by Marin Thomas
Why shouldn’t he? You asked him to loan you another mortgage payment, didn’t you?
Oh, Lord. Was that the reason Matt had withdrawn after they’d made love in the kitchen? The idea that he truly believed she was using him broke her heart. Amy had been so sure she’d shown Matt her feelings for him were sincere. But you never told him that you loved him, did you? You never said the words.
A knock on the door surprised her and for a moment she believed Matt had had a change of heart.
Instead she found Nathan standing on the porch wearing a concerned frown. “Bad news?” he asked.
Ignoring the question, she waved him inside. “What’s up?”
“I forgot to tell Matt when I stopped by earlier that there’s another test we can run on SOS that might give us a better reading on—”
“You’ve been running tests on the stallion?”
After a lengthy pause, Nathan asked, “Matt didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“SOS has testicular degeneration.”
“What does that mean?”
“He’s sterile.”
Her lungs deflated until barely any oxygen squeezed through.
“I’m sorry, Amy. SOS must have suffered an injury to his testicles before Ben purchased him.”
Oh, Ben had been so foolish. And Matt, God bless him, had bought SOS because he knew Amy would never be able to sell the stud.
Nathan edged toward the door. “It’s a long shot, but we can check SOS’s viable sperm and if there’s enough we…” The sight of Amy’s tears threw the vet. “Have Matt call me.” Nathan left, the screen door slamming behind him.
Amy would do better than phone Matt—she’d deliver Nathan’s message in person.
She had a few things of her own to say to the stubborn cowboy.
Chapter Fourteen
“Dad sent you out here, didn’t he?” Matt glared at his sister, Samantha.
“He’s worried about you. So am I.” Sam patted his shoulder, then slid a boot across the lower rung of the corral and observed the prancing mares.
When Matt had arrived back in Oklahoma three weeks ago, he’d kept the details of his Idaho trip to himself. He’d been shocked his father hadn’t demanded an explanation for the fifty thousand dollars Matt needed to take SOS off Amy’s hands. Thank God, because he’d been too embarrassed to explain about the poker game and his dishonest intentions toward another man.
“Have you decided what to do with the stud?” Sam asked. Matt had told his father and his sister SOS was sterile.
“Cole Sanders came over and checked out the horse. Told him I’d sell SOS dirt cheap. The stud will make an excellent ranch horse if someone works with him.” Matt was prepared to hand over the animal for free. SOS was a painful reminder of Amy and the girls and he wanted the stud gone yesterday.
Sam arched a black eyebrow. “Does Daddy know a Sanders trespassed on his property?”
“Nope.” Neither the Cartwright siblings nor the Sanders siblings knew what had begun the feud between their parents years ago, but Dominick made no apologies for keeping his distance from the neighboring cattle ranch.
“Did Daddy ask you to work for him?”
“Yep.” Two separate conversations, neither lasting more than five minutes. Matt refused to become a corporate cowboy. He liked his callused hands and outdoor tan just fine. “Told him no thanks, like I always do.”
“None of us kids loves oil the way he does.” Sam added, “Maybe we inherited our love for cattle and horses from our mother.”
“Maybe.” He studied his sister’s profile. She was a striking woman with a soft heart. He’d quit setting her up with his rodeo buddies years ago—the dates had triggered panic attacks, which had made her memory lapses more glaring. One day Matt hoped a man would come along determined enough to break through the stone wall Sam had erected around her.
“What about your dream to breed cutting horses?”
“Those plans are on hold.” Matt was ashamed that his selfish greed had caused him to act so recklessly. He should have investigated SOS’s history before hauling the mares all the way to Idaho and Amy’s ranch. He was as much an idiot as Ben Olson in that department.
If you had, you’d never have met Amy.
“I’m heading out on the circuit in a few days.” He’d rope calves for however long it took to pay his father back.
“This past Christmas you talked about retiring from rodeo.”
That was before he’d screwed up everything. “Plans change.”
