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“Because out of the whole bunch, you have more brains in your pinky than all them combined.”
Jesse raised an eyebrow at him. “That include you?”
Ben laughed. “Depends on what time of day it is.”
He grinned and glanced back out over the herd. “You’re not upset Holden didn’t leave you in charge?”
“Hell no.” Ben looked horrified at the thought. “I would have probably just shot anybody who caused trouble and been done with it. Holden did right in leaving you to handle this bunch.”
He wasn’t so sure about that. Other than Ben and Owen, he didn’t know any of the other men well. Some he didn’t know at all. He had no idea what type of person they were or if they were trustworthy. He assumed since Holden hired them, they were all right but he’d ridden cattle drives enough to know not everyone who signs on could be trusted. Most were looking for honest work. Others, a way to flee a territory unseen.
It was too late to worry about it now, though. They had a lot of miles to cover and so far no one had given him much trouble. Even Lewis, for all his posturing, appeared to be all mouth.
Supper was pretty uneventful—thank goodness—and Jesse watched everyone sitting around the campfire, taking their measure. Lewis seemed to gain the attention of most everyone except Owen and another small fellow he hadn’t seen before. The two of them were off to themselves, their conversation lighthearted if the smile on Owen’s face was any indication.
By the time the sun had set and most of the beans were gone, the next shift rotation was drawing near. Jesse’s clothes were sticking to him and the water from the river had enticed him enough to take his own dip into those cool rapids.
He grabbed a change of clothes, told Ben where he was headed, and cut out toward the river.
Hidingin the bushes to take care of one’s business normally wouldn’t have bothered her but Alex was almost positive Owen would pop up any moment and squat down right beside of her.
She hadn’t been able to take more than five steps away from him since they called it a night and made camp. He was friendly enough but trying to hide and not be found out until they were too far from Willow Creek to go back was difficult with Owen dogging her every step.
A rustling in the bushes caused her heart to leap. She jerked her pants back up and glanced around for the source of the noise. She spotted a shadowy form off to her right, anger overriding her initial shock at being caught. If that was Owen, she was going to give him an ear full.
Staying low in case he hadn’t actually seen her, she peered through the brush to the water’s edge. Whoever was there wasn’t Owen. She could tell by the breadth of his shoulders and the length of his hair when he removed his hat and tossed it to the ground.
The moon hid behind a few clouds but enough light shined on the area for her to realize whoever interrupted her was undressing. She’d watched cowboy after cowboy head to the river for a quick dip in the cool waters and had envied every last one of them. She was hot and sweaty too, and submerging herself completely in the river would have been the perfect end to the day.
It wasn’t going to happen, though. Not with this many men around and her father still unseen. She was about to turn when someone stepped close to where she was hunkered down and yelled, “Jesse, you down here?”
Her heart slammed against her ribcage when an answering voice said, “Yeah, what do you need?”
For a small moment, she thought some unknown person with the name Jesse had joined her pa’s crew without her knowledge but the notion disappeared the moment she heard his voice. The sound made every hair on her body stand on end. She had no doubt about who it was there by the river bank. She’d know that deep baritone anywhere.
Jesse Samuels wasn’t in Willow Creek like he was supposed to be. He was here, riding with her pa on his cattle drive.
As if conjured by magic, the man she’d been watching at the river bank turned, the light of the moon sliding from behind the clouds and casting a bright glow against his face. It was Jesse, all right. He was no more than a few feet away from her, bathed in moonlight and unbuttoning his shirt.
Alex sat motionless, the conversation between who she realized was Ben Atwater and Jesse Samuels lost to her as blood pounded past her ears and her heart hammered against her ribcage.
What was Jesse doing here? Why was he not back at the ranch helping her uncles see to the everyday chores while her pa was gone?
Whatever their conversation was about didn’t last long. Ben turned and ran back toward camp. Alex glanced to where Jesse stood, her eyes widening when he tossed his shirt to the ground before kicking off his boots. When he dropped his pants, she gasped and ducked her head until the short tufts of grass that were beginning to jut from the ground tickled her nose.
The sound of splashing told her Jesse had entered the water and she leaned up a bit, craned her neck and tried to see where he was. He was submerged when she sat up on her knees enough to see and he startled her when he surfaced with a splash.
She knew very little about the male body but could appreciate the sight of a toned one when she saw it. Muscle rippled along his back and thanks to a full moon, light shined off his tanned skin and highlighted every water droplet dotting his flesh. He raised his arms, pushing water away from his face before slinging his head and sending water flying in every direction.
He swam back to the bank and Alex glanced away when he surfaced enough to see things she had no business looking at. The sound of water splashing a few moments later drew her gaze back to where he was.
He was washing, the bar of soap he dragged down one arm leaving bubbles in their wake. She watched for long minutes as he soaped every inch of skin he could reach, water sliding over his naked back before he tossed the bar to the bank and disappeared back under the water.
She’d managed to hold her breath under water longer than a few of the kids she grew up with but Jesse had her beat. She wondered how deep that hole he was standing in was and crawled closer to the bank to get a better look. He surfaced with a splash, turned in her direction and her eyes widened when he peered into the darkness as if he could see her.
She froze and waited for him to turn back around before she started crawling backwards, wincing when the dry grass crunched under her knees.
Like most river banks, this one curved and dipped in no particular way and Alex realized that fact an instant too late. One moment she was on solid ground, the next she was falling. The edge of the bank gave way and tossed her head first into the river. She managed to keep her mouth shut and not scream and held back a sputtering cough when she surfaced and pushed her wet hair out of her eyes.
