Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [86]
Closing her eyes, she forced herself to try to sleep, but only managed to doze fitfully.
“Margaret.” Sadie’s voice gently woke her.
Her eyes flew open. Sunlight poured into the room. Her mouth felt dry and her eyes ached. Propping herself on one elbow, Margaret looked around. “What time is it?” she demanded.
“Long past the time you normally rise.”
Throwing off the covers, she reached for her jeans, but stopped when the room started to sway. She fell back onto the bed.
“Don’t hurry. Everything’s under control.”
“What about the men?” This was calving season; she had responsibilities.
“Matt’s with them.”
At the sound of his name, Margaret clenched her fists and vaulted upright. “What’s he doing here? I told him to get the hell off my land!”
“He’s your husband,” Sadie stated calmly.
“Thanks for reminding me.”
The housekeeper smiled sardonically. “You’re welcome.”
With her head swimming and her stomach heaving, Margaret grabbed the bedpost and hung on, certain she was about to be ill. It took a determined effort to breathe normally.
“I’d like you to make an appointment for me with the best divorce attorney you know,” she said.
Sadie calmly shook her head. “I’m your housekeeper, not your secretary.”
“Fine, I’ll do it myself.” She’d assumed Sadie would be only too happy to comply.
“You’re the one who married him.”
“Go ahead, rub it in. I was stupid, but believe me, this isn’t a mistake I plan to repeat.” She’d already made one colossal error in judgment and she’d pay for it the rest of her life. She’d learned her lesson. Love wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. It was like a wild animal that you thought you’d tamed—you could never completely trust it.
“What about the child?” Sadie asked, focusing her gaze on Margaret’s abdomen. “That’s his child, too.”
“Are you sticking up for him?” Margaret cried. Not only had her husband lied to her, now her staff had taken his side.
Sadie grimaced. “Matt Eilers is a bastard and he deserves to be shot.”
“Let me be the first one to volunteer,” Margaret said, and she’d let Sadie guess exactly where she intended to aim the gun.
“You married him.”
If Sadie reminded her of that one more time, Margaret thought she’d scream. “It was a mistake!”
“Yes,” the housekeeper agreed, “but not nearly as big a mistake as divorcing him would be.”
“How can you say that?” Margaret asked. The one person she’d counted on was Sadie. They weren’t close, but the housekeeper had known her longer than anyone. This betrayal cut her to the bone; surely Sadie could see that. She needed comfort and sympathy, not judgmental comments and bad advice.
“Right or wrong, you married him, and you loved him. The child you carry is his. The baby deserves a father.”
“Tell Sheryl that.”
“That’s something I’ll leave up to you and Matt,” Sadie said gravely. “That’s for you to work out.”
Thirteen
Matt thought he’d lose his mind if he spent another night sitting in the bunkhouse staring at the wall. It was April now, and Margaret hadn’t said a word to him in two weeks. Correction. She’d said several words he didn’t care to repeat. Every effort he’d made toward reconciliation had been rebuffed.
He’d realized early on that his wife wouldn’t react well to the news of Sheryl’s pregnancy, but he’d had no idea that the line between love and hate could be so thin. Margaret passionately hated him. He felt it in her contemptuous stare every time he met her eyes. She wanted him off her ranch, and after two weeks of constant rejection, he was at his wits’ end. Perhaps it would be best if he did leave. Margaret had made her intentions clear: His life would be hell as long as he stayed there. She’d personally see to it.
His friends were few, and not knowing where else to turn, Matt headed into Buffalo