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As much as he wanted to continue the conversation, Jesse knew Isaac was right. Yelling at each other did nothing to help the situation. He still had a herd to get to Kansas, watch a group of men he didn’t trust, and keep the one girl in the world he would move mountains for safe until he could get her home.
Regardless of what she thought, she shouldn’t be out here. She’d never been farther than Missoula. The world wasn’t as laid back as Willow Creek was, especially out here in the middle of nowhere. There were wild animals and bandits, outlaw and Indians to worry about and it would take more than her waspish tongue to get her out of a tough spot.
The setting sun was casting streaks of gold through her hair. Covered in dirt and men’s clothing, she was still as lovely as he’d ever seen her. He’d left Willow Creek, joining the cattle drive to get out of town as a way to avoid her. He couldn’t stay and watch her and Hugh Jacobs smile their way through the streets, the happy new couple glowing as they told everyone they were engaged.
The very thought of it angered him. He’d waited too long to come back home and lost the one thing he’d been returning for.
Alex rounded the back of the wagon and headed to where Isaac stood. He followed her progress, watching the way her braid swung along her back and the small sway of her hips.
She’d looked like the finest thing he’d ever seen the day he bumped into her at the saloon. The too fancy dress she’d been wearing hugged curves that had grown more defined in the years since he’d been gone but nothing compared to the sight of her rounded bottom in those trousers. He had half a mind to grab his bedroll and tie it around her waist just to hide her figure from the others. Why it had taken three days before someone realized she was a girl was beyond him. Hell, even he hadn’t. He’d seen her around camp but not once had he taken the time to pay much attention to her. He wished he would have. He could have sent her home without much hassle. Now he’d have to lose Ben in the process.
He sat down on the log Alex had been sitting on, watching as she talked with Isaac. As much as he would like to spend the next two months with her out here in the wilderness, a cattle drive was no place for a woman, especially one as hard headed as Alexandra Avery.
She started back his way, a small jar in her hand. She handed it to him when she stopped in front of him.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“It’s for your eye.”
He reached up to touch the burning he still felt and she slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch it. Hard telling where your hands have been.”
She removed the lid from the jar, stuck a finger inside and scooped out a small dab of whatever was inside. When she reached a hand toward his face, he leaned back. “What is that?”
“No clue what’s in it. Isaac makes it. It’s good for cuts and burns.”
To his shock, she applied the salve, her touch soft. He watched her face, took in the pink fullness of her lips, the bright blue of her eyes. She was more beautiful than he remembered. And too good for him. She always had been.
She took a step back when she was finished and put the lid back on the jar. She kept her gaze averted, wiped her fingers on her pant leg and said, “That should keep it from swelling. The redness will be gone by morning too, I’d imagine.”
He watched her walk away again, the feel of her soft caress still fresh in his mind. For the second time since he’d met her, she’d not lashed out at him. She’d been the girl he always knew was hiding beneath her hard exterior. The sweet girl who let him get close enough to her one hot summer day inside the schoolhouse to let him kiss her. It hadn’t lasted long but that small kiss was burned inside his memory as clear as the images of the school house on fire were.
Maybe he didn’t need to send her away after all. If she were here, she wouldn’t be marrying Hugh Jacobs.
He grinned, the idea of keeping her around sounded better by the second.
Ten
She was goinghome if he had to put her inside a wooden crate and mail her back to Willow Creek.
Jesse gritted his teeth, pressed his tongue against the back of them and hoped his jaw didn’t crack from clenching it so hard.
The sun had just dipped below the horizon and Alex was trying his patience to the point he wanted nothing more than to throw her over his knee and give her the kind of whipping her pa should have given her years ago.
“I’m not fighting her all the way back.”
“You won’t have to,” Jesse said.
“Yes, he will.” Alex planted her hand on her hips, fire shining in her eyes. “I’m not going back and you can’t make me.”
Jesse pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t used to this much aggravation. He blew out a breath and met her gaze. “You’re going home, Alex. That’s nonnegotiable.” Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Lewis and a few of the others were lingering in the shadows listening. He glanced back at Alex. “I don’t have time to watch you every second of the day.”
“You don’t have to. I’m not a baby. I can take care of myself.”
“Really?” He laughed. “I must have missed that part earlier when Lewis was having a go at ya.”
Alex shook her head. “They caught me off guard, that’s all.”
He looked at Ben who raised an eyebrow at him and gave a small shake of his head. He’d known Ben nearly all his life and he was a sucker for a pretty face. As ornery as Alex was, it wouldn’t take much for her to manipulate him into doing exactly what she wanted. He’d have to hog tie her and drape her across her horse to get her back. Knowing her though, she’d gnaw through the ropes and ride straight back to the herd.
