His mouth went dry. “Don’t you even think about it.” From what he could tell from her stillness behind him, she’d abandoned her plan. Regardless, a part of him wanted to turn around and peek. Thank the Lord he had a willpower of steel, and he stood as stationary and straight as a lamppost. “Get out and get some clothes on. Now.”

“I’m not a girl, Jericho. And it’s about time you realized it.”

From the little bit he’d seen of her above the water, he agreed. She was all woman and even more gorgeous than he remembered.

But it didn’t matter. She was still Ivy. And he’d always think of her as Dylan’s little sister, a gangly girl in two braids, a fun playmate during the trip across the Santa Fe Trail. That’s all.

She expelled a long, drawn-out sigh, one filled with exasperation. Then from the splashing he could tell she was making her way toward the shore. She was right there behind him, dripping wet, wearing nothing but her unmentionables and the skin she’d been born in.

His pulse gave a swift and hard surge, sending heat right through him. “It’s about time you stopped acting like a wanton woman.”

“A wanton woman?” Hurt tinged her question.

Maybe in the short term his rebuke would hurt her feelings, but if he could keep her safe—even from himself—that’s all that mattered. “Yes. And while you’re at it, stop pretending to be a man.”

At the shuffling of linen, he tried to block out the image of her slipping on her garments, but just the prospect was enough to send more warmth through his gut. He pressed his palms over his eyes, as if that could somehow make the picture disappear. He couldn’t let his thoughts about Ivy get carried away, not after all these years of keeping them from wandering.

“You’ve got no right to be upset with me,” she said.

“Why not?”

“You ain’t had a part in my life for so long, what makes you think you can tell me what to do now?”

Weren’t those nearly the same words he’d spouted at his dad shortly after his return home when his dad had started ordering him around and planning his life? After Dad had abandoned him time after time, Jericho had resented his sudden interest.

Was that how Ivy felt? Maybe it wasn’t his place to start bossing Ivy around. On the other hand, now that he was here, how could he ignore her foolishness? Someone had to talk some sense into her before she got herself hurt or killed.

“I guess I don’t have any right to tell you what to do after being gone all this time, but lucky for you, I’m planning to tell you anyway.”

Chapter
3