Page 49 of The Bargain Bride

“Coffee?” she asked.

He took the cup from the hand nearest him. “Delta is going to be okay. They want to keep her overnight.”

“Did she have a heart attack?”

“No. Low blood sugar. Did she ever mention having a problem with hypoglycemia? Has she ever fainted before?”

Beth shook her head. “Not to my knowledge. You know Delta. She takes care of everyone but herself.”

“Did you get in touch with Bill?”

She nodded.

Beth had called Delta's husband, and he was on his way. At least he would hear good news once he arrived. She wasn't so sure about herself. Delta's collapse had probably caused Jared to relive the traumatic day of his mother's death. Was he preparing to run back to Boston?

“You can go home,” he said. “I'll stick around until Bill gets here. I can hire a car later and drive back.”

“I'm not going anywhere. I love Delta, too.”

Instead of arguing with her, he nodded. “I can't believe you can fly a helicopter. That was amazing. Incredible.”

She shook her head. “You were incredible. You saved Delta's life.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes and drank their vending machine coffee. She briefly wondered what he was thinking. Her mind went from subject to subject so quickly that she got dizzy. There was Delta's failing health to consider, Jared's return to Boston, their inevitable divorce, and all the work she had waiting for her at home. They were also getting Destiny’s Heir ready for auction.

And what was Simon up to in their absence?

Information Jared needed to know came to the front of her mind. She wasn't sure how to tell him. She just knew she had to say it. “Your dad felt guilty over your mom's death.”

He raised a solitary eyebrow. “How do you know that? Did he tell you?”

“I heard him talking to my dad one night.”

“He talked about my mom with Ben?”

“They talked about a lot of stuff,” she said. “Neither of them knew it, but I pretended to be asleep sometimes. After I went to bed, they would sit in our little kitchen and drink whiskey and talk about life. I learned some real interesting stuff that way.”

Jared chuckled. “I bet you did.”

“Dad was careful how he talked about my mom in front of me, but he opened up to Big Jim.”

“What did he say about her?”

Beth dug her fingernails into her fleshy palms to keep from crying. It still hurt to remember her father's words. She took a deep breath. “He told your dad that my mother was flaky and a gold-digger. According to him, she never really wanted me. She just didn't want him to have me. That's why she hid me from him all those years.”

“What else did Ben say about your mom?

“She was a stripper in Vegas when they met.” Nervous laughter escaped from her throat. “Can you believe it?”

He shrugged. “Guess they met on one of Big Jim’s annual trips to Vegas. It started after my mom died. Big Jim and Ben would drive down to Vegas for a few days of gambling, boozing, and chasing women. They stopped after you arrived at the ranch.”

That wasn't entirely true. They had stopped for a while because her father didn't want to leave her back when she was a small child. But once she turned sixteen, the trips to Vegas began again, and that was how they died. She didn't want to remind Jared—or herself—of that fact.

They sat in silence for a moment.

She was afraid he might try to make her feel better. In her emotional condition, any sort of kindness would break the dam. Tears would flow. She didn't want to bawl in front of him, not after working so hard to prove she was a strong woman.

“What did they say about my mom?” Jared asked.

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