Page 55 of A Montana Fake Marriage

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 hewouldn’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 wasmore 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.

Ifthey 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.

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