Delia traced the pattern of the wood grain on the table. She looked up at him. Her bottom lip quivered. “I killed a man.”
Jesse thought she was either telling the truth or a mighty fine actress. He reached over and patted her hand. “It’s fine. I won’t say anything to anyone, but there is no way we can ever be more than friends. I could never trust you again.”
“No, Jesse, I have feelings for you. Please, give me another chance.”
Jesse stood and walked to the door. He opened it and said, “Thank you for stopping by, Delia.”
Delia put on her least exotic clothes—a dark blue skirt and a ruffled, white blouse. They were the clothes in which she had traveled in to Sunset Creek. She rode out to Sean’s place and knocked on the door with her clean, white-gloved hands.
Sean was the only one besides Charlie who knew her as a saloon woman, so she hoped he wouldn’t answer the door. Fortunately, it was Charlie who answered. “Why, hello, Delia. Won’t you come inside?”
“Um...” Delia gazed around the area. “Is there a quiet place where we can talk?”
“I guess we could sit down by the
