“I should ask you the same question,” Jacyn came back at him with spirit. “Did we interrupt you? Would you two like some more time?”
William began to lower Jacyn into an armchair, but Alex was within inches of them in a heartbeat. “What are you doing in my brother’s arms?”
Liam began to speak, but Alex didn’t give him a second. “I wasn’t askingyou,brother. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. What is this, Jacyn?”
She wasn’t sure she liked the way he was talking to her, but the look on his face let her know she’d better say something fast. “I fell off of Orage. William helped me—”
Immediately, Alex was there, reaching out for her, hands moving swiftly up and down her body as if checking her for injuries. “Did he throw you?”
“No.” She struggled to remember what happened. It had all gone down so fast. “The saddle slid sideways–”
“Did you not secure it properly?”
She shrugged. “He was saddled and waiting when I got there. And then everything started to shift.” She shook her head in bewilderment. The adrenaline coursing through her veins had begun to subside, and the pain was beginning to set in. Her shoulder felt swollen and sore.
“You’re hurt,” he said, his voice filled with concern and reflected pain. Then he lifted her in his arms and headed to the bedroom. “Call a doctor,” he barked at his brother.
Without a murmur of resistance, Liam complied.
***
Jacyn listened to the sound of Alex returning up the corridor after seeing the doctor off. The doc had told her, in flawless English, that she should be glad that she wasn’t more gravely injured, but that she had gotten away with a few bruises and a sore shoulder and ankle. It was only fortunate that Orage was such a sensible creature; he had come to an immediate stop, sparing Jacyn more grief.
But there was something that William had said to her before he left that bothered her deeply, and she needed to talk to Alex about it. She hoped he was willing to listen.
He came in and perched on the end of her bed, brushing the backs of his fingers across her forehead. “You okay, my sweet?”
She pressed her cheek against his fingers, craving the comfort of his touch. She felt guilty about the harsh way she had spoken to him earlier, but it had been necessary. After all, she needed to protect herself. The harder she fell for him, the more painful it would be to leave.
“Alex?” she ventured.
“Hmm?”
“William said that the groom thinks someone messed with the saddle.”
He frowned slightly. “What do you mean by ‘messed’?”
“He thought it was deliberate. That someone tried to make me fall.”
“Who would want to do a thing like that? And why?” The confused look on his face made her want to punch him on the shoulder. Why was he being so obtuse?
Here it was, she thought. The hard part. But she forced herself to bring up the awful possibility. “Do you think Sofia might have wanted me out of the way?”
He gave her an incredulous look, but she kept going stubbornly on. “I mean, she’s getting divorced, she’ll soon be a free agent. Maybe she thinks that you and she can—”
He leaped off her bed, indignant. “That’s impossible. Sofia and I were together this morning—”
Wrapped in each other’s arms,she thought, but said sardonically, “Yeah. I know.”
A flush darkened his skin. At least he had that much of a conscience. “What you saw,” he began, then after a weighty pause, he tried again. “What you saw wasn’t what you thought. It wasn’t—”
She held up a hand to stop him before he embarrassed himself any further. “Hey, you know what? Refer to my earlier statement this morning. You and I? We’re just having a little fun. We have no commitment. Nothing to lose.”
He looked pained. “Jacyn–”
“You’ve loved that woman since you were kids, and everyone here knows it. In a couple of months Sofia and Liam will go their separate ways, and you can move in and claim what was rightfully yours the whole time. And I’ll be back in the States, doing just fine.”
Despite the bravado of her words, she could feel the rise of acrid tears at the back of her throat. She desperately needed him to leave her alone, because God forbid he see her crying. So she yawned ostentatiously. “Now, my pain meds are kicking in. So if you don’t mind.” Pointedly, she left the rest hanging.