“Do your new plans have anything to do with a woman?”
Sam’s whispered question stung like a slap across the cheek. He hadn’t told a soul about Amy—not even his father. “What gives you the idea I’m involved with a woman?”
“I’ve never seen you mope before.”
After Matt had broken up with Kayla, he’d stayed on the road for nearly six months—until he’d had his emotions under control and felt sane enough to join his family at the ranch. Raw from leaving Amy and the girls, Matt must not have hid his feelings very well.
“Her name’s Amy.” He’d held everything inside him since leaving the Broken Wheel. The need to talk won out. He and Sam had a special bond—one forged when their mother had abandoned them. They knew things about each other that their father wasn’t even aware of—for instance, Sam’s horrible nightmares that occurred once a month like clockwork.
“Amy’s husband owned SOS.” The talking part was more difficult than Matt anticipated.
“And…”
“And it’s a big mess. Of my own doing.” Matt removed his cowboy hat and wiped a shirtsleeve across his sweaty brow. The beginning of July had ushered in ninety-degree temperatures and plenty of humidity. “I appreciate the shoulder, Sam, but…” His voice trailed off at the hurt that flashed through his sister’s eyes. Since Sam’s accident years ago he and the rest of the family had made a habit of sparing unpleasant news from her—for her own protection. She often forgot or confused facts, which upset her.
“Will you keep this between you and me?” At her solemn nod he continued. “Amy’s husband was a bronc rider on the circuit.” In case Sam had forgotten the story he’d told the family at Christmas, he refreshed her memory. “Ben and I got into a card game in Pocatello this past December and he lost to me. Big-time. He didn’t have the funds to pay up, so I accepted stud fees in lieu of cash.”
“Go on,” Sam urged when Matt became lost in the memory of that night at the arena.
“Ben never showed up with the stud, so—”
“You took the mares to Idaho,” Sam concluded.
“When I got to the horse farm I learned Ben had died.”
Sam gasped. “What happened?”
Did he dare tell his sister the truth? “SOS kicked him in the chest and the blow killed him.”
His sister’s face paled and Matt grabbed her arm, fearing she’d faint. “Damn it, I should have kept my mouth shut.” The last thing he wished for Sam was for her to relive her own nightmare of being kicked by a horse.
“I’m okay.” She smiled bravely, then glanced toward the barn. “Why did you bring the stud here if he’s vicious?”
“He’s not a killer. He’s terrified of rats. The best I can figure is that a rat got into the stall when Ben was in with the stud and the horse went berserk.”
“That’s so sad.”
“When I arrived at the Broken Wheel I discovered that Ben had been married and had two daughters.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Matt Cartwright, I hope you didn’t take advantage of a newly widowed woman.”
“It wasn’t like that at all. Amy and Ben’s marriage hadn’t been the best. She was through mourning her husband when I arrived.”
“Then you love her?” Sam’s question came out of the blue.
“Amy isn’t anything like the women I normally date.”
“I should say not. She has children.”
“Amy’s husband left
her with a ton of debt and a sterile stud.”
“Oh, Matt,” Sam whispered. “You bought SOS to help her out, didn’t you?”
Did all women have this uncanny ability to read a man’s mind? “Amy doesn’t know about the stallion’s sterility. If she did, she wouldn’t have accepted my money.”
“I don’t understand. If you love her, why aren’t you together? Is it because you don’t want kids?”
“Not at all. Rose and Lily are cute as can be.”
Sam’s eyes darkened. “She doesn’t love you, does she?”
He swallowed hard. “I’m pretty sure she loves me.” But she shouldn’t. He wasn’t worthy of her love.
“Then what’s the problem?” Sam smacked her hand against his back. “Be together and be happy.”
If it were that simple…
“Mind if I join you two?” Dominick Cartwright approached the corral and Matt wondered how much of the conversation his father had overheard.
