Rewind & Go: A Blue-Collar Billionaire Romance (Sander's Valley Book 1) (8 page)

He ground his jaw. “So you see, I’m at your disposal.”

No promise that she’d call him. No questions about the state of his business. Nothing. “Ronnie?”

She flashed him an overly bright smile. “What?”

“You’ll call me, right?”

“Sure. If I need you, I’ll call.”

But he saw the truth in her eyes. She wouldn’t.

Chapter Eight

Ronnie’s gut churned. Why did Kyle have to be so damn perfect? An amazing lover, forgiving, open about the hardships of his life, and he cared…about her. Dammit, he still loved her, even after she’d told him she’d left because she hadn’t wanted to marry him. Where was the anger and resentment? She deserved both.

The car stopped. She glanced at the house where she’d shared more family meals than she could count. Actually, they were the only ones she’d enjoyed. During the school year, it had only been her and her mom. There was never any fighting over the last roll or people arguing about nonsense stuff like who’d left the toilet seat up. Mundane things, but she’d loved being a part of them.

“Don’t be nervous, Ronnie.”

She met his gaze. Truth or lie? She didn’t want to lead him on. Just because she was regretting how she’d handled the past didn’t change anything. Her life was in Virginia. His was here. Their lives had gone in two completely different paths. Lying to Kyle didn’t sit well with her, however. Especially after he’d shared intimate details about his life.

“I can’t help it. I feel so damn bad about the way things ended between us. I was a coward.”

“You were a teenager. Look, I…” He took her hands in his and rubbed her knuckles. “I probably should’ve waited to get you a ring. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t leave me.” He snorted. “I guess I forced you into it, huh?”

“I’d convinced myself letting you go was a noble act because I loved you so much.”

He released her hands and glared at her. “How the hell is breaking my heart noble?”

Here was his anger. Finally. She matched his glare. “You wanted a wife, kids, and a perfect little life right here in Sander’s Valley. I didn’t. I let you go so you could find it.”

He glanced out the windshield. “I wanted you, Ronnie. The other stuff?” He faced her. “Dreams. I didn’t give a shit where we lived as long as I got to call you wife. And if the only kids we ever had were furry and four-legged, then so be it.”

Oh, please no.
Regret tightened her chest, made it hard to breathe. “But you always talked about raising a family and growing old here—”

“Sure I did. I’m a Sander.” He waved at the rolling acreage and the mountains in the distance. “This is mine. Well, partially mine. When my parents die, it’ll be passed on to me and my brothers.” He shifted his gaze to her. “This is all I have, Ronnie. The lake and farm with its walking paths is all I ever had to offer you.” He leaned close, and his scent invaded her lungs. “For a girl worth billions, I was nothing. Am. Still. Nothing.”

“You’re an amazing, honorable man, Kyle Sander. That’s what you are.”

He cupped her face in his hands and rubbed his thumb over the corner of her mouth. “Really, doll?”

She nodded.

“Then why won’t you admit you still love me?”

Her car door opened, saving her from coming up with an excuse. Wyn stood on the side of the truck with a big smile on his face. Brown hair and eyes, he looked a lot like Kyle, only a little softer with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

“Dad told me to come out here and make sure the two of you weren’t making out.” He glanced between them. His smile faltered when he met his brother’s eyes, but it warmed again when he focused on her. “I’m so glad you’re back, Ronnie. I’ve missed you.”

She matched his grin. It was impossible not to. She’d always loved Wyn. He was like the little brother she’d never had. “Thank you, but I’m not back, just passing through.”

“I told her what you said about her car, that it’d be a good three or four days at least until you got the part in you need,” Kyle said.

Wyn’s brows pinched. He glanced at Kyle. His eyes widened, and he nodded. “At least. Had to special order it. You know, with it being a classic and all.” He cleared his throat. “But it’s not a total loss, right? You get to reconnect with Kyle and us.”

“Right.” She shifted in her seat.

Kyle got out and walked to her door, bumping Wyn’s shoulder. “Watch it, kid. Ronnie’s my date for tonight.”

