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She wanted honesty? The old be-careful-what-you-wish-for adage went through his mind. Bitterness twisted his lips and set his jaw like flint. She wanted honesty? Fine. He would give it to her.
“I did the right thing by you today and you call it kidnapping. My brother dumped you at the altar without a second thought, so I stepped up. I am giving you my name and your beloved ranch. I should be at work. In Boston. But I'm here with you. If you're mad at the world and don't want to show me any gratitude, fine. But at least drop the hostility.”
She paled, and he feared he'd gone too far. He didn't want to do anything to harm the child growing inside her. If she lost the baby because of him, he'd never forgive himself.
He took a step in her direction, but she held a hand up to stop him. “You're right,” she said. “I know I'm the last woman you would ever want to marry.”
“I didn't say that and you know it. My distaste for marriage has nothing to do with you. By the time we met, I had already decided I didn't want anything to do with the institution.”
That made her smile, and some color returned to her cheeks.
“This is so weird,” she repeated. “You and me, married. I don't know anything about your life now. We're strangers.”
“Would you feel better about this arrangement if we weren't?”
“Maybe.”
He motioned for her to join him at the table on the other side of the lavish room. While she took a seat, he got two bottles of expensive water out of the mini fridge. He hated to talk about himself, but he was willing if it meant she'd relax around him. Stress could harm a fetus. The baby was his main focus.
Once he was seated across from her, he thought about what he did and did not want to share with her. The last thing he wanted to talk about was anything upsetting or traumatic. That meant no shop-talk. He'd seen things in the ER that he couldn't unsee, definitely stuff that would upset her. He also couldn't talk about his mother, especially not her pointless death. That would raise too many questions.
What was there left for him to say?
He was ready to give up when he remembered they agreed on one thing: her father had been a great man. Generous, patient, and kind. If it wasn't for Ben Rawlings, he wouldn't have survived growing up without his mother. Ben often took her place as the buffer between him and his tough-as-nails father. He could calm Big Jim down when no one else could.
“Your dad taught me to ride,” Jared said. “Did you know that?”
Her expressive blue eyes grew wide. “Really? I'm surprised Big Jim didn't insist on teaching you.”
Jared grimaced. “He tried. It was the longest, hardest week of my life. Seemed like every day he was screaming at me from dawn to dusk. Mom couldn't even get him to ease up. When it came to his sons, Big Jim didn't have an ounce of patience.”
“I never understood why he was like that with you when he was so kind and patient with me.”
“You weren't a reflection of him.”
Jared wrinkled his nose at the water he was drinking, and he considered having a bottle of something stronger sent up to the room. Then he looked at the beauty sitting across from him and changed his mind. He needed to keep his wits about him tonight.
He added, “Mom used to tell me that he rode me all the time because he wanted me to be better than him. I disagree. I think he wanted me to become him so that his legacy would live on through me.”
Beth nodded. “You're probably right.”
“He demanded I give up my dream of being a doctor to run the ranch. I, of course, refused. Most of our arguments were over that. Every time I came home from school, he had another scheme, another manipulation to get me to bend to his will.”
She nodded. “I remember my first three weeks living on the ranch. You and Big Jim were always yelling at each other. I was too young to understand what was going on, and Dad told me to mind my own business.”
“Good advice.” Jared compressed his lips and considered turning back before it was too late. He did not want to share the details of his life, especially not with little Beth. “I was getting ready to leave for college, and my father thought it was a waste of time. Nothing was going to change his mind.”
“You taught me how to ride and take care of the horses before you left. I never forgot that.” The dazzling smile on her face lit up the room and warmed his heart. His reaction to her troubled him, but he decided not to dwell on it. Her smile died as she added, “You asked me to ride Balefire every day while you were gone.”
Sadness washed over him. Balefire had been born a week after his mother's death, like a precious gift from his mother in heaven. Leaving Balefire behind had devastated him, but he hadn't had another choice. If he'd stayed, he would have been under his father's thumb forever.
His eyes narrowed on Beth's face and he wondered if she was thinking about the death of his horse. Was she remembering the night she'd kissed him, their faces wet with tears and hearts heavy with grief?
He cleared his throat and changed the subject before she could bring up the night he'd left the ranch forever and the reason behind his final departure. “I've always thought the ranch should be yours,” he said. “Big Jim would have left it to you if you were blood. I know that for a fact, because he tried to coerce me into marrying you and making you official family.”
Her cheeks flamed red. “He what?!”
Jared leaned back in his chair. “Yep. He told me if I didn't marry you, he'd offer the ranch to Simon. Of course, Simon would have to make you his bride. I told him to go ahead, but I never actually thought you would go through with it. I figured you for someone who’d marry for love.”
