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He laughed. “I figured as much. Kind of hard to forget with you telling me once a week for years.”
She sat up straighter but ignored him for the most part. He ran a quick glance over her, smiling to himself at her straddling a horse in her too fancy dress. Her hair had come unpinned, those blonde curls he’d had trouble forgetting bouncing against her back.
Her dress was wrinkled, covered in Lord only knew what, but the sight of her caused his heart to race and for silly notions he’d had in his youth to come flooding back. “I’m sorry.”
She threw him an incredulous look. “You’re apologizing?”
“Yes.”
The unbelieving look on her face didn’t last long. “Apology not accepted.” Stoney anger darkened her blue eyes. “Now stay away from me.”
She prodded her horse again and he let her get ahead of him. He followed in silence, feeling a sense of dread when she rode under the arched entryway to the Avery ranch.
She passed her aunt and uncle, Tristan and Emmaline’s house without so much as a glimpse in their direction and kept going, past the barn and straight toward the house. Jesse stopped a short distance from her, lingering in the background as she jumped from her horse and stomped toward the house.
The front door opened before she reached the steps. Holden Avery stepped out onto the porch and stumbled to a stop. He frowned in their direction and stared down at Alex for long minutes before glancing up at him. “What’s going on?”
“Hey, pa." Alex shifted her weight, straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I came to talk to you.”
To Jesse’s surprise, Holden didn't look happy to see her. The reasons why puzzled him. He’d definitely been gone too long. He didn’t know half of what was going on anymore.
Alex took the stairs slowly, her gaze leveled on her father and it wasn’t until Laurel, Alex’s stepmother stepped out onto the porch that the tension that had been building dissipated. In an instant, the quiet, tense stares were gone and replaced by questions.
Laurel gave Alex a look from head to toe. Her eyes widened when she got a good look at her. “What in the world happened to you?”
Alex turned her head and shot him a glare. “Nothing worth mentioning.”
Jesse looked toward the barn to keep from smiling. Their confrontation in front of the saloon was still fresh on his mind. The chatter of voices grew louder as two younger boys—Alex’s brother’s if he had to guess—joined them on the porch. He was about to head back to town when the noise suddenly stopped.
He glanced back at the house just as the front door swung shut. Everyone was gone. Well, everyone but Holden. He was still there with a strange look covering his face. The corner of the man’s lip raised into what Jesse assumed may have been a smile before he straightened and nodded his head toward him. “Did you find a fight you weren’t expecting?”
He raised a hand to his jaw. “Something like that.”
“How did Rafe and Grace take the surprise of you showing up on their door?”
Jesse lifted his hat, ran his fingers through his hair. “As to be expected. Happy at first.” He grinned. “Then I had to endure an entire evening of scolding for staying gone so long.”
Holden laughed. “I’m sure you did.” He studied him for long moments, then let out a breath. “Thanks for seeing Alex home, Jesse. She’s more independent than most her age but that doesn’t mean I want her traipsing across the prairie by herself. Especially now that so many people are being assaulted by whoever it is out there causing so much trouble.”
“Don’t mention it.” Jesse shifted in the saddle, his thoughts running rampant at the possibility of Alex being accosted by that gang of thieves he’d heard were prowling around the countryside. Their being in the area hadn’t even crossed his mind when he took off after Alex. All he’d been thinking was, there’s Alex. After ten long years, he was in the same vicinity as she was. “She hasn’t changed much,” he said, raising a hand to rub his jaw. “Still has a wicked right hook.”
Holden laughed. “That she does. Good to see you again, Jesse.”
When he turned and went back inside, Jesse glanced up at the window in the front of the house, Alex’s bedroom, and was surprised to see her staring down at him. He smiled and tipped the front of his hat up in her direction, then laughed as she made a face at him.
Pulling the horse’s reins, he clicked his tongue and got the horse turned back toward the main road and tried to put Alex out of his mind. Lord knew having her occupy his thoughts again would eat up more of his time than it should.
He’d left the best friends he’d ever had back in town and as much as he hated not going back, he knew he wouldn’t be much fun. Not tonight. Not after seeing Alex again. He’d been dreaming about her since the day he left town and now that he’d seen her again, there wasn’t any distraction in the world big enough to take his mind off of her.
He glanced back up at Alex’s window. She was still there, watching him. He’d never get her out of his head now. He hadn’t managed it in the ten years he’d been gone. He didn’t see it happening now that she was full grown and more beautiful than she’d ever been.
Two
“Come awayfrom there and get out of that dress.”
Alex watched Jesse ride away from the ranch, his image a blurry dot on the horizon before she dropped the curtain and turned to face her stepmother. Laurel’s arm was draped with petticoats and a pale blue dress. She laid them on the bed before looking her over from head to toe, her nose scrunching a bit. “Is that muck on your dress what it smells like?
Alex snorted unladylike and narrowed her eyes. “Yes, thanks to Jesse.” She grabbed the front of her jacket and unbuttoned it, then gave Laurel a grateful smile when she stepped over to help her out of her traveling dress.
