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Tears rolled down her face, and she nodded.
“Listen up!” Hands on her shoulders, he forced her to look at him. “Those men out there are not saints. Some of them don't have any morals, and they would throw you down on the nearest hay bale and take your virginity. Is that what you want?”
She shoved him back and ran from the stables, sobbing like her heart was breaking. Remorse came quickly. He hadn't meant to yell at her. The problem was more with him than with her. He had wanted to lose himself in that kiss. The best thing for him to do was leave Montana, put distance between them, and never return.
The idea of never seeing her again ripped a hole in his gut as he returned to the present. He woke with the dream fresh in his mind. He still felt horrible about tearing into her like that. In retrospect, he realized his foul temper had been a mixture of no sleep, grief over losing Balefire, and his body's reaction to hers. He had left the ranch thinking he was some sort of pervert because he had enjoyed the brief kiss.
His cell phone rang, and he realized it must have pulled him from sleep. Although he didn't want to talk to anyone, he answered. It could be the hospital wanting him to come in for an earlier shift. A familiar voice caught him off guard.
“If you want that girl, you had better get your butt back here now.”
“Delta?” He glared at the clock. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Sorry, hun. I thought you'd want to know your brother is here, and he's trying to get Beth to see things his way.”
Jared stiffened. “What do you mean, his way?”
Delta sighed. “Simon wants to come between you and your wife. If I were you, I'd get home. Quick. Or you might not have a home to come back to.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to remind her that he was home already. Boston was his home. He kept his mouth shut because announcing that fact wouldn't help anything at this point. She was right. He needed to hop on his jet and fly back to Montana before Simon convinced Beth to take out a loan on the ranch or something. She was too good and trusting, and his brother was too good a con.
The thing that bothered him most was how much he cared that Simon was with Beth. He hated the thought of them under the same roof. It made him sick to his stomach. If something happened between them, it was his fault for not making it clear that he was falling for her.
Jared scrambled out of bed and tried to do several things at once. He threw clothes into his suitcase, pulled on his pants, and called his boss to let him know that he would be gone again for a while. The problem was, he couldn't say when he'd be back. The idea of losing Beth forever weighed on him heavily and muddled his brain.
After the call to his boss ended, he pushed his brother's name on the cell phone screen.
Simon answered immediately, and Jared was sure he heard a smug smile in his brother's voice. “Figured I'd hear from you tonight,” Simon said. “Was it Beth or Delta that ratted me out?”
Jared pushed his anger down. Yes, he wanted to strangle his brother, but he couldn't do it over the phone. “Why are you at the ranch?” he asked.
Simon chuckled in his ear. “This is my home, Jar.”
“Technically, it's my home.”
“But you don't live here, and you don't love it. I do. I've been living here off and on for years. Why do you suddenly care?”
Jared closed his eyes and counted to ten as his frustration mounted. “Last time I saw you, you had just found out you were about to be a father. What happened to the pregnant girl? Trish? Is that her name?”
“That's right. Her name is Trish, but she isn't pregnant. Just manipulative.”
“How is that?”
“She didn't like it that I was marrying someone else, so she lied to keep me all to herself.”
Jared took a deep breath and tried to wrap his mind around this new information. If the woman had lied about being pregnant, maybe she was the perfect match for his brother. Sounded like they were two of a kind.
“How did you find out she was lying about the baby?” Jared asked.
“She came clean after I refused to marry her.” Simon laughed. “Good thing I'm not a do-gooder like you, huh? I'd be married to a liar if I did the right thing. Speaking of which, Beth tells me she lied to you about being pregnant, and you married her.”
Jared's jaw tightened. “Beth did not lie to me about being pregnant. I saw the test in her trash and jumped to the wrong conclusion.”
“Whatever.”
“Are you trying to stir up trouble between me and my wife?”
Simon scoffed. “Listen to you. Your wife? I feel like I'm talking to a stranger. Not my diehard bachelor brother. Don't tell me little Beth actually hooked you this time.”
