“All right.” John began another tirade about the history of Hamilton’s roads, and she felt herself lose interest once again. He wouldn’t ask her opinion anyway. John was an honest and respectable man, she firmly believed so. But he wasn’t very interested in what she had to say.
She wasn’t particularly interested in his words either. No, the scene before her was much more engrossing. Her gaze drifted back to Jesse and Annie. She tried not to think about how much his arm around Annie’s bothered her.
She especially tried not to think about Jesse’s arm being around hers instead.
• • •
Jesse helped Annie out of the buggy. One of her legs dangled as she stepped out of the carriage, hesitating over whether or not to step down. To his surprise, she skipped over one of the steps and fell forward. He caught her at the last moment with both arms.
She smiled up at him, but he furrowed his brow. Why had she tripped on purpose? “Be careful.”
“You seem awfully concerned for my safety, Mr. Greenwood.” Annie threw her curls back, the long, red waves falling over one of her shoulders. She did the fast blinking thing again. Maybe she did have something in her eye.
Before he could reply, John Cooper’s voice boomed out from the next buggy. “Good catch, Mr. Greenwood!”
He looked over at John and immediately wished he hadn’t. John kissed Evelyn’s hand as she stepped out. Her cheeks flushed the prettiest of pink shades as John slipped his arm in hers. Whatever she said about his character, Jesse couldn’t help comparing his treatment of her to a farmer possessive of an expensive animal. He treated her like his property more than his sweetheart.
“Mr. Greenwood seems not only useful at catching cattle—he’s skilled at catching women as well.” John grinned from ear to ear, as if he’d just told some great joke. Annie immediately started squealing with laughter.
Jesse came up with a million insulting replies as he ignored John and turned in the direction of the church.
The area in front of the building was filled with a heap of people. He hadn’t realized Loretta invited so many. Billowing dresses and tailored coats filled every nook and cranny. He recognized a handful of people, some from the ranch and some of Loretta’s friends. But the rest of the faces were a mystery to him. It looked like she’d invited all of Hamilton and Harleigh.
During the ceremony, he and Annie found their seats in the pew directly behind Evelyn and John. Evelyn had piled her dark hair into a high bun at the top of her head. She wore a blue dress, nearly black in the darkness of the church, but a vibrant navy blue in the light.
Jesse tried to keep his eyes off the back of her neck during the entire ceremony and focus on Loretta, but his eyes were unable to remain on the groom and bride for long. What was she thinking? Was she considering marriage with John? But the sight of her soft black curls wouldn’t tell him what she was planning. He wished more than anything to know her thoughts.
When the ceremony finished, he finally pulled his eyes away from her long enough to study Loretta and Preston. They’d spruced themselves up, that was certain. Loretta had pulled her hair into an elegant loose bun at the nape of her neck, and even Preston looked sharp in his wedding suit.
But not everything was different. Jesse had never seen a gaze filled with more love than the way Preston gazed at Loretta. He frowned—he’d nearly split them apart. His sister didn’t deserve a man from a higher social standing; she deserved the man who had captured her heart.
The bride and groom were the first to walk down the aisle. The crowd stood up from the pews and started forward, all desperate to catch the bride’s colorful bouquet. Loretta laughed and threw the collection of bright flowers high into the air. She’d thrown it far, nearly back toward the altar. Jesse watched the flowers fly over his own head and behind him into—
His heart lurched.
Evelyn held up the bouquet high in the air, a wide smile on her face. She waved it in the air, and several groans were heard from both sides of the pews. Others around her congratulated her, and even Annie leaned over to whisper something in her ear. Whatever Annie said, it made her laugh. She was positively radiant as she held the flowers in her hands.
Then John gripped her arm tightly against him. Evelyn squirmed away at first, then stood still as he maintained the steel hold. Her shoulders drooped, and the bouquet hung at her side without the enthusiasm she’d possessed only moments ago.
