Free Betting on Texas by Amanda Renee Page A

her heels.
    I’m not jealous. I’m looking out for her.
I’m not jealous.
    After lunch and a quick tour of the ranch, they said their
goodbyes. Jesse couldn’t hightail it out of there fast enough. Ty wormed his way
into a lunch invitation and managed to captivate Miranda throughout the entire
meal.
    “Such nice people,” Miranda said as they drove away from Four
Oaks. “Looks like the horses have a good home.”
    “Here’s your money.” Jesse removed a folded check out of his
shirt pocket and handed it to her. “I had Blueford make it out in your
name.”
    “What’s this for?”
    “Ed Carter always got a share of the training side of things in
exchange for the use of his stables and land. This is your portion and I told
you I would give you my share when we made our bet.”
    “Keep it. I’ll have to give you money anyway for feed and
whatever else you need.” Miranda pulled a pen from the visor and signed the
check over to him. “I don’t want you coming to me every time we need something,
and then insulting me because I don’t know what you’re talking about. Use it
however you see fit.”
    Her words stung. She made him sound like a bully. But Jesse
didn’t protest. He’d be a fool not to accept the money and he was tired of
feeling like a fool lately.
    Jesse death gripped the steering wheel at the thought of
Miranda’s flirtations with Ty. And the way she hung on his every word about
ranch life almost sent Jesse over the edge.
    “It should be me,” he muttered under his breath.
    “What?” Miranda asked.
    “I wasn’t talking to you,” Jesse said, harder than he meant
to.
    “Fine. If you want to sit there and talk to yourself, be my
guest.”
    It amazed him how she could push him aside without a care in
the world but get downright neighborly with a total stranger. Yes, he was a
stranger, too. One she had to live with, for now.
    “Did I do something?” Miranda asked in a quiet voice.
    “No.”
    “Then why the attitude?”
    “I don’t have an attitude!” Again, his words were harsher than
he meant them to be.
    “If that’s not an attitude, then I don’t know what is.”
    Dark clouds filled the sky, turning day into darkness. Rain
started to fall, and within minutes, Jesse wasn’t able to see past the hood of
the truck. The wind whipped the trailer from side to side, as he fought to keep
them on the narrow two-lane road. He knew they shouldn’t have stayed at
Blueford’s as long as they had. Nevertheless, his old friend wouldn’t have it
any other way.
    Lightning struck the road a few yards ahead of them. Miranda
jumped toward the middle of the seat. Her body lightly brushed his, sending a
chill up the back of his neck.
    What on God’s green earth is wrong with
me? This is the enemy.
    Jesse didn’t understand how he could be so attracted to the
woman who stole his future. Maybe it had been a long time since he’d been with a
woman. He didn’t have time or the patience to get involved with one now. It was
time to move on, not start a relationship of any kind.
    The rain came down heavier, forcing Jesse to pull off the road.
Miranda questioned him without saying a word.
    “I can’t drive this rig any further.” He leaned over the
steering wheel to get a better view of the sky. “We’ll stay here until it lets
up.”
    Jesse turned the engine off and rested his head against the
window. The temperature had dropped a good fifteen degrees outside. Miranda
shivered. He was tempted to pull her close and keep her warm, but his senses got
the better of him. He reached behind the seat, grabbed a denim shirt and handed
it to her.
    “Put this on.”
    “Thank you.” She didn’t look at him.
    Jesse closed his eyes. She was quiet. Too quiet. He opened one
eye to see her staring at him.
    “Why are you looking at me like that?”
    “I’m trying to figure you out.”
    “Nothing to figure out.” Jesse closed his eyes again. “What you
see is what you get.”
    “I don’t think so.”