Even knowing that, Jed wanted to take her in his arms and hold her until the lost look on her face went away. But he didn’t feel he had the right since he was obviously the cause of it. He decided on a very watered down version of the truth.
“Like most major events in my life, I didn’t have much choice,” he said. The way she rolled her eyes and shook her head said she knew it was a copout.
“Whatever. I guess part of the reason I’m so shocked is Steve never mentioned you had a daughter. I knew you’d married, but I never heard that you’d had a child. Just seems kind of strange.”
“He doesn’t know.”
Chaney’s head shot up. “I thought you said no more surprises. Your family doesn’t know about your daughter?”
Jed shrugged uncomfortable talking about his relationship or lack of one with his uncle. “Dale and I didn’t speak for a long time after I left. Actually, we hadn’t talked until Steve’s wedding,” he told her. “I told them when I got married, but I was on sea duty when Ash was born, and most of the next two years. When I was home, Johanna, well you can see she isn’t exactly thrilled with my side of the family, so to keep the peace I rarely talked to them.”
“But they’re your family, Jed. I don’t understand.”
He smiled at her. She was right on target there. She didn’t understand and probably never would. He didn’t have a family like she did. When his parents died, his uncle had grudgingly taken custody. He had never felt good enough for his uncle. The relationship with his family had been extremely strained when Dale didn’t stand up for him against her father. After that, Jed had wanted to keep his life separate from theirs because he never quite trusted his uncle to be there for him.
“Yeah, well, not all families are as close as yours was.”
Her forced laughter reminded him that Chaney believed her family was anything but close. “That’s a good one, Jed,” she said dropping into the large old desk chair. “Never mind. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. It’s not like we’re beholden to each other or anything.”
“Chaney there’s nothing to tell. He’s my uncle not my father. It’s different when you have an argument with your dad; at least I guess it is. I never got the chance to have one with my father when I was older.”
He hadn’t meant to say that. It had been years since he had allowed any kind of self-pity for the loss of his parents. He never, ever said anything out loud. Self-pity was one thing. Pity from someone else was unacceptable. If he saw anything resembling it in Chaney’s eyes, he wasn’t sure he could take it.
The silence stretched between them.
Jed forced himself to hold her gaze when she finally spoke.
“I guess I never thought about it like that.”
He was pleased with her answer. It sounded more like understanding than pity. Those beautiful brown eyes didn’t waver or avoid his gaze as people tended to do when they felt sorry for him.
“So, Dale and Steve don’t know about Ashley?”
Jed shook his head. “I was going to tell them after I talked to you.”
“And when had you planned on doing that?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from plowing them through his hair. “I am sorry, Chaney. I was supposed to have Ash last week, but Johanna pulled a fast one and got my visitation blocked.” Chaney started to speak but he held up his hand. “You saw the limo. Her new husband is loaded. Where there’s money, there’s a way.” He fell into the chair in front of her desk. “After that, I thought I had more time to figure out how to tell you.”
“It’s simple, Jed. You say, Chaney, I have a daughter.”
Jed looked at her doubtfully. “Honey, nothing with you is simple or easy.”
“I am not your honey and this marriage was supposed to be simple business,” she told him pounding a fist on the desk. Fire burned in her eyes as she spoke and Jed found himself almost enjoying the battle just to see the spirit come back in her. “One year. That’s all it was supposed to be.”
“I know.”
“Custody battles can go on for years, Jed.”
So, that was the problem. Chaney was worried he would need to stay married for longer than their agreement. “This one won’t. I promise.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll forgive me if I don’t buy that line.”
“It’s my word, not a line.” Jed was fuming now. He stood and leaned across the desk, his palms planted firmly on the hard oak surface. “I won’t put my daughter through years of court battles. One shot, that’s all I’ve got.”
Chaney regarded Jed in silence. His set features looked grim and determined, as if he expected to lose but couldn’t go down without a fight. Well, she understood that feeling. It was the exact reason she was in the predicament she was now. Pushing her chair away from the desk and the unwavering stare of her husband, she stood and walked back to the window.
“Never mind, Jed,” she said without looking at him. “As Martha would say, it’s too late to cry over spilt milk.”
“Which means what, exactly?”
Jed had walked up behind her and a chill ran over Chaney’s skin at the closeness of his voice. The man was like a mountain lion when he moved, silent and deadly. Now was not the time to allow her traitorous body to rule her mind.
“Which means I don’t have a choice,” Chaney told him. What else is new? When have I ever had a choice in life?
“There’s always a choice, Chaney.”
This time Jed’s soft whiskey voice had the opposite effect on Chaney. Her blood boiled. Not from desire, from anger. She turned on him and poked a finger in his chest. She felt a slight vindication when he stepped back.
“No, Jed. There isn’t always a choice. Sometimes life kicks you in the teeth; you take it and keep moving.” Her anger, fueled by memories of past kicks had her breath coming in short furious huffs. “That’s what I’m doing. I have to stay married to you for one year to keep my ranch. During that time, I will do whatever I can to help you win custody of your daughter. But when the year is over,” she said then paused narrowing her eyes. “When the year is over you walk away, no questions asked. No claims on anything.”
