From the corner of her eye, something in the group of trees not far from the stream caught her attention. She glanced that way and realized there was a man hiding in the trees. Could her eyes be deceiving her, or was that man Jesse Slade?
They reached the edge of the stream and stopped. She glanced in that direction once again. Sure enough, standing behind a tree, she detected the side of Jesse’s face.
Trying to act casual so Jesse would not know she had seen him, she let her attention move slowly away from the trees until it had surveyed the whole field. When she settled her sights back on Adam, the grin she hadn’t been able to wear so far this afternoon appeared, and she couldn’t fight off the urge of excitement building inside her.
She should be angry that the rotten polecat was spying on her and Adam. Yet, this made no sense. Why was Jesse spying on her when he acted as if he wanted her to be with Adam? He hadn’t seemed a bit jealous that afternoon in his house. Could she have read him wrong? Was he, indeed, jealous?
She wanted to be upset, but she couldn’t garner any anger for Jesse. Instead, she was in the mood to tease. Taking in a big breath of air, she moved closer to Adam, displaying her widest smile for not only Adam’s sake but for Jesse’s. She hooked her arm around Adam’s elbow and gazed up into his eyes.
“Have I told you how much fun I’m having with you? Our outings have been very pleasant.” She raised her voice a bit, hoping that Jesse could hear.
Adam’s grin broadened. “I, too, am enjoying myself.”
“I really hate to see this day end.”
“I feel the same.”
“If only I didn’t need to get back home to help with the livery.” She pouted.
Going one step further, she rested her head on his shoulders, noticing right away that he was not as muscular as Jesse. Such a shame for Adam. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and his body relaxed.
“We’ll make the moment last while we can,” he said huskily.
“Yes. I just love watching the water run over the rocks. It’s so soothing for the soul.”
“No, I was talking about us. About this.” His arm tightened.
She rolled her head back just enough to look over to the clump of trees again. Jesse’s body leaned away from the tree while he practically strained his neck to see what was going on by the stream. Summer bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud.
She tried not to appear as if she was watching Jesse, but she also wasn’t very comfortable in Adam’s arms, either. And for some unknown reason, her legs itched. Casually, she reached down her leg and scratched. Within seconds, her other leg became irritated, and she had to rub that limb, too.
The longer she leaned against Adam, the more her legs burned with soreness, and the uncomfortable feeling seemed to crawl up her legs. Beside her, Adam shifted his stance, then he reached down to scratch his leg, too. This was too coincidental, but she couldn’t let Jesse know that something was not right in her and Adam’s cozy little embrace.
She pulled away slightly and turned toward the trees. Jesse quickly ducked and stumbled backward. In that direction came a loud cuss from him. Even Adam jerked his head toward the trees.
“Is somebody over there?”
“I’m not certain.”
She stepped away, and the itching on her legs increased. She could stand no more of this. Bending, she lifted her skirts just enough to scratch her ankles. She let out a loud gasp. Little red ants covered her legs. Then she realized they were standing on an ant hill.
“Augh!” She stomped fiercely, trying to get the ants off her.
Behind her, Adam screamed like a girl as he stumbled into the water, falling on his back and rolling around like his body was on fire. If not for the intense pain in her legs, she would have laughed out loud over his candid display.
She looked back to the trees again. Jesse ran along side his horse, almost in a limp as he held his pants. She couldn’t be sure, but from back here, it looked as if he’d been attacked, too, but by a bushel of sticker weeds instead.
Forgetting her pain for a few seconds, she laughed loudly, not caring who heard her outburst.
