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“Define problem?”
Ben looked to Jesse with a, “I told you so,” look on his face.
Jesse grabbed her wrapped parcel of clothing and handed it to the man loading bags onto the stagecoach, then turned to face her. “Let’s go, Alex. No fussing now, okay?”
She gritted her teeth and dug her heel into the wooden sidewalk. She wasn’t getting on that stagecoach. “No.”
“I thought you’d say that.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a length of twine. “Don’t make this difficult.”
Alex looked at the twine, then raised her gaze to his. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I?”
The smile on his face said he was looking forward to it. She looked to Isaac. He was looking at anything but her and whistling softly under his breath. Even though Ben didn’t want to leave either, he wouldn’t do anything to help her. He’d always done exactly what Jesse wanted him to do.
When Jesse reached for her, she stepped back, braced her feet apart and was ready to fight if she had to. “I’m not going.”
“You are.”
He snatched her hand away from her hip so fast she was stunned. The seconds she stood wondering how he’d moved so fast were enough for him to get the twine around her wrist.
The struggle was real, the push and shove they were doing causing more than a few people to look their way.
They shuffled across the sidewalk, dangerously close to the edge, and gained a few more onlookers in the process. When he grabbed her other arm, she raised her leg and stomped on his foot.
“Damn it, Alex!”
She shook her hands free, tugged at the twine, the thin coiled rope burning her hands when he pulled back.
“Stop fighting me,” he said. “You’re getting on that stagecoach of your own free will or hog-tied and gagged, your choice.” When he came at her again, she balled her fist and swung at his head. He grabbed her wrist before she made contact, fire shining in his eyes. “Are you sure you want to go this route with me?”
He was panting for breath, his face red, teeth clenched. Alex raised her chin a notch in defiance. “I’m not getting on that stagecoach and you can’t make me.”
He smiled, but there was nothing friendly about the look. “Fine. You want to stay?” he said. “Then we’ll do this my way.”
He still had hold of her wrist but let go long enough to grab her hand, lacing his fingers through hers so she couldn’t break the hold. He jumped from the sidewalk and started across the dirt road cutting through town, Ben, and Isaac hot on their heels.
“Where are we going?”
He didn’t say a word, just kept marching across town, his jaw clenching and unclenching. She had to run to keep up and was out of breath by the time he pushed on the gate in front of a building she thought was a school. The cross on the door told her otherwise. It was a church. “What are you doing?”
“Making it so you can stay on with the cattle drive.”
He led her up the steps and through the doors. The inside of the building was filled with rows of benches. A man near the front looked up from the book he was holding. “Can I help you?”
“Yes,” Jesse said. “We’d like to be married.”
Alex froze, her heart slamming against her ribcage so hard she gasped. “Married!”
“Yes.” He looked at her, his mouth in a tight, thin line. “Right now.”
Sixteen
“I’m not marrying you!”
She jerked her arm, trying to dislodge his hold on her hand but Jesse tightened his grip. “Yes, you are,” he said. “If you want to stay on with the cattle drive you’ll marry me.”
She couldn’t have looked more stunned if he’d slapped her. To be honest, he felt as shocked as she looked.
