At the Crossroads (Buckhorn, Montana #3)(39)

He nodded. “Before my father died...”

“He put you back in his will.” She realized this could explain why Culhane had been so upset at the funeral. She knew that he and his father hadn’t been close, but she’d assumed he’d been grieving not just the loss of his father but the loss of a chance to ever have a relationship with him.

“His lawyer’s been calling me about the will. I didn’t want his money. I’m happy the way things are.”

She heard the words, words he’d said before when it came to the two of them. When he’d mentioned that he didn’t do marriage or kids.

“How about dogs?” she’d asked.

He’d grinned and said, “I have nothing against dogs.”

“I saw all of it as an unnecessary burden since both my parents came from old money. Jana coming back wanting money says it all.”

She stared at him. Old money. “You didn’t tell me because of the money.” He looked shamefaced, and she knew it was true.

“I would have eventually told you. Truthfully, I’d hoped it wouldn’t matter to you.”

“It doesn’t. You keeping so much from me, well, that’s another matter. So did you give Jana the money?”

“No. She made all kinds of threats, cried, said she was in trouble with some bad people and that if she didn’t get the money they would kill her.”

“You thought it was another con,” Alexis said, seeing how guilty he looked.

Culhane glanced away, pain in his expression. “I did. We argued, the neighbors heard. Jana was throwing things and screaming. The neighbors called the law.”

“Which only made you look more guilty when it appeared that she’d been murdered.” She understood now why the sheriff had been so quick to put out a BOLO on Culhane. Garwood might actually believe he really was guilty. “How was it you were at the scene of the crime?”

“Jana had left an urgent message. Feeling bad about the way I’d left things, I called her. She said she couldn’t talk. I heard a man’s angry, threatening voice in the background. When I tried to call her back, it went straight to voice mail. Worried, I went over there and played right into her hands. Or whoever is behind this. I saw the blood and the broken glass. I realized it was a setup the instant I heard the sirens. I barely escaped, making me look all the more guilty.”

And he’d come straight to her, Alexis thought. “Any more secrets you want to reveal? Or would you rather wait and surprise me?”

He glanced over and shook his head. “I probably should have told you I’d been married and maybe a little about my family.”

She nodded. “There are worse things than being left a whole lot of money.”

“Yeah,” he said and swore under his breath before glancing at her again. “I don’t even want to know what he left me. You’re sure it isn’t important to you?”

“Actually, I think I liked you better when I thought you were poor.”

He grinned, but it never reached his eyes. “I told his lawyer to give it all to charity and was told I can’t. I have to hang on to it for future generations.”

“Future generations you aren’t interested in having,” she said, hoping her words didn’t sound as bitter as they felt.

“You can understand now why I told you up front that I wasn’t interested in marriage and babies.”

“Right.” She had to look away. “I remember. It was the one thing you told me about yourself.”



CHAPTER FIFTEEN


CULHANE STARTED TO tell her that he hadn’t meant it. That his attitude had changed in the year they’d been together. He could now see himself married to her with babies.

He reached over to touch her, but she pulled away. She had every right to be angry. If he were Alexis, he wouldn’t want anything to do with him, either. His relationship with her was the longest he’d ever had. He’d quit other relationships when they’d started to get serious.

But it had been different with Alex. He’d been drawn to her the moment they’d met. She radiated strength, determination and independence. He thought of her as an equal. She challenged him, didn’t play games, told it to him straight. He admired the hell out of her.

At first, he’d tried to keep his distance from her, knowing how screwed up he was when it came to opening up to anyone. But he couldn’t stay away from her. The deeper he got into the relationship, the more he found himself wanting more—something new for him.

He should have told her a lot of things, given how he had begun to feel about her. But he’d loved the way things were between them and had wanted them to stay that way. He’d wanted her to love him in spite of his first marriage, in spite of the money and what came with it, in spite of the baggage he carried from the loss of both his mother and father at the age of twelve. He’d wanted a clean slate with Alexis as if he’d only been born yesterday.

“Enough confessions for one day?” he asked hopefully, telling himself that when this was over, he’d tell her everything, especially the one thing he’d needed to tell her for months.

“Sure,” she said in a clipped, all-business tone. He saw her glance in her side mirror. He checked the rearview. Nothing. But he could feel the clock ticking. “Where are we going?”