Taming the Moguls (15 page)

“Why did
you
agree?
Why would you marry the man who’d raped you?”

“I didn’t think I had any options. I had no
money, no degree, nothing. My dad made it crystal clear that if I
didn’t marry Ryan, he’d toss me out, and I’d be on my own. I knew I
couldn’t support myself and a child alone.”

Stupid!
He wanted to
shout.
How could you be so stupid!
“You
married a rapist to save the football program?”

“I married him to save my child. We planned
to divorce as soon as the baby was born. We never lived together,
he never touched me again, and he’s been out of my life…for a long
time.”

Tommy turned his head away when she stared at
him, her eyes searching. He didn’t know what he felt; he couldn’t
describe his feelings of hurt, betrayal, shock, and confusion. No
words seemed to encapsulate his feelings. “I don’t know what you
want me to say. I don’t understand how you could have gone through
with the wedding. How could you think raising a baby alone would be
worse than marrying the man who raped you and letting him off
scot-free? He could have raped someone else. He could have raped a
whole lot of girls. He could still be doing it.”

“I was eighteen,” she said, her voice deplete
of emotion. “I wouldn’t make the same decisions now that I made
then. I wouldn’t marry him. I would stand up to our parents, leave
home, and make something of my life by myself. Ironically, that’s
what I’ve had to do.”

“But you wouldn’t have told me.”

She paused, and he knew her answer. “No. Of
all the decisions that were made for me, that one was mine. I can’t
imagine a scenario where telling you would have done anything but
gotten you into trouble and caused you pain.”

“You don’t think I was in pain? You left me
in the dark, wondering for years if you were okay, wondering what
I’d said or done that made you leave without a word.”

“I’m not sure telling you, under any
circumstance, would have been in either of our best interests.”

“You wouldn’t have been alone.”

“I had his child, Tommy. You said yourself
he’s the spitting image of Ryan. Could you have stayed with me,
would you have stayed with me and raised him?”

An interesting question and one she’d made
moot. “We’ll never know, will we?”

“No, we won’t.” She used the napkin to swipe
at the tears on her cheeks before taking a deep breath and blowing
it out. “So, what now?”

Tommy glanced around, surprised to find the
snow piled at least three inches high on his window. “I’d like to
say we go home and let this sit for awhile, but we’ve waited too
long. It’s been cold for months, and the snow is sticking.”

“What do we do? Sit here until it melts?”

“It’s not melting anytime soon.” When he
flicked on the wipers, his hands balled into fists. If they didn’t
find refuge soon, they’d be stuck in the truck for days. “I’ve got
a friend with a cabin just around the bend. We should be able to
make it there.”

“Wait.” The strangled sound of her voice
didn’t help his mood. “We’re stuck here?”

“Looks that way.”

“If we can make it around the bend, surely we
can make it down. We aren’t even at the top.”

“We’re at almost ten thousand feet. Going
down means going around treacherous turns on sheets of powder and
ice. I’m not going to die trying when there’s a cabin a hundred
yards away.”

“But—”

“No buts, Gretchen. This time, this one time,
I get to make the decision. We’re staying here.”

Chapter 30

Shiloh bolted out of the car, slammed her
door, and marched across the pebbled ground to Lyle’s front door.
When her heel wedged between two potato rocks, she yelped and
yanked her foot free, leaving the shoe behind like a dead soldier
on the battlefield. She tugged off her other shoe and hobbled into
the grass, carefully navigating her way to the front door. She
pounded on the door, grateful to have an inanimate object to take
her aggression out upon. She loved the way the horse head
doorknocker leapt and crashed with every thump. “Horse’s ass is
more like it.” On the drive from the bank to the cabin, she’d found
her temper.

“You looking for Lyle?” a woman’s voice
called from behind her.

Shiloh whipped around to find a woman with
long dark hair carrying what looked like a food container. She wore
a cautious smile along with jeans and a heavy down coat. “Kevin,
his idiot brother.”

When the woman walked closer, Shiloh realized
the container was full of soup and the woman was pretty. Very
pretty. “I don’t think he’s here. His car’s gone.”

“Oh.” Shiloh glanced at the empty drive. “I
guess I should have realized.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Shiloh
Woodward, the idiot’s wife.”