Wyn stepped back, palms up. “She’s been yours forever. I’m just being nice.”

Kyle took her hand. She could see the unspoken acknowledgment in his eyes. He considered her his, always had. She glanced away.

“You’re going to keep your mom from attacking me, right?”

He rolled his eyes, all signs of his anger gone. “Of course. I’ll shield you with my body.” His gaze heated. “Or flee with you to somewhere safe and more private.”

All the intimate places he’d touched came to life. “Naughty. You’re a naughty boy, Kyle Sander.”

He tugged her close and kissed her, slowly and deeply. “I’m a man now, Ronnie Axel. A man who knows exactly what he wants and won’t rest until he claims her.”

Her breath escaped in a rush. “Kyle, I—”

“You’re going to give me a week, and we’re going to see where this goes. No commitments. No obligations. We’re going to love each other. That’s it. Got it?”

She felt herself nod.

His smile in response turned her heart over. He gave her another quick kiss. “Thank you, doll.”

He took her hand and led her into the fire. No matter what he said, she knew Mrs. Eliza Sander too well. That woman would rip Ronnie a new one for hurting one of her little boys.

* * * *

“If it isn’t Veronica Gwendolyn Axel. So, who exactly did you meet that convinced you to leave my son?”

A full name. Heaven help me.
Ronnie cringed, glad she stood behind Kyle. Eliza would see the guilt in Ronnie’s eyes and think she had dumped Kyle for another guy. She hadn’t, but Eliza wouldn’t bother asking the real reason for the remorse stamped on her face.

“Mom, enough. We didn’t come here for you to start a fight.” Kyle reached behind him and took her hand, drawing her closer to him. “If you’re going to be rude, we’ll leave.”

Ronnie gathered her courage and stepped from behind Kyle’s back. “I…umm…”

Eliza looked her up and down, but the anger lessened as she focused on her face. “What happened to you, child?”

“There was a break-in at the art gallery. I was attacked. My mom was killed.” The words rushed out.

Eliza hurried forward and grabbed her hand, pulling into a fierce hug. “Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry.”

Just like that, the animosity in the room faded. Kyle’s dad wrapped his arms around her from behind, and she was sandwiched between the two people who’d acted as surrogate parents to her.

Memories rushed back. More regret and sadness choked her. She bawled, heart-wrenching sobs she hadn’t given in to over the week since the attack. There hadn’t been time. She’d been too busy with the funeral arrangements, the legalities of her mom’s death, and the shock she’d felt after her mom’s will had been read.

Eliza finally released Ronnie and led her into the kitchen. She heard a rush of hushed words and curses, but the swinging door muffled Kyle and his dad’s conversation. Eliza urged her sit at the round breakfast table and brought her a glass of lemonade.

“I’m glad you came to Kyle when you needed him.”

Ronnie took a sip of her drink. She set it down and swiped her finger over the condensation on the glass. Was that why she’d come? Her subconscious leading her back to the man who’d once promised to always be there for her? She didn’t have an answer. Avoidance was easier and safer.

“My mom left instructions for me to bring a bunch of paintings she’d made to Dad. She’d written her will right before he’d died.” She glanced at the older woman. “Anyway, I needed a break from the craziness of my life and decided to come out here and hang them in the cabin.”

Eliza tilted her head to the side. “That was a smart choice. It’s peaceful here, a good place to come in order to reevaluate your life.” She narrowed her eyes. “That is the true reason you came, isn’t it? Those paintings could’ve waited until you’d grieved.”

She shrugged and dropped her gaze to the worn tabletop. “I suppose. Living in our big house alone was hard. Too many memories.”

“You never moved out?”

“No. There was enough space to separate our lives. Besides, I liked having someone to eat dinner with every night.”

“No man in your life?”

She shook her head. “Nothing exclusive.”

Eliza took the seat in front of her. “Why did you leave? Kyle loved you.”

She glanced at the door separating them. “Because I was a coward. It was easier to walk away than look him in the eye and tell him I didn’t want to marry him and live here.” She waited for Eliza’s condescending words, but Kyle’s mother only watched her with her insightful brown eyes.

