Page 24 of A Montana Fake Marriage (Sagebrush Ranch Sweethearts #1)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Caleb fingered the reins in his hands, glancing to his right to see Sammie deep in thought on her own horse.

The last couple of days, she’d been distant.

He didn’t know what to do or say to her.

For how close they’d been in college and how much closer they’d gotten over the last year, there were admittedly a lot of things he still didn’t know.

He didn’t know how to get her to talk to him when she was intent on keeping something from him.

Sure, when they were just friends, he could goad her into it. He could tease her and make light of it. But now? Now he had a feeling that prodding her too hard would ultimately push her away, and that terrified him.

Caleb couldn’t put his finger on why that fear was rearing its ugly head. They were close. They’d finally come full circle in their relationship. There was nothing that would tear them apart—or there shouldn’t be.

And yet the second her father had come to Rocky Ridge, he couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.

She glanced up at him, and he didn’t tear his gaze away as much as he wanted to.

She shifted in the saddle and forced a smile—one he’d seen before when she didn’t want to talk about what was bothering her.

He’d seen that look after her mother had passed.

He’d seen that look shortly after they’d moved here. And it was back.

“You want to talk about it?” That was all he could ask. He didn’t dare point out that every time she acted like this, her father was involved.

“Talk about what?” she asked. Her voice was breathless, and on the surface, it might have sounded carefree.

Caleb knew better.

He shrugged. “About the interviews. About your dad?”

She pressed her lips together at his words.

“About your inheritance…”

Her eyes darkened, and she turned from him. “No.”

“But there’s definitely something bothering you.” It wasn’t a question. More than that, he’d pinned down the subject that bothered her.

Sammie shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

Her focus cut to his, slicing through him like she was prepared to go to war if it meant not discussing what was currently affecting her mood. “Yes, I am. It’s been a long week.”

Caleb breathed out through his flared nostrils.

“I know it has. And it feels like you aren’t willing to tell me anything.

” What he wouldn’t give to reach out and touch her right now.

If he could reach her without making it awkward, he would have grabbed her hand and forced her to have the conversation he knew they needed. But he couldn’t.

Sammie rolled her eyes. “Sometimes a girl just needs to be in a mood. Is that okay with you?”

He frowned. No, it wasn’t. He loved her. He wanted her to be happy, and right now, she was anything but. “Well, the interviews have been going well, don’t you think?”

She shrugged.

“So far, it seems like the people meeting with my family can tell that everything is real. We’re real.”

Once again, her eyes shot to his, but she didn’t argue. Her lack of excitement unnerved him. Maybe she didn’t want her inheritance. He’d thought she was brushing off the desire to get it, but now he was starting to wonder if he’d been wrong.

Maybe Sammie legitimately didn’t want her father’s wealth.

He couldn’t think of a single reason why anyone would walk away from something like that. She’d be able to take those other classes she wanted so badly. She’d be able to have the financial freedom that the majority of the country was desperate to attain.

After all was said and done, she’d be happy she’d gone through with it. He knew it.

“Can I ask you something?”

He glanced over to her. Their horses still plodded down the trail toward the ranch.

Their ride had been an effort on his part to give her a chance to clear her head.

She wanted to talk? That was more than he could hope for at this point.

Caleb straightened to his full height and nodded. “You can ask me anything.”

She fingered the reins in her hands, her thumbs tracing over the stitching in the leather bands she held.

Her lower lip was pulled between her teeth, and she fidgeted where she sat before she pulled the horse to a stop, forcing him to do the same.

Then her eyes lifted to meet his. “You keep saying that you can take care of me—financially, we’re okay.

But I’ve never seen any of our finances.

If we’re going to stay married, shouldn’t I have that information? ”

It felt like he’d been hit by a bull running at full speed. There was so much to unpack from her statement.

If they were going to stay married.

Those words hurt for no other reason than he had no intention of letting her go.

Then her asking about the money he’d saved. He hadn’t thought about telling her about any of it. He’d done his part to save the money, and he wouldn’t hesitate to care for her—to provide for her, but he hadn’t planned on sharing that information with her.

Growing up, he hadn’t been part of any conversations regarding money except one. When his grandfather had come to stay with them, his father had sat down with him and told him that they needed to work to stick to a budget, and his father had wanted his help.

Heck, he wasn’t sure his mother even knew the extent of his father’s investments or their money in general. He was the breadwinner, the master of the budget, and he was the one who made sure they were cared for.

“Caleb?”

He jumped again and looked in Sammie’s direction. “Hmm?”

“You didn’t answer me.”

Caleb wracked his brain for what she’d asked before he’d gotten sidetracked. She wanted to know about his savings. What possible reason did she have for wanting information about the money he had?

