The homemade quilt barely reached from one end to the other of the tall Ranger. Jesse's face was gentle in repose. There was no hint of the fierceness in battle she had seen, no hint of the savage passion she had experienced. He was only a man. There must be another-not a Ranger-who would suit her as well.

She leaned down slowly, carefully, and touched her lips to his. A goodbye kiss. She walked dry-eyed up the stairs to her bedroom. It looked so empty. It felt so forlorn. She lay down on the bed and stared at the canopy overhead. It was a long time before she finally found respite in sleep.

The sun woke Honey the next morning. It was brighter than bright, a golden Texas morning. Honey stretched and groaned at how stiff she felt. Then she froze. Where was Jesse now? Was he still downstairs sleeping? Had he packed and left? Was he dressed and waiting to confront her?

Honey scrambled off the bed and ran across the hall to the bathroom. She took one look at herself and groaned. Her face looked as if she'd slept in it. She started the water running in the tub as hot as she could get it and stripped off her clothes. There was barely an inch of liquid in the claw-footed tub by the time she stepped into it. She sank down, hissing as the water scalded her, then grabbed a cloth and began soaping herself clean.

It never occurred to her to lock the bathroom door. No one ever bothered her when she was in the bathroom. Her eyes widened in surprise when the door opened and Jesse sauntered in. He was shirtless, wearing a pair of jeans that threatened to fall off, revealing his navel and the beginning of his hipbones.

She held the washcloth in front of her, which didn't do much good, not to mention how silly it looked. "What are you doing in here?" she demanded indignantly.

"I thought I'd shave," Jesse said. "We might as well get used to having to share the bathroom in the morning." He turned and grinned. "That is, unless I can talk you into adding a second bathroom. One with a shower?"

"What's going on, Jesse?"

He soaped up his shaving brush and began applying the resulting foam to his beard. "I'm shaving," he answered. "Looks like you're taking a bath." He grinned.

Honey tried ignoring him. She turned her back on him and continued washing herself. She was feeling both angry and confused. He has no right to be doing this! Why doesn't he just go? If Jesse had changed his mind about leaving the Rangers he would have told her so last night. This was just another ploy to get his own way. She wasn't going to let him get away with it.

Honey covered herself with the washcloth as best she could while she reached for a towel. Just as she caught it with her fingertips, Jesse slipped it off the rack and settled it around his neck.

"I need that towel,'¹ she said through gritted teeth.

"I'll be done with it in a minute," he said. "I need to wipe off the excess shaving cream."

Honey was tempted to stand up and stroll past him naked, but she didn't have the nerve. What if Jack was out there? Jack!

"Where's Jack?" she asked.

"Sent him out to round up those steers we vaccinated and move them to another pasture."

"And he went?"

"Don't look so surprised. Jack's a hard worker."

Honey's brows rose. "I know that I didn't think you did."

"Jack and I have an understanding," Jesse said.

"Oh?"

"I told him this morning that I was going to marry you and-"

"You what!" Honey rose from the water like Poseidon in a tempest. Water sluiced down her body, creating jeweled trails over breasts and belly.

Jesse didn't know when he had ever seen her looking more beautiful. Or more angry.

"Now, Honey-"

"Don't you 'Now, Honey' me, you rogue. How could you tell my son such a thing? How could you get his hopes up when you know I'm not going to marry you!"

"But you are," Jesse said.

Honey was shivering from cold and trembling with emotion. Jesse took the towel from around his neck and offered it to her. She yanked it out of his hand and wrapped it around herself.

"I'd like to play the gallant and carry you off to the bedroom to make my point, but-" He gestured to the wounded leg and shrugged. "Can't do it."

Honey made a growling sound low in her throat as she marched past Jesse to the bedroom. Actually she had to stop marching long enough to squeeze past him in the doorway, and she had to fight him for the tail end of the towel as she slid by.

"Just have one more little spot I need to wipe," he said, dabbing at his face.

"Let go!" she snapped. She yanked, he pulled, and the ancient terry cloth tore down the middle. "Now look what you've done!"

Tears sprang to Honey's eyes. "You're ruining everything!"

"It's just a towel, Honey," Jesse said, misunderstanding her tears. He tried to follow her into the bedroom, but she shut the door in his face. And locked it.

"Hey, unlock the door."

"Go away, Jesse."

"I thought we were going to talk."

"Go away, Jesse."

"I'm not going to leave, Honey. You might as well open the door."

"Go away, Jesse."

Jesse put a shoulder against the door, just to see how sturdy it was, and concluded that atleast the house was well built. His bad leg wouldn't support him if he tried kicking it in. Which was just as well. Honey wasn't likely to be too impressed with that sort of melodrama.

"I'm leaving, Honey," he said.

No answer.

"I said I'm leaving."

Still no answer.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

"Goodbye, Jesse," she sobbed.

"Jeez, Honey. This is stupid. Open the door so we can talk."

She sobbed again.

Jesse's throat constricted. She really sounded upset. Maybe this wasn't the best time to talk to her after all. He had some chores he could do that would keep him busy for a while. Surely she couldn't stay in there ail day. He'd catch her when she came down for some coffee later.

Honey heard Jesse's halting step as he limped his way down the stairs. So, he was leaving after all. Honey got into bed and pulled the covers over her head. She didn't want to think about anything. She just wanted to wallow in misery. She should have taken the part of him she could get, the part left over after he'd done his duty to the Rangers. It would have been better than nothing, certainly better than the void he would leave when he was gone.

Then she thought of all the time she would have to spend alone, with no shoulder to share the burden, no lover's ear to hear how the day had gone and offer solace, and her backbone stiffened. She deserved more from a relationship than half measures. She had to accept the fact that Jesse had made his choice.

Honey didn't notice the sun creeping across the sky. She had no knowledge of the fading light at dusk. She never even noticed the sun setting to leave the world in darkness. Her whole life was dark. It couldn't get any blacker.

Meanwhile, Jesse had spent the day waiting patiently for Honey to come to her senses. At noon, he prepared some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, planning to surprise her with his culinary expertise. He ended up sharing his bounty with Jack, who ate all the sandwiches and dumped the soup with the comment, "Mom makes it better."

When Jesse had explained to Jack that he needed some time alone with Honey, Jack was more than willing to go spend the night with friends again. In fact, Jesse was embarrassed by the lurid grin on the teenager's face when he agreed not to come home too early the next morning.

"Does this mean Mom has agreed to marry you?" Jack asked.

"I haven't quite talked her into it yet," Jesse said.

"But you will."

"I'm sure going to try," Jesse said grimly.