Free Bobbi Smith by Halfbreed Warrior Page B

remember to pay attention to what’s going on while you’re here in town,” Jack told them.
    “Wade and I already talked about it,” Hawk assured him.
    “Good. Whoever the rustlers are, they’re going to slip up sometime, and when they do, we’re going to be ready for them.” He was disgusted by his inability to catch the thieves so far. “One other thing, Hawk—watch out for Fred. I don’t know if he’s still in town or not. As angry as he was when he left the ranch, he could still mean trouble for you.”
    “I’ll tell the rest of the boys, too,” Wade said as they started from the hotel room, although the foreman knew most of them wouldn’t care if Fred wanted to cause trouble for Hawk.
    “I’ll see you at the social,” Jack called as they left his room.
    “Are you going to the social?” Hawk asked Wade.
    “I wouldn’t miss it. It’s a dinner auction. We bid on the dinner we want, and each dinner comes with a lady—of course, we know who the lady is before we start.” He grinned. “Then whoever bids the highest gets to have supper with her.”
    “Randi mentioned it, but I didn’t know it was an auction. Is she one of the ladies being auctioned off?”
    “Oh, yeah. She’s done it for about three years now, and she usually does real good. A year or so ago, though, a cowboy got drunked up and bid real high for her. Jack got worried and stepped in with the biggest bid for a dinner ever. Randi ended up having to eat with her pa that year. She still gets teased about that. You’re going tonight, aren’t you?” Wade asked.
    “I hadn’t thought about it.”
    “Start thinking about it. We can show up together,” he said, making the decision for Hawk.
    “All right.”
    “Meet me here at the hotel about five thirty.”
    “I’ll see you then.”

Chapter Eight
    “Randi?” Jack knocked on her hotel room door.
    “Are you ready to go downstairs to meet Sherri yet?”
    “Just about, Pa,” Randi called out.
    Sitting at the small dressing table, she put the finishing touches on her hair, then stood up to take a critical look at herself in the mirror. Randi smiled at her reflection, impressed by the changes a pretty gown and different hairstyle could make in her appearance. She actually looked like a lady. She hurried to the door before her father got too impatient.
    “I’m ready.”
    “It’s about time,” Jack said as the door opened. “Well, sweetheart, you were worth the wait.”
    Randi was a vision as she stepped out of her room. The emerald-colored gown she wore emphasized the color of her eyes and fit her perfectly. With her hair done up in a sophisticated style, she no longer looked like his little girl, Jack realized. His daughter was a woman, and a very beautiful one at that.
    “You look lovely.”
    “Why, thank you,” she told him with a smile.
    “Your mother would be proud of you.”
    “What about my father?” she teased.
    “I’m always proud of you.”
    “Let’s just hope I don’t embarrass the family name tonight at the auction.” She laughed.
    “When has that ever happened?” he countered, laughing, too. “Besides, as pretty as you look, I’ll bet you bring in the highest bid.”
    They found Sherri waiting for them in the lobby with her parents, Jim and Rosie. The families were longtime friends.
    “This is a pleasant surprise,” Jack greeted them.
    “When Sherri told us she was meeting Randi, we decided to come along with her,” Jim told him.
    “It’s good to see you.”
    “Don’t the girls look pretty?” Rosie said, watching Randi and Sherri walk on ahead of them as they left the hotel.
    “They’re lovely, but there’s no one as beautiful as you,” Jim told her.
    Rosie laughed at her husband’s charming ways, and they followed their daughter outside.
    Up ahead, Randi was asking eagerly, “So what did you have to tell me that was so important?”
    “Well . . .” Sherri took a quick look around to make sure their parents weren’t close enough