Guilt settled across his shoulders. “Karly, there were a couple of reasons I didn’t tell you about my assets when we first met.”
“I remember you telling me about the owner’s stepmother being a gold digger and how hard it was to get the ranch back,” she said, sounding defeated. “I just wasn’t aware you were talking about yourself and the difficulties you had with her. But I had nothing to do with that.”
“I know.” He slowly set his coffee cup on the table. “Sean and I had hints of the way she was after Dad married her, but when he passed away she took the gloves off and made it clear she was going to do everything she could to cut us out and keep us from inheriting anything she thought she could turn into cash.”
“It’s unfortunate that she turned out to be so ruthless and I can understand you becoming suspicious of other women’s motives.” Karly shook her head. “But I didn’t know anything about you having money and you had no right to blame me for crimes I didn’t commit. And for that matter, never would commit.”
“I know, sweetheart, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am for that.”
He stared down at his loosely clasped hands resting on the table a moment before he took a deep breath and met her accusing gaze head-on. She needed to know all of the reasons behind his caution, even if those reasons were something he was less than proud of.
“I also had my own run-in with a woman several years back who tried to extort money from me,” he said, cursing himself for being such a fool.
“Once again, I had nothing to do with that,” she reminded him. He hadn’t expected her to make his confession easy on him and he deserved nothing less than her condemnation.
“I realize that, but I owe you an explanation and an apology.” He took a deep breath. “About six years ago, I was at a rodeo in San Antonio and won the bull-riding event. Instead of celebrating with a can of beer and a good night’s sleep like I should have, I went out on the town.”
“You got drunk,” she said, cutting right to the heart of the matter.
Blake nodded. “Yeah. And I should have stopped with that and gone back to the hotel.”
“But you didn’t,” she mused.
“No. I went back to a cheap motel close to the bar.” He hesitated. “I was with one of the buckle bunnies.”
“What are those?” Karly asked, taking a sip from her coffee cup. Her doubtful expression hadn’t changed, but she was at least showing an interest in his explanation.
“Rodeo groupies,” he answered, wishing he’d never heard of them, either. “Some of them are harmless, but others want to sleep with rough stock riders who win.”
“Why?” she asked, frowning.
“For the bragging rights,” he said, disgusted with himself for falling into that trap. “It’s like a feather in their cap to say they’ve slept with this or that rider.” He shook his head at his foolishness. “Anyway, I spent the night with one of them and a month later she showed up claiming I had made her pregnant.”
Karly’s eyes widened. “You have a child?”
“Good God, no,” he said hurriedly. “It turned out that she wasn’t pregnant at all. She had asked around and found out that I had money and was in line to inherit at least part of the Wolf Creek Ranch. She decided I was an easy mark for a big payoff.”
“She thought you would pay her to end the pregnancy?” Karly asked, looking affronted.
He nodded. “Just about the time I offered to raise the baby on my own, I learned she wasn’t pregnant and never had been.”
Karly looked thoughtful for a moment as if she was processing what he had told her. “I suppose something like that would leave you with an overabundance of caution.”
“It had been my experience not to let people know that I was more than just another dust-covered cowboy trying to make a living off riding bulls and herding cattle,” he said, nodding. “Then I met you and before I found a way to tell you about myself, we got married and started making plans for you to move to the ranch.”
“Why didn’t you tell me then?” she asked, her tone accusing. “Was it because you failed to get me to sign a prenuptial agreement before the wedding ceremony?”