The Rancher's One-Week Wife (11 page)

“You can count on it,” he said, nodding.

“Do you and Blake own the ranch together?” she asked, feeling as if she had a knot the size of her fist in her stomach.

“No. My ranch is about forty-five minutes away on the other side of the ridge,” he said, apparently unaware of his brother’s ruse. He pointed toward the laptop on the library table. “I’ll let you get back to whatever it is you’re doing. It was nice to meet you, Karly. I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit to the Wolf Creek.”

“It was nice to meet you, too, Sean,” she murmured when he turned toward the door.

As she watched him leave, her chest tightened and it was extremely difficult to draw air into her lungs. Why would Blake lie to her? Why hadn’t he told her he owned the Wolf Creek Ranch when they were in Las Vegas?

Of course they hadn’t talked about much of anything personal. But that didn’t explain why he had failed to tell her when she arrived to have him sign the new set of divorce papers.

A cold wave of sadness suddenly swept over her. He hadn’t asked her to sign a prenuptial agreement. When she told him it would be best for them to end their marriage, Blake had obviously been afraid she would try to get part of his ranch.

She looked around the library and it became crystal clear that Blake had to be extremely wealthy. Log homes were some of the most expensive types of houses to build and one the size of this mansion would cost several millions of dollars just for the construction. The custom-built furnishings for a place this size would cost at least that much more. Then there was the pool area, with its waterfalls and tropical oasis hot tub. No telling how much that cost. Factor in a huge indoor arena and heated stable, the house and barns down the road and thousands of acres of land...

“Oh, my God,” she said, sinking back down onto the chair at the table. “He thought I would try to take...” She covered her mouth with her hand to hold back a sob. His assets and hanging on to them was obviously more important to him than telling her the truth. He hadn’t even given her the opportunity to assure him she had no interest in taking anything away from him.

Yes, she’d broken her promise to him when she’d asked for a divorce, but never once had she deliberately lied to him.

Standing up, she hurried into the foyer, threw open the massive front door, ran out to the ranch truck Blake had been using and got into the driver’s seat. He made a habit of leaving the keys in the ignition whenever they were on ranch land and she was thankful he did.

When she started the truck and drove down the lane to the road, she didn’t look back in the rearview mirror. Blake had made it crystal clear there was nothing back there for her.

She’d made her own mistakes by giving into her fears and not telling him the real reason behind her asking for a divorce. But what he’d done had been far worse. He had deliberately misled her and had no intention of asking her to stay with him to see if they could work things out. He’d probably been relieved when she called to tell him she wouldn’t be moving to Wyoming with him. That would certainly explain why he hadn’t been more insistent that she give their marriage a chance.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she drove the short distance to the foreman’s cottage, she went inside to retrieve the things she’d brought with her from Seattle and loaded the rental car. It was just as well that she’d found out about his ruse. Even if he had finally come clean about what he’d been trying so hard to hide, she didn’t think she would ever be able to trust him.

Sobbing, she drove down the mountain road toward Eagle Fork. She hadn’t been after his ranch, his money or anything material. Whether Blake was as rich as sin or as poor as a pauper, all she’d ever wanted, all she’d ever cared about, was having him love her.

* * *

“Hey there, bro,” Blake said, riding the stallion over to where Sean stood just inside the arena doors. “You missed a great party last night over at the Rusty Spur.”

His brother nodded. “I was on my way back from a situation up in Sheridan.”

“Anything you can talk about?” Blake asked.

“Some guy is robbing banks all over the state and I was asked to review the details of his latest robbery,” Sean answered.

“If he’s been at this a while, I’m surprised they haven’t called you in before now,” Blake commented.

“This was the first time somebody got killed,” Sean answered.

When his brother fell silent, Blake knew that was all Sean would say on the matter. Blake wasn’t surprised that Sean didn’t go into more detail about the case. He never talked about the work he did for the FBI and Blake never pressed for more than his brother was willing to tell.

“So what are you up to this afternoon?” Blake asked, dismounting the horse.

“I came by to see if you want to go fishing with me tomorrow.” His brother shrugged. “But after I met your houseguest, I decided you probably wouldn’t be interested.”

