Page 25 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
The farther we strolled, the more I had to remind myself not to reach out and hold his hand, something I wanted to do so badly that I finally tucked my hand into my pocket so it wouldn’t get a mind of its own.
Strolling back to his truck on the opposite side of the street, we passed the door to the Claim Jumper, Prescott’s second bar. Two men pushed their way outside and bumped right into me, sending me stumbling backward into Jess’s arms. He caught me at the hips, both hands steadying me.
“I’ve got you.” He held me until I regained my footing.
“Shit. Sorry,” one of the men said.
I was about to say it was okay when Jess rumbled, “Wes.”
He didn’t sound at all happy to be seeing this Wes guy.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the sheriff,” Wes said.
“Been trying to get ahold of you for a few weeks. Need to talk, Wes.”
“Mom told me you left a couple messages at the house. Kinda busy right now,” Wes said, dismissing Jess and turning to me.
“Hey there, darlin’. Wes Drummond.” He gave me a crooked smile before sliding a bit too close into my personal space.
Wes was good-looking. Blond with light brown eyes. Not as tall or broad as Jess. Not as hot as Jess, but good-looking. I was betting most women would swoon if not currently being held up by the town sheriff.
But Wes’s eyes were glassy and he had a menacing presence. Arrogant. Maybe even a bit dangerous. His movements were too confident and cocky.
I hated cocky. Rowen’s father was cocky.
“Gigi,” I said, hesitantly shaking Wes’s hand. Jess radiated tension behind me, and his fingers dug into my hips the second Wes touched my hand.
“Nice to meet you, Gigi. You must be passing through if you’re with Brick. He always gets the pretty tourists. But since Prescott’s Good Prince here will probably be done with you after the night, you come find me. We’ll have some real fun before you leave town,” he said with a smug grin.
At this point, Jess lost all calm and pushed me behind him to step in Wes’s face. I backed away, intimidated by Jess’s aggressive movements. At any moment, he was going to pummel Wes Drummond.
Jess spoke to Wes in a low and menacing tone. “Off-limits, Wes.”
Wes retreated a few steps, raising both his hands in surrender, but the smirk stayed on his face. “Take it easy, Brick. Didn’t mean to offend her. She’s a sweet piece, man. Can see why you’d stake your claim.”
A sweet piece? Asshole.
Jess fisted his hands twice and advanced on Wes. I braced, sure that at any moment one of Jess’s fists was going to fly up into Wes’s face.
Thankfully, Wes’s friend grabbed one of his arms and pulled him back a foot.
“Let’s go, Wes,” his friend said, still jerking him away.
Wes grinned at me one last time, then raised his eyebrows to Jess before finally leaving.
Before he was out of earshot, Jess called his name. “We’re gonna talk. Soon. Be best if you came in for that discussion. You won’t like it if I have to come find you.”
Wes didn’t respond to Jess’s threat. Instead, he glared at him and then turned his eyes to me. “See you around, Gigi.”
My feet were frozen in place on the sidewalk. That scene had been intense. I stayed back from Jess, hoping a little space would help him cool off. The rage still poured off his body in waves.
After a few moments, I unlocked my feet and gently placed a hand on Jess’s back.
“Are you okay?”
“Yep,” he clipped. “Let’s go.”
He grabbed my hand and towed me back to his truck, pulling me at such a rapid pace I had to jog to keep up with his long strides. When we reached the truck, he hoisted me into the passenger seat and slammed my door shut.
