“I see Gunnar has taken a liking to you,” a musical, friendly voice called down from behind the counter.
With a final pat Joey pushed herself to her feet and transferred her smile to the storekeeper. Mr Jackson supplied most of the essentials to the town and surrounding regions; what he didn’t have, he boasted, he could find. Joey had been surprised at the variety his small store contained. Stuck out here, she mused, one would need a bit of variety to keep from going stir-crazy.
“I like Gunnar, too,” she said with a glance at the animal, who had drifted off to sleep again. “I’ve always liked dogs.”
Mr Jackson leaned over the counter and scratched the back of his thinning hair. “Anyone who likes dogs is okay with me. Now what can I do for you today, Miss Randall? Need some special supplies? I know things aren’t too fancy here, but I can order just about anything. I’ve got it down to a science by now. Anything you want, I can order.” He straightened and beamed at her. Joey felt almost sorry to disappoint him.
“Actually, Mr Jackson…”
“Everyone here calls me Bill,” he interjected amiably.
“Bill, then Bill, you’ve probably heard the reason I’m in town…” At his nod she continued, “Right now I’ve got a bit of a problem. I lost my guide, and I need a new one to take me into the mountains. I have maps, money for supplies, and I’m willing to pay well for experienced service. But I need to find someone quickly, so I can beat the bad weather.”
She watched as Jackson’s mouth puckered into a thoughtful frown. Not quite disapproving, she thought—though she’d seen that reaction plenty of times since coming here. But she had a sinking feeling this was another dead end. “At any rate,” she continued, “Walter Everhard over at the garage told me that you might know someone I could hire. As I said, I can pay well, and I’ve done a lot of planning.”
She broke off, waiting for some response, hoping against hope that her gut feeling was wrong.
Jackson plucked uneasily at the back of his collar, his eyes sliding away from hers. “Well, Miss Randall, I’d sure love to help you And I’m really sorry to hear things haven’t worked out. But the truth is, the person I know who used to do guide work isn’t really active anymore. The work wasn’t steady enough, so he went on to other things. I really wish…”
His voice trailed off as Joey set her wallet on the counter and calmly counted out several crisp bills. Jackson stared at the money. “That’s just a down payment,” Joey assured him. “Once the work was finished, my guide would get twice that much again.” The practical, almost cynical part of her knew that hard cash was a strong argument, and it didn’t seem to be going over Jackson’s balding head. “Are you quite sure this person you know couldn’t be persuaded to take on one last client?”
There was a long moment of silence. At last Jackson blew out a deep sigh and shook his head. Joey’s heart sank. “I’d sure love to oblige you, as I said, Miss Randall But I just don’t think it’s possible.”
He glanced up at her and took in her reaction, by the softening of his expression, she knew her own face must be showing her despair. She bit her lip and raised her chin. With a helpless shrug, Jackson spread his hands out on the counter. “Listen, Miss Randall I can’t say there’s any chance that I can persuade my friend, but I’ll run it by him. I’ll see if I can give you a definite answer in a day or two.”
Joey could not conceal her sudden hope, for he shook his head again. “Don’t count on anything, please, Miss Randall. As I said, I’ll have to run it by him and…”
The jingle of the entrance bell brought him to a sudden stop. Jackson’s mobile face, which had been fixed in an expression of reluctant apology, tensed into quite a different aspect. Something about it made Joey forget her arguments and turn around.