Ray Hoy - Jack Frost 01 - The Vegas Factor by Ray Hoy

I said.
    Andy grinned, showing great banks of white porcelain. “Buying new clothes always perks up a gal.”
    We both heard her at the same time. We turned and looked into the hallway. Felicia came shuffling toward us, wearing one of Andy’s huge bathrobes, knuckling her eyes like a little girl. Every protective instinct a man has ever felt went off inside me. Andy was obviously affected the same way. “Ahhh, lookie there, Jack!”  
    “I feel terrible,” she said.
    “Catching a cold? Flu, maybe? Have some coffee.”
    “Coffee sounds awful,” she said. She sat down on a kitchen chair and pulled her feet up under her. “I’m cold,” she said, shivering.
    Andy looked puzzled. “Shucks, it ain’t cold in here at all.” He looked at me, worried.
    “She’s always cold,” I said.
    Felicia’s face was pale and drawn. She refused breakfast, and after a short time excused herself to get ready for the shopping trip that I’d planned for us. Despite the way she felt, she seemed excited, which made me glow all over.
    * * *
    We spent the morning and most of the afternoon working our way through some quaint little shops. I actually had fun, spending most of the time sitting in a chair in each shop while she modeled one outfit after another. Every time she looked at a price tag, she would protest. Every time, I reminded her that we were spending Varchetta’s money. We shot the whole five thousand bucks, plus another grand of mine, which I didn’t tell her about.
    On the way home, I outlined my plan to stay at Andy’s Virginia City cabin for at least several weeks, perhaps even months. She haltingly told me that it would be painful to go back there, but right now that was what she wanted to do more than anything. We agreed that we’d leave the next morning.

    When we returned to Andy’s home, Felicia told him that we were leaving the next morning. The old man was visibly saddened by the news. Stricken by Andy’s reaction, Felicia turned and looked at me, pleading in her eyes.
    I cleared my throat. “Uh, Andy … on second thought, maybe we’ll stick around a couple more days, if you don’t mind. I think we could both use a little more down time.”
    Andy beamed. “Ah hell Jack, that’d be great!”  
    Tears filled Felicia’s eyes and she quickly turned and walked into the kitchen.
    * * *
    We actually stayed a week longer than we had planned, just talking and relaxing. Inevitably, the conversation would turn to Jonathan Flynn. At first, we would all sit there, vaguely embarrassed. He had been a very big part of their lives, and while the memory of him was painful, it seemed wrong not to talk about him at all. Eventually, we all came to understand that it was unnecessary to avoid his name.

Chapter 16

    On the morning we were to leave, Felicia was sick again. She walked out of the bathroom, weak and pale.  
    “I think you should see a doctor,” I said.
    “No, Jack,” she said. “I’m sure it’s just the after-effects of the last few days.”
    Felicia and Andy hugged each other with something akin to desperation. I opened the Jag’s passenger door and helped her inside. Ripper piled in, eliciting a grunt from Felicia. I turned and shook hands with Andy. He just nodded, not trusting his voice. I slapped him on the shoulder, then got into the car and started the engine. We waved our farewells as I pulled away.  
    It was a crisp, brilliant morning. I drove on, doing far more listening than talking, and delighted to do so. I realized Felicia was excited at the prospect of returning to the cabin where she and Jonathan had shared so many memories. She sat with her arms around a snoozing Ripper and talked and talked and talked. I learned that she had an absolute love for horses and had ridden a lot as a child. I made up my mind to look into buying a horse for her as soon as we got to Virginia City.
    She caught me smiling. “What’s so funny?” she said, amusement in her voice. “I’m talking too much,