Boots and The Rogue: Ugly Stick Saloon, Book 10 by Myla Jackson Page B

him.”
    “Exactly.” The oldest McFarlan rose from the table. “Come on, Mom, let me read the Heartbreaker the riot act so that he doesn’t go breaking your heart.”
    “Oh, Angus. Don’t be silly. I’m a grown woman.”
    “Yeah, but you’ve been out of action for a long time. Things have changed a little.” He pointed at Jessie. “I’ll be back for my dinner, which, I might say, is great.”
    Jessie smiled at Angus while Mrs. McFarlan winked at her.
    Once Mrs. M left, Jessie sat with Angus and they silently finished their dinner.
    “Good job, Jessie. Keep it up and the job will be permanent. I think Mom is enjoying her time off.”
    “Thanks.”
    Angus left to make one last pass through the barn.
    Jessie cleared the table, changed from sandals to her cowboy boots and went out to check on Scout.
    The horse had adjusted to his new home better than Jessie.
    As the hired help, Jessie didn’t know how she fit into the McFarlan family. She was expected to live in the house, but she really didn’t feel comfortable living with the family she was supposed to serve.
    Her last boss only wanted her to clean the stables and feed the horses. Outside of that, he didn’t want to see her. That had been fine with Jessie.
    With the McFarlans she’d already learned more than she felt she had a right to. Brody and Colin had an ongoing feud over a woman, Angus was involved with a woman from Dallas, and Mrs. McFarlan hadn’t dated since the death of her husband eight years ago. That, and all about the brothers’ lives as children.
    Her heart skipped several beats. She hadn’t felt this close to a family since her father died. God, she missed him.
    “Scout, I hope you like it here. I’m trying my best to make it work out.” And if the middle brother made her insides fire up whenever he was around…well, then… “I’ll just have to get over it. I can’t afford to be fired from this job.” Especially for the same reason she’d been let go from the last one. And that time wasn’t her fault.
    She left the stall and climbed up into the loft for a section of hay. As she backed down the ladder, she was just about to put her foot on the next rung when a voice sounded behind her.
    “You can’t sleep in the barn tonight.”
    Jessie spun to face the man she’d been thinking about and missed her step. She dropped the section of hay and reached out to grab hold of anything to keep herself from falling, but it was too late.
    She toppled backward, bracing herself for a hard landing on her ass.
    Instead, she crashed into a solid wall of muscle, and strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. She stared up into Brody’s eyes. “Damn it, you scared me.”
    He shook his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “You scare too easily.” He appeared tired, his eyes shadowed. “What are you doing out here after dark?”
    “Checking on Scout,” she said.
    “In a dress?”
    “Your mother’s idea.” She tugged at the hem in an effort to cover her thighs. In her fall, the dress had hiked up, displaying an embarrassing amount of skin.
    Brody’s dark eyes flared and his hands tightened around her. He appeared in no hurry to set her back on her feet, holding her weight with seemingly little effort.
    “Why are you out this late?” she demanded before she could think. It was none of her business when he came and went. But with her body pressed close to his, she could barely think, much less breathe.
    A shadow passed over his face. “I was working on a project and lost track of time.”
    “Your dinner is in the refrigerator. Why don’t you go eat?”
    He snorted. “I will, as soon as I make sure you don’t sleep in the barn again.”
    Heat filled Jessie’s cheeks. “That was only the first night when we were settling in. I was tired from riding all day.”
    “So you thought you might sleep better with your horse?”
    She opened her mouth to argue and then clamped it shut. He was right. She might not have