Honey and the Hired Hand

“Honey? Are you still there?” Adam said.

“I’ll see you when you get back, Adam. Have a good trip.”

Honey hung up the phone without waiting to hear Adam’s reply. She stared at Jesse, unable to move. He had put his shirt back on, but left it unsnapped so a strip of sun-warmed skin glistened down the middle of his chest. He had retrieved his Stetson and it sat tipped back off his forehead. His thumbs were slung into the front of the beltless jeans. He had cocked a hip, but he looked anything but relaxed.

“The repairs on the roof are done,” he said. “I wanted to make sure it’s all right with you if I saddle up that black stud to round up those steers that need vaccinating.”

“Night Wind was Cale’s horse,” Honey said. “He hasn’t been ridden much since—”

Naturally Jesse would want to ride the wildest, most dangerous horse in the stable. And why not? The man and the stallion were well matched.

“Of course, you can take Night Wind,” she said. “If you wait a minute, I’ll come with you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She didn’t ask why not. He could use the distance and so could she. “All right,” she said. “The steers that need to be vaccinated are in the west pasture. Come get me when you’ve got them herded into the corral next to the barn.”

He tipped his hat, angled his mouth in that crooked smile and left.

Honey stared at the spot where he had been. She closed her eyes to shut out the vision of Jesse Whitelaw in her kitchen. It was plain as a white picket fence that she wasn’t going to be able to forget the man anytime soon.

At least she had a respite for a couple of hours. She realized suddenly that because of Jesse’s interruption she hadn’t been able to refuse Adam’s offer of marriage.

Horsefeathers!

She should never have kissed Jesse. Not that she had made any commitment to Adam, but she owed it to him to decline his offer before he found her in a compromising position with some other man. And not that she intended to get involved with Jesse Whitelaw, but so far, where that drifter was concerned, she hadn’t felt as though things were under control. The smart move was to keep her distance from the man.

That shouldn’t be a problem. No problem at all.

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