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He threw his hands into the air. “You don't need to read it. I'm giving you a billion-dollar operation here, not cheating you out of your life savings.”
The fact she didn't trust him made his blood boil. He had bent over backward to make her child legit and give her everything she'd ever dreamed of on a silver platter, and she still didn't trust him.
She scrunched up her nose while reading the contract, so cute it almost made him forget she was questioning his integrity. She sighed. “I can't understand all this legal talk. Maybe I should have a lawyer look it over.”
“My lawyer drew it up.” He jerked a thumb at his own chest. “He's the best in the biz. I can assure you the contract is good.”
“But he's not my lawyer. I think I should have my lawyer look it over.”
His jaw tightened. “Do you have a lawyer?”
“No.” She rolled her eyes. “But I can get one.”
“That's it.” He snatched the contract out of her hands. “I'll put the ranch in trust for your child. Maybe they'll have more sense than you and not bite the gift horse.”
An odd look stole across her face. She went to the chair behind the desk and dropped into it. Her eyes took on a sincere, yet sad shadow that warned him something big was coming his way. She mumbled, “I can't take your ranch from you.”
His head dropped forward. “Not this again. Do I have to hire a skywriter or put it on cue cards? Read my lips. I don't want this damn ranch! I never did. If I give it to Simon, he'll lose it within a year. Is that what you want?”
She shook her head slowly. “No. What I want is to buy it from you. Let me give you a small down payment, everything I have in the bank. Then I'll give you a large cut of every sale. Maybe I'll own the ranch by the time I die.”
Why was she being so unreasonable?
“I don't need or want your money. Just take the damn ranch.”
“I can't.”
“Why not?”
She jumped to her feet. “Because I'm not pregnant!”
Chapter Fourteen
After she dropped the bomb that she wasn't pregnant, they stood in awkward silence for what seemed an eternity. She swallowed hard and waited for his reaction. He didn't make her wait for long. His fingers curled to make fists, and Beth steeled herself for what was coming.
“Are you kidding me?” He spoke through clenched teeth. “Tell me you are setting me up for a bad joke or that you're lying because you don't want to accept the ranch as a gift?”
She returned to the desk chair and tried to mentally prepare for the fallout. Jared had a notoriously bad temper, just like his father. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, not physically, but he might kick her off the ranch. In a soft voice, she repeated, “I am not pregnant.”
“No, no, no, no, no.” He put his hands together to signal a time-out. “I found the pregnancy test, and there was a definite pink plus sign. I know what that means.”
She sat there wishing she was anywhere else in the world but in the den with Jared. If he didn't hate her for kissing him when she was sixteen, he would definitely hate her for marrying him under false pretenses. Maybe she deserved to be fired and pushed off the ranch. “It wasn't mine,” she said.
“That doesn't make any sense.” He shook his head. “I spoke to Simon about you being pregnant, and he told me you had just informed him of the fact.”
“Think back. Did he say my name?”
Jared rubbed both hands over his face, showing his growing frustration. “No. I guess he didn't, but—”
“He was sleeping with my maid of honor. Trish. She showed me the pregnancy test and told me the baby was his. I made her go tell him because I was hoping he would do the right thing. He needs to step up for her and his unborn child.”
“Maybe he did.” Jared threw his hands into the air. “They could be together right now for all we know. This whole time I thought he ran out on you, but you were never pregnant.”
She held her breath and waited for the explosion.
“You lied to me,” he said. Then he shouted the words. “You lied to me! Why? For a piece of property that I would have given you if you had just asked?” He gestured to the house around them. “And here I thought my brother was the con artist.”
She slowly stood. “I did not lie to you. I never said I was pregnant. You jumped to conclusions.”