Jesse set his jaw. John didn’t love her. Not like he did, anyway. Why couldn’t she see that?
Avoiding John and Evelyn proved to be easy enough after the wedding. The entire crowd that had squeezed into the church was more than grateful to be back in the open air. Couples of all ages danced in the center of a ring that had formed in the clearing. The saloon, alarmingly close to the church, served to make his fellow ranch hands louder and rowdier than normal. Young children played a game under the supervision of some of their parents. Everywhere he looked, there was a group of people laughing and talking, still high off the happiness of the wedding.
Annie found no shortage of folks to introduce him to. Every conversation she dragged him into was the same. After introducing him first, she would gush to her friends how handsome he was, as if he weren’t standing right next to her.
He was glad when she pulled him away from the girls. She picked up two sarsaparillas from a nearby counter and handed one to him. He wouldn’t have minded some whiskey right then, but he popped the top off the sarsaparilla anyway and took a long sip.
“So . . .” Annie’s finger twirled around one of the loose strawberry curls that fell from her bun. “How’s your stay in Hamilton been so far, Mr. Greenwood?”
“Call me Jesse.” He tried to focus his eyes on her, but just like during the ceremony, he found his eyes scanning the crowd for a glimpse of dark hair and a blue dress. “Hamilton’s the same as I remember.”
“I can’t imagine ever leaving this place. Can you ever imagine living in a town more wonderful?” She gestured to the crowd with the hand that wasn’t holding her sarsaparilla. “It’s home to me.”
“It is to me, too.” He looked down at his opened bottle, and then set it down on the counter. “I’ve considered staying in Hamilton before.”
“Oh, you don’t still want to leave for California, do you? I know it must be exciting and all, but nothing quite compares to home.” Annie brought both hands to each side of her cheeks in an exaggerated movement. Her sarsaparilla bottle nearly fell out of her hand. He grabbed it from her before it could shatter on the ground.
“So considerate.” She pointed to the trail leading away from the church. Her voice was perky, like nothing could bring down her spirits. “Say, I was hoping to talk to you alone. Do you want to go for a walk with me and get away from here for a while?”
He shook his head. “Think I’ll just stay here for now.” He pointed at Loretta and Preston, who’d joined the group of dancing couples. “Can’t believe I ever wanted to split ’em up.”
Skirts of every color and cloth, full and twirling, flew out as the men picked up their partners and set them back down. Green dresses, red dresses, blue dresses—Jesse’s eyes focused on the image of the woman in the navy blue dress.
He pushed away from leaning against the counter and straightened his coat. “Excuse me, Annie.” He walked away from her and toward the throng of couples in the center. The entire time his eyes remained fixed on Evelyn.
The song had just ended, and the band was deciding the next song to play while the couples stood patiently in the center. He strode up to the beautiful woman in the blue dress and tapped her on the shoulder. The man next to her scowled, but Jesse didn’t care.
He extended his hand. “How about the next dance?”
Her eyes widened. She didn’t protest, though. Jesse could feel John’s scrutinizing glare at the back of his neck as John walked away.
Jesse placed one hand on the small of her back, and the other was outstretched to hold hers. The mus
ic started again, and they spun and stepped to the beat. The music was slower than the previous song, and the couples danced in an easy manner, chatting among themselves.
Evelyn peered over his shoulder, probably to check if John was out of earshot. She must have been satisfied because she said to Jesse, “What are you trying to do?”
“Dance with one of my friends.” He smirked as he noticed her cheeks flush. His chest was pressed close to hers, and he could almost hear her heart beating. “Reckon there’s no harm in that.”
“One song only.”
“Why’s that?”
“You just pushed John away. He traveled here with me, not you.”
“I know. I have to tell you something, though.”
She sighed. “Tell me what? You’d better have a reason—”
“I see the way he looks at you. It’s like you’re his possession, not someone he cherishes. How well does he even know you?”
