Free Curvy Girls: Claimed By The Cowboy (The BBW and the Billionaire Rancher) by Georgette St. Clair Page B

getting her own way. It didn’t end well when she figured out that I meant what I said all along, that I wasn’t looking for anything serious with her.”
    “She said you called her every day up until you got married,” Clayton plowed on, sneering.
    “Really? I’d love to see the cell phone records that back that up,” Ty smiled coldly.
    Clayton faltered for a minute. He’d gone too far. “You could have gotten a disposable phone…” he muttered.
    “Right. Like that makes any sense.  You’re not going to be able to dig up any calls between the two of us after the day of that charity ball, because there were none. And there were no calls from me to her the month before that charity event, either, although there were five or ten calls a day from her to me at the ranch.”
    When Clayton’s eyes lit up, Ty added coolly “She left me voicemails begging me to call her back and give her another chance.  Asking me why I couldn’t see that we were meant for each other.  I still have the voicemails,” and Clayton’s face fell.
    Winston turned to Ty, brow wrinkling. “You’ve got to admit that this marriage to Abigail pretty much came out of the blue. You arrived in town and married her, what? A week and a half later?”
    “I’ve known Abigail my whole life. I’ve always had feelings for her. When I came back to town, yes, I moved quickly.  I knew that I belonged here in Crooked Creek, on this ranch, and she belonged by my side as my wife.”
    Ty turned to Clayton. “While we’re on the subject, how long have you known Ludmilla?”
    “A year,” Ludmilla sneered. Clayton winced;  he clearly hadn’t worked on his story with Ludmilla before coming out here.
    “Really?” Ty smiled like a man about to lay down his winning hand at poker.  He turned from Clayton to Ludmilla with a slow smile spreading across his face.
    “Because my private investigators say you only arrived in America three months ago, and I’ve got plenty of pictures of Clayton with other women over that time period, and even after you arrived in America. It appears that you two only met about a month ago.”
    Clayton shot a look of dull fury at Ludmilla, and Ludmilla actually flinched, and then abruptly hurried from the room. It looked as if she were blinking back tears.
    A shiver of alarm rippled through Abigail. Was Ludmilla actually afraid of her husband? She was a bitch and a gold-digger, but no woman should live in fear of an abusive spouse.
    Unfortunately, she doubted that Ludmilla would take very kindly to Abigail offering a helping hand or a sympathetic ear.
    Winston sighed loudly, bringing her attention back to the three men in the room with her.
    “Both of you men have brought up some pretty convincing evidence that the other’s marriage could be fake. So far, Ty, you did indeed get married first, so the trust and the law would appear to favor you. But I just don’t know what to do at this point.”
    “Stick around the ranch for as long as you like.  You’ll see that what Abigail and I have is real. I can’t think of what more to do other than that; I’m sure as hell not going to invite you into our bedroom to watch the marital act.”
    Winston’s face flushed. “I’m not asking for that, Ty. That was uncalled for.”
    “So are accusations that my marriage is fake. And I’d like Clayton and the gold-digger off my property, tonight.”
    “I can’t do that until the trust is finalized, Ty.  Until then, you both have the right to live on this property. I’m going to stay in the guest house; my suitcases are already there. I’ll make my recommendations to the board of trustees in a couple of weeks.” Winston, face puckered and unhappy, turned and left the room.
    Clayton flashed his brother a look of triumph. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other over the next few weeks. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go spend some time with my wife.” And he also turned and left.
    Ty turned to Abigail,