They looked at the scrapbooks a little longer then Emily grew serious. “Can I ask you something?”
Jake nodded. “Anything.”
“When I offered to act as widow repellent for you, you were quick to tell me you weren’t the kind of man who uses a woman for his own selfish purposes. Why did you feel the need to clarify that?”
Jake tensed. He didn’t want to discuss these things with Emily. But she deserved to know everything about him, like he wanted to know everything about her.
“Who accused you of using them, Jake?”
Here we go. Time for me to face my past.
* * *
Emily feltJake’s body tense before he shifted away. He ran his finger along the seam of the leather sofa. His lack of eye contact caused a knot to settle in her stomach, and she feared what little food she’d gotten down at dinner might come back up.
Jake’s gaze drifted to the windows on the far side of the room. “During my Junior and Senior year at college, I dated a woman named Lydia. She was in several of my business classes, and we spent a lot of time together in study groups and collaborating on projects. When it came time to complete my Senior project, my business plan, I outlined all the things I wanted to do with the ranch. I planned to expand our herds by improving the bloodlines and doubling the size of our hay fields by putting in pivot lines. I backed it all up with research and itemized the expenses that would become investments and projected revenue, including government grants. I was so excited about improving this ranch.”
“I sense a big ‘but’ coming.”
“When I showed the preliminary plans for my project to my professor, he told me ranching wasn’t a legitimate business, especially since the ranch was already established.”
Emily scowled. “I bet you’d like to show him exactly how legitimate of a business your ranch is.”
Jake laughed. “I would. I was so angry. The deadline for the projects was only a few weeks away, and I had no desire to start over creating a plan for a business I never intended to build. He told me I could join with another student as long as I did my share of the work.” Jake studied his hands for a moment.
“Lydia invited me to join her, so I did. I worked hard and did my share of the project, though my heart was never in it. By the time we finished the project—which we got an A on—I had decided she was the woman I wanted to marry. She was a brilliant businesswoman, and I thought we’d make a great team running the ranch together. I planned on proposing before school ended.”
Jake in love with another woman? A vice squeezed Emily’s heart, and jealousy crashed over her like a giant, slimy, green wave.
“I brought her home to the ranch for spring break. I thought she would be eager to ride horses and four-wheelers with me.” Jake’s voice dropped. “That she would be willing to at least hang around while I worked even if she didn’t want to get dirty with me. But she refused to even try. She hated everything about the ranch. She was bored stiff, even though my mom tried to entertain her.”
A smile pulled at Emily’s lips. “You mean your scrapbooks weren’t enticing enough?”
Jake smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “When we returned to school we got in a huge fight. She said she wanted to marry me, but not if I planned on going back to the ranch. She figured since I had a business degree, I could get a job anywhere. When I told her I intended to take over the ranch eventually, she got so angry. I had always been very open about that. I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t willing to give the ranch a try.” Jake looked off in the distance again. “I had no idea my dad would have a stroke a few months later and I would end up taking over so soon.”
Emily gave his arm a gentle squeeze.
“She was furious with me for wasting her time and making her think we had a future together. She accused me of using her to get a grade... which I had.” Jake looked at her, and Emily saw the self-loathing in his eyes. “I used the woman I loved for my own selfish purposes. And the moment things didn’t look like they would work out between us, I walked away.”
Emily took Jake’s hand in hers. She was both angry at Lydia for forcing Jake to choose between her and his ranch and relieved Jake hadn’t married the selfish woman.
“I promised you the first day I came to the ranch I wouldn’t hold anything against you, and I meant it. I’m sure you didn’t go into that project intending to hurt Lydia. And I doubt walking away from her was as easy as you made it sound.” When Jake’s only response was the flexing of the muscle in his jaw, she continued. “It sounds like it was a painful break-up.”
“It was.”
His confirmation made Emily question whether Jake was really over Lydia.
Chapter 29
“Good news,” Faith said as she walked out onto the back patio where Emily dozed in a lounge chair. “Ben found the bank that your safety deposit key belongs to.”
Every muscle in Emily’s body tensed. Relief warred with fear. Finally, this would all be over soon, but what would she find in that box?
A few minutes later, Emily sat in the great room with Faith on one side of her and Jake on the other. “In Kennewick?” Emily asked. “Why did he rent a box over two hours away from Spokane?”
“My guess is he thought it would be harder to find, which it definitely was,” Ben said.
“He probably hoped it would lead them away from you,” Jake added, then shook his head. “But then he came back...”
