Luke’s Runaway Bride by Kate Bridges

features. When a grin tugged at his mouth, her anger rose to a new level. “You own a saloon?”
    He nodded.
    It figured. He probably spent every evening away from home, drinking and gambling and God only knew what else.
    “I live there, too.”
    He lived there? Good grief. Didn’t he have a regular home? A house with rooms, with chickens in the yard, a dog in the back, a front door his visitors could knock on? Olivia must be frightened out of her skin. This man’s gall was maddening. Even more maddening was the fact that Jenny just sat there, staring at him, tongue-tied.
    “How could you take my friend to a saloon?” she croaked. “What kind of place is that for a lady?”
    The clatter of forks stopped. The others finally noticed something was amiss between the two of them.
    All eyes turned to Luke. His lips thinned. “Have you ever been to a saloon?”
    Jenny’s fingers fluttered to her throat. “Of course not.”
    “You might be surprised what’s inside.”
    “I think not,” she said, clucking with disapproval.
    Eyes locked with hers, he shook his head slightly. “You’re so quick to judge. I’ve met a lot of uppity folks in my time—”
    She gasped. He was calling her uppity? He had the nerve to attack her character?
    “I know how you feel,” Daisy interjected, glancing from one stubborn face to the other. “About saloons, I mean. I’ve never set foot in one, other than that one time at Luke’s. It’s a pretty intimidating place for a woman, you gotta admit, Luke.”
    Nathaniel broke in. “You know, Cheyenne’s a big town. It’s got over two dozen saloons and they’re not all alike.”
    “Two dozen!” Jenny gasped.
    Daisy sat down beside Jenny. “That’s right, the town’s got over ten thousand people, and there’s three levels of saloons, something for everyone—”
    “Oh, we’ve never been to the seedier ones,” Nathaniel interrupted his wife. The two of them were tripping over each other to sing the praises of Cheyenne’s saloons. “No one in town goes to those. They’re for the drifters who come through. You know—the rail laborers and scruffy drovers. Those are the dangerous saloons you gotta avoid. There was a knifing just last week.”
    Daisy patted Jenny’s arm. “And then on the top end, you’ve got the highfalutin saloons, for all those rich cattle barons from Texas. Lord almighty! Some of those people take their summers in England, they’ve got so much money. They bring in opera companies for entertainment, and singers from New York City and Buffalo Bill Cody—”
    “Unbelievable,” said Nathaniel. “But we avoid those, too. Regular folks don’t like to dress up just to have a beer.” The old man sat back with pride. “Luke’s saloon is in the middle. It caters to local residents mainly, just regular, hardworking folks. He doesn’t have operas yet,” Nathaniel snickered, “but on the other hand, he doesn’t allow painted ladies, either.”
    As the older couple continued their discussion, Jenny found her composure. Daisy and Nathaniel, God bless them, were only trying to calm her.
    And she’d get out of this situation sooner if she didn’t anger Luke. She glanced at the tiny boy peering over the table, sitting faithfully beside Luke, and her curiosity stirred.
    All she wanted to do was find Olivia and return to Denver. She’d ask Daniel what this was all about, and he’d explain it to her until it made sense. “Maybe I should see the saloon myself.” She met Luke’s gaze. “Would you take me to see my friend? Daisy and Nathaniel, you—you’ll join us, won’t you?”
    Daisy rose to stack the coffee cups, and Jenny jumped to help her. “It’s a lovely idea, really,” said the older woman. “But I’ve got to tend to Adam, and I promised to bring a dozen eggs to Mrs. Mathews next door.”
    “And I’ve got a ranch to run,” added Nathaniel, wiping his mouth. He reached for a toothpick. “But once Daniel arrives, I promise we’ll make the