A muscle jerked in Jesse's cheek. "You don't love him," he said curtly.
"You can't possibly know whether I love him or not."
He cocked a brow and his lips drew up cynically. "Can't I?"
Honey turned to stare out the window, avoiding his searching look.
"Are you going to marry him?"
"I-" Honey considered lying. Perhaps if she told Jesse she was committed to another man, he would leave her alone. But she couldn't use Adam like that-simply to keep another man at arm's length. "No," she admitted.
"Good."
Nothing else passed between them for the few minutes it took to traverse the length of the road from the cattle guard at the entrance to Dallas 's ranch to the Victorian ranch house. At least, nothing in words. But Honey was aware of the portal the drifter had forced open between them.
"I won't ever hurt you," Jesse said in a quiet voice.
"You can, you know," she said in an equally quiet voice.
His lips flattened. "I don't want you to be afraid of me."
"Then leave me alone."
"I can't do that"
"Jesse…"
The Mastersons' porch light was on, and Jesse pulled the truck up well within its glow. He killed the engine and turned to look at Honey, "Is it your husband?" he asked bluntly.
Honey felt the pain that always came with memories of Cale. "Cale is dead."
"I know that. Do you?"
Honey gasped and turned to stare at Jesse. "What do you want from me?"
"More than it seems you're willing to give."
Jesse's sharp voice cut through her pain, and Honey realized she was angry. "You can hardly blame me," she said. "I'm not in a hurry to get my heart torn out again."
"Who says you have to?"
Honey snorted inelegantly. "That sounds pretty funny coming from a man like you. How many women have you loved and left, Jesse? How long should I plan on you hanging around? And what am I supposed to do when you're gone? I'd have to be a fool to get involved with you. And whatever else I might be, I'm no fool, I-"
Honey broke off when she saw Angel come running out onto the porch to greet them. She flashed Jesse a look of frustration and quickly stepped out of the truck and headed up the porch steps.
"It's good to see you again, Honey," Angel said as the two women hugged. She didn't offer her hand to the drifter and kept her distance.
" Dallas is putting the baby to bed. He'll be down in a minute. Won't you both come inside?"
She stepped away from Jesse and held the door. Honey saw the other woman actually shiver as Jesse passed by her. Honey wondered what it was about the drifter that caused Angel to shy away from him. Was it possible that Dallas had told her something about Jesse? Something sinister?
Honey shook her head and dismissed the possibility. She didn't know much about Jesse, but she didn't see him as a villainous figure. Probably there was something in Angel's own past that was causing her to react so strangely to Dallas 's friend.
Dallas had none of his wife's reservations. He greeted Jesse warmly and shook his hand. "I'm glad you could come on such short notice," Dallas said. "I thought maybe we could talk about old times, maybe get reacquainted. How are your brothers and your sister?"
Honey's eyes widened and she stared at Jesse as though she had never seen him before. "You have a family?"
Jesse grinned. "Two older brothers and a younger sister."
"Where?" Honey asked.
"At the family ranch, Hawk's Way, in northwest Texas near Palo Duro Canyon."
So, Jesse wasn't as much of a footloose drifter as he had led her to believe. He had some roots after all.
"Would anyone like something to drink?" Angel asked.
"Whiskey and water," Jesse said.
"Iced tea for me," Honey said.
" Dallas?"
' Til join Jesse and have a whiskey, but without the water, Angel."
Honey sat on the Victorian sofa and Dallas took the leather chair that was obviously his favorite spot in the living room. Jesse joined Honey on the narrow sofa. It barely held the two of them, and Jesse's jean-clad leg brushed against her as he sat down.
Honey jerked away, then looked up to see if Dallas had noticed her reaction. He had. He looked concerned, but Honey wasn't about to explain the sexually fraught situation to him. Honey grimaced and folded her hands together in her lap. It was going to be a long evening.
Or it might have been if Angel hadn't been there. Honey had always liked Angel and had an affinity with the other woman that she couldn't explain. She did her best throughout the spicy Mexican meal to focus her attention on Angel and ignore Jesse Whitelaw. She wasn't totally successful.
It bothered Honey that Angel never got over her odd behavior around Jesse. Angel never quite relaxed, and her eyes were wary every time she looked at him. In fact, it bothered Honey enough that she mentioned it when she and Angel went upstairs to check on the baby after supper, leaving the men to stack the dishes in the dishwasher.
"You don't seem to like Jesse Whitelaw," Honey said bluntly.
Angel refused to meet her gaze, focusing instead on the baby sleeping in the crib. "It's not that I don't like him, it's just…"
"Just what? Has Dallas told you something about him? Something I should know?"
"Oh, no!" Angel reassured her. "It's nothing like that. It's just…"
Honey waited while Angel searched for the words to explain her aversion to the drifter.
"When I was much younger, I had a bad experience with some Indians." What Angel wasn't able to tell Honey was that she had seen the tortured remains of a Comanche raid in 1857. But no one except Dallas knew Angel had traveled through time to reach this century. So Angel was forced to explain how she felt without being able to give specific details.
"Whenever I look at Jesse," she said, "I see something in those dark eyes of his, something so savage, so feral, it reminds me of that time long ago. He terrifies me." Angel visibly shivered. "Aren't you afraid of him?".
"Sometimes," Honey admitted reluctantly. "But not in the way you are." Honey felt certain Jesse posed no physical threat to her. The wild, savage looks that frightened Angel only served to make Jesse more intriguing to her. ' 'I find him attractive," she confessed. And that was more frightening than anything else about the drifter that she might have admitted.
Their talking woke the baby, but Honey couldn't be sorry because she had been dying for a chance to hold the little boy.
"Aren't you a handsome boy, Rhett," Honey cooed as Angel laid the baby in her arms. "Can we take him downstairs?"
Angel seemed hesitant, but Honey urged, "Please?"
"All right." Angel had to face the fact that her fears of Jesse were misplaced in time. She might as well start now.
Dallas and Jesse stopped talking abruptly when the women came downstairs with the baby.
"Look," Honey said, holding Rhett so Jesse could see his face. "Isn't he something?"
Jesse wasn't looking at the child, he was looking at the glow on Honey's face. It was something, all right! She looked radiant and happier than he had ever seen her. He couldn't help imagining how she would look holding their child in her arms.
He frowned, wondering where that idea had come from. He wanted Honey, but babies had a way of tying a man down. Still, he considered the idea and felt things he hadn't anticipated. Pride. Protectiveness. And fear.
Was Honey still young enough to carry a child without any danger to her health? She didn't look over thirty, but he knew she had to be older because Jack was thirteen.
"How old were you when Jack was born?" Jesse asked.
Honey was surprised by the question. ' 'Eighteen. Cale and I married right out of high school."
That made her thirty-two. Three years younger than he was. Maybe the better question was whether he was too old to be a father. He hadn't realized until just now how much he wanted a child of his own someday. Maybe he'd better not put it off too much longer.