Rich Rancher's Redemption

Jesse shook his head.

Sighing, Will turned back to the woman who was saying, “What else would it be?”

“A favor,” Will said. “To me.”

She laughed, and even in this weird situation, Jesse’s insides responded to that low, throaty chuckle. He shifted uncomfortably.

“You want a favor. From me.” Disbelief rang loudly in her tone.

“Absolutely.” Will laid his hands on his thighs and leaned toward her. “The bastard—excuse me.”

She laughed. “I’ve heard worse and I think we can agree whoever the man was, pretending to be you, he deserves that description and more.”

Jesse admired that. She had her pride, but she was also willing to look at a situation and see it for what it was, not what she’d like it to be.

“Well,” Will said, “my mom would have a fit if she heard me cussing in front of a lady, so excuse me anyway.”

She nodded.

“As I was saying, the man who stole my identity stole more than my name. He took my reputation, too, and ran it into the ground.”

Jesse scowled, seeing the look of frustration on his brother’s features. He knew Will was having a hard time with all of this, but he hated seeing evidence of it.

“You didn’t do anything to me,” Jillian said softly.

“I know that, but as I said, it was done in my name and I’m going to feel terrible about that unless you help me out.”

A second or two passed before Jillian shook her head and smiled wryly. “Oh, you’re good at this, aren’t you? Getting people to do what you want, I mean.”

“Used to be,” Will admitted.

“Still are,” Jesse said quietly.

Jillian turned her head to look at him, and their eyes locked. Even on opposite sides of the room, there was a thread of connection that snapped and crackled between them. And Jesse saw by the flash of acknowledgment in her eyes that she felt it, too. Not that he cared.

“My big brother over there knows how hard-headed I am,” Will said and Jillian shifted her gaze back to him. “What I’m trying to say is, it’s important to me to rebuild my good name. So let me help. If I’m worried about you and your daughter, it’ll take time away from me getting back to my own life.”

Jesse watched for her reaction and he could see in her eyes that she wasn’t buying it. That was the only reason he spoke up when he did. “He’s not lying.”

She turned her head to look at him again and that electrical pulse between them erupted. Her gaze fixed on his and Jesse could have sworn even the air between them burned. He wasn’t interested in this. Had no time for the distraction of a woman—and this woman would be the Queen of all distractions. So he pushed away any sense of attraction he was feeling and focused on making his point known. “Will’s got a lot going on right now.”

She laughed shortly, but her eyes remained cool and flat. “Yeah. I know.”

“Then you should know he’s not going to rest until you and your daughter are taken care of.”

“I’m not a problem to be solved and neither is my daughter.”

“He didn’t mean—” Will said.

“That’s not what I said,” Jesse interrupted, cutting his brother off. “And I think you know it. So don’t go looking to be offended when there’s no intent.”

Will fired a hard look at him that Jesse ignored. He never took his gaze off Jillian, so he recognized when she accepted his words.

She nodded briefly. “Okay, you’re right. I was doing that.”

“I’m also right about you letting Will off the hook—”

“He’s not on a hook,” Jillian snapped. “I just said so.”

“I never thought I was—”

Jesse cut Will off again. “There you go. Offense where none’s meant. I’m trying to tell you that if you don’t let Will do what he thinks is fair and right here, you’re going to punish him for something that wasn’t his fault.”

“Jesse, why don’t you let me—”

“I told him it’s not his fault,” Jillian argued, and this time she cut Will off.

“He won’t believe you,” Jesse said.

“Yes, I would.”

“Well, he should,” Jillian said.

“He won’t.” Jesse waved one hand at his brother. “He’ll wallow in guilt or some other nonsense if you don’t let him help.”

“I don’t wallow,” Will pointed out.

“And if I let him help,” Jillian countered, “then I feel guilty for taking advantage of a man who owes me nothing.”

“No, you won’t,” Jesse said, shaking his head. “You’re too smart for that. You’re a mother. You have your kid to think of. So you’ll do the smart thing and take a helping hand when it’s offered.”

She tipped her head to study him. “Oh, will I?”

Her long, blond ponytail swung forward to lie over her shoulder and across her breast. His hands itched to do the same. Hell. He was jealous of her hair. How sad was that?

“Yeah,” Jesse said, his gaze locked with hers. “You will.”

“You two just let me know when it’s my turn to talk,” Will muttered.

“He’s not going to let this go until you let him help,” Jesse said.

“He’s right about that anyway,” Will broke in, grabbing his chance to get a few words in.

“Why do you care what I do or don’t?” Jillian asked, but the question was for Jesse, not Will.

Truthfully, he wasn’t entirely sure why her welfare mattered to him one way or the other. He shrugged. “Maybe it’s because my mom was a single mother when she married Will’s daddy. Because I remember how hard it was for her before we came to live here at the ranch.”

Her gaze lowered briefly before she looked at him again. In her eyes, he saw acceptance. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod before looking at Will. “Okay, then. I’ll take your help and thank you for it.”