Give My All to Jessie (Third in Outlaw Series)

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

"You really do talk too much," Jessie stated as she and Langley rode into a tiny town four days after leaving Harper.

"I warned you about that the day we met at the cabin. I don't know why you keep acting so surprised," he countered with a grin. Langley glanced around the town. "Have you been here before?"

Calling this place a town was being real generous. There were tents and crude huts filling a muddy field behind a ramshackle building that Langley assumed was a saloon based on the crude drawing of a whiskey bottle on the sign out front. There didn't seem to be a solid, sturdy building anywhere around.

"Yeah, I came here a few times with pa," Jessie replied as they brought their horses to a stop outside the saloon. "It's just a stopover place for travelers. Nothing fancy."

Before Langley could let her know that was a huge understatement, a man in an army uniform came running out of the saloon and scooped Jessie into a tight hug the moment she slid from her horse. Jealousy burned in Langley's gut as he too hopped to the ground.

"God, Jess, it's been too long!" The man said as he stuck his nose in her golden hair. Langley barely fought the urge to pull his gun and shoot the man—perhaps he was more like his pa than he realized.

"I've been a bit busy I guess, Clinton," Jessie replied, attempting to wiggle herself out of the man's grasp.

"Where is your pa?" Clinton asked, slowly releasing his hold on her and looking loathsome to do it.

"Dead." Jessie's voice was flat. "He got himself shot." She turned sideways and pointed at Langley. "Clinton this is Langley."

Clinton's eyes narrowed. "And just what are you doing with him?" he snapped, sounding every bit the jilted lover.

Langley kept his gaze on Jessie and she offered him a small smile. "He's my partner. He found me shot up and now he's riding with me to go after my pa's killer."

"You're riding alone with that boy?" Clinton demanded.

Langley clenched his fists and was about to show the twenty-something year old bastard a thing or two about boys when Jessie laughed. "What in the blue blazes are you so worried about, Clinton? Are you afraid he's gonna steal my virtue? Hell, I haven't had my virtue in so long I've forgotten what it looked like. And besides, Langley ain't the kind of man who would ever force a woman."

"He doesn't look like much of a man at all," Clinton sneered.

Langley had spent years perfected his imitation of Marston. He'd perfected the posture, the tone, the expression. He used them all. "How about I shoot you in the face and correct your damn vision?"

Clinton shook his head and stepped away. He was clearly still angry but unwilling to fight any longer. "I better get back to my cards."

Jessie let out a sigh of relief but it died on her lips when she saw the strange way Langley was staring at her. "What the hell is your problem?" she demanded.

"Not a thing," Langley grumbled, hitching his horse to a rickety rail. No doubt if the beast got distracted by a feather in the breeze, he could follow after it and simply drag the hitching post along with him.

"You're jealous aren't you?" Jessie demanded, her laughter filling the evening.

Langley felt his ears burn. "Don't be ridiculous."

"You are jealous!" she slapped him on the back. "Don't worry, Langley. There's no one I'd rather be partners with than you."

She winked and Langley simply shook his head and walked around her. He stepped into the saloon with his fists clenched. It wasn't just realizing that Clinton wanted Jessie that had him bothered, it was realizing that she no longer had her virtue.