“I’m heading inside to help Juanita bake cookies.” Sam leaned in and kissed Matt’s cheek, then walked off.
Silence settled between the two men and finally Matt caved first. “If you’ve got something to say, go ahead.”
“Pride can change a man’s life forever.”
The comment confirmed that his father had heard Matt mention Amy. “What’s your point, Dad?”
“I should have gone after Charlotte as soon as she left me. I’m afraid I set a bad example.”
His father rarely spoke about his first wife. Matt didn’t remember his mother at all. He had fonder memories of his father’s second wife and the various housekeepers and ranch hands over the years.
“I loved her and I should have searched for her. But I was hurt by her affair.”
Affair? Infidelity had destroyed his parents’ marriage.
“I was cocky and full of myself and believed your mother would come crawling home—if not for me, then for my money. Weeks turned into years and no word from Charlotte. Then one day I woke up and realized your mother was never coming home.” His father cleared his throat. “Charlotte and I might have worked things out if I’d swallowed my pride and tracked her down.”
Matt wished it was a simple matter of infidelity between him and Amy. Sometimes he wished Amy had been another Kayla and had had an affair on him. Forgiving her would be a hell of a lot easier than asking for her forgiveness.
“If she doesn’t fall for your handsome mug or your buckles, then she ought to fall for our oil wells.” His father grinned.
Matt chuckled, but the ache inside him split his chest apart. Amy didn’t give a flip about Cartwright Oil. “Thanks for the advice, Dad. I’ll sleep on it.”
“What do you plan to do with the stud?”
“Sell him. Cole Sanders is interested.” His father’s mouth tightened and Matt rushed to change the subject. “I’ll be heading out on the circuit next week.”
“What happened to hanging up the ropes for good?”
“That was before I took out a loan from you.”
“Forget about the money, son.” His father adjusted the Stetson on his head. “I shouldn’t have put conditions on your trust fund. I can’t say I’m thrilled that none of my kids want to join me in the oil business, but if raising horses is what you want to do with your life, then let’s discuss it.”
Matt was humbled by his father’s support in light of the fact that the old man had detested horses since the day Sam had nearly been killed by one. “Dad, that’s really generous of you, but—”
“We’ve got company,” his father said, watching a plume of dust form in the distance.
A few seconds later Matt recognized the rattletrap and sucked in a quiet breath. Amy. His heart pounded first with excitement, then with frustration. The woman was nuts to drive all the way to Tulsa in a truck with no air-conditioning, old tires and a busted radio.
When the vehicle slowed near the corrals, Rose waved her arms out the window. “Mr. Matt! Mr. Matt!” The little girl’s greeting was followed by a woof from the truck bed. Moose’s tail waved like a flyswatter at a watermelon-eating contest.
The porch door squeaked open and Sam joined Matt and their father at the corral. “Wow,” she said. “A ready-made family.”
Matt ignored his father’s raised eyebrow and savored the feeling of hope filling him. Amy got out of the truck and glared across the hood. Her tight-lipped mouth and stiff shoulders barely registered with Matt, but the soft, flyaway curls framing her pretty face held his attention. Even from a distance he remembered the sweet smell of her shampoo and the scent of her skin.
A low whistle escaped Sam’s mouth. “She’s ticked. What did you do to her, big brother?”
Amy’s courage stumbled when the beautiful woman joined Matt and the older man. Stop that. It didn’t matter anymore what Matt had or had not felt for her. She’d come for one reason and one reason only—to have the final say in their relationship—that is if one called what they’d had these past few weeks a relationship.
She strolled around the hood and opened the passenger-side door. Rose bolted. Lily lifted her arms in the air and as soon as Amy set her on the ground she toddled after her sister, her sippy cup waving in the air, juice flying everywhere. Amy then lowered the tailgate and Moose jumped to the ground. He loped toward Matt, passing by Lily so fast he spun her in a circle.