He felt Evelyn’s body stiffen against his. “What do you mean?”
Jesse’s mind raced. There was only so long until the dance ended and she’d be back in John’s arms again. He needed to say something to get her away from this man. Anything. He couldn’t stand seeing her being so close to Cooper a second longer.
“Come with me.”
“Are you out of mind?”
“Just do it.”
“Come with you where?”
Maybe he was a little out of his mind. He didn’t know where. All he knew was that he couldn’t stand the way he saw John looking at her out of the corner of his eye. He needed to take her someplace where John couldn’t find them. A place all to their own.
A memory flashed before his eyes. Of course. He tugged at her hand, but she resisted. They stopped dancing in the center of the circle. Couples danced around them, a colorful blend of skirts and suits.
“It’s just for a little while. We’ll come back if you want to.”
“Jesse, I doubt I can just leave John here—”
“Trust me.”
She fixed him a wary eye, but she allowed him to guide her away. By the time John realized what was happening and caught up to them, she was sitting in Jesse’s buggy.
“Evelyn, come down from there this minute.”
Jesse tipped his hat to John. “Take Annie back to her home when she wants to leave. Evelyn and I need to sort out something on the ranch for a while, Mr. Cooper.”
With a flap of his reins, the horses started forward and away from a fuming John Cooper. The roll of the wooden buggy wheels tuned out John’s sounds of protest from behind them. They left the wedding guests behind as the horses headed back up the trail.
Eventually Evelyn recognized the road.
“Why are we going back to Breighton?” She raised an eyebrow. “All the ranch hands are still down there in Harleigh. They have finished the work for today.”
“Do you still go out into the pastures?” He turned to her and smiled. “How far do you still venture out there?”
“Not any farther than the barbed wire,” she said slowly. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and shook her head. “I hope you are actually taking me somewhere, Jesse. There is no reason to come back to Breighton so early.”
“You’ll see.” He continued the buggy further down the trail, past Evelyn’s house. Where the big house ended, another road began. The cleared path followed a neighboring ranch’s corral, the sturdy wooden posts marking the way to their destination.
He finally stopped, and heard her draw in a quick intake of breath.
The white gazebo stood ahead of them, the same as he had remembered it from all those years ago. The paint had faded, and he reckoned a fine layer of dust had settled on the floor. Otherwise, the gazebo was exactly the same as it had been on the last day he’d seen Evelyn before she left for the East Coast. The exact same as all the days they’d spent hiding away from her father. The exact same as the time they’d been in love with one another.
He helped her out of the buggy. They walked to the gazebo together, down the road lined with pebbles. While the nostalgia was overwhelming, so was the foreign sense of intrusion. He hadn’t walked this road in years.
By the looks of it, she hadn’t either. Her slender hands traced the white posts, her fingertips skimming over the chipped paint like she’d never seen a gazebo before. “I haven’t been here since . . .” She didn’t need to finish her sentence.
“Me too.”
She stepped out beyond the gazebo and sat down on the pasture. Jesse settled beside her, both of them looking out onto the neighboring ranch.
“It was here, wasn’t it?” Evelyn threaded her fingers through the long grass, as if her touch could mark the spot. “We were here, seven years ago, making that promise. What were the words again?” She let out a bitter laugh. “No one can ever stop us from . . . oh, what was it? No one can stop us from . . .”
“No one can stop us from loving one another.” The quote had never left his memory. “Then I promised to never stop writing to you.”
“I promised to never give you up.” Evelyn brought her knees forward, her skirt draping over her legs. She smoothed out the cloth over her shins. “It seems funny, does it not? When we were young, there was no such thing as a broken promise. I could not even imagine why it would ever happen.”
“We couldn’t predict the future.”
“Of course not. We were so young. There’s no way to anticipate life and all the challenges it brings.”