“I couldn’t. Do you understand?”

Still no response. Eliza held her gaze.

Ronnie looked away. “I had my mom, the gallery, the Axel legacy. By the time I had second thoughts and wondered if we could’ve made it work, too much time had passed. I figured Kyle had found the wife he’d desperately wanted, and I couldn’t bear learning of the happy life he’d built without me. It was easier to just move on.”

“He didn’t want a wife, Ronnie. He wanted you.”

She sighed. “I realize that now, but it doesn’t matter. Ten years have passed. We’re different people with our own established lives.”

“And are you happy with yours?”

“Sure.” But she wasn’t positive that was the truth anymore. She rubbed at her bare ring finger with her thumb. Longings rose. She pushed them aside. Nothing had changed. Her life was in Virginia. His was here.

Without her mom, she had double the responsibilities. Already she was working sixty hour work weeks. There were shows scheduled into next year, charity events, auctions she’d promised to attend. It wasn’t as if she could drop any of those things and drive to Sander’s Valley every weekend. Kyle couldn’t afford to come see her all the time either. Gas was expensive, and it wasn’t as if he’d take money from her to pay for his trips.

No, it wouldn’t work. It was better to slink away and hide from her mistakes. She couldn’t change them or herself.

* * * *

“How do you plan to win her back?”

Kyle tore his gaze from the kitchen door and focused on his father. “I have no clue. I thought to do it by reminding her of what living in Sander’s Valley was like, but she doesn’t want to live here. It’s the reason she left.”

“Don’t you think it’s more important to remind her of what you can give her?”

He rubbed at the back of his neck and thought about how good she felt in his arms, how her cries of passion completed him. “I’ve started.”

“And?”

Kyle glanced at his dad, an older version of himself with streaks of gray in his hair. In his fifties, he still looked good with a muscled frame and a deeply tanned face from working outside. “I don’t know if it’ll be enough. She’s a billionaire, Dad. I have debt and a floundering business. Only thing I can claim is my house, and that’s because you own the land.”

His dad frowned. “I didn’t think Ronnie was like that. She never seemed to care that you came from a working family. Hell, she shoveled manure with you.”

Kyle chuckled at the memories of working side by side on the farm. “It was a way for us to spend time together. We had so little.”

“And you have even less now. Why are you wasting it here with us?”

He let his gaze drift to the kitchen door. “Because she needs Mom. She’s hurting and feeling guilty. Mom’s got a way with people, you know? She makes them think and helps them come up with the right choices without them knowing it.”

His dad grinned. “That she does. She’s a good woman.”

Kyle faced him and crossed his arms over his chest. “So’s Ronnie.”

His dad glanced from him to the kitchen door at Kyle’s back. “You don’t still hate her for what she did? Leaving you behind?”

“No, I don’t hate her. Angry? Damn straight. She wasted ten years. Some of the best of our lives. We’ll never get that back.”

“And I’m sorry. I really am.”

Kyle cursed and pivoted on his heel. He hadn’t meant for Ronnie to hear his words. Blaming her for the lost time together wouldn’t do them any good. “I know. I forgive you for it.”

Her features tightened. “But you won’t be able to forget it, will you?”

He wanted to tell her that he could. Dammit, he knew it’d be the safest choice, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie. He should’ve told her right off why he didn’t want to go to college in Virginia. But no, he had to hold on to his pride. Look at where it had landed him. Alone.

“You’re right. I won’t. Doesn’t mean we can’t start over.”

“I never said I wanted to.”

Ice dripped from her words. He clenched his hands and fought his anger. “As friends. That’s how we started in the first place.”

“I’m not looking to repeat the past.”

The front door opened, stopping their argument. Levi and Jack walked in. Although twins, they looked nothing alike. Levi was blond and thin, while Jack wore ruggedness like a second skin. They were rarely seen apart except for when they retreated to their own houses, identical log cabins on either side of the mountains framing Sander’s Valley. Kyle and Wyn had homes by the lake. Their parents’ place sat in the middle of the farm. The rest of the rolling acreage was empty.