“I don’t want your ranch, Chaney. You don’t have to worry that I’ll try and take it. I’ll sign an agreement if you want.”
It wasn’t the ranch Chaney was worried he might claim.
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do.” Chaney turned away from him and walked to her desk putting as much distance as possible between them. She took her seat without looking at him and shuffled papers until she heard the door close. With the click of the latch, Chaney felt the band around her chest tighten even more.
Marrying Jed was supposed to have bought her freedom from her father’s control. Instead, she found herself in less control of her life than before. Seeing the pain in Jed’s eyes when he spoke of possibly losing his daughter left little doubt he would fight for custody of any child they might have. If she was pregnant, that is. Again, she thought how lucky it was she hadn’t given up the birth control.
Chaney picked up the phone and pushed the speed dial button for her father’s lawyer. She waited for his secretary to put her through, but wasted no time the moment he came on the line.
“Mr. Pike. If I don’t get pregnant, do I definitely lose the ranch?” she asked interrupting his greeting and questions. Her direct question caught the lawyer off guard. He told her he would check the will and call her back.
While she waited, Chaney turned her focus to her first love, the ranch. When she first took over after her father’s death things had been tight. It had taken hard work and a lean month or two but she had turned things back around. The closer her birthday had come however; she noticed the accounts running low.
At first, she had attributed it to expenses for Belle’s wedding. Going back over the accounts had shown that not to be the case. Yes, there had been extra expenses but nothing to validate the lack of
funds she was trying to find. Besides, Belle, for all her starry-eyed wonder, would never have asked for anything that cost more than they could afford. So where was the money going?
Chaney was so intent on the screen in front of her the ringing of the office phone made her jump in her seat. She took a breath to steady herself before answering.
It was the lawyer. The news was mixed. As soon as she became pregnant, she received full legal possession of the ranch. If she didn’t get pregnant before the end of the year, the property would be divided between her and her husband. The thought of splitting up the ranch was like a knife in her gut.
“Don’t worry, Miss McBride, I mean Mrs. Sampson. I wouldn’t worry about the fact that you aren’t pregnant yet,” the lawyer said. “Relax and let nature take its course. You have an entire year.”
Mumbling a reply, Chaney hung up. Leaning back in her chair she thought about her options, if that was what you called fighting for custody of a child or losing your livelihood. First, if she weren’t pregnant then she and Jed would split the ranch between them. That option, when she thought about it for a minute, held potential. Jed had no interest in the ranch. He would probably be willing to sell his share to her. Not that she would be able to pay him off immediately. She didn’t have a million or so in cash lying around, but surely, he would be willing to work out some kind of payout.
Pleased with that rationalization, she moved onto the second option. If she was pregnant, she could end the charade of a marriage and then fight him for custody. You’d lose, reverberated through her head before the thought was even complete.
Chaney didn’t doubt it. Jed had experience, a thriving business, and another child, what court wouldn’t vote for him? A vivid image of a court officer taking her baby out of her arms filled Chaney’s mind. The memory of the doctor explaining she had miscarried quickly followed the image. Her hands covered her belly as if to protect the child she’d lost long ago. No, she couldn’t survive losing a baby again. It would be better if she never conceived, because losing in court wouldn’t be any less painful.
The lawyer’s words reverberated in her head. I wouldn’t worry about the fact that you aren’t pregnant yet...aren’t pregnant yet...aren’t pregnant. That was it.
The birth control. She just wouldn’t stop using it. Though no birth control guaranteed she wouldn’t get pregnant, it was doubtful. Scrunching her eyes together, she tried to remember her biology and health class information on menstrual cycles and conception. All it did was give her a headache. Still, it was more likely she hadn’t conceived yet and she was going to cling to that chance.
“Hope rings eternal,” she said out loud to the empty room. “Or something like that.” From now on, she would keep her distance from Jed or at least not be alone with him. That shouldn’t be too hard with Ashley around. The little girl obviously missed him immensely. That she adored her father couldn’t be more apparent. That meant Ashley would want to spend every moment possible with her father and that would give Chaney the excuse she needed to avoid time alone with him.
With a plan in place, she felt much more confident. She felt so good she closed out the document she had been looking at before the lawyer’s call. Today she would welcome Ashley to McBride’s Pride and later, welcome her sister and brother-in-law home. Work could wait until she came back tonight.
***
“What the hell is going on out there?” Burton, said to the man he had on the inside at the ranch. “You said she wouldn’t find anyone to marry, and now she’s brought in the papers to prove she did.”
“Stop yer caterwauling. I mighta been worried about nothin’. Looks like the bastard she married just dug himself a deep hole and fell in.”
The man talking to Burton broke into a cackling laughter, causing Burton’s lip to curl. He really hated dealing with these common low-lifes. Unfortunately, there were times they came in handy. Hell, at least this was better than the time circumstances had forced him to marry one of his marks. He wouldn’t forget that debacle any time soon. Granted, it had worked out well. The sympathy angle actually leading to another mark, but that was the past. This job was starting to wear thin.
