Free By Proxy by Katy Regnery

wondered if she might slap him.
    “Sorry, Jenny,” he said, dropping his hands as he cleared his throat, turning his eyes away from her. He buttoned up his jacket. “I think you’d better drive me home.”
    When he glanced back up, she lowered her hand from over her mouth and nodded once, sidestepping around him to open the door. She rushed out of the apartment quickly, leaving him once again to follow behind.
    ***
    After an awkward, quiet drive back to his motel, Sam was actually relieved to be back at the Lone Wolf Lodge. That in and of itself should have shocked the hell out of him, but he had bigger fish to fry.
    He flicked on the light, assessed the dumpy room, kicked off his shoes, and fell onto the squeaky bed, staring up at the ceiling.
    What a day. Waking up in Bozeman. Trying to do some work at the hotel before leaving for Livingston. Finally arriving at the courthouse. Seeing Jenny for the first time.
    Jenny. He groaned and threw his arm over his eyes. No one, not even Pepper at the very beginning when everything was so damn hot, no one had ever gotten under his skin as fast as Jenny did today. How was it possible he’d only met her—he rotated his wrist to check his watch— six hours ago ? It felt like he’d known her far longer. She was totally and completely genuine. You wouldn’t feel as though you actually knew someone who was less real.
    He replayed Jenny moments from today like a slideshow in his mind: angry Jenny click-clacking through the halls at the courthouse, embarrassed Jenny when he took out his wallet, furious Jenny when they learned the wedding couldn’t take place, smiling Jenny who rocked his world as they left the courthouse, frightened Jenny gripping the steering wheel of her car, concerned Jenny who apologized to him while still shivering from her spinout, gullible Jenny whose voice was so nervous over the phone, townie Jenny walking through the streets of Gardiner, kind Jenny telling him her church prayed for Kristian every week, righteous Jenny at dinner staring down Tess, giggling Jenny when he lost their deal, poignant Jenny not wanting to take wedding vows more than once and finally, the Jenny who checked him out as he lay half-asleep on her couch. That was the Jenny whose hand he had kissed. He thought of her trapped between his body and the wall and felt a rush of blood heading to his groin. He groaned again, wishing it away . At ease, pal. Not happening tonight.
    He smiled. She was fascinating; he never knew what she would say or do next, and it was drawing him to her like a magnet after years of hearing girls saying what they thought he wanted, or what they thought sounded cool or sexy. Jenny was so authentic, it was separating her from the pack, making him want to take a closer look. His smile turned into a chuckle as he thought of her embarrassed face when he caught her checking him out, and then his chest rumbled with laughter remembering her admission of guilt. Man, she sure keeps things interesting.
    They were different, for sure. She was from a small town, a regular churchgoer, a schoolteacher. She was so genuine, so real, and she didn’t try to hide her emotions behind some aloof veneer. Sam admired those qualities. He had seen her be kind to people today, interested in their lives, and he was sure he’d see more of it tomorrow. She was a good, solid person and it didn’t hurt that she was also so pretty.
    She was more pretty than cute, but something about her unaffected wholesomeness made her cute, too. It dawned on him that maybe, quixotically, it was her wholesomeness that made him so hungry for her. He was caught off-guard by his reaction when he kissed her hand: his blood had heated up in an instant and his heart had raced because he wanted her, and the surprising thing was, cute really wasn’t his style. Then again, he thought with growing uncertainty, maybe it was.
    Before today, he had been enjoying his post-Pepper freedom. He’d had a few dates, mostly