Before, he hadn’t given her any indication of his finances because they were going to get a divorce, and there was no reason for her to know. She’d have her money, and he’d keep his.

But what was his reason for holding back that information now?

That gut feeling he had that something was wrong.

He met her gaze again, unable to voice his concerns. They were on tumultuous ground right now. One wrong step, and he could send her running. Caleb swallowed hard at the thought of doing just that, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to give her what she wanted. “I have enough to take care of us.”

Her brows pinched together. “Yeah, you’ve said that before.”

“And I meant it. I’m able to take care of our family—provide for us. It might not be the privileged life you had growing up, but it’s enough. You don’t have to worry about putting food on the table or?—”

“That’s not what I’m trying to figure out, Caleb,” she said with exasperation. “If we’re supposed to be partners in all of this, then don’t you think I should be involved with the nitty gritty of it all?”

He stiffened. “I’m not keeping anything from you.”

She let out a huff, a clear indication she didn’t agree.

“What do you want me to say? You want me to pull up my banking information so you can see the dollar amount? Why is my word not enough?” The words felt hot and bitter coming out of his throat.

The thought of sharing even that with her set him on edge.

His parents never spoke about finances when he was a kid besides explaining why they were making cuts to what they usually spent money on.

It was more or less a taboo subject. He’d never been comfortable telling anyone what he had—not even his parents.

Her attention shifted to him. Those beautiful eyes all but pleaded with him to tell her anything she could use to make herself feel better. Instead, she murmured, “What if I didn’t get my inheritance?”

Caleb didn’t know what he’d expected her to say, but it wasn’t that. Was she worried she wasn’t going to get her money? That he wouldn’t be able to do what he’d promised he would?

Sammie let out a sharp breath and shook her head before turning her horse away and nudging it into a gallop.

Shoot! He’d waited too long to respond. He watched her retreating form and couldn’t even bring himself to chase after her. The hesitation he’d had in answering her had nothing to do with wanting to take care of her.

Caleb dug deeper into his heart.

No. His hesitation had everything to do with the confusion revolving around her desire to know the answers to those questions. Why was she so concerned with a dollar amount? Why was she pushing him for information that previously hadn’t mattered?

She deserves to know .

The little voice in his head wouldn’t leave him alone.

They were married.

Okay, it was more than simply being married. They were married, and they planned on being together for the long haul. They might not have gone about their relationship in a conventional way, but he had every intention of doing what he promised.

An uncomfortable heat seared the skin of his neck as it crept into his face. He felt cornered. On top of that, he felt like he’d done something wrong, and he needed to apologize.

But for what?

His hands tightened on his reins, and he dug his heels into his horse’s sides, pushing his horse to chase after her. But by the time he got back, she’d already dismounted and handed her horse off to Mack.

The last person Caleb wanted to see right now was his brother.

Just one look at Mack, and Caleb could see that his brother was well aware of how upset Sammie had been when she’d returned. The stupid smug smile on Mack’s face said it all.

Caleb jumped down from his horse and pointed a finger at his brother. “Not a word.”

Mack held up his hands, one holding a brush. “I didn’t say anything.”

“I mean it, Mack. I’m not in the mood.”

His brother shrugged. “You mean you’re not in the mood to deal with the consequences of marrying your best friend without realizing you’d ultimately fall for her?”

Caleb cut him a dark look. “I told you I’m not in the mood.”

“Or are you not in the mood to accept that eventually you’re going to have to let her go?—”

Caleb marched over to his brother and gave him a shove. “I don’t know if she said anything to you or if you’re just trying to push me over the edge, but you say one more thing, and I swear, you’re not walking out of here without a broken nose.”

Mack’s smirk never faltered, though he did follow Caleb’s request and kept his mouth shut. He’d been the only one who knew that Caleb originally had no intention of falling for Sammie. He still didn’t know that Caleb wanted to remain married to Sammie, but he wasn’t going to get that information.

Mostly because Caleb didn’t know if they would end up working through this.

He could feel his connection to Sammie crumbling, and the worst part was that he didn’t know how to keep it together. It should have been simple. He should have been able to tell her he’d give her access to everything. He loved her, after all.

But those doubts held him back. Her questions, her mood, everything that seemed to put added distance between them made him second guess if they would remain married after all was said and done.

Caleb brushed down his horse, refusing to even look at his brother.

Then he headed home. He wasn’t surprised to find out that Sammie had gone to bed early, telling his folks she had a headache.

He was, however, surprised when he entered their room to find the room dark and she’d done exactly as she’d said.

He stood in the doorway, watching her sleeping form for a few minutes, before he slipped out of the room and headed down for supper.

When they were done with all the interviews and she had her inheritance transferred over, then all these issues would right themselves.

He had to believe it. She was just on edge.

They were in the home stretch, and he just had to have faith they would make it through.