“The promises don’t have to be broken.” His voice was low. He leaned forward, closing the distance between them. The wind blew against Evelyn’s forehead, sending the few tendrils framing her face dancing in the wind. He brushed a lock of stray hair behind her ear.
She winced. “You cannot do that.”
“Do what?”
“Look at me like that.” Evelyn nibbled her lower lip. His attention turned to her mouth. He cradled one hand behind her head, and her breathing started to come in quick intakes. “Touch me like that.”
“Like this?” He pressed his lips against hers for what felt like the first time. She tasted like strawberries and honeysuckle and peppermints. He leaned forward, pinning her against the grass. Half of his mind expected her to push him off, to run away and back to John.
But Evelyn crushed her own lips against his with equal passion. She arched her body against him, removing whatever little distance remained. Her hands roamed through his hair. She opened her mouth and pressed her tongue against his lips, and gave everything she had into the kiss when he opened his mouth.
She rolled him over until he was pinned underneath her. When they drew away to finally gasp for breath, she’d already started to unbutton the length of his clean white shirt, or formerly clean at least. He had never cared that much about the shirt anyway. She chucked it next to them and leaned back against his body, undulating her narrow hips against his.
He’d finally had a taste of Evelyn Lancaster, and now he couldn’t get enough of his fill.
His pants became uncomfortably tight when she moaned against his kiss. He brought his mouth down away from her mouth, along her jawline, and down her collarbone. His lips grazed the crevice between her breasts, and she moaned again.
Her hands roamed across his bare chest, tracing an outline of abdominal muscles. Every place she touched sent a shock through his chest. Her small fingers caressed the muscles of his arms, running up and down his biceps. Evelyn continued to arch against him. Her soft body above his own hard muscle drove him mad.
She gasped as he massaged her breasts through the fabric of her dress, which only encouraged him to continue his ministrations.
“You drive me crazy,” he murmured against the nape of her neck. He wished they could stay like this forever.
“You drive me crazy, too . . .” She moaned, pressing her body against him. She felt so incredibly wonderful against him. “This is crazy . . .”
Her body stiffened. Suddenly, she pulled away from Jesse. It wa
s more like she literally pushed him away, sending his body falling back to the ground with a hard thud. Her head was shaking, and she began to back away.
“This is crazy,” she repeated. “What am I doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“I am courted by John Cooper. Not you.” She squeezed her eyes shut tight, then flashed them open. An emotion he could only describe as confusion was written all across her face. “I need to leave.”
“Evelyn, wait!” He picked up his shirt and started after her, but she spun around and pointed a finger at him.
“Do not dare come any closer to me.” She shook her index finger at him, as if scolding a child. “The gazebo is not far from Breighton. I can walk.”
He pulled his arms back into the sleeves of the shirt. “That’s ridiculous. I have the horses and buggy here.”
“I am fine, I assure you.”
Jesse buttoned his shirt. “Reckon it’d be faster if you just rode me.”
Her eyes widened.
“With me. Rode with me.” He cursed under his breath. “I meant ride with me.”
She shook her head. “I said I’ll walk.” Evelyn’s voice was hard. Her arms were folded across her chest, as if denying him all visual access to her body as well. “Just go. I need some time alone to think.”
“Evelyn—”
“I said go!”
There was no use in trying to argue with her. With a heavy heart, he sat back up on the buggy and started back to Breighton.
He looked over his shoulder. Evelyn hadn’t started walking yet. She just stood there, standing in the middle of the gazebo, staring out at the rolling green pastures stretched before her. She’d always looked regal, with her chin held slightly up and a determined look in her eye.
His fingers itched to stop the horses and turn back the buggy. He wanted to jump out and kiss her again, press her lithe body against the grass of the pasture until her lips agreed to stay with him.
He groaned, running one hand through his hair while the other gripped the reins. Not that she would, if her “time to think” response was anything to go by. She was always trying to make sense of a situation. He had no doubt her mind was racing with the consequences of their kiss.
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