His uncle’s glittering eyes met his. “Word is that you and the missus haven’t been to church or otherwise been seen together as a couple.”

Chase moved his hat and swiped his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. “Been busy. I’m trying to run a ranch here.”

“If you don’t watch your step, you might not have a ranch to run. You know as well as I do that Royce isn’t about to give up what he thinks is rightfully his.”

“He has no reason to think that. This ranch was started by the McKnights, and by God, it will die with them!”

Baxter’s face darkened with disapproval. “I think you should take the threat from Royce seriously.”

“He doesn’t worry me. You know he’s all hat and no cattle.”

His uncle frowned. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that. He’s been making a lot of noise in town. He’s sayin’ your marriage is a farce, and he aims to prove it.”

“Let him try.”

Baxter stared him straight in the face. “A baby wouldn’t hurt.”

Chase stared at him. “What?”

“I said—”

“Forget it!” Not only had Emily made it clear that theirs was a marriage in name only, but bringing an innocent child into the world for such a selfish reason was wrong. Dead wrong. “Not gonna happen.” Something is his uncle’s face gave Chase pause. “What is it you’re not tellin’ me?”

His uncle let out his breath.

“Tell me!”

A pained expression crossed his uncle’s face. “After Michael died, your father took to gamblin’.”

“I know he enjoyed his card games.”

“Oh, he enjoyed them all right. He almost lost the ranch because of them. That’s why he took out that loan.”

Chase’s horse shifted restlessly beneath him. Leaning forward, he stroked Rebel’s neck. “And?”

“When your father couldn’t keep up the payments, he almost lost the ranch a second time.”

None of this was a surprise to Chase. He remembered his father selling off cattle just to survive. None of the local ranchers could keep up with the exorbitant interest rates the loan company demanded. As a result, many local ranchers went into default. This allowed the loan company to sell some of the land at great profit to foreign investors and corporations.

Uncle Baxter continued. “Your father would have lost the ranch had Royce’s mother not offered to pay off the loan. In return, he agreed to marry her and give her son equal consideration as his heir.”

Chase drew back in his saddle, bile rising in his throat. “Pa told me he used his faro winnings to pay off the loan.”

His uncle shrugged. “Guess he didn’t want you to know the truth.”

Chase frowned. “Are you saying that’s the reason my father married Priscilla? To save the ranch?”

“I don’t know that he had much choice. It was either agree to her terms or lose everything. Priscilla wanted him to split the property in half, but your father had reservations about dividin’ the ranch. Especially since you and Royce never got along. He was also concerned about you runnin’ off again like you did after Michael died. He believed runnin’ away was a cowardly act and proved you lacked in character.”