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mean, we lived in a dive of an apartment, he drove my car since he didn t have one in
Nevada, and he had millions of dollars.
River s mouth dropped open and then he closed it, frowning. Millions?
She nodded. Loaded. He gave me this sob story about how women chased after
him for his wallet and how for the first time in his life he knew he was with someone
who actually loved him since I hadn t had a clue about his wealth.
I bet that helped.
Wrong. It hurt me deeply that he had lied to me from the get-go. I found myself
married to a stranger. I almost wished the truth hadn t come out. Everything changed.
He said there wasn t a reason to lie anymore and I needed to go home with him. It turns
out his master bathroom ended up being bigger than the entire apartment we d spent
the first year of our marriage living in.
That must have been better at least.
No. She frowned at River. My dad raised me pretty basic. Suddenly I found
myself thrust into this life I hated. Have you ever been to some stuffy rich-guy club? I
stuck out like a sore thumb. His friends were rude, their wives downright vicious, and
Kyle hadn t been easy to live with but he became unbearable at that point.
So you divorced him?
80
Raine on Me
I tried. It was the first time he hit me. We got into a screaming match and he told
me Marthums don t divorce.
River s eyes narrowed. Did you say Marthum?
Brit s heart did a little flop in her chest as she hesitated and then nodded. Yeah.
Kyle Marthum was my husband.
The chair hit the floor as River launched to his feet. One hand ran through his hair
while he paled, staring at her with a horrified expression on his face. Kevin Marthum s
only son? That Kyle?
River worked in the world of rodeo. She d known that and figured the name would
be familiar but she hadn t expected his dramatic reaction. Miserably, she nodded,
watching him.
Fuck. He let his hand drop. They back all the rodeo stars, the pros, and finance
most of the big competitions. If he bought your father s stables, he did it to convert it
into a training camp. He has dozens of them for his favorite riders.
I know that now.
Dark eyes closed, River s hand dropped to his side, he took a deep breath and then
his eyes opened again. It s a good thing I m not on the circuit anymore. He frowned.
Your ex-husband would make sure I never competed again. He paled again. Damn
it, Brit. I work a lot of those shows. They could have me banned as a wrangler.
I have been telling you that I need to leave and that Kyle could make your life
hell.
But you didn t tell me who he was, damn it. Anger flashed in his gaze but then it
faded. It doesn t matter. I m just a bit stunned. He bent, gripped the chair, and
righted it. He stared at her. It doesn t change anything.
Have you lost your mind? I just told you who he is. I warned you that he could
make your life hell.
I understand that. River sighed. I m still not fixing your car or letting you leave.
He sat again in the chair. Tell me the rest of it.
There s not much to tell, she lied. He had a lot of money. I filed for divorce, he
hired attorneys who blocked the motions, and he did a lot of shitty things to keep us
married.
His eyes narrowed again. Brit&
Fine. She nodded. It turned ugly, all right? He did everything to try to stop me,
including ruining my name after he circulated some awful lies about me. I couldn t get
a job, no one even wanted to rent me an apartment, and he started stalking me. The
police wouldn t arrest him. He had all that money, convinced them I had lied about
everything, trying to get more of a divorce settlement from him, and they bought it. I
had to live with my dad and Kyle did a smear campaign from hell until my father
ended up having a heart attack from the stress that killed him. Pain sliced through her.
Kyle, in effect, killed my dad with his bullshit and refusal to let me divorce him.
81
Laurann Dohner
I thought once you filed for divorce, that was it.
So did I until his attorneys filed motion after motion to stall the courts. I would
show up only to be told the date had been postponed and told to hire a lawyer. I never
had access to a dime of Kyle s money so I couldn t afford one. He made sure of that.
I m sorry.
He looked it too, Brit acknowledged, staring into his sincere gaze. I have to leave.
He ll find out I m here and he ll do or say horrible things to get back at me. He does
that, River. Anyone who helps me, tries to protect me, he goes after too. I had a few
friends who put me up after my father s death. Kyle spread rumors that they dealt
drugs until I left their houses. I wasn t about to let him ruin them the way he did my
father and me. I don t want that happening to your family either.
Is that what he did with your father? Made people think he dealt drugs?
Anger burned through her. No. Worse. I said my father raised me alone. My
mother died in a car accident right after I turned five. Kyle spread it around that my
father had killed her. You know, put her in the car and drove it off the hill where she d
lost control of her car. My father loved my mother, he never would have hurt her, but it
didn t stop Kyle from making those nasty accusations. It destroyed my father that his
neighbors and friends looked at him with suspicion and it broke his heart to even
consider the possibility that anyone thought him capable of something that horrific. He
never remarried, didn t date, even when I was in my teens and tried to set him up with
some single moms of my friends. He always told me no one could compare to my
mother in his heart and it wouldn t be fair to any woman to live in her shadow. Tears
slipped out. And Kyle made up those horrible things just to get back at me for refusing
to come home to him. He targeted my father for giving me a safe place to live.
Son of a bitch, River muttered, leaned across the table, and grabbed hold of Brit s
hand. He must be one hell of an asshole.
She used her free hand to wipe away her tears. Kyle is a bastard, River. He ll say
or do anything to punish anyone who stands in his way of making me pay for leaving
him. They have this family history of no divorces and it s almost as if his entire honor
depends on it remaining that way for him. I managed to get away and he won t ever let
it go. He s spiteful and he s not right in his head. I need to leave.
It s not happening. Let him make up anything he wants. We ve weathered some
bad rumors as Raines. Nothing he could say or make up would sway me from being
with you.
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