“You met Karly?” Blake asked, hoping the subject of who owned the ranch hadn’t been a topic of conversation.

“Yeah, she seems real nice,” Sean commented. “But why are you two staying over at the homestead?”

“It’s...complicated.” A knot began to form in his gut as he realized Karly must have mentioned where they were staying. He asked, “Did you mention that I own the ranch?”

Sean stared at him for what seemed like forever before he finally nodded. “She asked and I wasn’t going to lie to her.” When Blake cut loose with a string of cusswords that had his brother raising his eyebrows, Sean asked, “Care to explain what brought on that little display of profanity?”

“Have one of the men take care of Blaze,” Blake said, handing Sean the stallion’s reins.

“What’s going on?” Sean demanded when Blake took off across the yard toward the house.

“I’ll tell you later,” he called over his shoulder. “I have to go talk to my wife.”

Blake knew he would face an interrogation from Sean later on but he’d worry about that when the time came. Right now, he needed to talk to Karly and explain why he hadn’t told her everything months ago.

Running across the patio, Blake started calling her name as soon as he entered the house. When his calls went unanswered an icy dread began to settle in the pit of his stomach.

His heart stalled when he went into the foyer and found the front door ajar. Looking out, he really couldn’t say he was surprised to see the ranch truck gone and along with it, his wife.

By the time he went back inside to get the keys for one of the vehicles in the garage, his brother met him in the kitchen. “What the hell’s going on?” Sean demanded.

“I don’t have time to get into it,” Blake said, heading over to the key rack. “I have to get over to the foreman’s cottage to stop Karly.”

“My truck’s out front,” Sean said, starting for the door. “Come on, I’ll drive you over there. And on the way you can explain when you got a wife and why she didn’t have a clue that you own this spread.”

As they drove away, Blake explained about their marriage in Vegas, Karly showing up with the new set of divorce papers and his reasoning behind not telling her up front that he was more than a ranch foreman and part-time rodeo rider. “I had planned on telling her when she moved here, right after Vegas. Then there seemed to be no real reason to share the truth, when we were headed for divorce. After the past few days... I had planned to tell her everything this evening after supper and ask her to stay with me.”

His brother nodded. “Sorry I spoiled your reveal.”

Blake shook his head. “Not your fault. I knew I was running out of time.” He groaned as Sean parked beside the ranch truck. The little red sports car was gone. “She’s headed back to Washington.” He paused as he tried to think. “I’m just not sure if she’s headed for Seattle or Lincoln County.”

“What’s in Lincoln County?” Sean asked.

“The divorce court,” Blake answered, explaining the reason Karly intended to file there instead of in Seattle.

“Let me make a couple of phone calls,” Sean said, reaching for his cell phone.

Blake knew if there was any chance of finding Karly, Sean had the connections to do it. But finding her was only half the battle. Getting her to listen to him was an entirely different matter.

While his brother tried to track down where Karly was headed, Blake went into the foreman’s cottage to see if Karly had taken her luggage. He wasn’t surprised to see that she’d taken the things she’d brought with her, but left the clothing, hat and boots he’d bought for her on their shopping trip to the Blue Sage Western Emporium.

Blake walked back downstairs and met Sean on the back porch. “She just called Cheyenne and made reservations for a flight to Denver. From there she’s headed to Seattle.”

Blake took a deep breath. He’d caught a break. “What time does her flight leave Denver?”

“Not until around six this evening,” Sean said, grinning. “She’s going to miss the earlier afternoon flight by about an hour.”

Blake checked his watch. “Can you get me down there to catch that early flight?”

His brother snorted. “If I can’t, I’ll turn in my license to fly helicopters.” Sean had earned his pilot’s license during his stint in the marines and because of his work with the FBI, regularly flew himself into Denver to catch flights to wherever there was a situation in need of his expertise.

Without another word, they both headed for Sean’s truck. As his brother drove toward his ranch on the other side of the western ridge surrounding the Wolf Creek Ranch, Blake called to reserve a seat on the earlier flight to Seattle.

He didn’t have a clear-cut plan, but he wasn’t overly concerned. He had several hours before Karly’s flight arrived and by then, he had no doubt he’d have something in mind.