“So they aren’t sleeping together? They won’t fulfill the pregnancy requirement?” he asked. He heard the man spit before replying. The sound itself made Burton gag.
“Oh she might have let him bed her, but she probably hasn’t trusted him enough to chance gettin’ pregnant yet. She’s scared to death of doing that again. Finding out he already has a brat, I doubt she’ll let him touch her.”
“Really? She didn’t know?”
“From the sounds of the argument they was having in the office, I don’t think so.”
“Maybe you’re right. Women don’t like finding out about a man’s past mistakes. Keep an eye on them and let me know if anything changes.”
Chapter Six
Jed couldn’t remember a shorter two weeks. Or longer. His contradictory moods were going to drive him insane. Chaney’s comment about life kicking you in the teeth ran through his head like a depressing mantra.
The unexpected gift of time with his daughter had been wonderful. Ash’s presence had closed the thinning gap between Jed and his uncle even more. When Jed had told her she could call Dale grandpa, he had seen tears in his uncle’s eyes. Every spare minute Jed had, he took Ashley over to Grandpa’s and they would all go riding or play games or fish at the pond. When Steve and Belle had met her that first evening, they were as surprised and thrilled as his uncle.
During the short time, Ash had blossomed from a timid, quiet, child to a happy, vibrant, tomboy. Putting on Chaney’s cowboy hat and riding the broomstick horse Dale had made her was one of her favorite pastimes. Jed had gone out and bought a camcorder to tape her escapades. Then evening would come and they would snuggle together while he read her stories and held her until she fell asleep.
He was exhausted by the end of every day. Not so exhausted he didn’t notice that Chaney was avoiding him.
The first night he found her asleep at her desk Jed didn’t think much of it. He picked her up and carried her to bed. She never even woke up. When he woke the next morning and she was already gone, he still didn’t worry. They did live on a ranch and days started early.
By the fourth night he had little doubt she was using every excuse she could find to not be alone with him. He didn’t blame her. Jed understood her aggravation with him for not telling her about Ash. He had thought that after spending time with his daughter, Chaney would forget about or at least get over it. It was obvious she liked his daughter. The two of them were becoming quite a team in playing jokes on him.
Yet, as soon as there was a minute he and Chaney could be alone together she would disappear. Having his daughter with him was great, but Chaney’s absence left a hole in his days he couldn’t explain.
Now he stood on the porch watching the limo take his daughter away. Chaney stood beside him tears tracing silently down her cheeks. When he reached for her, to comfort or be comforted he wasn’t sure, she stepped away.
“Chaney?”
“I told Smitty I’d meet him--”
“Why are you running away from me?”
“Running?” she asked stopping and turning at the bottom step of the porch.
Jed stared down at her. He read the defiance in her narrowed brown eyes, but there was more. Something had her scared. It was at that moment he realized she was running because she was afraid of something, not because she was mad. “What are you afraid of?”
She laughed a harsh, brittle, fake laugh. “Jed, you of all people, should know I’m not afraid of anything.”
He didn’t buy it. “Everybody’s afraid of something, Chaney.”
“Even the all-powerful Jed Sampson? What are you afraid of?”
Jed didn’t balk at her challenging tone. The question itself did confuse him. When had he ever acted all powerful? Stubborn and bull-headed he would admit to, but all-powerful? Deciding it didn’t rea
lly matter, he knew if he wanted to get Chaney to admit her fear, he would have to admit one of his own. He looked down the long driveway where the limousine carrying Ashley had disappeared.
“Losing what matters most to me,” he said, and then looked back at Chaney.
She held his gaze for a moment before making a sweeping glance of the land spread out before them. “Me too.”
Closing the distance between them, he placed his fingers on her tense shoulders and began to massage them. “I told you, I don’t want your ranch.”
When she didn’t duck out from under his touch Jed felt a comfort he couldn’t explain. Like when his stomach would growl, but he knew dinner was only a half hour away so he would grab just one cookie or piece of cheese. Just enough to get through.
“I know. It’s not that. It’s just business.” She rotated her neck and Jed moved his thumbs to concentrate on the knots he felt there.
“Is it financial trouble? I can give you some money from selling the shop if that will help.” The tiny bit of tension he’d managed to work out of her muscles came back tenfold. She broke the contact and jumped down the last step before facing him.
“I don’t need your money. I can run this ranch without any help from you. Is that clear?” She didn’t wait for an answer, just turned and stormed off toward the corral.
Jed remained on the porch watching her retreating figure. Damned if she wasn’t twice as ornery as she was when she was younger. If he wasn’t so busy trying to figure out what he’d done to make her mad, her fiery spirit would have him straining against his zipper. Chaney in a tizzy was a definite turn-on, but not with fire tempered by cold as steel hate.
She doesn’t want anything from you except your name for a year. Accept it.
The slamming of the screen door behind him didn’t faze Jed. He still concentrated on his temporary wife.
A Daring Proposal Page 9
