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“I’m not.” The retort came too fast. He wasn’t the only one to think so if the smiles on the faces of the others were any indication. He turned, grabbed the saddle and slung it on top of the fence railing. “Like I said, we’re old friends. I’ve known her since she was in pigtails. We went to school together, along with Ben and Aaron.” He looked for his old friends but didn’t see them. Knowing those two, they were back in town at the Diamondback saloon, swilling whiskey and trying to get their nerve up to take one of those painted ladies upstairs. “Don’t you have work to do?” The chorus of laughter that followed said he wasn’t as successful at lying as he thought he was.
Climbing over the fence, he grabbed the saddle and carried it to the stallion they’d been working with. It took a bit of coaxing to get the horse saddled but once the gear was in place, Jesse tried to soothe the beast, whispering low by his ear. It worked and within minutes, he was on the creatures back, reins held tight enough to let the horse know who was in control.
Jesse grinned down at Owen, a mousy little fellow who joined the crew the month before. “Told you I’d get a saddle on this brute.”
“Saddling him is the easy part,” Owen said. “Riding him is the real test.”
“Consider it done.” Jesse pulled the reins, clicked his tongue and gave a slight nudge of his heel to get the horse moving and was surprised when the animal reared up. He gasped in shock, shifted to adjust his weight and ignored the laughter of the men around the corral as he flew from the horses back.
He hit the dirt hard, the impact with the ground jarring his teeth. When the dust settled and he opened his eyes, Alexandra Avery was looking his way laughing her pretty little head off.
SeeingJesse face down in the dirt was the highlight of her day and it distracted Alex enough to not let on to her pa just how nervous she was. Her insides were near to shaking loose the longer she hung around him, worry that he’d find out what she had planned creeping into her every thought.
She could tell by the look on her pa’s face he wanted to talk about something. The gleam in his eye made her weary. If she had to guess, she’d say he knew full well Hugh had asked her to marry him and for that reason alone, she wasn’t about to mention it. Her pa may have given his blessing to Hugh but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
She followed him into the barn with the pretense of spending time with him before he left on the cattle drive. She glanced toward the loft where she’d stored her bag. If everything went to plan, she’d be free of Hugh, Jesse and her teaching job by morning. With Betsy promising to stay at the school and wait for Emily Harper, things couldn’t be going smoother.
Telling Hugh she wanted to spend time alone with her pa before he left was easier than she thought it would be. He suggested it himself and she beamed at his thoughtful idea. Everything was going right for once. All she had to do now was make it through the rest of the evening and sneak out before dawn to join the other men going along with her pa.
Her father’s voice drew her from her thoughts. His smiling face was filled with amusement when she turned to face him.
“If you’re hanging around in hopes I’ll change my mind about you going on this cattle drive, you’re wasting your time.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, I just wanted to spend time with you. You’re going to be gone near to two months.”
He grinned and raised an eyebrow at her. “And why don’t I believe you?”
“Because you always think I’m up to something.”
Holden’s laughter filled the barn. “You are always up to something.” He crossed to where she stood and kissed her on the forehead. “Now tell me why you’re really here.”
Alex huffed out a breath and shook her head. “Always so suspicious.”
“Of you? Yes.”
“Fine then. Don’t believe me.” She turned and started for the barn doors. “I’ll just go help Laurel with supper. I can talk to you then.”
“Which just proves my point.”
She turned her head and smiled. “How so?”
“You’re volunteering to help your stepmother. If that doesn’t scream you’re up to something I don’t know what does.”
Alex stuck her tongue out at him and started for the house, his laughter following her out of the barn. She glanced toward the corral. Jesse was still there, his clothes covered in dirt. He was mounting the sorrel again. The horse didn’t want to be ridden and proved it by jumping, slinging dirt and Jesse into the air.
Jesse landed hard and lay there for a few moments before standing. His shirt was wet with perspiration, the material clinging to muscles she tried to ignore. Betsy had been right. Jesse was no longer that tall, lanky sixteen-year-old she remembered, but a man full grown.
He bent to retrieve his hat, dusting it off before placing it back on his head. He looked nothing like he did ten years ago and as much as the thought of him irritated her, she would admit, if only to herself, that he wasn’t terrible to look at. He was tall and lean, honed muscles from hard work moving beneath the fabric of his clothes with every move and it was a good thing she was sneaking away with her pa on that cattle drive. If she stayed around the ranch—and Jesse—she may end up doing something stupid, like returning that kiss he gave her so many years ago.
He was sorein places he didn’t know could hurt and in an ill mood by the time they called it a night. Jesse listened to the chatter in the bunkhouse as he packed his saddlebags and made sure he had everything he’d need on the trail.
He’d been kicking himself for the better part of the day for agreeing to go along. He’d only done it to get away from Hugh and Alex and their impending marriage but he realized when he lay facedown in the dirt, listening to her laugh at him when that ole ornery horse threw him for the third time, that he’d never get away from them.
If he decided to stay in Willow Creek he’d run into them in town and at social functions so running from them now would do nothing but make him feel like a coward. Little he could do about it now. He’d agreed to go and he was a man of his word.
Heated voices rose as the men discussed the fact they’d been forbidden to go to town for one last night of drinking and female companionship. They complained loudly but Holden said any man not present and sober when he woke them would be forced off his property when the cattle drive pulled out. That hadn’t sat right with Lewis and his friends and they were letting Isaac, the Avery’s long time cook and chuck wagon master, know all about it.
Ben made a noise and he looked up. His friend was staring across the room at the others with a grin on his face.
