The Pursuit of Jesse Read Online Free Page A

open window. Open door. A couple of open bars down on Main Street. And from what Garrett had said a few ready-and-willing single women.
    Women like Sarah with her long, straight black hair, piercing blue eyes, made almost fierce with those thick arching eyebrows and dark lashes. And those lips with their dramatic fullness. It’d been almost four years since he’d touched a woman, four long years since he’d been touched with anything even remotely resembling tenderness.
    Abruptly, the look on Sarah’s face as she stared at him through her window just a short while ago flashed through his memory. He glanced back at his brother. “You told her about me, didn’t you?”
    Garrett held his gaze. “You mean Sarah?”
    Jesse nodded.
    “If you’re going to be working in her home, she deserved to know.”
    “Forewarned is forearmed. That’s fair.” Jesse was going to have to live with being a felon from here on out, so he might as well get used to it. “What exactly did you tell her?”
    “What we agreed on. Only that you’d gotten out of prison.”
    “She was okay with that?”
    “Not entirely, but Sarah’s one of our best friends. She trusts me.” He sighed. “Erica’s the only one who knows the whole truth. I haven’t told anyone else on this island anything about you. Now that Sarah knows you came straight from prison, that’s bound to get out.It’s up to you how much more you want to tell anyone else.”
    Jesse looked away for a moment. “What about Zach?”
    “He doesn’t even know the prison part. Kids ask a lot of questions, Jess. I thought it best you told him when you were ready, but I wouldn’t wait too long. He’s bound to hear rumors, and it’s probably better if he hears the truth from you.”
    “Look, if me being here is going to cause you too much trouble, I’ll go someplace else.” Already his feet were itching to hit the road. All he needed was an excuse. On second thought, maybe what he wanted was an excuse.
    “You don’t have any place else to go and you know it.”
    “I can find a job someplace else.” Someplace where no one knew him. Where no one knew what he’d done.
    “Don’t you dare start thinking about cutting and running,” Garrett said. “I stuck my neck out for you. Promised Sarah you’d finish her house.”
    Jesse hadn’t made any promises, so he sure as hell couldn’t break any. All he wanted—all he needed—was some traveling cash. Just enough to get him a long, long way from Wisconsin. Hell, before he’d gone to prison the longest he’d ever stayed in the same town had been three months. He gave Mirabelle two months, tops. As soon as spring hit he was history.
    “Jesse, I mean it. She needs that house finished before the end of May.”
    “Don’t worry about it, bro.”
    Garrett studied him for a moment. “I’m not going to lie to you. Mirabelle’s a small island. This whole placeis going to be buzzing with the news about you coming. Why you’re here. Where you came from. This place is just like any other. Some will cut you some slack. Some will hate you on sight. But if there’s ever a place that’ll give you a chance to start over, start fresh, Mirabelle is it.”
    “Dinner’s ready,” Erica called from the kitchen.
    His chest tightened. The last thing in the world Jesse could stand in that moment was sitting around a cozy table with Garrett in his perfect house with his perfect family. Maybe starting over, starting fresh wasn’t at all what Jesse deserved. Besides, four years of sucking it up while guards told him what to do and when was enough.
    “You know what?” Jesse said, smiling. “I think I might head downtown.” Just because he could. “I’m feeling a little antsy. Figure I’ll get the lay of the land. Check out Main Street.”
    Refusing to look at Garrett’s face, knowing all he’d find in the depths of his brother’s eyes was disappointment, Jesse put his head down and walked toward the front door. “I won’t be too