When Karly called eight months ago, he’d told himself he was doing the right thing when he let her go without putting up a fight. It was what she wanted and he’d reasoned that pushing her would have done nothing to change her mind. But he wasn’t going to make that mistake again. This time he was going to pull out all the stops.

He had no idea how long it would take to convince her, but one thing was certain. Blake wasn’t returning to the Wolf Creek Ranch without her.

Nine

A
s Karly walked through the terminal toward the baggage claim area, she watched people as they met up with their loved ones and friends. It seemed that everyone else had someone there waiting to greet them. As usual, she had no one.

Tears threatened and she blinked several times to chase them away. It had never bothered her that she didn’t have anyone to welcome her home after a trip. She had always collected her luggage, caught a cab and hadn’t thought twice about being alone.

But that had changed with her trip to Wyoming. She’d never felt more alone in her entire life than she did at the moment.

Picking up her bag, she had to admit that wasn’t quite true. The only other time she had felt such a keen sense of loneliness had been eight months ago when she’d returned from her vacation in Las Vegas and she was facing the night alone without Blake to hold her.

Her breath caught on a sob and she hurried out of the exit to the line of yellow cabs, waiting to take travelers to their destinations. While the driver stored her bag in the trunk, she settled into the backseat and prayed that the man wasn’t overly chatty. She really didn’t think she could talk to anyone without making a fool of herself. All she wanted to do was go home to her apartment away from the prying eyes of strangers and cry herself into oblivion. Thankfully it was dark enough that even if she did lose control, chances were the man wouldn’t notice.

When they reached her apartment complex, she paid the cabdriver and pulled her travel bag along behind her as she slowly walked the short distance to her ground-floor apartment. But once she approached the door, she spotted a man sitting in the shadows on her porch step. Unsure whether to proceed and demand that he leave or turn around and run for help, she stopped dead in her tracks. That’s when he looked up.

Her heart pounded and drawing a breath was all but impossible. “Blake?”

“This isn’t safe,” he said, shaking his head. “There should be lights along these sidewalks and dusk-to-dawn security lights on every building.”

“I left the front-door light on,” she said defensively. “It must have burned out.”

“I don’t like you living in a place where the security is this lax,” he said, rising to his feet as he looked around.

“Oh, really?” She shook her head as she reached inside her handbag for her key. “How safe it is where I live isn’t any of your concern anymore.”

“Like hell!” When she pulled the key from her bag, he took it from her trembling fingers and unlocked and opened the door for her. “You’re my wife. Your safety is of the utmost importance to me.”

His attitude and his reference to her as his wife infuriated and broke her heart at the same time. How could he claim to want the best for her when he hadn’t trusted her with the truth?

“Get real, Blake.” She brushed past him to enter her apartment and turn on one of the lamps at the end of the couch. “The most important things in your life are your precious ranch and your bank account. I doubt that I even make the top ten on your list of things you value.”

“That’s not true,” he said, following her into her small living room. “You’re more important to me than my next breath.”

“Whatever,” she said, dropping her purse on the coffee table. She turned to face him. “I don’t know why you’re here or what you think you’re going to accomplish by following me to Seattle, but—”

“I came to talk to my wife,” he said, closing the door behind him.

“I don’t see that there’s anything left to say.” She shook her head. “You had ample opportunity to talk to me while I was at the Wolf Creek Ranch and you chose not to. And stop calling me your wife.”

“I’m here now to set things straight,” he said stubbornly crossing his arms. He stood like a stone statue and she realized he had every intention of making her listen to what he had to say. “And why shouldn’t I call you my wife?” he asked. “We’re still married.”

She rubbed at the tension, causing her temples to pound unmercifully. “Please leave, Blake. I’m exhausted and you’re not helping my developing headache.”

He took a step toward her. “Sweetheart, I’m—”

“Don’t call me that,” she said, shaking her head as she backed away from him. “That’s an endearment and one that you obviously don’t mean and never have.” She took a deep breath. “Now, will you please leave and go back to Wyoming, where you belong.”

“I belong where you are.” He walked over and sat down on the couch. “And I’m not leaving until we work this out.”

