Page 12 of Wild Horses

“That’s Hugh,” Ben said before picking his glass back up. “Nice enough fellow, I suppose. He keeps to himself most of the time.”

Jesse didn’t like him the instant he laid eyes on him. He was too tall, his hair too dark, his tanned complexion so different from his own.

He looked away. There was nothing wrong with Hugh Jacobs other than the fact he was courting the girl he’d always thought would be his when she got over being stubborn. Hating him on principle sounded like a good idea but he’d have to explain himself eventually and if Alex had a steady beau, he’d be damned if anyone ever found out he’d been pining for her.

He swallowed the rest of his whiskey, motioned for another and downed it just as fast. His throat and stomach burned by the time Vernon filled the glass again.

“Take it easy there, boss.” Ben laughed and reached over to push his glass away. “You keep putting those shots away like that, you won’t be good for nothing.”

“I thought that was the idea when we came in here.”

They shared another round before Ben turned and put his back to the bar. Aaron followed suit, and Jesse did the same, scanning the crowd for Hugh Jacobs. He spotted him near the stairs talking with a man in a suit. The longer he watched him, the more thoughts of him with Alex filled his mind. Thoughts that caused blood to rush through his veins and pound inside his head.

Hugh and the man he was talking to laughed. The smile on Hugh’s face said he was pleased about something. They headed toward the bar and stopped beside Aaron. The man with Hugh leaned toward Vernon and said, “We’ll take a shot of whatever these three are drinking.” He smiled and patted Hugh on the shoulder. “Hell, I’ll buy another round for everyone at the bar, too. We’re celebrating!”

Vern raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Yes, sir.” He poured the drinks, the noise from the men lingering around the bar raising in volume as their glasses were refilled. “What’s the occasion?”

“Hugh is getting hitched!”

The man in question downed his drink and motioned for another. “I talked with Alexandra’s pa an hour ago,” Hugh said. “All I gotta do now is get the girl alone for five minutes and ask her to marry me.”

The congratulatory cheers were deafening. The noise grew until Jesse’s ears were ringing. When Hugh said, “Alexandra Jacobs does have a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” the words echoed inside his head until it became unbearable.

He’d heard people talk about doing things they didn’t remember after the fact but most of the time, they were hitting the bottle pretty hard. He’d had a fair share of whiskey tonight—and he was far from drunk—but he’d be damned if he knew how he ended up rolling across the floor with Hugh Jacobs, both of them throwing punches hard enough to bruise.

By the time he was pulled to his feet, every inch of him hurt, blood was pouring from his nose and he was having a hard time seeing out of his right eye. Hugh looked much the same.

He jerked against the hold they had him in. Ben and Aaron each held an arm, Ben’s voice loud in his ear as he told him to calm down. He stared across the broken chairs and overturned tables to Hugh. The man’s face was red, his lip busted, the buttons on his shirt ripped from the fabric. He was heaving for breath, his hair disheveled, and confusion and anger clouded his eyes.

“What’s going on?”

Jesse didn’t look away from Hugh but he could see Morgan Avery out of the corner of his eye. The marshal in Willow Creek looked the same as he had last time he’d seen him.

“Who started this?” Morgan asked, looking between them.

“He did,” Hugh spat. “Crazy some-bitch just attacked me.”

Morgan turned to look his way before hooking his thumbs in the front of his belt. “That right?”

Jesse didn’t reply.

Hugh jerked away from the men holding him and tried unsuccessfully to tidy his appearance. “I don’t know what his problem is, marshal. I’ve never even seen the feller before tonight.”

“Well, that’s because he just got back into town,” Morgan said. He nodded toward Aaron and Ben and they let him go. Jesse glanced at Morgan before returning his gaze to Hugh.

“What’s the problem, Jesse?”

He didn’t answer. What was there to say? I hit the bastard cause he took my girl? The fact Alex hated him made little difference. In his mind, she’d always been his. She always would be.

He straightened and tore his gaze from Hugh. “Just a misunderstanding, marshal. Won’t happen again.”

“You damn right it won’t,” Hugh said.

What started out as a celebration among friends ended with him spending a night in the jail and a hefty bill for the damage to the saloon. Morgan lingered after locking the cell door. “Anything I can get you?”

“No.” Jesse sat on the single cot in the small space and leaned back against the wall. “Just don’t tell Rafe and Grace this is where I spent the night.”

Morgan laughed. “News travels pretty fast around here nowadays. I’m sure they’ll find out but you’ve got my word they won’t hear it from me.”

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