Chapter Twelve

Breakfast was ham, eggs, fried potatoes and bread toasted in the oven. Fresh butter, several kinds of jam were on the table as well as coffee and milk. Everyone resisted the temptation to tease Jess about his appetite - especially when they saw how much Gordon McAllister packed away. Slim's eyebrows went way up as he watched.

"Looks like my pard has some competition," he commented eliciting giggles from Cam and Mike.

After breakfast Jess volunteered to help Cam bring her exhibits to the Grange Hall. He had it in mind to try and find out how serious she and Tommy were about each other.

"So how serious are you and Tommy?" he blurted out when they were out of Slim and Daisy's hearing. He knew Slim would have his head if he heard him.

"Serious? About what?" she asked him. "We're just friends is all."

"Friends? He writes you letters that you don't let anybody else read but you're just friends?"

"Yes. Just friends."

Jess teased her all the way to the exhibit hall but got nothing more out of her.

"Good morning, Cameron," the lady in charge of the sewing exhibit said.

"Good morning Mrs. Peterson," Cam replied with a smile. "This is my friend, Jess Harper, from Laramie. He volunteered to help me bring my things so I wouldn't have to make two trips. Jess, this is Mrs. Lorraine Peterson."

"Ma'am," Jess tipped his hat by way of greeting.

"Mr. Harper."

"Jess and his 'family' are staying with us for a week. We'll be at the fair all weekend."

"I hope you all enjoy yourselves, Mr. Harper. We have a lot of things planned for children and adults alike."

"I'm sure we will," the Texan replied.

"I'm entering this quilt I just finished and this dress," Cam said taking them out of the box and hanging the dress, which was mostly yellow with a white yoke, white eyelet trim at the cuffs of the sleeves and narrow black velvet ribbon which formed a bow in the middle of the yoke.

"You made that?" Jess asked his young friend.

"And the quilt," she affirmed.

"I didn't know you could do those things."

"Did you think I only fish and read?"

"Cameron sews beautifully," Mrs. Peterson chided the visitor.

Jess turned beet red. "Well I guess - I just never thought about it."

At this point in the conversation other women - young, old and in between - were starting to arrive with their sewing projects so Cam finished filling out her entry forms and started to move to the area where the art work would be displayed.

"Who's your friend, Cam?" several young women asked as they eyed the dark haired cowboy with her.

"A friend," she answered.

"Aren't you going to introduce him to us/" one curvaceous redhead asked.

"No, I don't think so," the teen answered.

Jess was puzzled for a minute until he saw how the woman was eying him. He tipped his hat politely but stuck close to Cam's side.

"What was that all about/" he asked when they were safely out of earshot and on their way back to the McAllister house.

"That was Jeannie Riley. She collects thing - including people. I avoid her as much as possible."

"Don't ya think I can look out for myself?" Jess asked.

"Not in this case," the girl said. "Besides she's got four older brothers who like to beat up on those who don't 'do right' by her. I don't want my friends to become part of her collection or their victims."

"You think I can't take care of myself?"

"I've heard all about how well you can handle herself in what Slim calls an 'even fight," Cam told him. "I just don't want you to have to. Jeannie uses people. She collects admirers and so-called friends, uses them for what she can get out of them and then throws them away like they're trash.": She sighed in frustration. "Look, just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I don't see and understand."

Jess reached out and put an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Ok. I forgive you."

That got him a dirty look which made him laugh.

"Funny." Her brown eyes flashed then twinkled. "Race you back to the house."

That said, she took off running. Jess was hot on her heels. Both were laughing when Cam beat him by half a step.

"You cheated!" Jess accused her.

"Me? How did I cheat?"

"You started running before I was ready."

"Jess Harper! You're two inches taller than I am and your legs are longer. You could have won if you tried."

The argument, such as it was, went on until they both broke down laughing.