Free A Family to Come Home To (Saddle Falls) by Sharon De Vita Page A

look at her, and caught her blinking back tears. “Truly, it’s not.”
    Fists clenched against his chest, Hannah sniffled, trying to gather her composure. “Jesse.” She glanced up at him and swallowed hard. He had the most incredible eyes. Every time she looked into them it made her feel things—want things—she knew better than to want or yearn for. That was a dream she’d given up years ago, and she wasn’t about to let herself walk blindly down the path of misery and disappointment again. Not because of a man. “Does Tommy know you’re not staying?”
    “Well now, I must admit we really haven’t gotten around to talking about that yet.” He continued to caress her back, liking the feeling of having her in his arms. She was so small and delicate, and having her pressed against the length of him was causing his mind to come up with some incredibly imaginative fantasizing of what having that small, delicate naked body pressed against him might be like.
    Caught up short by his own thoughts, Jesse shifted his weight so that all that was actually touching her was his arms. He knew better than to play with fire, and touching Hannah set off a fire he was more than certain would flame right out of control if he wasn’t careful.
    And he’d always been a careful, cautious man.
    There was no point imagining or fantasizing about what could never be. She belonged here in Saddle Falls, Nevada. He belonged in Texas. He surely wasn’t going to be around long enough to get involved with anything or anyone—especially a woman.
    He couldn’t, he reminded himself. He’d come to Saddle Falls only because of a deathbed promise, and he wasn’t about to let himself get emotionally involved with anyone during the short time he planned to be here.
    Not with Tommy.
    Not with the rest of the Ryans.
    And certainly not with Hannah.
    He’d promised himself he’d stay detached and he would. Besides, it had never been a hardship before. He’d always had trouble forming attachments to people. It was the only thing about himself, about Jesse Garland, he’d never understood.
    Until now, he’d never questioned his reserve, but simply accepted it as an inbred part of who he was.
    When it came to emotional attachments, he simply balked and bailed. It was an action that had become a habit over so many years—with everyone, especially women. Perhaps that’s why he’d never married. He’d come close once, but knew in his heart it wasn’t right. He couldn’t seem to allow his heart to let go of the reservations he felt; the invisible walls he’d built to keep people at bay. He simply couldn’t allow himself to become emotionally attached. And so, not wanting to hurt the woman, he’d broken off the romance. After that, he made sure to keep all his relationships with women little more than superficial, not wanting to hurt anyone else. It had served him in good stead all these years and he wasn’t about to change things now.
    “Jesse, if you and Tommy haven’t talked about how long you’ll be staying—”
    “You mean haven’t talked about the fact that I’m not staying?”
    “If you and Tommy haven’t talked about the future, Jesse, do you think you might avoid talking about it? At least for a few days?” she added hurriedly at the look on his face. “I mean, why not give him a chance to just enjoy this time with you? He’s waited so long to have you home again, I think it might be nice to give him a few days with nothing to worry or fret about.”
    “Well, darlin’, I imagine I can do that.” He touched her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I told you before, I’m not going to do anything deliberately to hurt him. Or anyone,” he added softly. “It’s not my way, Hannah. I’ve always prided myself on being an honorable man, and if you’re worrying that I came here to hurt the Ryans or to stir up trouble, I do wish you’d put that thought out of your mind.” It bothered him to know she thought so little of