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“There you go again. You're trying to make me doubt her. Are you doing the same thing with Beth? Are you trying to make her doubt me?”
A brief pause followed his questions, and he honestly didn't think his brother would answer.
Then it came…
“When you found out Beth and I were getting married to take the ranch from you, did you decide to put a stop to it? Did you pay Trish to say she was pregnant?”
The bottom dropped out of Jared's stomach. It shocked him that his brother would accuse him of doing something so underhanded. Then he realized Simon wasn't accusing him of anything. His brother was setting him up.
“You know me well enough to know I'd never do anything like that,” Jared said.
“Of course,” Simon said. “I know you wouldn't pay a girl to tell me she was pregnant on my wedding day, but does Beth know that? If I tell her my suspicions, who will she believe?”
Jared couldn't remember a time when he wasn't at odds with his brother. They had a strong love-hate relationship similar to what he'd had with his father. Because Simon was his brother, he loved him. However, he didn't have any delusions about Simon. During his years away at college and then medical school, he had hoped his letters would bring him closer to his brother. They hadn’t.
“What do you want?” Jared asked. He had the distinct feeling he was on the verge of being blackmailed. “What do you want from me?”
“I just want what is already mine. Give me my money. All of it. I'm done begging for advances. I want you to turn over the entire trust fund to me. Now.”
“And if I don't?”
Simon's tone hardened. “Then I will tell Beth you paid Trish, and I'll get Trish to back my story. She wants me, so she'll do what I ask.”
“Beth won't believe you.”
“Do you really want to take that chance?”
Did he? He considered giving into his brother's demands, but Simon would return for more later. Or worse. His idea of excessive living would eventually kill him. Drugs? Alcohol? Gambling debts? It was a tossup which would get him first.
With that in mind, Jared turned him down flat. “No deal.”
“Do you think I'm playing games here? I will tell her that you set us up.”
Jared took a deep breath and did something he rarely did. He opened up about his feelings in the hope his brother cared about him deep down. “I love her, Simon. You know me and that I don't admit to things like that easily. She has become more important to me than anyone or anything, and I don't know what I would do if I lost her.”
“Then don't risk it. Give me my money.”
“What's wrong with you? I'm your brother, and I'm telling you that I am in love for the first and only time in my entire life. Be supportive. Be my brother.”
Stubborn silence met his ear.
Simon disconnected the call without saying goodbye or giving Jared a clue as to what he would do next. Jared didn't know if he should call Beth and warn her that Simon might make trouble between them. Since he was in a hurry to get back to Montana, he decided to go straight to the airport.
He just prayed he got there on time.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Time for bed. Beth went downstairs in her pajamas to get a glass of warm milk. Having Jared on the brain kept her awake far too often. He still hadn't called her, and she refused to call him. If he missed her, he would reach out. Wouldn't he?
Unfortunately, Simon hadn't left. He was in the kitchen eating a late-night snack when she walked into the room. Standing over the sink with a slice of chocolate cake in his hand, he barely glanced her way. She almost backed up to retrace her steps to her bedroom. Simon was the last person she felt like having a conversation with at the moment.
“I talked to Trish,” he said. “Has she called you yet?”
Beth blinked. “Why would she call me?”
“She wants to apologize and explain why she lied.”
Beth sighed as she poured milk into a cup. She did not want to talk to the girl, not tonight. After putting the cup in the microwave, she yawned into her hand. Maybe Simon would take the hint and leave her alone.
