“I can’t afford a room, and I can’t afford to pay you back.”
He closed his eyes and his shoulders slumped. With thumb and forefinger, he rubbed his temples. “We’ll stay in the same room so you won’t have to pay me back.”
“Absolutely not. That’s asking for trouble.”
Their gazes locked.
“All right, then, let’s go.” He picked her up by her waist as if she weighed nothing and dropped her in the saddle.
“Ouch.” She glared at him.
Ignoring her complaint, he sauntered to his horse and mounted.
They left Arkansas City with dusky shadows and early evening lights flickering in homes as families settled in for the night. The roads being much better, it was an easier and safer ride.
Side by side they cantered, the sounds of horses’ hoofs eating up the miles. Bats flew overhead, hunting insects they would pick off trees for their nocturnal meal. They rode for a long while in silence, each occupied with their own thoughts.
The white shirt he’d lent her glowed in the moonlight. Her breasts jiggled under the soft material. Jesse tried to distract himself so he could get some blood back to his brain. “Explain to me again why we’re planning on arriving at Mary Jane’s house in the middle of the night like a couple of outlaws.”
“I think we’ve had enough delays in getting to Rachel. I just didn’t want to stay the night in Arkansas City.”
He frowned. “So we’re going to do, what? Bang on their door at three in the morning?”
“No, we have our bedrolls. We’ll camp outside the house until morning.”
“Wonderful, and we’ll get a backside full of buckshot when Mary Jane’s father sees two strangers lying in wait in his front yard.”
“Mr. McRae knows me.” Tori bristled.
“In the dark? Outside his house? Wrapped in a blanket in his front yard?”
She clenched her jaw. “Why must you make everything an argument? There’s a wooded area a couple miles from their house. We can camp there.”
One brow arched as he regarded her intently. “Oh, that’s much better. I’m sure you would prefer small animals skittering over you in the woods to a warm comfortable bed in a hotel.”
She scowled at him.
He stared straight ahead and ground his teeth. Making love to Tori had been a major mistake. She set him on fire, but could he handle the burn? If anything, their intimacy had driven her even further away. He shook his head. Women were hard to understand, but this one topped them all. Best to get this niece rescued and return to Guthrie. Block this whole damn trip from his mind before he got sucked into something he’d regret. The last thing he needed was to fall for a cantankerous woman with four kids.
Full darkness had descended by the time they made camp, and a light drizzle covered the hard ground. A copse of trees provided some shelter from the rain, but Jesse’s jaw clenched at the sound of Tori shivering in her bedroll.
He propped up on his elbows and glared at her. “Tori, your shaking is keeping me awake. I keep thinking we’re having an earthquake.”
“I know. I’m a little c-c-cold,” she chattered.
He lifted the top of his bedroll. “Come over here.”
“No.”
“The two of us in one bedroll will create heat. You’ll be warm in no time.” Maybe he should just leave her where she was. He felt like a heel with her shivering over there, but the idea of her warm body next to his already played havoc with his blood flow.
“I don’t want to be th-th-that warm.”
“I promise I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.” That sounded stupid even to his own ears.
“That’s what I’m afr-fr-fraid of.” The sound of her teeth chattering almost blocked out her words.
Smart girl. He sighed. “Come here. Please?” She looked pathetic huddled into a tight ball. Maybe spending the night together in the same bedroll wasn’t a great idea, but he couldn’t let her pay the price for her stubbornness.