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“Well, the whole cattle drive had to stop so I could put you on that stagecoach. Extra provisions had to be picked up because you being here wasn’t figured in when Isaac bought what we needed. And now, me not being with the rest of them is letting Lewis get another step closer to just taking over the whole operation.”
She looked up at him. “He can’t do that.”
Jesse laughed. “Yeah? What’s stopping him?”
She turned away and kept walking as a streak of lightening lit up the sky.
He watched her until his patience wore out, then he jumped from the horse and quickened his step to catch up with her and grabbed her arm when he reached her to make her stop walking. “You’ve made your point, Alex, now let’s go. A storm’s moving in.”
She jerked away, dislodging his hold on her. “Stop telling me what to do.”
“Damn it, Alex.” He jerked off his hat and slapped it against his thigh before putting it back on his head. “I don’t have time for this foolishness now get your ass back up on that horse!”
To his amazement, she gave him her back and started walking again.
He counted to ten, then counted again before running to catch her. He grabbed her and turned her to face him. “I’m through playing, Alex. Get on the horse.”
“No.”
“Wrong answer.” He threw her over his shoulder and clamped her in place by bracing his arm around her waist. She gasped, then fought like a wildcat. He hadn’t taken ten steps when her foot caught him between the legs. He grunted and stumbled, losing his balance enough her wiggling brought him to his knees.
He dropped her, breathed through his nose while ignoring the pain and managed to stand. His blood was rushing through his veins so loud he could hear it thundering past his ears.
The heavens opened, fat drops of rain falling to soak him clean through in a matter of moments. Alex turned and hadn’t taken two steps when he grabbed her again. He saw her fist flying toward his face a moment too late. The impact rocked his head back, pain shooting up the side of his jaw.
Every tiny detail of the past hour swamped him at once. Putting her on the stagecoach, learning someone was going to rob it, rescuing her, the bickering, her dainty foot connecting with his balls and now a punch to the head.
He ground his teeth and slowly turned back to face her. Her eyes were wide, her pretty mouth clamped shut tight. He grabbed the material of his pant leg to keep from grabbing her again and closed his eyes, counting inside his head. When he got to ten, he said, “Run.”
Thirteen
She’d never seenthat particular look in Jesse’s eyes before. When he ground out the word, “run,” through clenched teeth, her heart uncharacteristically slammed against her ribcage. To say he was mad was an understatement.
Fire shined in his normally serene green eyes. His face turned red and that tiny little word, “run,” rang inside her head on repeat as she took a step back.
His jaw clenched, the muscle bunching in his cheek. As the rain beat down against her head, something dark and ugly filled Jesse’s eyes and she did as he said.
She ran.
It didn’t take him long to follow. Alex picked her knees up higher, her arms pumping by her sides. She could hear his heavy footsteps behind her, the rain blinding as her breath was panted out in short bursts. Her head start did little good. He caught her quicker than she thought he would, his arms clamping around her waist as they both fell.
“Let go!” Alex squirmed and kicked, trying to break his hold. “I mean it, Jesse.”
He grunted and fought back, maneuvering her until she was face down, her stomach across one muscled leg, his other flung over hers to keep her still. “I’m about to let go, all right. I’m gonna do what your pa should have done years ago.”
She gasped and looked back over her shoulder. “You wouldn’t dare.”
He grinned. “Wouldn’t I?” The first slap across her bottom startled her so badly she didn’t even feel it. She felt the second, though. She bucked under his grip and tried to kick out with her legs. His laughter and the third pop to her bottom caused her blood to rush past her ears. “Jesse! I’m going to kill you!”
When he smacked her bottom a fourth time, she screamed until her throat felt raw and kicked again, wiggling until she was able to turn in his lap. Then she punched him in the head.
His delighted laughter was reminiscent of the days when all they did was fight and hate each other. She managed to twist enough she got her elbow into his stomach as he tried to pull her back into his lap.
She screamed in frustration, fought as if the devil himself had caught her and hit him again, twisted until he lost his grip on her and she scrambled to crawl away.
His hand grazed her leg as he made a grab for her. She kicked back with her foot, heard him grunt as she hit him and yelled again when he pulled her legs out from under her and she fell face-first into the rain-soaked ground.
Jesse grabbed her and flipped her over onto her back. “It’s time you learned some manners.”
