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She walked away just like that, and Jesse turned and leaned against the tree to watch her. He should get back to work too, but instead, he waited until Starla had entered the kitchen. Then he pushed away from the tree and headed for the stables.
He could talk to a few horses first, and maybe he wouldn’t turn into a beast the next time he saw Nash. “Promises, promises,” he muttered to himself.
* * *
Later that night,he looked up from his position on the couch when the front door opened. He ran a lot of the activities and operations in the lodge, but he still got home far earlier than Adam usually did.
Tonight, his brother walked in with mud splattered from head to toe, and Jesse flipped off the TV with, “I made Gramma’s mac and cheese. There’s lots.” He stood and took in his brother. “What happened out there?”
“Burst pipe,” Adam growled. “Right on the route for the carriage rides.”
“Yikes.”
Adam glared at him as if Jesse had broken the pipe on purpose with his bare hands. “I’m going to go shower.”
“I can heat up one of those pretzels to go with the mac and cheese.”
“Sure,” Adam said, clomping down the hall in his dirty boots. He usually left them at the front or back door—same with his hat—but Jesse suspected he’d wash everything up in the bathroom instead of leaving mud all over the house. That, or he’d throw everything away and start fresh.
That was more Adam’s mentality. If something didn’t work out the way he wanted it to the first time, he’d cancel and correct, but he really struggled to try again. He hadn’t dated at all since his divorce, nor had he attended therapy or talked to anyone in the family about it. Not even Jesse.
He sighed and started toward the front door to close it. August wasn’t a month to be leaving doors open, that was for sure. He’d just put his hand on the knob when Nash said, “Hey, Jesse.”
He froze from top to bottom, suddenly feeling naked in his T-shirt and gym shorts inside his own house.
Nash swept his perfectly clean cowboy hat off his head. “I talked to Starla a little bit ago.”
“Good for you,” Jesse said, his voice as even and emotionless as possible.
“She’s not real happy with me.”
“We should start a club.”
Nash actually smiled as he dropped his head. He lifted it slightly, really pulling his eyes up to look at Jesse. “I’m really sorry, Jess. Honest I am.”
The rigidity inside him bent. Jesse was three years older than Nash, and his younger brother had been annoying him since age ten. He always wanted to tag along with Jesse and Adam, the two brothers older than him. Only Sierra came after Nash, and he’d never wanted to spend his time with his sister.
“I know you are,” Jesse said, sighing. He stepped back and waved Nash into the house. “We can’t be coolin’ the whole world.”
His brother came inside, and Jesse closed the door behind him. “There’s mac and cheese, and I’m going to heat up a pretzel for Adam.” Jesse went past him and into the kitchen. “Want one?”
“Sure,” Nash said. “I—you didn’t have to break up with her.”
“Didn’t I?” Jesse asked, twisting to look over his shoulder. “What would you have had me do instead?”
Nash lifted one shoulder, and Jesse bent to get the pretzels out of the freezer drawer. He set the oven and got out a tray, all while Nash said nothing. Jesse supposed he’d come to apologize, and he had, so there wasn’t much more to say.
Jesse put three of the top-knot pretzels on a tray and looked at Nash. “I’m sorry too, okay? I didn’t know you liked her. Honestly, I didn’t. Blake thinks I’m stupid that I didn’t know, and Holly lectured me for a solid twenty minutes about how obvious you are and how insensitive I am.”
“You’re not insensitive.”
Jesse wasn’t going to argue with Nash about his faults. The truth was, he was a bit insensitive. He had a job to do, and feelings weren’t required. In matters of the heart, though, he had to learn to listen to his feelings and pay attention to those around him better.
“If I’d have known, I wouldn’t have started anything with her.” He turned and put the tray in the oven though it wasn’t preheated yet. Looking back at Nash, he pressed his palm to his pulse. “I apologize.”
“Thank you,” Nash said quietly. He still hadn’t come any further into the cabin, and Jesse indicated the bar. He moved toward it and took a barstool. “I’m not going to ask her out.”
“Yeah, I’d give that a while,” Jesse said. “I think she actually liked me.” He chuckled, but only for a moment. “You know why I broke up with her, right?”
