The Proposal & Solid Soul - Brenda Jackson [51]
When her cell phone rang, she didn’t recognize the caller but figured it might be one of her parents calling from another number. “Yes?”
“This is all your fault, Bella.”
She froze upon hearing her uncle’s voice. He was angry. “My grandsons might be going to some youth detention center for a couple of years because of you.”
Bella drew in a deep breath and remembered the conversation she and Jason had had earlier that day. “You should not have talked badly about me in front of them.”
“Are you saying it’s my fault?”
“Yes, Uncle Kenneth, that’s exactly what I’m saying. You have no one else to blame but yourself.”
“Why you… How dare you speak to me that way. You think you’re something now that you’re married to a Westmoreland. Well, you’ll see what a mistake you made. All Jason Westmoreland wanted was your land and that horse. He doesn’t care anything about you. I told you I knew someone who wanted to buy your land.”
“And I’ve always told you my land isn’t for sale.”
“If you don’t think Westmoreland plans to weasel it from you then you’re crazy. Just mark my word. You mean nothing to him. All he wants is that land. He is nothing but a controller and a manipulator.”
Her uncle then hung up the phone on her.
Bella tried not to let her uncle’s words get to her. No one knew the details of their marriage so her uncle had no idea that she was well aware that Jason wanted her land and horse. For what other reason would he have presented her with that proposal? She wasn’t the crazy person her uncle evidently assumed she was. She was operating with more than a full deck and was also well aware Jason didn’t love her.
She glanced up when Jason walked through the back door. He smiled when he saw her. “I thought you were going to take a shower.”
“I was, but I got a phone call.”
“Oh, from who?”
She knew now was not the time to tell him about her uncle’s call—especially after all he’d said earlier. So she decided to take that time to tell him about her parents’ decision.
“Dad and Mom called. They aren’t coming after all.”
“What changed their minds?” he asked, taking a seat on the sofa.
“Not sure. They didn’t say.”
He caught her wrist and pulled her down on the sofa beside him. “Well, I have a lot to say, none of it nice. But the main thing is they’ve decided not to come and I think it’s a good move on their part because I don’t want anyone to upset you.”
“No one will,” she said softly. “I’m fine.”
“And I want to make sure you stay that way,” he said and pulled her closer into his arms.
She was quiet as her head lay rested against his chest and could actually hear his heart pounding. She wondered if he could hear the pounding of her heart. She still found it strange how attracted they were to each other. Getting married hadn’t lessened that any.
She lifted her head to look up at him and saw the intense look that was there in his eyes. It was a look that was so intimate it sent a rush of heat sprinting all through her.
And when he began easing his mouth toward hers, all thoughts left her mind except for one, and that was how much he could make her feel loved even when he was pretending. The moment their lips touched she refused to believe her uncle Kenneth’s claim that he was controlling.
Instead she concentrated on how he was making her feel with the way his mouth was mating with hers. And she knew this kiss was just the beginning.
CHAPTER NINE
DURING THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Bella settled into what she considered a comfortable routine. She’d never thought being married would be such a wonderful experience and could only thank Jason for making the transition easy for her.
They shared a bed and made passionate love each night. Then in the morning they would get up early and while he sat at the table drinking coffee she would enjoy a cup of tea while he told her about what horses he would be training that day.
While he was away she usually kept busy by reading her grandfather’s journals, which had been upstairs in her bedroom and so were spared by the fire. Because she’d been heavily involved