She mumbled something about chores as soon as he shut the truck off. Her distraction could be dangerous so he followed her into the barn. When she slipped on a pair of coveralls, he did too. They worked side by side in silence, spreading hay to feed the horses and the llamas. She checked the stock tank to make sure it hadn't frozen since this morning. She did everything on autopilot. Brandt wondered how long before she'd crash.

Inside her trailer, neither she nor Brandt remarked how bare the living room was without Landon's toys strewn all over the rug. Without his bottles clogging the fridge. Without his trucks, cars, trains and books scattered across the coffee table. Even Lexie seemed out of sorts. She'd wander to the door, to Landon's room, then make a pitiful whine before she curled up in the kitchen in the spot where his high chair stood.

Brandt finally forced her to look at him. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know. Seeing her...Samantha. She's not what I expected. I sort of felt sorry for her. Then I realized I shouldn't feel sorry for her. She might not have much but she's got what I always wanted from Luke."

"A child."

"Yes. But that's not all I've been thinking about...I'm having such a hard time getting the words to make sense. And you need to know, Brandt. You deserve to know." Tears shimmered in her eyes and she looked so...lost.

"God. Jess. You're breakin' my heart. What can I do?"

"Let's do something. Anything. Go to a movie, or go out dancing, or go play pool, just get me out of this house and out of my head for a few hours."

That's when Brandt understood Jessie would be okay. For the first time all day the tight feeling in his chest loosened a little. "Great idea. We'll hit Applebee's in Spearfish for supper first and then we'll slip on our dancin' shoes at the Rockin' R outside Beulah."

"That sounds perfect."

"It's my lucky night, finding Brandt McKay at the bar first thing."

"Hello, Lydia."

"Howdy, stranger. I haven't seen you in ages."

He shrugged, keeping his eye on the door and not on Lydia's display of cleavage. "I've been busy."

"I'm glad you're here," she cooed. "I worried you might've found Jesus and were shunning honkytonks and temptations of the flesh or something noble."

"Not hardly." He'd given into the temptations of Jessie's flesh more times than he could count. In more ways than he could count. That thought brought a smile to his face.

"Lord, that sexy grin of yours still makes me weak kneed." Lydia leaned in, toying with the buttons on his shirt. "I remember putting a smile like that on your face a time or ten."

"Old news, Lydia."

"You know what they say...everything old can be new again."

Brandt laughed. Hard to believe he used to find this type of hardcore desperation attractive. He finished his beer and set the empty on the bar. "Nice talkin' to you. See you around." He started to leave.

But Lydia wrapped her arms around his waist. "Don't run off. Lemme buy you another beer for old times' sake."

"I don't think-"

"Fine. Then dance with me. Please? None of these guys dance as good as you. You could go for hours without getting tired."

Lydia could be very persuasive and sadly, Brandt wasn't immune to her flattery. Besides, Jessie had just stepped outside to take a call from her mom about what'd happened with Landon today. "Okay, one dance. That's it."

They zigzagged through the crowd on the dance floor. Lydia spun into his arms, like she'd done dozens of times when they'd been dating, but the flirty move annoyed him. He clasped her hand and started two-stepping. At least the fast tune would keep them from talking.

Unfortunately, Lydia wasn't deterred by the music's pace. "So whatcha been up to?"

"Ranch work." He twirled her, resetting the distance between their bodies.

"Aren't you gonna ask me what I've been up to?"

"No good, probably," he muttered and twirled her again.

"Bein' bad feels so good, doesn't it. You used to think so, too, cowboy." She spun herself and brushed her ass against his groin. "Or do you need a little reminder?"

This had been a mistake. Lydia had gone from persuasive to conniving. He managed a curt, "Behave."

Another laugh. "With the uptight way you're acting, I believe you might've found religion after all."

No. He'd found something better. Jessie.

Brandt tuned out Lydia's suggestive comments, maintaining a bland expression as his eyes kept darting toward the exit. What could be taking Jessie so long?

