“And what kind a woman holds your interest now?”
“I think you know.”
She grinned. “Humor me.”
“Well, I happen to like women with dark auburn hair, big beautiful hazel eyes, and skin as soft as rose petals. I also like my women to be very shapely.” His hands slid to her waist. His face registered with surprise and his eyes widened. “Summer? Where’s your corset?”
“I’ve been doing housework all day, and the dadgum thing was too uncomfortable.”
“I love how you can make me laugh.”
Her heart jumped to her throat. Suddenly, she could think of things she loved about him as well, but she couldn’t admit them.
“What else do you love?” she whispered.
He lowered his mouth to hers, and the kiss was soft and meaningful. She responded, loving the closeness they shared. She loved how the rhythm of her heartbeat accelerated whenever he was near and the way her body buzzed with awareness whenever he touched her. But she couldn’t love these things, especially when guilt overrode her emotions. She turned her face away, and his lips caressed her cheek.
“Jesse? Please don’t do this. You make it so hard to refuse.”
“Then don’t.”
“I have to.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes. It’s Pa’s wish that you marry Rosie.”
“But I don’t want to marry Rosie, and she doesn’t want to marry me. Your Pa will understand.”
His lips trailed down her neck, leaving feathery soft kisses on her skin. His hands moved underneath her arms, holding her just far enough away so that the position wasn’t awkward. Why couldn’t she stop him? Yet she was hesitant to stop the pleasure shooting through her.
But this couldn’t happen. Not with him.
“Jesse, this isn’t right.”
“Nothin’s ever been more right, darlin’.”
“No.” Tears burned her eyes, and she moved away from him. “I cannot disappoint Pa, and you shouldn’t either. We will continue with our separate wedding plans. It’s for the best.”
Before Jesse could say something to change her mind, she ran out of the livery and toward home while tears streamed down her face.
* * * *
“WOMEN! CAN’T LIVE WITH‘um, can’t shoot ‘um,” Jesse muttered for the hundredth time as he rode through the hills. He couldn’t stop replaying in his mind the events that had unfolded the night before. Time spent with Summer had been so wonderful, and their kiss was passionate. But the hardheaded woman was adamant about being with a man she truly didn’t love.
Then again, this was Summer Bennett.
Pushing back the brim of his hat, he swiped the cuff of his shirt across his sweaty brow. That woman made him crazy. Her kisses could melt an iceberg, then two minutes later, her glare could slice through him, tearing a painful hole in his heart. And, as always, her words left him in confusion.
He urged the horse into a gallop, hoping to give his restless mind some answers. Today he had planned on finding Rosie and having a much-needed talk. He wouldn’t tell her about his jumbled feelings for Summer, only about what he’d been feeling for Rosie for the past few years. Deep in his heart, he knew ending their engagement would bring him some peace.
A familiar scent drifted through the air and stopped his thoughts, making him rein his horse to a complete stop. Bacon. Somebody cooked over a fire, and the aroma caused his stomach to rumble. The smell came from over the next knoll, so he quickly dismounted and crept on foot to the top.
Being the Deputy Sheriff, he learned to be wary of everything, and there was no reason someone should be camped in the hills this close to town... unless they were hiding from the law.
Several horses blocked much of his view of the five men who clustered around a campfire, but they weren’t close enough to identify. From where Jesse crouched behind a bush, they all looked the same; dark, dusty coats, dark pants, and very wide-brimmed hats. If only he could get a closer look, but in order for him to do that, he’d have to come out of hiding.
Straining his neck, he searched further down the hill to see if there was any kind of cave but didn’t spot one. They had to be bandits. Generally, his first instincts were correct.
