Undercover Christmas

“I have to be honest with you, Ms. McCumber, you aren’t what I expected,” Jabe said. “When I heard that a woman was calling here, claiming to be pregnant with Chase’s child, well—” He waved a big hand through the air as if it went without saying what he thought. He settled his gaze on her, his look almost kind, but Marni feared he could spot her for the fraud she was.

“Tell me, if you wouldn’t mind, how did the two of you meet,” Jabe said.

Marni licked her dry lips and related to Jabe the story Elise had told her. But unlike El, Marni began at the beginning. “It started with a little fender bender in Bozeman last June.”

“Really?” Jabe said. “In one of the ranch trucks or one of Chase’s cars?”

Marni met his eyes. So this was a test. “The ranch’s white truck, the three-quarter ton with the stock rack and the words Calloway Ranches printed in dark blue on the doors.”

He nodded with an apologetic smile. “Please continue.”

Marni told him everything El had told her. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how much time and patience a person had, Elise had a way of recounting the smallest, most insignificant details, often overlooking the big picture. It was the thespian in her.

“I felt so awful about running into him that he asked me to dinner. At dinner, something just clicked between us,” Marni said, condensing Elise’s account. “The rest is history, as they say.”

“How long did you date?” Jabe asked.

Date? “We spent four days together.”

He lifted an eyebrow at that. Marni couldn’t say she blamed him. Only Elise could fall in love over dinner and think four days constituted a lifetime commitment.

“In August I realized I was pregnant.”

“I’m surprised Chase wouldn’t use protection,” Jabe said.

Marni was surprised this conversation had taken such a personal turn, and had it been her who was pregnant she would have told him it was none of his business. But if there was a chance of getting Jabe on Elise’s side—“We always did, except for one night in a hot-springs pool near Yellowstone,” she said, lowering her gaze, wondering why she felt embarrassed when she hadn’t even been there.

When he said nothing, she continued. “Chase called me in August to say he couldn’t see me anymore. He said it had to do with his family and was very complicated.”

Jabe looked confused. “Why didn’t you confront him in person before this?”

Her chin went up defiantly. “I decided to have the baby on my own.” Not unlike what Marni herself would have done in the same situation.

“What changed your mind?” Jabe asked.

“I wanted to be sure this was Chase’s decision and not yours,” she said truthfully. Well, as truthfully as she could, all things considered.

“I see. You think I have that kind of control over my son?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. After meeting Chase, Marni wondered just how much control anyone could wield over the man. “Do you?”

He shook his head ruefully. “Chase is his own man, I assure you. But I know my son. If you’re carrying his child, he’ll accept responsibility.”

She wished she was as convinced of that as he seemed to be. Could Elise have been wrong about Jabe Calloway? Could he be an ally rather than the diabolical family patriarch? That would mean, though, that Chase was the louse Marni suspected he was. In her heart of hearts, she’d hoped there would be a good explanation for Chase’s denial of Elise and her baby. Marni was a sucker for happy endings.

“When I called yesterday, Chase pretended not to know me and told me not to call again,” Marni said. “That doesn’t sound like a man who accepts responsibility.”

“That doesn’t sound like Chase.” He frowned as he studied Marni openly. “I’m sure you’re aware that Chase has had some…problems since the accident”

Accident? “When he broke his leg,” Marni said with a silent groan as she realized her mistake. She should have shown more concern for his injury or at least asked about it. Elise would have. “It looks like he’s getting around fine now. Did he break it skiing?”

“You haven’t heard then?” Jabe asked, sounding surprised. “I just assumed that you had and that was why you were here.”

He made her feel guilty. And that made her mad. “I would have sent a card, but Chase wasn’t even taking my calls.”

“That was my fault,” Jabe said. “I was the one who told Hilda to turn away your calls. I was afraid you were trying to take advantage of my son because of his injury.”

“Take advantage of his broken leg?” she asked.

“You don’t know about Chase’s memory loss?”

Memory loss?

“Chase suffered some temporary memory loss because of the accident.”

“I’m sorry, what accident was this?” she asked, wondering if he really believed she was buying the memory loss.

“A hit-and-run driver,” Jabe said. “Chase saved my life.”

Marni felt a good shot of repentance. Chase had been injured saving his father’s life and she’d thought Jabe was lying about Chase’s memory loss.

“Right after the accident, he couldn’t even remember his sisters-in-law,” Jabe said. “Now it’s just gaps in his memory, he says.”

Wait a minute. What was he saying? “You think El—I might be a…gap…in his memory?” she asked incredulously. Wasn’t that a bit too convenient?

“Fortunately, his memory seems to be coming back. What do you do in Bozeman?” Jabe asked, changing the subject.

Without thinking, she said, “I own a boutique. With my sister.”

“Really? Is it profitable?”

Oh, so he thought she’d gotten herself pregnant to get the Calloway money. “Very,” she said, then reminded herself she was supposed to be Elise, and added, “My sister runs the shop. I’m a theater stage designer.”

“Very enterprising,” Jabe said, eyeing her even more closely. “You build sets locally?”

“I just returned from a theater tour in London,” she said smugly, proud of her sister’s talents and her success, completely forgetting she was suppose to be El. “I’m not after your money, Mr. Calloway. I am more than capable financially of raising this child alone if that becomes necessary. I came here to give your son one last chance to decide whether or not he wants to be part of this baby’s life. It would appear, he’s already made his decision.”

Jabe Calloway seemed to flinch at her candor. His blue eyes took on a remote look. His face contracted in pain. For a moment, she thought he might be ill.

“Are you all right?” Marni asked in concern.

He blinked at her as if he’d forgotten she was there, took a bottle of prescription pills from his pocket, popped two in his mouth and washed them down with a glass of water on the table next to him.

“I’m fine. Just allergies. What did Chase tell you about my relationship with him?”

Another test? Marni met his gaze, wishing he hadn’t asked. “I know the two of you have never gotten along.”

“Did he tell you why?”