She walked over to Adam and wrapped her arms around him, resting her cheek on his back. He stiffened—in surprise?—for the briefest moment before turning around in her arms.
He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head.
“You seem happy,” he said.
Her cheeks grew warm and a ridiculous smile attacked her face.
“I am. ”
He tipped her chin up with his fingers then bent to kiss her. His lips moved possessively over hers. His tongue pressed inward, tasting her, laying claim to her mouth.
He slowly released her. “Have a seat. Supper will be ready in a few minutes. ”
She floated over to where Ryan and Ethan sat and took the stool between them.
As Adam puttered around the kitchen, laying out the plates and glasses, Holly decided to broach the subject of her usefulness.
“I was thinking,” she began.
The men turned their attention to her.
“That is I was wondering what it is I could do to help out. I mean, if I’m not going to be a guest, that is, I’m going to stay. ”
She took a deep breath and cursed her insecurity.
“Holly,” Ethan said, his tone slightly reprimanding. “We want you here. We want you to stay. This is your home. I realize it might take you a while to get used to things, but there is no need to dance around an
y subject, nor is there any need for you not to embrace your status here. ”
She smiled and ducked her head. “At any rate, I wondered what I could do to help. ”
“There’s always something that needs to be done,” Adam said with a shrug. “At present, we divide chores and responsibilities. We’d be glad to have the help. ”
“I can’t cook,” she blurted, embarrassed by the admission. She felt hopelessly inadequate. Her upbringing hadn’t trained her to do much.
“No one said you had to cook,” Ryan said calmly.
“I could learn,” she added quickly.
Adam plunked down the platter of chicken fried steak on the bar and stared at her. “Holly, we don’t want a domestic slave. You’re here as our wife. Our mate. The mother of our children. We managed fine on our own. We can cook just fine. If you want to help out in other ways, I’m sure we can come up with something. ”
Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment. “I’m making a mess of things, aren’t I?”
Adam sat down and passed the platter over to Ethan.
“You’re uptight,” Adam said gently. “We just want you to be happy. Relax. You don’t have to do anything right now. Let’s concentrate on freeing you from your current marriage so the bastard has no claim on you. Everything else will fall into place. ”
“When do we go to Denver?” she asked, grateful to change the subject.
“Day after tomorrow. I’ve arranged for Riley to come in and feed the horses while we’re gone. We’ll drive down, check into a hotel, then see Cal the next morning. ”
She nodded then cleared her throat. “I wonder if there would be time for me to hit a salon while we’re there?” She twirled the ends of her hair nervously with her fingers. “I’d like to get the color fixed. ”
“We can do whatever you want,” Adam said.
“I also need to stop by a bank. I need to start an account so I can have funds wired in. I don’t trust Mason not to empty them. ”
“You don’t have to worry about money,” Ryan said darkly. “We’re more than able to provide for you. ”
“It’s not his money,” she said. “I’m not taking money from him. I’m protecting mine. ”
“He seemed to be fairly wealthy,” Ethan said.
She sighed. “He is. But if he can find a way into my trust fund, he’ll empty it to spite me. ”
Adam raised his brow. “Trust fund?”
“From my parents,” she explained. She shifted uncomfortably on her stool. “They were wealthy. They died when I was a teenager, and I came into my inheritance when I turned twenty-one. ”
“I see, and how old are you now?” Adam asked.
“Twenty-four. ”
“And when did you meet Mason?”
“Shortly after my parents died. He…well, he stepped in and took care of me. ”
Ryan muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Ethan and Adam exchanged knowing glances.
“What? What are you looking like that for?” she demanded.
“Just how much money are we talking about in your trust fund?” Adam asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t really know. ”
“Take a guess,” he said.
“Fifty? Sixty million?”
“Jesus,” Ethan muttered.
“How sure are you of Mason’s financial stability?” Adam asked quietly.
She opened her mouth but her reply stuttered and halted in her throat. Buzzing began in her head, and she felt incredibly, incredibly stupid. Her cheeks burned, and her throat constricted painfully.
Without another word, she got up and walked out of the kitchen.
“Holly!”
She heard Ethan call out to her, but she didn’t stop. She wanted to bear her current humiliation alone, thank you very much.
She stopped at the front door long enough to yank her coat off the coat rack then she opened the door and stepped onto the front porch. Cold air assaulted her, and she hurriedly pulled on her coat.
She walked to the railing and leaned out, staring at the rising moon over the snow. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply in. She needed the cold to cool her hot face.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. She’d never even considered Mason had an ulterior motive for singling her out. He’d stepped in when her parents died and acted as her protector and confidante. He’d pressured her to marry him when she turned twenty-one. Now she knew why. But she hadn’t wanted to marry right away. The only semblance of common sense she’d shown in the whole fiasco.
She propped her elbows on the porch railing and buried her face in her palms. He had only wanted her money.
It didn’t hurt that he didn’t love her, or that he had married her for other reasons. She knew he hadn’t been capable of loving her when he’d struck her, when he’d killed another person in cold blood. But what stung was her utter naiveté.
Of course he wanted her money. It all made perfect sense now. His preoccupation with “protecting” her, his endless questions about how she was managing her money. All in the guise of wanting to make sure she was taken care of. Thank God she hadn’t stayed around long enough to turn everything over to him as they had planned once they were married.
“Jesus, how stupid can I get?” she whispered. She’d been prepared to give him everything. He probably would’ve found a way to get rid of her inside of six months.