“Mr. Matt! Mr. Matt!” Rose dove for Matt and he scooped her into his arms. “You didn’t say goodbye,” she accused, hugging his neck.
Not to be outdone by her sister, Lily called, “Mer Matt! Mer Matt!” Then she grabbed Matt around one leg and smiled shyly up at the dark-haired woman. Moose followed, standing on his hind legs, he pawed Matt’s chest and slobbered on his shirt.
“You must be Matt’s father, Dominick Cartwright,” Amy said, joining the group. A striking man with his head of white hair and dark eyebrows and dark mustache. “Amy Olson, from Pebble Creek, Idaho.” She shook hands, surprised when Matt’s father held her fingers longer than necessary, studying her face as if trying to read her mind. “These are my girls, Rose and Lily. That monster is Moose.” She pointed to the dog.
“I’m Samantha, Matt’s sister.” The dark-haired beauty smiled at the girls. “Hi, Rose. Hi, Lily.”
Amy noticed Samantha had looked at the wrong girl when she’d called them by name, but her daughters didn’t care.
Matt’s sister must have sensed a storm brewing because she suggested, “How would you girls like to head up to the house and help Juanita in the kitchen? She’s baking cookies and I bet she’ll let you have one.”
“Can we, Mama?” Rose asked.
The girls had missed Matt like crazy the past couple of weeks. Amy’s eyes shifted to Matt’s hand, which rested protectively against Lily’s blond curls and her throat tightened. “Sure.” The word came out a whisper. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat and spoke louder. “Mind your manners.”
Samantha held their hands as they walked off, Moose trailing behind.
“Welcome to the Lazy River, Mrs. Olson. I hope you and your daughters will be our guests for dinner tonight.”
“I’ll let you know later. You might rescind the invitation after I speak with your son.”
Mr. Cartwright’s eyes rounded, then filled with a devilish sparkle. “Fair enough.” With a tip of his hat, he sauntered off.
As soon as his father was out of hearing range Matt said, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t.” Amy held a hand up, then cursed the burning sensation in her eyes. The sound of his voice was enough to remind her to keep her guard up and not allow the cowboy to sneak under her radar.
“I’m not here to beg you to come back to me and the girls.” She paused in the middle of drawing a breath when Matt’s tan face turned pasty. Had he thought…What was he… “And I am most certainly not here to beg you to love me.” The sadness in his blue eyes took the steam out of her mad and confused her. “I came here to tell you that I’m not after your money.”
After reading the amount on the bank draft, he frowned.
“I’m not Kayla.”
Matt stiffened. “Who told you about Kayla?”
“You did.” Face heating with embarrassment, she admitted, “The day you got kicked by SOS, I overheard you talking to Lily when you were soaking in the tub.”
“You misunderstood.”
“I don’t believe so. And I came here to set the record straight. When Jake disclosed the information about your father’s wealth, never once did I think about cozying up to you in hopes of getting my hands on the Cartwright fortune.” Her throat went dry. “All I want is to keep my home and care for my daughters. I’ve never been afraid of hard work or little dirt beneath my fingernails. And taking that darn data-entry job should have proved how far I’m willing to go to secure my girls’ futures.”
“Amy, I never—”
“Let me finish.” If she didn’t get it all out now she never would. “I was going to tell you this the night in the kitchen after we—” she held his gaze “—had sex.” He winced and Amy experienced a momentary prick of satisfaction. She’d believed they’d been making love, but figured Matt had considered it nothing more than the down-’n’-dirty. “It took time to check into the claim’s legitimacy.”
“What claim?” he asked.
“My father kept a notebook of get-rich-quick schemes. He suspected the farm’s soil contained the mineral phosphate.” Matt didn’t interrupt, so she continued. “My father died before any surveys had been conducted.”
“I suppose that prick of a bank manager knew about the phosphate,” Matt said.
“That’s why Payton wanted me to sell.” She cleared her throat. “I had a geological survey done shortly after you left. The results came in a couple of days ago.”