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Garrett stood fascinated and confused. Where did the notion that he might be courting Spring come from? He looked out at Odell, who smiled and nodded a greeting.
Glenda then asked where he was from, and the name of his newspaper. After his replies she said, “Nice meeting you, Mr. McCray. Have Regan and Dr. Lee bring you over for dinner while you’re in town.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And Spring. Be nice. Any man willing to fight you for a door may be worth keeping.”
That said, she strode away.
Outdone, he turned to Spring who growled, “Open the damn door, McCray.”
He did, and Odell and his friends applauded.
Inside, the house was quiet, clean, and well-furnished. A tall large-boned blonde woman came from a room off the parlor.
“Hey, Spring.”
“Dovie.”
“You look angry. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Dovie didn’t appear convinced and Garrett had no plans to add to Spring’s ire by offering an explanation. He was still trying to process the encounter outside.
“Is this the newspaper man you rescued?”
“Yes. Garrett McCray. Dovie Denby.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss or is it Mrs. Denby?”
“Legally, it’s Mrs., but the mister is off living with another woman. Left me high and dry.”
Her frankness caught him off guard.
She explained, “More than likely you’ll hear the story from somebody else. I just wanted to get ahead of it before you did.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond. “Um. I appreciate that. Thank you. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Same here. So you need a room?”
“Yes.”
“There aren’t any other boarders at the moment, so since you’re doing a story on the doc I’ll put you up in the Rhine room, and you can have it for the price of one of the smaller ones.”
He didn’t know what the Rhine room was, but she gave him the impression that it was a bit fancier than the others. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. Come on with me.”
He picked up his carpetbag and valise.
Spring said, “I’ll get the bedroll—or am I supposed to leave that for a gentleman to handle?”
Not bothering to hide his smile, he added the bedroll to the other items he was carrying, and he and Spring followed Dovie up the stairs.
The Rhine room was spacious and well appointed. Dovie explained that it was named in honor of Regan Lee’s uncle, Rhine Fontaine. There was a big four-poster bed atop a wide expensive-looking Oriental carpet, an attached washroom with a tub, and a small desk with achair. A large wardrobe made of a beautiful oak stood against one wall.
Dovie asked, “Will this do you?”
