Jake waited until the barnyard quieted, then entered the bunkhouse and stopped short, startled to see Teddy sitting at the table, his arms folded across his chest, his dark eyes glittering with suspicion, a look he was more than familiar with.
“I’ve been waiting for you to show up.” He stood quickly, making the chair legs scrape against the floor. “What the hell did you do to my aunt?” It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation.
Jake moved past him, his muscles tense, his heart beating hard, and grabbed his soft-sided suitcases from beside his trunk and tossed them on the bunk.
Teddy followed him, his gaze going from Jake to the suitcases. “She’s crying,” he said harshly. He shook his head, understandably angry, then glared at him. “I haven’t seen her cry since I was a kid. And it’s your fault, I’m sure. What the hell did you do?”
“I told her the truth,” Jake admitted, though it was the last thing he wanted to do, especially to Teddy.
“And what truth is that?”
He started taking items from the trunk to stuff in the empty, soft-sided satchel, then glanced at Teddy.
“I’m a gambler, Teddy. I won a lot of money from a fellow gambler, and he is after me.” He ran his fingers through his hair and took a step back, his focus on the man in front of him, waiting for the punch that would knock him on his ass. “I answered Lucy’s advertisement, in part, to leave San Francisco and get away from him.”
“You lied to her?”
“Yes.”
The corners of his mouth tilted upward, and sympathy reflected in his eyes. “Oh, Jake, you don’t know what you’ve done. No one lies toTiaEvie without paying the consequences, especially about what you were. You know how she feels about gamblers.”
Jake turned away to grab more clothes from the trunk. “I’ll finish packing my things and go.”
“Running away again?” Teddy scoffed as he began to pace back and forth. “Isn’t that what brought you here in the first place? Things get a little uncomfortable and you just take off instead of facing it?” He stopped pacing and stood in front of Jake, his eyes narrowed, his stare so intense, Jake cringed a little inside. “Is leaving really what you want to do?”
“No.” Leaving Montaña del Trueno was not what he wanted to do. Not at all. He had fallen in love with Miss Evie Miller. He’d also fallen in love with the ranch and the people here, the slow rhythm of the days, the camaraderie he’d been shown by his fellow bunkmates. He’d grown particularly fond of the children—sweet Savannah, with her million-and-one questions; Miguel, with his eyes full of mischief. And Toughie. He’d never seen a more active child or one who seemed happy all the time. Even Ramón had earned his affection.
But it was Evie that held the highest place in his heart. He loved her.
And he was more certain of that now than ever before. The old Jake, the man he had been, would have walked away without a thought.
“Look, Jake, you’re not the same man who came here.” Teddy drew his attention. “I didn’t like you much then, and I certainly never wanted you andTiaEvie to get together. In fact, I warned her away from you, more than once. You’re a maverick. Knew it the first time I saw you. Always doing things your own way, but I’ve seen how much you’ve changed. You’ve worked hard. You’velearned.” He shook his head, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Never saw a man with as much natural ability as you when it comes to the horses. Though I hate to admit it, you might be better than me.” He took a step back, but his gaze was intense and remained that way. And then something happened Jake didn’t expect at all. A gentleness crept into Teddy’s dark eyes. “We all make mistakes, Jake. Every single one of us. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t. The important thing is that we learn from them.” He glanced at the shirt in Jake’s hand then back at his face, that softness still in his eyes. “Do you love her?”
“I do. I’ve never loved anyone more.”
“Then stay and fight for her, man.”
He shook his head. It was impossible. He couldn’t stay because if he did, there was still the danger he could possibly bring to the family, and he never wanted to do that. “I didn’t just lie to her about my past, Teddy. There’s more.”
The man shook his head, confusion evident on his face as his brows lowered and his eyes squinted. “More? Lying wasn’t bad enough?”
“There’s Erik King,” he said.
“Who is Erik King?”
“He’s the one I won all the money from. He isn’t the kind to let that go. I’m certain he’s looking for me.”
“I see.” Teddy shook his head. “So, your plan is…what? Find this man first? And give him his money back? Do you even still have that money?” He folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head slightly to the side, his gaze intense. “Kill him?”
Jake stiffened. The thought had run through his mind, more than once. It would solve so many of his problems if Erik King was no longer among the living, but he wasn’t a violent man. He may have defended himself with his fists when the situation warranted it, but he’d never killed a man, never even held a gun in his hand. He doubted he could take someone’s life.
“I’d get that thought out of your head right now, Jake,” he scoffed, his tone sharp. “I don’t think you have it in you to kill him. And then what? You’d be running for the rest of your life, and I don’t think you want to do that, either.TiaEvie wouldneverforgive you for that.”
He was right. Evie would never forgive him, but maybe it was just as well. She had asked him to leave and that’s as far as his plans went. He shoved another shirt into the suitcase, not even bothering to fold it first. “It doesn’t matter. None of it does. She told me to leave so that’s what I’m doing.”
“You’re a fool, Jake.” Teddy rocked back on his heels. “Wouldn’t it be better to—instead of facing this man on his terms—alone—you face him with us? We’d stand behind you if he should come here.”
That statement shocked him, making his entire body stiffen as a little speck of hope raced through his mind. He stared at the man, confused and unsure, but at the same time encouraged, though he couldn’t help asking why.