Thank God the song ended. Brandt immediately dropped Lydia's hands and attempted to retreat as the dance floor cleared.

But Lydia wasn't having any of it. She herded him backward even as he tried to dodge her. When the creases of his thighs hit the stage, he caught the edge to keep from falling on his ass. Lydia took advantage, slithering between his legs. She wound her arms around his neck like twin anacondas, unhinged her jaw and swallowed his face.

Jesus. Brandt felt like he was choking she'd jammed her tongue so far down his throat. He stood abruptly, expecting that'd dislodge her, but she clung to him like a deranged monkey.

Goddammit. Enough. He put his hands on her hips, intending to shove her away as he tried to dislodge his mouth from her fangs.

They were roughly pulled apart. "What the hell is goin' on here?"

His gaze flew to Jessie. Holy fuck was she pissed off. Brandt immediately got to his feet.

Lydia coyly wiped her mouth. When she sidled closer to Brandt, Jessie inserted herself between them and snapped, "Answer the question."

"Me'n Brandt just got carried away, didn't we, honey?"

"Shut your mouth, Lydia."

"Sorry," Lydia pouted, without an ounce of remorse. "I was just trying to explain."

"Don't," he snapped.

Jessie's fury-darkened eyes never looked away from his. "Is it true, Brandt? Did you and Lydia get carried away?"

"No."

Her expression shifted. She whirled to face Lydia. "You get your kicks out of kissing an unwilling man?"

"Oh, sugar, don't kid yourself for a second he was unwilling."

"Bullshit."

Lydia smiled cagily. "What are you gonna believe? What you saw with your own eyes? Or what he tells you? 'Cause, you're awful damn naive if you don't think he'll lie about what just happened to spare your feelings."

Direct hit. Brandt needed to get Jessie out of here now. "Jessie-"

Jessie's laughter cut him off. "You want proof?" She pointed to Brandt's groin. "He doesn't have a hard-on. If anything you did even turned him on a little, he'd be sporting wood. Trust me, I know. So, sugar, take your desperation to some other man because Brandt is not interested in you."

But Lydia wouldn't let it go. "So you're Jessie. The poor little widow whose husband couldn't keep it in his pants." She gave Jessie a derisive head-to-toe inspection. "No wonder he wandered. Looks like you're trying-and failing-to prove you can keep the interest of another McKay man."

"Shut your stupid mouth. You don't know a goddamned thing about Brandt."

"Hit a nerve, did I?"

"I'll show you hitting a nerve." Jessie leapt at Lydia.

Lydia screamed as they hit the floor, Jessie's fists flailed as she tried to connect with every part of Lydia's body she could reach. Then Lydia bucked and sent Jessie sprawling. But that didn't stop Jessie from crawling back and pouncing on her.

Brandt had never seen Jessie enraged. She'd wind up in jail for assault if any of her punches actually landed. He crouched down, wrapped both arms around her middle and lifted her off Lydia.

"Let me go! I'm gonna beat her ass."

"I think you made your point."

"No, I'm not done. She doesn't understand that she doesn't get to say shit like that about you. I'm gonna make her understand if it takes all goddamn night!"

He held her, hugging her back to his chest, attempting to contain her. "Jess. Baby. Calm down."

"That fucking bitch attacked me," Lydia said as she picked herself up off the floor. "You all saw it."

Everyone who'd gotten closer to watch the catfight walked away. Not a single person stuck around to back up Lydia's claims.

Brandt figured they'd best leave too. He loosened his hold on his surprising hellcat.

Mistake.

Jessie broke free and loomed over Lydia, who finally had the good sense to cower like a whipped pup. "Stay away from him, do you hear me? I will fuck you up if I ever see you looking at him again. And if you ever touch him, I swear to God I will-"

"And...we're done." Brandt picked Jessie up, snagged their coats off the chairs and carried her out of the bar.

As soon as they were outside, she thrashed and said, "Let me down."

