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“I shouldn’t have said that,” Aaron apologized.
“No. You shouldn’t have.”
He sank back into the upholstery. “I shouldn’t have brought up your mother at all. I know how much it upsets you.”
It didn’t upset her, it infuriated her, but no one seemed to recognize that. She made her “thank you” properly polite.
“How did we get on the subject in the first place?”
“You were expressing your displeasure with my taste in husbands and suggesting marrying one of the hands would have been a better alternative.”
“I did no such thing,” he countered wryly. “You went off on a tangent before I could point out that Jed Simmons would have made you an excellent husband.”
“Your foreman?”
“Don’t sound so shocked. He’s single, knows ranching like the back of his hand, and is as dependable as the day is long.”
She couldn’t help sounding shocked. She was. Jed Simmons had never entered her head as a choice.
“He’s only a few years older than me, and not bad looking to boot,” Aaron continued.
“I never considered him.”
“If you’d sought my counsel before impulsively rushing into a solution, you would have.”
“The man is a dictator.”
“Jed knows what needs doing and he expects it to get done. My ranch has never run smoother.”
“I don’t like the way he treats his horse.”
“That buckskin he rides never got past green broke, but that just means Jed doesn’t shy away from a challenge.”
“Or from an opportunity to dominate something.”
He considered her point for a moment, his head tilted slightly to one side. “I don’t think you’d need to worry about Jed being heavy-handed. He’s a fair man. As long as you handled the house and minded his rules, he’d be a good husband.”
“Can you honestly see me calling a man who’s taken orders from me when you’ve loaned him out as Mister?”
Aaron shrugged. “I don’t see the problem. You’d be calling any husband Mr.”
What the hell is wrong with Asa?
The memory of Asa’s question came shooting to the fore. She’d been mad at him because he didn’t expect overt subservience. She mentally shook her head. No doubt about it, she owed the man an apology. “Well, whether Jed would make a suitable husband or not, is rather a moot point. I’m married now.”
Thankfully, to someone else.
“I came here to talk about that.”
“I thought as much, but your concern is unnecessary.”
“I was thinking along the lines of a solution.”
“Excuse me?”
“For the right amount of money, Judge Carlson would be willing to set aside the marriage. He wasn’t content on how it proceeded anyway.” His glance said he was aware the judge placed the blame on her. It also said he knew her well enough not to disagree.
“On what grounds, for heavens sake?” she asked, exasperated. “The marriage has been consummated!”
Aaron’s neck went beet red, highlighting the red in his brown hair. “With a man of MacIntyre’s reputation, I assumed that would be the case.” The red spread to his cheeks as he doggedly pursued his point. “It’s…commendable that you’re up and about, attending to your duties today, but your continued sufferance is unnecessary.”
He sounded as if he’d fully expected to find her gushing blood this morning in the wake of her husband’s assault. “I assure you, Aaron. I’m fine.”
“You’re a lady and you have to say that. I’m also aware of your stubborn nature that makes it impossible for you to admit you made a mistake. But, the bottom line is, a woman of your sensibilities has no place taking up with a gunslinger.”
That was going too far. She stood up. “I did not take up with a gunslinger!”
“If he isn’t one already, MacIntyre’s one slip from it!”
She didn’t know much about her husband, but instinct told her Asa was far from slipping. She shook out her skirts, and said coldly, “I think this conversation has gone far enough.”
Aaron caught her wrist in his hand, chaining her in place. “Hear me out.”
She tugged, but he didn’t let go. Since she had little choice, she listened, but inside, anger fermented.
“Judge Carlson is willing to set aside the marriage due to it taking place under false pretenses.” She suffered another gaze full of criticism before he explained, “Apparently, you failed to promise to love, honor, and obey.”
“Asa and I worked that out between us, not that it’s any of your business.”
“I’m sure MacIntyre agreed to a whole lot of nonsense to get his hands on this ranch, but he’s no one a lady such as yourself should put up with.”
She’d about reached her limit. “For heaven’s sake, Aaron! We grew up together. Am I so good at pretending that you’ve forgotten I ride and shoot better than you?”
The fingers on her wrist tightened imperceptibly. She reigned in her temper as he continued. “How you were raised wasn’t your fault. For all his mistakes, your father made up for his error in raising you wild by sending you back East to learn the things a mother would have taught you.”
