The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek #6)(35)
Author: Cora Seton

“My father threatened to—”

“To kill Gladys. To eat her, actually. Because that’s the only way he could get me to do for you what your mother does for him—to be the kind of stay-at-home wife you want me to be.”

“I just told you I’m okay with you having a career—”

“And that’s only half of it.” She talked right over him.

“What do you mean?” Jake looked wary.

“He used the same threat to make me sleep with you.” She stood up. “There. I’ve said it. I’m done here. I’m done with all of this. You can tell your father to shove his threats. I’ll move Gladys by the end of the week.” She turned to go.

Jake gripped her wrist. “Sit down. Now.”

The steel in his voice stopped her cold. She’d never seen Jake so angry. For the first time since she’d known him she felt a tendril of fear curl through her gut. His grip was so tight she couldn’t budge. If she tried to pull away from him now, she’d make a scene in the crowded restaurant. As it was, several heads had turned their way.

Hannah sat.

“Let me get this straight.” Jake felt disembodied from his own voice. Surely this couldn’t be him in this restaurant, hearing these words from Hannah. He couldn’t be the one shaking with anger as he thought about what Holt had done. “My father told you he’d kill Gladys and eat her if you didn’t sleep with me?” He shouldn’t have been surprised that Holt would play Hannah the same way he’d played him, but he was.

She nodded.

“Just like that. Straight out—no hinting?”

“He said it clear as day.”

“He told you to sleep with me,” Jake repeated, unable to believe it.

Hannah squirmed. “He said I had to spend fourteen nights with you. In the same bed. What we did there was up to us.”

“And you did it. You went along with it.” Jake ran his free hand through his hair. The other he kept locked around Hannah’s wrist. “Did you hate every minute of it?” His voice was rough.

“Of course not! You don’t understand—”

“You’re damned right I don’t understand. Was that really your only option? Prostitute yourself to save your animal? Really?”

His cruel words stung her and she blinked against the tears that filled her eyes. “Jake—”

He leaned across the table toward her. “You know, I couldn’t figure out why day after day you cleaned my house and cooked for me. It didn’t make sense, because it so obviously bothered you. You felt those chores were beneath you but you did them anyway. I thought…” He scraped a hand over his face. “Well, you know what I thought and you set me straight. But I never—never—guessed that you would sleep with me because my father forced you to.” His jaw tightened. “You don’t give a damn about me, do you? That was my father’s hand again. Forcing you to live with me. Forcing you to make my house a home. Forcing you to fuck—”

She slapped him. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare say one more word.”

The restaurant went quiet, but Hannah only had eyes for him. She was just as furious as he was.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” The slap stung, but he didn’t care.

“No, it’s not. Holt pushed me into moving in with you, but I was interested long before that.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because of how it felt when you fucked me.”

She had pitched her voice low but she still heard a startled gasp from the nearby diners. She didn’t care. They were finally getting to the heart of the matter, and she wanted to put all her cards on the table. Everything she had said was true; Holt had pushed them together in an unnatural way, but despite all of it she wanted Jake desperately.

Jake sat back. Watched her through eyes that were hard and cold. “I don’t know what to say to you. I can’t believe my father. I know he wants me to get married, but to do this…?”

“Believe me, I feel exactly like you do. His behavior is so far out of bounds it’s unbelievable. I’d be the last one to defend him, but I think I know why he did it. Do you realize what a lonely life your father has had?” She hoped she could bridge the chasm that had opened up between them. She was losing him. Had lost him, maybe. He thought she’d only been with him because she’d been forced, and that wasn’t true—it had never been true. A proud man like Jake wouldn’t care about nuances, though. If he thought she’d lied to him, he’d turn his back on her.

He scowled. “Lonely? How do you figure that? He’s got four kids.”

“Now he does. But he was an only child growing up. Sounds to me like he might have had it hard. He wants to be surrounded by family. He wants you all to marry and have children. It’s important to him.”

“Important enough to threaten you?”

She shook her head, desperate to make him understand. “You know, looking back, I think your Dad was smart enough to know it wouldn’t take much to nudge me into your arms… and your bed.” Color crept up into her cheeks. “We’re good together, but the problem is we’re not right for each other. Or it’s not the right time for us to be together. I don’t know.”

Jake straightened. Surveyed her, his fingers still tight around her wrist. She could tell he was thinking it all over. Weighing her words and the truth of them. “If you think we’re good together, then we should be able to make this work.” His grip tightened. “You should be able to marry me.”

He wasn’t getting it. “We want different things…”

“There’s nothing we can’t solve once we’re married.”

Hannah shook her head. “Really? You’ll adapt to the time I need to spend away from you? You’ll support my career? Because that’s non-negotiable. I am going to veterinary school.”

“I won’t stop you from going to veterinary school,” he said slowly. “I don’t have anything against you going.”

“Do you have anything for it?”

Jake narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means there’s a hell of a big difference between not stopping me and actually helping me,” she said. “If we’re going to make a life together, I’ll need your support. It’s hard enough to do what I’m about to do without having someone close by who doesn’t want me to do it.”