A Daring Proposal (9 page)

“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 Cha
ney 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 ran
ch 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 hi
mself 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 notic
e 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 kn
ow 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 really 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 conc
entrated on his temporary wife.

“You still set her off, I see.”

“It’s a gift,” he said, trying for a grin, hoping to hide the hurt that squeezed his insides.

Martha smiled. “It’s because she loves you. Besides, women always get emotional around little ones. She’s upset because the baby is gone.”

“Baby?” Panic raced through Jed’s bloodstream. Had he missed something?

“Your daughter,” she said slapping his arm. “You two haven’t been together long enough for her to know if she is expecting.”

Instead of relief, Jed felt a strange sadness followed by a totally insane thought. If Chaney were to become pregnant, maybe he could convince her to stay married. Maybe he could teach her to love him again. Because it was becoming painfully clear to him, he still loved her. Of course, unless he had managed to already circumvent whatever birth control Chaney was using, the way things were right now, the possibility of a baby was doubtful.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll have a houseful of miniature Sampson’s to chase out of my kitchen soon enough.”

Martha’s words brought back happy memories, but they didn’t lighten Jed’s mood.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath for that one, Martha,” he told her before turning his gaze back toward the road where the limo had driven away. “Right now it seems I’m destined for more negatives than positives. I just hope I don’t take Chaney down with me.”

“Jed, the two of you together can do anything.”

He truly appreciated her supportive motherly tone, but he just couldn’t believe. “Yeah, well, I’m not sure how together we are,” he said then walked down the porch steps. “I think I
’ll go for a ride to clear my head.”

Jed’s anger increased in intensity with every step he took toward the horse barn. When he stepped through the entrance the young hand that usually saddled horses and took care of them l
ooked scared when he looked up.

“Do you have a horse I can take out?” Jed asked.

“Yes, yes sir. I’ll get one saddled right--”

Jed held up his hand. “I
’ll take care of it, just tell me which horse.”

The boy led him to the corral and pointed out a filly. She stood near the monster stallion Jed knew was Chaney’s favorite. When the boy clapped his hands, both horses raised their heads and looked over. The filly walked toward them. The stallion just watched. Talking to the filly as he looked her over, and waited for the saddle the hand went to get, Jed kept one eye on the stallion. He hadn’t made a move, but the animal watched him closely. Jed got the feeling he was taking the stallion’s girl away. He would have rather taken the stallion knowing how fast the animal could go, but didn’t need to give Chaney any more ammunition.

“You ready for a little exercise, girl?” Jed asked, throwing the blanket then the saddle over her back.

“She’s fast, sir. If you let her, she’ll fly like the wind,” the boy said.

“Good, I feel like flying,” Jed said, offering the boy a grin. “Thanks for your help.”

Before the boy could say anything else, Jed mounted, crossed the corral, and sailed over the fence as if it wasn’t even there. Leaning forward he patted the filly’s neck and whispered, “Go for it, girl.”

The boy had been right. The filly was fast. The wind her speed caused burned his skin and eyes as if standing in front of a sandblaster. Jed simply squinted his eyes near closed and held on. He let her run full out for ten minutes hoping they could out run his demons. Knowing she would run like that until he stopped her or she dropped, he eased her to a slower pace sooner than he liked. It wasn’t her fault he couldn’t escape the problems he’d brought on himself. He’d never been the kind of man to make others pay for his faults. He wasn’t going to start now.

At a walking pace, they rode for another ten minutes. When he realized where he was, he dismounted. After walking the horse to a nearby waterhole, he tied her to a branch in a stand of old scrub oak. He walked a short distance away and sat on the ground. Snatching a piece of dried wheat, he stuck the end in his mouth. He grinned thinking he wished it were a cigarette. Then he shook his head.

He hadn’t craved a smoke since a couple of months after he quit two years ago. Now, in the space of weeks he’d found himself wanting them twice. At least that was one issue he didn’t have to worry about. Ashley, even at only three, had made such a big deal about him quitting that he would never give into that temptation again.

Just thinking about his daughter had tears burning his eyes. What would he do if he couldn’t see her anymore? What would she do? Would she hate him and blame him? Think he abandoned her?
Like Chaney does
?

Jed spit out the wheat, grabbed a hand
ful of pebbles, and threw them.

The horse whinnied at the noise and angry movements.
You’re even scaring animals now.
Disgusted with himself and his lack of control, Jed fell backwards. His arms and legs spread wide, he let the sun bake into him. Maybe if he got a good old-fashioned sunburn the physical pain would distract him from all the emotional landmines he seemed to be stumbling into so easily.

A loud neigh brought Jed to a sitting position.

“What the hell?” He looked around him. He had obviously fallen asleep. Glancing up he saw the once clear sky was quickly darkening to an angry gray. He heard the horse neigh again. Jumping up, he jogged over to where he had tied her. Thunder boomed and lightning cracked as he mounted. He knew it would be too dangerous to try to get back to the barn with lightning that close. There was only one choice available.

What else is new? When do I ever have a real choice?

“Well, girl,” he said, patting her shoulder, “I hope that old cabin is still there.”

He was about to turn toward the cabin when he noticed movement in his peripheral vision, a horse and rider if he didn’t miss his guess. As they got closer, the anger that had dissipated with hi
s nap returned tenfold.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” he yelled as Chaney pulled up beside him. Before she could answer, the heavens opened. Rain as hard as any hail he had ever known pelted down on them. He pointed in the direction he had been about to go. “Ride!”

Five rain-soaked minutes later, they pulled up under the overhang on the old cabin. Jed jumped off his mount and grabbed Chaney’s reins. “Get inside. I’ll take care of the horses.”

“I can take--”

“Damn it, Chaney, get inside!”

Jed wrapped the reins of both horses loosely around the post. Then he took the saddle off the filly. Not that he needed to, the horses would be fine for a while if he left them on. He did it because he needed time to calm the fear that had burned in his gut since recognizing Chaney ri
ding through a lightning storm.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the horses had picked up on his foul mood. The way the stallion kept sidestepping to get away from him, Jed understood. The filly was less wary, but still nervous. He stroked her neck and shoulders and kept up a quiet one-sided dialogue with her. Talking to the horse helped calm him as much as the animal. For a minute, he stood with his head against hers. When the stallion nudged him with his muzzle, Jed grinn
ed.

“Okay, pal,” he said, moving to the stallion’s saddle. Obviously, the monster had decided if the filly would let him close, he was safe.

Having stalled as long as he could, he made a dash for the front door. It opened as he stepped on the small front porch and all his anger came rushing back.

“What the hell did you think you were doing riding out in a lightning storm?” he yelled stepping inside and slamming the door closed.

“Looking for you,” she shouted back.

“Why? I’m not a child you need to worry about,” he said, turning and walking toward the woodstove. Thankful someone had thought to leave some wood inside; he prepared and lit a fire. When Chaney still hadn’t said m
ore he turned back to face her.

Her stance was tight. Something was wrong. Something she didn’t want to tell him. Oh, shit. He took the few steps to stand in front of her and grasped her arms. Panic clogged his throat but he forced the words from his throat. “Did something happen to Ashley?”