The Cowboy Wins a Bride (The Cowboys of Chance Creek) by Cora Seton Read Free Book Online

that. “I don’t know.”
    “Still carrying a torch for Mack Mackenzie?” His tone was ironic, but she sensed the question was real.
    “Of course not. What an ass.”
    “Then maybe it’s time to forgive your mom for putting an end to all that,” he said.
    She closed her eyes. Jamie didn’t know the half of it. He thought she left the ranch because her mother found out about her crush on Mack. He had no idea she’d walked right in on them. Mack and her mother, right in the stables.
    “Was it all her traveling? Did you mind that she didn’t take you with her?”
    “Hell, no. I liked it when she was gone.” Claire hugged her arms across her chest, the lie sitting heavy in her throat. “She was miserable here and she made all the rest of us miserable. She wouldn’t have wanted me on those trips of hers anyway. I would have cramped her style.”
    “In what way?”
    “Not you, too.” Claire shook her head. “I don’t know if all of you just play dumb or if you really are dumb.”
    “Whoa, slow down there. I assume you mean Ethan and me.”
    “And my father.”
    “None of us are dumb.”
    “You sure act like it.” She blew out a breath. “What exactly do you think my mother was doing in Europe?”
    “Shopping, I guess. She sure spent a lot of money.”
    Claire turned to him. “So you were paying attention. Sure, she shopped all right. Spent us all into debt. But that’s not the half of it.” She waited expectantly.
    “I’m not following you.”
    “She had affairs, Jamie. Lots of them, I bet. How do you think she blew all that money? Buying dresses? Uh uh – she was supporting lovers over there. Putting them up in expensive hotels, wining and dining them, doing God knows what. Then she’d get guilty, I guess, come running home and pretend to be the loving wife and mother for a few months before she went off and did it again.”
    Jamie stepped back. “How on earth do you figure that?”
    “Because she did it here, too.”
    “You can’t know that,” he said.
    “I saw them,” she blazed. “Up against a stall, Mack’s hands braced against the wall, my mom’s arms around his neck, her legs around his waist. Do you want to hear more?”
    “Shit.” Jamie shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, Claire.”
    “Well, sorry doesn’t fix it.”
    He rubbed a hand over his face. “No wonder you left. Did you ever…say anything?”
    “To my father? No. I couldn’t. I never looked him in the eye again, either. He had to know.” She shook her head. “I was so angry at him, too – angry that he didn’t stop her, or leave her, or something.”
    “You hardly ever came home after that.”
    “How could I?”
    “And now they’re gone.”
    A sob nearly escaped her at his plain-spoken words. Now they were gone, and she couldn’t ask her mother why, or tell her father how sorry she was that his wife betrayed him, or tell either one of them good-bye.
    “Let’s ride.” She moved toward Storm, who'd wandered off a few paces in the darkness.
    “Claire, wait. Just a minute.” His hand on her wrist held her in place. “You have to forgive them or it’ll tear you apart.”
    She tried to speak. Couldn’t. This time when she tugged, he let her go.
     
    She felt better once she was back on Storm. Jamie took the lead again, retracing their steps and as the gravesite receded, she was able to breathe. Jamie was right – her parents were gone and there wasn’t anything she could do to fix the past. Despite everything that happened she missed them both horribly.
    Would spending more time here on the ranch make that worse or better? It felt so good to ride again. Could she return to Billings after six weeks on the ranch? Could she take off to travel around the world after spending so much time at home? Would she be able to carry off her revenge or would she fall for Jamie's charm? She snorted and Jamie looked back over his shoulder.
    “You okay?”
    “Yeah.”
    “You want to go back or go on?” Jamie