to be partners. Marriage isn’t such a far cry from that.”
“Because.” She spoke through gritted teeth but couldn’t help it. “I will not give my daughter a stepfather.”
If she wasn’t mistaken, his eyes filled with understanding, followed quickly by sympathy. “You had a cruel stepfather.”
A shiver snaked up her spine into the base of her neck. “He was worse than cruel.”
Another flash of understanding.
Her stepfather had tried at every opportunity to get her into corners where he could press against her. She feared what would happen if he ever found her alone.
“Ahh. I see. You married Cody to escape your stepfather. That explains why he married you. Cody would think it right to help you.”
“He was a good man.”
“No argument there. I can’t believe he’s gone.” He bent over with a moan.
What could she say or do to express her sorrow at his loss? One she shared but perhaps not to the same degree.
Josh straightened. “It must have been hard. Losing him and waiting alone for the baby.”
“It had its moments.”
“How did you manage?”
She looked past him as the memory of those days swelled afresh. She’d never felt free to mention them to anyone. “I was in shock the first few days. The Gardiners kept me there awhile but then people started telling me I should go back home to my family. That’s when I knew what I had to do. I came back here, and I intend to stay.”
He sighed. “This arrangement is unacceptable. Marriage is the only solution.” He held up his hands to signal her to hold her words. “It makes perfect sense. I would give you the protection of my name and provide you with a home. It’d simply be a suitable business partnership.”
She narrowed her eyes to study him. Was he trying to get her share of the ranch? “I don’t need to marry to have a partnership. I legally own Cody’s half.”
“I’ve no objection to that.”
“Then I see no reason to marry you.” She’d entered into one marriage of convenience to escape her stepfather. It had given her freedom, home, land and a baby. She needed nothing more except to keep her claim on this land.
“People will talk and they can be very nasty.”
“They’ll have no reason to speculate if you aren’t staying here.”
Would he understand he must be the one to leave?
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