Billionaire Flawed 1(89)

Margaret giggled. Her friend was so soft on the outside and rough on the inside. And she loved her for it. She was very glad they were friends.

“Do you want me to come to the house with you or are you going to the stables?” Ellie asked. “I have to go back to the stables because Jack asked me to bring him some of the milk from home.”

Margaret frowned. “He asked you to bring milk? What for? The horses don’t drink milk.”

Ellie gave her an exasperated look. “The milk isn’t for the horses, Margie! It’s for Jack!”

They both laughed heartily.

“I’ll go with you to the stables. I want to see if Mark is there. I think we should talk.”

“Do you want me to come with you? You know, you might want to wait on talking to him about it until you figure out a plan.”

Margaret hesitated. “I don’t know. I’ll have to see when I get there. I’ll see what kind of mood he’s in. I don’t want to deal with a lot of hassle or anything. And I don’t want to get emotional in front of the men.”

“They might think you are in hysterics. When will you tell him about the baby?”

“Well, I guess I should tell him at the same time, shouldn’t I? I mean, it is the reason I found out and the reason it must be stopped.”

Ellie shook her head. “Your baby is very important. But he needs to stop because he’s going to lose everything he owns if he doesn’t.”

Margaret sighed. She couldn’t wrap her brain around the idea that everything she had been working so hard to accomplish and earn throughout the months she had been here could suddenly be taken away and she could be left with nothing. Her first thought was to run back to her father. But she couldn’t do that now, not with a child on the way and love in her heart for the man she married.

She couldn’t believe he had been lying to her the whole time. He just hadn’t seemed like the type.

Her father was the only hope she had. She prayed she could help her husband change his ways and she prayed that her father would be able to help them with the bank. Those were her only options.



Chapter Four

The kitchen door swung shut behind Margaret, and she stood in the breezeway, watching the front door. She knew Mark would come through any moment and she was mentally preparing herself for what she wanted to say.

She had spent the last day or so with Jack, at Ellie’s request, and he had filled her in on the track and the debts that Mark had built up. It was true that he had a problem. It wasn’t just the betting, it was the fact that he wasn’t very good at it and wouldn’t let anyone pick horses for him. He always insisted that he would get the right one and he rarely did. When his horse won a race, he was elated, using the win to justify the losses. And it was never enough, certainly not enough to pay the bills they had looming over their heads.

The house was in jeopardy, the horses were in jeopardy, and the stables were in jeopardy. They really could lose it all. She thought about her growing baby and what they would need to do to prepare for it. It was a scary thing. She was older than most of the women who were giving birth. By the time those women were her age, they were on their second or even third child. Doctor Joe had warned her that it could pose a problem but not to worry too much about it.

Jack had given her copies of the papers Mark had signed when he bet everything he had and started in on the property. He gave her the financial documents that she needed to understand how much was owed and when it was due by.

Her heart thumped as she waited for Mark to come in. She’d heard the wagon pull up some time ago and knew that he had to be about done settling in the horses for the night. So she stood there and waited, her mind racing with anxious thoughts just as quickly as her heart beat in her chest.

The door squeaked when Mark pushed it open. He took a few steps inside, saw her standing there and stopped to stare at her.

“What is that look?” He asked, his voice tense. She assumed he could tell that she knew what was going on. Only a guilty man could have a face like that. And she had grown to know his expressions fairly well over the last few months. He was open with his feelings.

Or at least she had thought so.

Could she trust him now?

“Mark, we have to talk about what’s going on. You need to know something.”

“What do you mean ‘what’s going on’? You tell me what’s going on.”

She lifted one hand to show him some of the papers she had gripped in her fingers. “We owe everything to the bank, Mark. We’re going to lose everything you’ve built up here!”

Mark nodded. “I’m glad you said everything I’ve built up here. This is my house and that’s my stables, you need to remember that.”