Page 62 of The Maverick’s Legacy

“I believe she asked you to leave,” Jesse said. He didn’t raise his voice, but he didn’t have to. The calm authority in his tone was enough to make even a man like Fletch flinch.

She had never seen Jesse this way. There was a quiet danger to him. Moreover, there was a protectiveness in the way he angled his body toward her. She hadn’t felt this safe with someone since the first day she’d met her parents and they’d promised her that nothing would ever hurt her again. She hadn’t realized she needed that sense of protection still—until Jesse gave it to her without a word. Something healed in her at the steely-eyed look in Jesse’s gaze as he stared Fletch down.

“The lady and I are having a private conversation,” Fletch said, all bluster.

“The conversation is over,” Jesse said, his voice low in a way that enthralled her.

The way he was acting shouldn’t have turned her on, but it did. Her pulse leapt deliciously at the way his eyes narrowed on Fletch. Honestly, she needed to stop listening to Remi go on about those romance novels of hers. It was making Carly think ridiculous things. But she couldn’t help it.

She really hoped they weren’t about to get into a fight. Not in the middle of her hallway anyway. While it would have been satisfying to watch Fletch get knocked down a few pegs, she didn’t want him to actually get hurt. He was such a baby when he was.

“Go on, Fletch,” she said. “Leave.”

Fletch looked from Jesse to her. It was clear that he was internally debating: Did he try to argue with her some more, or did he realize that Jesse could very well knock him on his butt if he didn’t do as he was told?

“What a disappointment you are,” Fletch spat before he headed toward the door. Jesse took a step toward him that made Fletch recoil, but Carly held up her hand to stop him from going after her ex.

“The feeling is entirely mutual,” she replied.

Fletch walked by Jesse, giving him as much space as he could given the width of the porch. Jesse watched him go, not taking his eyes off the other man until the Aussie was in his rental car and heading down her driveway. Only then did he turn back to Carly.

Carly leaned against the front door, her earlier hurt and betrayal at his absence after her injury quickly rising. “You have a damn nerve—”

Jesse stepped into the house and grasped her shoulders, slowly backing her up against the wall. He then cupped her cheeks in his palms and lowered his head, kissing her as if his life depended on it.

Chapter Twenty-Three

For just a minute, Carly gave in to the kiss before she pushed against his chest. He broke away from her only to stare at her with fiery torture in his eyes.

“Carly—” he started to say, but she walked away, back into the living room.

She heard the front door close and then his footsteps as he followed behind her. When she turned around to face him, he was reaching out as if to grab her again. She took a step back.

“Don’t,” she said so coldly that he reared back a little. She wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself.

She loved this silly, foolish man so much. But after today, she might never see him again. Well…that was impossible in a town as small as Tenacity. They’d see each other again whether they wanted to or not. And it’d be like a knife stabbing her every time she did.

“I deserve that,” he muttered.

He looked so broken that she had to turn away. She went to her favorite spot in front of the large living room window and stared at the paddock and woods in the distance.

“Who was that guy?” he asked.

“My ex. And he’s not what I want to talk about right now.” She couldn’t bear to look at Jesse. “It’s been three days of near complete silence from you. Is it because I stepped in when Oscar asked to hang out with his friends at the festival? I thought we’d made peace with that. If you don’t want to be with me anymore—”

“Stop,” Jesse interrupted. She could see in the reflection that he took his hat off and tossed it onto the nearby chair. “For once in my life, I can’t blame my actions on being an overprotective dad…”

She turned to face him then, leaning her back against the cool window. “What do you mean?”

Jesse ran an aggravated hand through his hair. “The way I’ve been acting had nothing to do with Oscar. Probably since the first time I saw you, I’ve been afraid. And when I saw Nieve fall onto you, it brought all my fears to the surface. I saw you lying there, and I couldn’t even think. Oscar was starting to panic, and Grayson and JenniLynn had to step in and help him. I was paralyzed. I couldn’t have done anything if I wanted to.”

“But why?” Carly said, trying not to cry. “Why do you keep pushing me away? What are you afraid of?”

“Losing you,” he confessed in a pained whisper. “I can’t lose you.”

The anger and hurt that had been pulverizing Carly since he pretty much went no contact, relented as she heard the anguish in his voice. “I don’t understand. I’m right here. I’m not the one pushing anyone away.”

“I know,” Jesse replied, taking a careful step toward her. “But when I saw you lying there, it reminded me of the day I found MaryBeth.”