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She crept to the stairs, watching her pa as he lit the lamp and went to the door and opened it. Her eyes widen when she saw Jesse.
Her pa straightened to his full height, his head tilting just a fraction. “Jesse? What’s wrong? Has something happened?”
Even in the dim light, she could see he was mad. The way he was standing, the set of his shoulders and the way his brows lowered over his eyes told her that much.
“Yes sir,” he said. “Something is very wrong but I intend to fix that right now.” He lifted his head and looked past her pa’s shoulder, his gaze burning into hers. “I’ve come for my wife and I’m not leaving without her.”
Someone touched her back but she didn’t look to see who it was. Her heart was pounding too hard to do much other than try to breathe. Her pa had turned back to the stairs and the light from the lamp illuminated his face. One eyebrow was arched and the corner of his mouth was tilted up just a fraction.
“Alex? What’s he talking about? Is there something you need to tell me?”
She opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. She tried three times and cleared her throat twice before sighing. “It’s a long story.”
Holden sat the lamp down on the table by the door. “Well, I’m up now, so let’s hear it.”
She glanced at Jesse again. He hadn’t moved, his gaze still boring into her so intently, she could swear she felt it sliding across her skin. She moved to the bottom of the steps and sighed. “When Jesse found me hiding out with the other cowboys in the cattle drive he tried to send me home. When that didn’t work, he forced me to marry him.”
“I didn’t force you to do anything.”
“You most certainly did!” She walked halfway to the door before stopping to glare at him. “You said marry you or go home.”
“Exactly. You could have picked the go home option but you didn’t. You took vows before God and a preacher and I expect you to honor them.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared back at him. “So did you, but where have you been for the last four weeks? I’ve seen neither hide nor hair of you. You just up and abandoned me! Left me here without a word.”
“Well, it was hard to get one in with your lips stuck to Hugh Jacobs the way they were.”
She gasped. “That wasn’t my fault and you know it!”
“Have you told him you’re married to me yet?”
When he’d come inside the house, she didn’t know, but he was standing so close she could feel the heat from his body. “I told him I couldn’t marry him.”
“Did you tell him why?”
She glanced at her pa. She hadn’t told anyone. She wasn’t sure if she should. She hadn’t seen Jesse since they got home. Didn’t know if he even still wanted to be married to her so she’d kept the information to herself. Her lack of answer wasn’t the one Jesse had wanted. He grabbed her so fast she gasped when he tossed her over his shoulder and turned to the door. “Put me down!”
“I’ll be back to explain everything in the morning,” he said, handing her pa a piece of paper. “Proof she’s mine.” He walked out the door and down the steps and didn’t stop until he reached his horse. He tossed her in the saddle and climbed up behind her, grabbing the reins and clicking his tongue to get the horse moving.
He raced across the field, straight to the creek. She could see dim lights through the trees but had no idea why. There was nothing out there. When they reached the lower end of the field where the creek was shallow, her eyes widened. They crossed the creek and up the small embankment. The spot the old line shack used to sit was now filled with a cabin, warm glowing lights shining from the front windows.
There were two chairs on a small roof covered porch. Flowers bloomed inside small boxes underneath the windows and she could see lace curtains behind the glass panes.
Jesse pulled the reins and the horse stopped. He jumped to the ground then lifted her down. She lifted her head to look up at him. “What is this?”
“It’s yours. Ours.” He sighed and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I built it for us. For the family I hope we have one day.”
She looked back at the cabin. When did he have time to do this? She must have spoken the question aloud because he grabbed her arm and walked her to the house. “I put the last nail in it today. Rafe, Ben, Owen and a bunch of the cowboys over at the ranch helped us.” He led her up onto the porch and stopped at the front door before turning to look at her. “I gave you a month, Alex. A month of space to make up your mind about what you want. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Right here, within view of your families ranch and mine. Will you marry me?”
Everything he felt was written across his face. He really did love her. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in every soft word he said. She licked her lips and smiled. “We’re already married.”
He nodded. “True, but that little ceremony wasn’t how I pictured marrying you. I want to repeat those vows in front of our families, our friends. I want to see you gussied up with flowers in your hair and your pa giving me your hand all proper like.” He leaned down, took her face between his palms and brushed his lips against her own. “Will you marry me?”
She leaned into him and smiled. “I’ll marry you,” she said, then wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him. He broke the kiss long enough to pick her up into his arms and pushed the front door open and carried her inside.
The cabin was small but she didn’t imagine they needed much room, well not yet. The front door led into the main room. A fireplace took up the entire left-hand wall. The kitchen was directly in front of her and a hallway off to the right. Light glowed from the door of one of the rooms. She took a few steps toward it then stopped and turned to face Jesse. “Is that the bedroom?”
He nodded.
