motioned to the sink. “Just put them there. Sassy will put them in the dishwasher later.”
Alexa left the kitchen, but he quickly caught up to her in the living room, just before she reached the staircase. When his hand came under her elbow and his arm circled around the back of her waist, she stopped in her tracks and stared at him.
“May I ask what you’re doing?”
His solemn expression didn’t waver. “You’re not going up those stairs without me to help you.”
Her first instinct was to laugh, but she bit back the urge. As she looked at his face, she realized he was seriously concerned for her, and suddenly the idea that he cared that much for her well-being caused tears to sting the back of her eyes.
“I have to go up and down them during the day, Jonas,” she said softly.
“Yes. But it’s late and you’re tired. I’m here now. So don’t argue.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “All right. It would be nice to lean on your strong arm.”
“That’s better,” he said huskily, then urged her forward.
He purposely kept their climb at a slow pace, and although Alexa realized he was taking it easy for her sake, she was quickly wishing the task would end. Having Jonas’s arm locked firmly around her, feeling the warmth of his hard body pressing against the side of hers, was doing strange things to her senses.
Once they reached the landing, she expected him to release her, but his arm remained at her back and his fingers stayed curled around her arm until they reached Alexa’s bedroom door.
“Here we are,” he said, “and you’re not even breathing hard.”
No. But her heart was hammering, and every nerve in her body sizzling, she thought. “Thank you, Jonas. Good night.”
Dropping his hold on her, he started to his room, only to pause and look over his shoulder at her. “You know, after your baby gets here, I might just put you to that riding test.”
She pushed a smile on her face. “I’ll be ready.”
Who was she kidding? Alexa thought bitterly as she entered the bedroom and shut the door firmly behind her. She’d not been on a horse in years. She’d not even touched a bridle or saddle or even pulled on a pair of boots since she moved away from the Chaparral.
What in heck had she been doing, telling Jonas all that stuff, acting as though she remembered how to be a cowgirl? Why had she told him such things in the first place? Why had she wanted him to know that part of her life? In Santa Fe, she’d kept that part of her past all carefully tucked away, while she tried to be a smooth, polished lady, rubbing elbows with powerful people in powerful places.
Dear God, she’d believed she’d matured into an intelligent woman, one wise enough to make good, practical choices for herself. But all that careful planning and the cautious approach she’d taken with Barry had been for naught. Now she was afraid to trust any man. And even more afraid to trust herself.
Chapter Three
Nearly a week later she was sitting in a small office off the downstairs den, writing the last payroll check, when a knock sounded at the open door.
Expecting it to be Sassy, wielding a dusting cloth, she was more than surprised to see Jonas. The past few days she’d spoken to him only twice, as he’d helped her up the stairs at night. Those conversations had been brief and polite, ending far before Alexa had wanted them to. And one evening, as she’d sat out on her balcony, she’d happened to spot him walking across the ranch yard.
“Hello, Jonas,” she said now, her heart skipping to a hard, fast beat. “Won’t you come in?”
He politely removed his hat as he stepped into the room, and as Alexa looked at him, she couldn’t help but notice a hint of fatigue on his face. Apparently he considered it his obligation as the ranch’s general manager to work day and night.
“I don’t want to interrupt,” he said as he crushed the brim of his hat between his fists. “I’m heading into town to the feed store and I wondered if you’d like to ride in with me. Since Reena told me that you’ve not been off the place, I thought you might need a change of scenery.”
She was more than shocked by his invitation. Especially since he’d not so much as exchanged a word with her since their night in the kitchen.
Alexa glanced down at her red jersey top and blue jeans. “I’m not exactly dressed for going to town. But I suppose it doesn’t matter.” She began to gather the papers scattered in front of her. “Can you give me five minutes to put all this stuff away and tidy up?”
“Sure. I’ll be waiting on the front porch,” he told her.
He disappeared out the door, and Alexa hurriedly locked all her paperwork in a file cabinet. Once that was done, she fetched her purse, swiped on a dab of lipstick and headed to the porch.
When she stepped outside Jonas was speaking into his cell phone, but when he spotted her, he abruptly ended the call and slipped the instrument in his pocket. Alexa didn’t catch any of his words, but from the sheepish expression on his face, she wondered if he’d been speaking to another woman.
“If the call was important I’ll go back in and wait,” she told him.
“I’ll deal with the call later,” he said briskly, then gave her a half smile. “I’m glad you decided to go with me.”
“I am, too,” she said and realized it was true.
He’d pulled one of the ranch’s trucks to the front of the drive so that Alexa had only a short distance to walk. After he helped her into the cab, he settled himself behind the wheel and turned the vehicle down the long lane lined with tall ponderosa pines.
“I normally send one of the hands in to town to fetch things we need,” he said as they reached a graveled country road. “But Quint wants me to take a look at some new horse feed made from coconuts. It’s high-powered protein, and supposedly it takes half as much to feed one horse. I’m skeptical, but if he thinks it’s worth looking into, I’ll keep an open mind.”
“Grandfather must have put Quint on to the idea of the coconut feed,” Alexa said. “He’s always looking at new things in the industry.”
“From the way Quint talks, your grandfather is quite a character. Just how old is he, anyway?”
“Abe is eighty-four. But he thinks he’s forty-four.”
“Hmm. Well, I admire him without ever having met him. Any man that can keep an open mind about progress at that age has to be a good man.”
Beneath lowered lashes, Alexa allowed her gaze to sweep over the long length of him. His jeans were faded and worn, but his brown boots were expensive ostrich, and his green-and-white-striped shirt had a tailored look to it. Since she’d just written out the payroll, she knew exactly what the ranch was paying him for his services. It was a handsome amount, but not the sort that would support wearing a couple-hundred-dollar pair of boots in a cow pasture. The idea made her wonder if he’d come from a moneyed family. Yet if that were the case, he’d