Frustrated with his persistence to the point of tears she absolutely refused to let him see, she pulled her travel bag to the bedroom door. “I’m not going to argue with you any longer. I’m going to bed and I would prefer that you’re gone when I get up in the morning. Please lock the door on your way out.”

Without looking back, she walked into the bedroom, closed and locked the door, then leaned back against it. She couldn’t imagine what Blake thought he could say to explain his actions or why he even cared to try. On the flight back to Seattle, she’d faced the brutal reality of the situation. No matter what he’d told her, Blake had never intended for their marriage to work. He’d never even told her what his life in Wyoming was really like! For that matter, she couldn’t imagine why he’d married her to begin with. He’d probably been immensely relieved when she’d refused to join him on the ranch eight months ago.

It suddenly occurred to her that he might be here now to make sure she wasn’t going to go after his money or try to take part of his ranch. The divorce wasn’t final yet, after all.

“He doesn’t need to worry,” she murmured as she walked into the adjoining bathroom to brush her teeth. Even if he offered her a settlement, she would tell him what he could do with it. She had never wanted anything from him but his love, his respect and his honesty.

But even though he hadn’t given her any of that, her heart had stalled and she’d barely resisted the urge to run into his arms when she first saw him sitting on her step. Nothing would have made her happier than to have him hold her close and tell her that it would all be all right and they could work things out.

As she looked in the mirror at the miserable woman staring back at her, Karly couldn’t help but wonder if she’d lost her mind. How could Blake possibly look so darned good to her when he was the last person in the world she should want to see? Or trust?

* * *

Sitting at the small table in Karly’s breakfast nook, Blake shifted in his chair in an effort to relieve the kinks in his back from sleeping on her couch. Sometime around midnight, he’d decided the damn thing should be certified as an instrument of torture. Not only had both of his feet gone to sleep from hanging over the end of it, but there was also a definite sag in the middle that had his back feeling like it had been broken in several places.

But as uncomfortable as it had been, there was no way he was going to leave this apartment until she heard what he had to say—even if he had to sleep on that damn couch all week. After he’d laid it all on the line, then if she still wanted to kick him to the curb, he’d somehow find the strength to bow out of the picture—even if it killed him—and let her go. The bottom line was and always had been that he loved her and wanted nothing but her happiness. He could only hope that happiness included him.

“I thought you’d be gone by now,” she said when she walked into the tiny kitchen carrying a box of tissues. Her eyes were red and puffy and he knew she’d spent most of the night crying. Just knowing he was the cause of her distress nearly killed him.

But as he continued to look at her, his heart stalled. With her long blond hair slightly mussed from sleep and wearing a nightshirt that was at least two sizes too large and about as shapeless as a tow sack, he didn’t think he’d ever seen her look sexier.

He took a sip of his coffee and shook his head as he tried to focus on what he needed to say to get her to listen. “I’m not going anywhere until we talk.”

“I have to go to work,” she said, placing the box on the table and walking over to pour herself a cup of the coffee he’d made earlier.

“I’ll be here when you get home.” He shrugged. “Whether it’s now or later, we are going to discuss this, Karly.”

She stared at him for several long seconds before she closed her eyes as if trying to find patience. When she opened them, the emotional pain he detected in the blue depths just about tore him apart. The thought that he was the cause of that sadness was more than he could bear.

“Blake, I don’t know what you could possibly say that’s going to make a difference,” she said, sinking into the chair across the table from him. “You obviously didn’t want me to know that you own the Wolf Creek Ranch or that you’re quite wealthy.”

Guilt settled across his shoulders. “Karly, there were a couple of reasons I didn’t tell you about my assets when we first met.”

“I remember you telling me about the owner’s stepmother being a gold digger and how hard it was to get the ranch back,” she said, sounding defeated. “I just wasn’t aware you were talking about yourself and the difficulties you had with her. But I had nothing to do with that.”

“I know.” He slowly set his coffee cup on the table. “Sean and I had hints of the way she was after Dad married her, but when he passed away she took the gloves off and made it clear she was going to do everything she could to cut us out and keep us from inheriting anything she thought she could turn into cash.”

