“Precisely why I suggested a warmer coat. And while you’re at it, get a scarf, wool hat, and that silly thing ladies carry to keep their hands warm. And if you’re still cold, I can think of interesting ways to raise your temperature.” He winked.
With all the extra clothes, Tori did feel comfortable. A beautiful night, a clear sky with a full moon joined by thousands of stars.
They strolled along the river, and then he turned her toward town. Music drifted from the saloons, combined with the high pitched sounds of laughter and shouting. Tori tried to peek in as they passed one, never having been inside a saloon before. She drew in a sharp breath when two men came out of the batwing doors. Right over the bar, big as life, hung a painting of a very naked lady. Her jaw dropped.
Jesse laughed. “Want to go inside for a drink, darlin’?”
“No, of course not.” She pulled him away before anyone saw them standing in front of such a place.
“How about stopping at the new Chinese restaurant for a late supper?” Jesse suggested.
“You know, I think I’m hungry.” With her returned appetite, her lost pounds had come slowly back. Her dresses no longer hung on her like a sack. She didn’t want to credit Jesse’s attention, although it seemed obvious.
“Good. I’m hungry, too, let’s give it a try.”
Tori studied the restaurant while waiting for a table. The China Palace, Guthrie’s first Chinese restaurant, had opened a few weeks before. Green and deep blue beaded curtains divided the room into sections. P
aintings of dragons breathing fire, lotus flowers, and pagodas adorned two walls. A soothing light green paint on the other two walls completed the decor. Oriental men dressed in suits hurried from the kitchen to tables, carrying fragrant bowls and plates of food.
They shared an order of chow mein and a pot of steaming aromatic tea. Jesse taught her how to hold chop sticks, which she set carefully aside after a gob of noodles landed in her lap.
“Where did you learn to use chopsticks?” Tori waved her hand over the diminutive china cup of hot tea.
“Darlin’, I’m a man of many talents. I can do countless interesting things with these hands.”
His hooded eyelids and the underlying meaning of his words shot straight to her core.
His large hand snapped a handmade fortune cookie in half, then he pulled out the little piece of paper. After a minute, he handed it to her.
The wise man never surrenders. Humph. With a certain amount of reluctance, Tori opened hers. Things are not always as they seem. Was God trying to send her a message? Certainly a strange way for the Almighty to act.
“Let me see.” Jesse held out his hand.
“No,” Tori said, pulling the paper back, then dropping it in her lap.
“Come on, I showed you mine,” he said with a crooked smile.
He’d done it again. The look that made his words seem like something else. At this rate, she’d be jumping across the table at him. “This is silly. I don’t believe these things anyway.”
“Then show it to me if it doesn’t matter.”
Tori tossed the paper to him. He glanced at the words and raised one eyebrow. “Sometimes words of wisdom come from the strangest places.”
She sniffed. “I prefer to get my words of wisdom from the Good Book.”
“Honey, you always bring a smile to my face.” He stood and reached out his hand to her.
Jesse twined his fingers with hers as they strolled home. An elusive sense of well-being surrounded her, like the sun just emerging from behind a cloud. This courtin’ idea may be a good one after all.
A gentle touch of his hand stopped her from opening the front door. The darkness hid them, his face barely visible despite their closeness. “I saw a little bit of your old spirit tonight.”
“Oh really?” She lifted her chin a bit. “When?”
“Right now, darlin’. You’re lifting your cute little chin and glaring at me from behind those spectacles.” He ran his knuckles down her cheek.
“Jesse Cochran, you can’t see my eyes in the dark.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “Maybe I can’t see, but I can feel.” His voice lowered. “How about a goodnight kiss?”