Page 75 of Wyoming Heart

“He’s a playboy,” she said, almost choking on the words.

“Well, yes, I guess he is,” he told her with obvious reluctance. “His name has been linked with movie stars and debutantes and, once, with a princess. He’s worth millions. He owns a big ranch in West Texas. He runs purebred Santa Gertrudis cattle and his family is heavily into real estate and oil.”

She wanted to sit down, but there was nothing she could do but put one foot in front of the other and go toward her hotel.

“I am truly sorry,” Jake said as he fell into step beside her.

“So am I.”

SHECRIEDHERSELFto sleep. The next morning, she got up and started to make coffee in her hotel room when a sudden uprush of nausea sent her rushing into the bathroom, where it felt like she lost two days’ meals.

Great, she thought as she flushed the commode and washed her pale face. What a wonderful time to discover that she was probably pregnant, when the man she’d planned a future with turned out to be a two-timing snake!

She looked in the mirror. “You are a terrible judge of character,” she told her image. “And just what are you going to do now?”

It was a good question. A termination, while it might be a solution for most women, was impossible for her. She couldn’t bear the thought of giving up the tiny life inside her, even if she never saw its father again. Amazing, how hungry she was for a baby, even under the circumstances.

She told Jake she needed one more day to finalize some negotiations and later that morning, she went to a medical facility and had a blood test done. She was almost certainly pregnant, although they told her that sometimes it could be a false positive. Her symptoms, however, pretty much clinched the diagnosis. She walked out onto the sidewalk with her head in the clouds, enveloped in dreams.

She didn’t tell Jake, for fear that he might share the news before she was ready. She still had to deal with Cort, and she wasn’t certain how to do it. So she flew back to Catelow with Jake, her face as solemn as if she’d lost a member of her family to the grim reaper, even as the joy of her pregnancy welled up inside her.

CHAPTER TWELVE

CORTWASFURIOUS. His father, drunk and disorderly, had fired one of the ranch’s top hands in a drunken stupor. Cort had to find the man and offer him more benefits to come back. He hadn’t wanted to leave Catelow in the first place. He should have had two more blissful weeks getting to know Mina. He wanted to marry her, whether or not she was pregnant. He’d never been so crazy about a woman in his life. And here he was, instead, babysitting a man who should have been plenty old enough to take care of himself!

“What the hell is your problem?” he asked his father, exasperated, as they sat down to dinner, served by their longtime cook.

“She kicked me out,” Vic said, his voice still slurred. “I need another drink...”

“Over my dead body,” Cort shot back. “Why did she kick you out?”

“I was just flir...flirting with one of her friends.”

Cort’s pale brown eyes narrowed. “Just flirting?”

The older man flushed. “I can’t manage with just one woman,” he said belligerently. “I’ve always slept around. I even told her, when we married.”

“I know,” Cort said coldly. “You slept around on Mom, when she was dying.”

Vic had the grace to blush. He averted his eyes. “You don’t understand.”

Cort laughed coldly. “I understand, all right. You were a hell of a loss as a father. I guess you’re even worse as a husband.”

Vic gaped at him. “What?”

“Oh, come on,” Cort said irritably. “You were never around when we needed you, especially after you split up with the stepmother from hell. Old Larry and our housekeeper took care of us when we had problems at school. They patched up the cuts and spoke to the principal when we got in trouble. They made Thanksgiving and Christmas for us while you were off philandering. God, if I turn out to be a father like you, I’ll shoot myself!”

Vic stiffened. “I never wanted kids,” he confessed.

“Then you should have learned about birth control!” Cort returned. “And shame on you for even admitting that!”

The older man had the grace to blush. He averted his eyes. He felt even sicker than he already was. He hated hearing those charges from his favorite son. Okay, he wasn’t supposed to have favorites, but Cort had been with him at the ranch long after his other sons had scattered to the four winds.

“I was twenty-one and your mother was eighteen when we got married,” Vic said. “She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. A few weeks into the marriage, she got pregnant, and I felt trapped. She never looked at me the same way again. She loved having babies. All of you got the attention. I got nothing. I played around to get even with her, but she didn’t even notice, or care.” His face hardened. “So I found somebody who did. Or so I thought.” He sighed. “I couldn’t bear to see your mother when she was dying, because I felt it was my fault. I was never around when she needed me and I didn’t realize it until too late. I loved her. I didn’t realize that, either. I married your stepmother because I was grieving, not only for your mother, but for Cash. I let your stepmother’s lies cause me to throw him right out of my life, and he hated me. I couldn’t get him to come back.” His eyes closed. “Then your stepmother started running around on me. I got a taste of my own medicine.” He leaned back in the chair and his eyes were dead. “I’ve ruined my life, Cort,” he said quietly. “Ruined yours, too.” He met his son’s shocked eyes. “Ruined all my sons’ lives. Parker won’t even come home unless he has to. Cash is friendly, but we don’t have the relationship we could have had. Garon has a family and he’s never been interested in the ranch. So there’s just you and me. And your new stepmother, in Vermont. She caught me with one of her friends in a compromising situation. She said...” He hesitated, and his face tautened with pain. “She said I was the most worthless man she’d ever known and she was sorry she’d married me. She wants a divorce.” He smiled ruefully. “She doesn’t even want alimony. She just wants me gone.” He sipped coffee he didn’t even want. “I’ve been a fool. I don’t know what to do.”

“Take your yacht out and practice for the America’s Cup trials,” Cort suggested sardonically. “In a few weeks, you’ll forget all about it. You always have.”

His sad eyes met his son’s. “It only seems that way. But maybe you’re right.” He got up from the table. “I’m sorry I’ve caused you more trouble.”

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