“It’s unfortunate that she turned out to be so ruthless and I can understand you becoming suspicious of other women’s motives.” Karly shook her head. “But I didn’t know anything about you having money and you had no right to blame me for crimes I didn’t commit. And for that matter, never would commit.”

“I know, sweetheart, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am for that.”

He stared down at his loosely clasped hands resting on the table a moment before he took a deep breath and met her accusing gaze head-on. She needed to know all of the reasons behind his caution, even if those reasons were something he was less than proud of.

“I also had my own run-in with a woman several years back who tried to extort money from me,” he said, cursing himself for being such a fool.

“Once again, I had nothing to do with that,” she reminded him. He hadn’t expected her to make his confession easy on him and he deserved nothing less than her condemnation.

“I realize that, but I owe you an explanation and an apology.” He took a deep breath. “About six years ago, I was at a rodeo in San Antonio and won the bull-riding event. Instead of celebrating with a can of beer and a good night’s sleep like I should have, I went out on the town.”

“You got drunk,” she said, cutting right to the heart of the matter.

Blake nodded. “Yeah. And I should have stopped with that and gone back to the hotel.”

“But you didn’t,” she mused.

“No. I went back to a cheap motel close to the bar.” He hesitated. “I was with one of the buckle bunnies.”

“What are those?” Karly asked, taking a sip from her coffee cup. Her doubtful expression hadn’t changed, but she was at least showing an interest in his explanation.

“Rodeo groupies,” he answered, wishing he’d never heard of them, either. “Some of them are harmless, but others want to sleep with rough stock riders who win.”

“Why?” she asked, frowning.

“For the bragging rights,” he said, disgusted with himself for falling into that trap. “It’s like a feather in their cap to say they’ve slept with this or that rider.” He shook his head at his foolishness. “Anyway, I spent the night with one of them and a month later she showed up claiming I had made her pregnant.”

Karly’s eyes widened. “You have a child?”

“Good God, no,” he said hurriedly. “It turned out that she wasn’t pregnant at all. She had asked around and found out that I had money and was in line to inherit at least part of the Wolf Creek Ranch. She decided I was an easy mark for a big payoff.”

“She thought you would pay her to end the pregnancy?” Karly asked, looking affronted.

He nodded. “Just about the time I offered to raise the baby on my own, I learned she wasn’t pregnant and never had been.”

Karly looked thoughtful for a moment as if she was processing what he had told her. “I suppose something like that would leave you with an overabundance of caution.”

“It had been my experience not to let people know that I was more than just another dust-covered cowboy trying to make a living off riding bulls and herding cattle,” he said, nodding. “Then I met you and before I found a way to tell you about myself, we got married and started making plans for you to move to the ranch.”

“Why didn’t you tell me then?” she asked, her tone accusing. “Was it because you failed to get me to sign a prenuptial agreement before the wedding ceremony?”

“Not at all.” He had to make her understand. “I had plans to tell you when you joined me at the ranch. I thought it would be a nice surprise learning that we’d never have to worry about finances the way other couples do when they first start out. You’d have the option of continuing with your career, work part-time or quit and be a full-time ranch wife. Whatever you wanted to do.”

“Only I called and told you that if we stayed married, you’d have to move to Seattle,” she said slowly.

“Yeah.” He stared down at his empty cup. When he looked up, he added, “But I wasn’t the only one with a secret, was I?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, frowning. “I’ve always been honest with you.”

“Sweetheart, from what you’ve told me about your parents and their divorce, I think that carried a lot of weight in your decision not to come to Wyoming eight months ago.” He reached across the table to cover her delicate hand with his. “The only thing I don’t know is how it influenced you and why.”

She had opened up about her parents during their conversation in the hot tub and he was positive their divorce had somehow played into her choices about them. But he needed to know how their problems had become her problems. How were they holding her back?

When Karly remained silent, he got up to round the table. He picked her up and sat down with her on his lap. “I know I screwed up by not telling you everything about myself and the reasons I felt I had to be cautious. But you’ve left out some important information about yourself, too. What we’ve got is good and worth fighting for, Karly. Talk to me. Tell me what held you back and why you were so frightened—why you’re still frightened.”