"Only if you promise me you ain't gonna make a break for it and go back inside."

"Bitch would deserve it," she muttered.

Brandt didn't release her until they reached his truck. He tossed her the long duster and slipped on his jacket. "Get in."

"No. I'm too fucking mad."

"If you wanna try scream therapy again, we need to get out of town first."

"I just wanna punch something. Or someone. But since you won't let me do that..." She kicked a clump of dirt. Tracked down another and kicked it too.

Brandt watched her, unruffled by this violent side of his sweet Jessie, mostly because he understood it. "Why did you go after her like that?"

"Because she had her hands on you. Because she was kissing you. God. She had no right. Are all women so desperate? Didn't she know better than to throw herself at another woman's man? In public, no less."

He froze. His brain backtracked. Wait a second. Jessie hadn't gotten pissed off because of what Lydia had said about her or Luke, she'd gotten pissed off over Lydia lumping him in with all other cheating men in the world. Hope like he'd never experienced filled his chest. Somehow he managed to keep his tone even when he asked, "So do you make a habit of this?"

Jessie snorted. "Fighting? Not hardly. I've never wanted to kill anyone with my bare hands as much as I did the second I saw her plastered to you."

"That's interesting."

"Why?"

"Because I've never had a woman fight over me."

"Well, I've never had a man worth fighting for."

Brandt erased the five feet between them, forcing her to look at him. "Run that by me one more time."

Jessie, his sweet fiery Jessie, didn't stay passive. She slapped her hands on the sides of his face and locked her gaze to his. "You are the one man in the world I will fight for, Brandt McKay, because I love you."

"You do?"

"Yes. Before you jump to the conclusion that I'm telling you this now when Landon isn't in the picture, you'd be partially right. What I didn't say earlier today before Landon left with his mother was that I'd never make you choose. But now that he's gone I was afraid that you don't need me anymore-"

"Since all I wanted you for was Landon's childcare?" he demanded. "And all you wanted me for was sex?"

Her eyes searched his. "No. But did the high emotions and intensity of the situation and the hottest freakin' sex on the planet heighten everything between us?"

The knot of fear in his belly tightened. Oh hell no. He was not losing her now. "Let me make this clear, Jessie. I love you. I've loved you for a long goddamn time, even when I shouldn't have loved you. I know you love me-even when you were too stubborn or scared to admit it. I see it whenever you look at me. I feel it when you're touchin' me. So I cannot for the life of me understand why you're questioning this now. Now when we have no obstacles and a lifetime ahead of us."

"Because I want a clean slate about everything. That includes the big 'what if' scenario that's been hanging between us for three months."

"So what are you sayin'?"

"If Samantha had shown up today and asked you to continue as Landon's guardian without specifying how long, I would've pulled up my big girl panties and stayed by your side where I belong. I would've found a way to deal with it."

This woman...goddamn, she could knock him to his knees.

"I want you in my life, Brandt. So if part of your life is caring for your brother's son, then that makes it part of my life too. Whatever black and white view I had of this situation with Landon in the beginning changed over the past few months. I care about him. I care what happens to him." Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm happy we had him for as long as we did. But seeing how much Samantha loves him and how happy he was to see her...I know he belongs with his mother."

"This is why I asked you to help me. Because you've got a big heart and you're willing to put it out there, even if there's a chance you might get it stomped on. Jessie-"

She placed her thumbs over his lips. "Us being together won't be an easy road. There will be people like Lydia, like your father, who will want us to fail. So you should know I fell in love with you not because you're Luke's brother, but in spite of it.

"You've become everything to me in ways Luke never was. I never imagined I'd find a man like you, who's sweet, sexy, funny, thoughtful, kind. A man who makes me feel like I'm enough for him. A man I can trust without question. A man I will fight anyone for." Her eyes filled with tears and she whispered, "God. I feel like such an idiot because you've been here the whole time."

"Hey." Brandt wiped her cheeks. "You weren't ready to see me in any of those roles in your life."