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Simon leaped to his feet, knocking over his chair in the process and startling her. “Fair?” he shouted. “What the hell is fair about our father leaving everything to Jared?”
“Big Jim set up a trust for you.”
“He left Jared billions and me a measly five million. How is that fair?” Simon picked the chair up. “And to top it all off, he puts Jared in charge of my money. I can't get a ten-dollar bill without begging.”
Beth compressed her lips to keep accusations from flying out of her mouth. His father might have left him more if he was a responsible person and not a flaky playboy gambler. Simon couldn't seem to help himself. Money went through his fingers like water.
“I don't have any cash to give you,” she said.
“I happen to know you have a great deal of money in your bank account. Remember? You told me you were saving up to put a down payment on this place. Now you don't need to give Jared a dime. The ranch is at least half yours.”
She stood to her feet because she didn't like him hovering over her. The jerk was trying to intimidate her. It wasn't going to work. “I am not writing you a check, Simon.”
“You stole my birthright!” he shouted. “This place should be mine. Not Jared's and sure as hell not yours.”
Delta marched into the kitchen. “Lower your voice, young man.”
He dropped his gaze. “Sorry, Delta. I didn't realize you were still here.”
“This ranch does not belong to you for one very good reason,” Delta said. “Big Jim knew if he left it to you, you would sell it off and leave everyone here without a job or a home. He knew you'd piss his life's work away, every penny he ever made.”
The housekeeper rarely used strong language, so Beth kept her mouth shut. She saw Simon visibly swallow. He also wisely kept his lips together.
Delta went on. “Get your act together, boy, before you wind up dead in a gutter somewhere without a single person left to care. That would be a real shame.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“And you stop harassing my girl here, or I will run your butt off this ranch, whether I own it or not.”
Simon nodded. “Yes, ma'am. I'll be saying goodnight to you both. See you in the morning.”
He left the room, and Beth sank into her chair. “Thank you,” she said to the housekeeper.
“I don't know what's gotten into that boy,” Delta said, shaking her head. “Watch your back. Sure as rain, he's going to cause trouble.”
Beth thought so, too. She prayed he wouldn't do anything to ruin her fledgling relationship with Jared. What they had was still new and untested. It probably couldn't withstand any drama. Hopefully, Simon wouldn't say or do anything to hurt her. She wouldn't be able to survive losing her husband. He meant everything to her. If only Simon understood that. If only he cared about something other than money.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sleeping in his own bed back in Boston felt familiar, yet oddly wrong. Jared was dreaming about Beth. It began with her in his arms, the two of them making love. The scene looked like it came straight from a movie with soft lighting that created a glow around their naked bodies. Shot from perfect angles, every moment seemed choreographed by a pro. Beth's golden skin shimmered in the candlelight, and the satiny feel of her flesh beneath his hands reminded him of cool, flowing water.
Then the dream changed.
He found himself back in the barn with a sixteen-year-old Beth and his dead horse. He lost Balefire a few minutes after thinking the animal would live. Beth started sobbing so hard her entire body quaked. She threw herself into his arms. Undone by grief, he sank down on a bale of hay with her on his lap. Pain exploded in his chest, and he felt like he might just die from the agonizing sadness.
He held her while she cried. A few of his own tears fell, mingling with hers. He wasn't just thinking about Balefire, though. His thoughts were on his mother. The pain intensified, and he didn't know what to do.
Beth turned her face up at the same time he looked down. She pressed her lips to his. It happened so quickly that he froze, his mind blown. She was a child, but she didn’t kiss like one. There was a driving hunger behind her kiss.
He leaped to his feet, knocking her off his lap. The kiss ended as abruptly as it had started. Emotions, raw and explosive, overwhelmed him. He unloaded all of his rage and grief on her. “What the hell was that?! You are a little girl, and you don't go around kissing grown men like that. Do you understand me? Damn! You are so lucky you weren't stupid enough to pick on someone else. Another man might have taken you up on your offer! What the hell is wrong with you?”
Wide eyes filled with tears and lower lip quivering, she stuttered, “I... w-was—”
“Don't you ever do that again! Your father would ship you off to an all-girls’ school if he knew about this. I know you're growing up and wanting to spread your wings and test your feminine wiles on some poor guy, but you are not doing it here on this ranch. Do you understand me?”
She nodded.
“You can flirt with boys your age all you want, but you had better keep it PG-13. If I hear about you so much as smiling at a ranch hand, I will tell your father everything. Do you hear me?”
