Page 14 of Wild Horses

He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “Ask Hugh. He’ll fill you in.” He stepped back and glanced between Hugh and Jesse. “You two behave or you’ll be sharing a jail cell next time.”

She watched him head toward his house before turning her attention back to Jesse and Hugh. Rafe was there, the look on his face filled with amusement and anticipation.

“What am I missing?”

Rafe chuckled. “A whole lot of nothing.” He stepped up beside Jesse and tipped his hat at her. “We’ll just be on our way,” he said before gesturing for Jesse to move.

Alex met Jesse’s gaze and held it for as long as she dared. She was pretty good at reading people and as much as she hated to admit it, reading Jesse had always been difficult. Time hadn’t changed that fact. The hard look in his eyes only grew darker when he flicked a glance in Hugh’s direction before straightening his shoulders and looking back at her.

“Congratulations, Alex,” Jesse said, the words sounding wooden and hollow. “I wouldn’t have believed it had I heard it from anyone else.”

“Congratulations? What are you talking—”

He walked away before she could finish speaking. She spun on her heel to stare after him, shaking her head in disbelief. “He’s still as rude as ever.”

“That he is.”

Alex watched Jesse and Rafe disappear into the crowd walking along the sidewalk before turning back around. She glanced up at Hugh and noticed a peculiar look on his face. “Am I missing something?”

He smiled sheepishly. “Sort of.” He motioned to the hotel’s restaurant with his head. “Let’s go have lunch and I’ll explain everything.”

She let him lead her the rest of the way, thoughts of Jesse and his bruised face filling her head. The fight in the saloon involved the two of them somehow. Had Jesse spent the night in jail? She was about to ask when Hugh pulled open the door to the hotel. They were seated right away at a table in the back of the room, secluded from the rest of the diners by an ornate, three-panel screen hand painted with cheery blossoms and some sort of foreign writing.

They ordered and settled in, Alex’s mind racing again. She needed to discuss this whole courtship business but the fight in the saloon was too interesting a topic to give up on just yet. “So,” she said, getting Hugh’s attention. “What happened at the saloon?”

He laughed. “You just don’t give up do you?”

“No.” She grinned. “I’m used to getting my way so you might as well tell me. What happened.”

Hugh shook his head and let out a deep breath. “Hell if I know. I was at the bar having a drink with Walter and that guy just put a fist upside my head.”

“Who, Jesse?”

Hugh nodded. “Yes. I’m still not even sure why.”

Alex stared at him and tried to puzzle out why Jesse would just attack him. It made no sense. Of course, she knew very little about the man Jesse had grown into. Ten years was a long time. Even she’d changed to some degree. “You didn’t say anything to provoke him?”

“No. I wasn’t even looking his way.” Hugh’s face turned red again. He was blushing. “Walter and I were celebrating. He’d ordered drinks for everyone at the bar. Someone asked what we were celebrating and when I said, he jumped me.”

She was almost scared to ask. “And what was it you were celebrating?”

He reached across the table and took her hands in his, the smile on his face widening. “My impending marriage.” He placed a kiss on her knuckles and let go of her long enough to reach into the pocket of his vest. Alex’s heart was lodged in her throat by the time she saw the ring. The world shifted and the room grew fuzzy, then righted itself.

Hugh reached for her hand again. “Alex, I’m not a rich man but I can protect you and give you a nice life. If you’d do me the honor of being my wife, you’ll never want for anything.”

The ring he held was silver with a small blue stone on top. The noise in the room grew loud, then stopped completely. She looked from the ring to Hugh’s bruised face.

“I know it’s not as fashionable as the new diamond rings they’re coming out with now but I promise to get you one as soon as I can.” He inhaled a breath and smiled. “Alexandra Avery, will you marry me?”

As he expectedher to do, Grace scolded him the moment he walked through the doorway. Then she set about mothering him as if he were fourteen years old again and got into a scuffle at school. If only it were as simple as that.

Jesse endured her poking and prodding and kept shooting glances at Rafe in hopes his brother would intervene. The smile on his face said he would do nothing of the sort so he spent the next hour letting Grace do as she wished.

She was quiet while cleaning the small cut above his eye and dabbing some awful smelling liniment on his bruises. She gently wiped away dried blood from his knuckles, her silence near deafening. When she straightened and gave him a disapproving look, he knew a lecture was coming.

He grinned and stood, placing a kiss on her cheek. “I already know what you’re going to say, Grace, so save your breath.”

She scowled and placed her hands on her hips. “Really?” she said. “And what am I about to say?”

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