Her hopes lifted.My first customer!She ran to the front of the barn, but when her gaze rested on Jesse Slade, her enthusiasm dropped, and her temper lifted a notch. She hadn’t forgotten how he brought her into town, and she wasn’t about to back down from his bullying tactics. She had no idea why she was so soft on him last night by the tree, but she vowedthatwould never happen again. Just because she was a woman didn’t mean she needed him...and she’d prove it. Just because he’d been nice to her last evening didn’t mean she’d changed her mind about him. He still wasn’t good enough for her sister, and especially to be part of her family.
His gaze skimmed up and down her length. A lazy smile touched his mouth. “Oh, it’s you.”
She plopped her hands on her hips. “Of course, it’s me. Who else would it be?”
He leaned against the wall, crossing one ankle over the other. He looked mighty handsome today, wearing the deep brown pants that perfectly hugged his legs. His beige shirt and brown leather vest molded over his chest, outlining his muscular torso. Her heart fluttered. It dawned on her this was hardly the reaction she wanted if she intended to make her dislike for him obvious.
“Considerin’ you haven’t been here for five years, I didn’t expect to see you.” He tipped his silver-belly Stetson to the back of his head. “Do you need any help? Since it’s your first day back, I figured you’d need an extra pair of hands.”
“Well, you figured wrong. I can handle things just fine.”
He nodded. “How about takin’ the horses out to be exercised?”
She shrugged. “Since there are only two horses today, I’ll be all right.”
“But it’ll be easier if I helped.”
“Jesse, don’t you have anything better to do today besides antagonize me? Have you forgotten I won’t take that kind of treatment from you?”
He chuckled and rubbed his forehead. “How can I forget? My noggin was your favorite target to unleash your frustrations on when you used your slingshot to talk.”
She couldn’t stop the laughter from erupting from her. She quickly covered her mouth to hide the mistake. Ladies weren’t supposed to laugh so boisterously.
He shook his head. “Give it up, Summer. You don’t need to be fussy around me. You can laugh out loud if you want.”
“Yes, but I’m a lady now, and I’m supposed to remember my manners.”
He grinned. “Didn’t know you had any.”
She lifted her brows. “Are you trying to provoke me?”
“It’d be like old times, wouldn’t it?”
She studied his teasing grin. For some reason, the polite man she talked with last night had disappeared, replaced with the Jesse she used to know. This man she could handle.
“Jesse? Other than arguing with me and driving me to distraction, why are you really here?”
“I just want to help. Is that so hard to believe?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I know better.”
He shrugged. “Fine, then. I came here to properly welcome you back home and...and to let you know how much I think you’ve changed.”
Her brows shot up in surprise. “Did Rosie put you up to this?”
He laughed. “No, not really. It’s just a shock to see you all grown up.”
“I wasn’t certain you’d noticed.”
“’Course, I noticed, and I’m not the only man noticin’, either.”
She grinned. “Really? Who else?”
“Just about every man in town.”
