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The shirt was several sizes too big, the sleeves hanging past her hands. She tugged at them, pulling the material up with little success. The pants were too long and drooping so badly he wasn’t sure how they were staying up. When she reached for them, dragging them up to her hips, he laughed and crossed to where she stood, grabbed her arm and started rolling the sleeve up over her wrists. He did the same with the pant legs and found a bit of twine to use as a belt. When he was finished she looked like a small child playing dress up in her father’s clothes.
“That’ll have to do.”
She tugged at the pants again then sighed. “I’ll be lucky if I don’t break my neck in this get-up.”
“I wouldn’t suggest any foot races, that’s for sure.”
She made a face at him and headed toward Isaac. She still looked ridiculous but seeing her in his clothes caused his pulse to beat frantically and his imagination to run wild. He’d love nothing more than to see her in his shirt and nothing else, those glorious gold curls framing her sleep-swollen face while she smiled at him from beneath his bed sheets.
Sending her home would be damn hard now, especially after the last attempt was botched so badly but keeping her here was dangerous. There wasn’t a way in hell he’d survive the next seven weeks with her so close when all he could think about was the feel of her underneath him and the sweet taste of her lips still lingering in his mouth.
He sighed, readjusted his hat, and headed toward the horses. He needed to talk to Ben. He was the only person he trusted to see Alex back home but getting his oldest friend to agree would take some persuading.
Getting Alex to agree would take a miracle.
It washard to keep the smile off her face and Alex resorted to biting the inside of her cheek to keep from looking like a crazy person.
They were miles away from the last town, the sun starting to sink low over the horizon and even though Jesse said he’d be sending her back home, Alex was determined to change his mind. All she had to do was prove her worth. To show him she was an asset, not a hindrance like he thought.
She pushed the sleeves of her too-big shirt up again and nudged her horse toward the back side of the herd. Owen was there wrangling the extra horses and he smiled when he spotted her. She rode in close and squinted when the dying sun shined in her eyes. She missed her hat more than her clothes.
“Trail boss said he was still going to send you home once we reached the next town.”
“Did he say anything else?”
Owen shook his head. “No.” He scratched the side of his neck and looked toward the front of the herd. “I tried to plead your case like you asked but he didn’t want to hear it. He said you were more trouble than you were worth.” He grinned, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “I didn’t agree with him, of course, then he asked if you had put me up to talking to him about you staying. I said no, but I think he knew I was lying.”
Alex snorted a laugh. “I’m sure he does.” She blew out a deep breath, pushed the sleeves of her shirt up again and laid both hands on the pommel of her saddle. “I’ve got to figure something out,” she said, more to herself than to Owen. “There’s no reason for him to send me home.”
Owen adjusted his hat and looked her way. “You could always be sure to stay out of his line of sight. He can’t send you home if he can’t find ya.”
Alex grinned. “There’s a plan.” She looked to both sides of the herd. She didn’t see him but knowing Jesse, he wasn’t far away. Why he felt the need to watch her like she was some helpless little girl was beyond her. She was more capable than most of the men riding with them and he knew it.
The herd shifted and she urged her mount to follow, leaving Owen with the horses. She steered a few stragglers back to where the others were and kept pace with them until the sun started its slow descent behind the hills and the faint light of the moon shined in the sky.
The breeze was warm, the air blowing hard enough to ruffle the material of her shirt and to carry the scent that lingered on her borrowed clothing toward her face.
She lowered her head while raising her arm and inhaled. The shirt was clean but it still smelled like Jesse. The exotic spicy fragrance that clung to his skin, some rich shaving tonic she assumed, filled the fibers of his clothes. She closed her eyes, inhaled again and images from earlier in the day assaulted her senses.
She still wasn’t sure she had initiated that kiss like Jesse suggested she had and not knowing left her edgy. Had she kissed him?
There was little reason to try and deny he’d grown into a handsome man but having any sort of romantic notions were Jesse Samuels was concerned were ridiculous now. They spent their entire childhood hating each other. They barely got along. How could she think of him as anything other than a constant pain in the ass?
A whispered voice in the back of her head hinted at a time when she thought otherwise. When thoughts of Jesse left her dreaming about stolen kisses and wondering if he might secretly like her. She’d never let a soul know she’d entertained the notion of them together but those thoughts died when he left for Boston and never came back.
Thinking of him seemed to conjure him out of thin air. One moment she was alone with her thoughts, the next he was riding beside her, a look of displeasure on his face. “What did I do now,” she asked. “I haven’t seen you in hours so I can’t possibly have offended you in any way.”
“The fact I haven’t seen you in hours is exactly why I’m upset.” He braced both hands on his legs and shook his head at her. “You do realize if anything happens to you your pa will hang me from that old tree out behind the barn, don’t ya?”
“You think?”
“I’m positive.”
She grinned. “If that’s the case, I hope Laurel makes a pitcher of lemonade and invites the whole town to watch.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “You really are a brat.” He rode off to wrangle a few strays back into place and joined her a few minutes later. “On second thought,” he said, “Your pa is probably having the best time of his life. For the first time since you were born, he doesn’t have to constantly worry about what you’re doing.”
“That’s because he knows I’m strong enough to handle anything.”