“I figured. I’m Erica. Lyle’s…we’re…”

“I know who you are. Kevin told me Lyle has a
girlfriend. About time if you ask me.”

Erica’s head tilted. “He hasn’t had
girlfriends?”

“Well, yeah, but Kevin said you two are
pretty serious. That’s new for Lyle.”

The woman tried but failed to hold back a
smug smile. “Well…”

“Looks like neither of them are home.” Shiloh
glanced behind Erica. “Where’d you come from?”

“I live across the river. There’s a shallow
section where Lyle built up some rocks we use to cross.”

“That’s sweet. And convenient.” She narrowed
her eyes at the plastic container in Erica’s hands. “You know, if
you’re feeding him—Kevin, I mean—he’s never going to want me back.
I’m not exactly known for my cooking.”

“I am,” she said. “Known for my cooking, but
you don’t have to worry. He’s been pretty…down. I think he’s
missing you a lot.”

“He has a funny way of showing it.”

Erica twisted the doorknob to Lyle’s cabin,
opening the door. “I’m just going to leave this in the
refrigerator.”

Shiloh should have known they didn’t lock the
door. Lyle’s fancy computer sat on the table where anyone could
stumble in and take it. She looked around at the beige walls and
stone fireplace. “This place has come a long way.”

“They did a good job fixing it up. Lyle and
Dodge worked on it for months. I kind of miss the noise. Sometimes
it’s too quiet.”

Shiloh peeked her head into the kitchen and
then walked to a cased opening. “Are these the bedrooms?”

“Now they are. Kevin sleeps on an air
mattress in Lyle’s office.”

Shiloh swung open the door and stared at the
mattress topped with piles of blankets. That was where he chose to
sleep instead of with her in her parents’ home? Unbelievable.
“Cozy.”

“Hey.” Lyle came in the front door holding
Shiloh’s shoe. He walked straight to Erica and planted a loud kiss
on her lips. “I found this in the driveway. Are you missing a
shoe?”

Erica pointed over her shoulder at
Shiloh.

“It’s mine.” When he turned around and lifted
his brows, Shiloh said, “Where’s your idiot brother?”

“I don’t know. He’s your idiot husband.”

“Don’t I know it?” She walked over and yanked
the shoe from him. “You’re housing him, she’s feeding him, and your
mother’s probably babying him. No wonder he doesn’t want me
back.”

“You think he doesn’t want you back?” Lyle
asked.

“He’s sure not acting like he does.” She
leaned against the wall and eased her shoes onto her feet. “I’m
sick of waiting for him to figure things out. When you see him,
tell him I’m going back to Denver to get my stuff. When I come
back, he’d better have a plan. Not some half-baked idea, not some
plea to give him more time, but an actual plan.”

“I’ve got a plan,” Kevin said from the
doorway.

Shiloh turned and stared at her husband. She
hadn’t seen him since she’d refused to open her bedroom window. In
the daylight, with the sun at his back, she saw the muscle
definition through his long-sleeved T-shirt and the defined look of
his jaw. She’d never tired of looking at him, admiring his green
eyes and disheveled dark hair and the way he captured all the
energy from a room just by stepping inside. He’d been an angry teen
when they’d met, so unsure of his life in Hailey after the death of
his father. He appeared the same to her standing with his hands in
his pockets and his teeth clenched together.

“Well, Halleluiah,” she said. “It’s about
time.”

He stepped inside and closed the door. When
he reached for her hand, she let him take it. He disarmed her by
turning it over and kissing her palm. That one small brush of his
lips had her temper evaporating like mist in the wind. “Good grief,
you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

An unexpected lump formed in her throat as he
stared at her as if looking into her soul. When was the last time
he’d kissed her like that or really looked at her? She couldn’t
recall.

“I’ve got a plan for us, Shi. But I’m not
sure you’re going to like it.”

Chapter 31

“We’ll let you two talk.” Lyle grabbed
Erica’s hand and dragged her outside, shutting the door. “Sorry
about that.”

“No, I wanted to leave.” She walked toward
the river. “They need to clear the air.”

“No kidding. I’ve been trying to get him to
talk to her since he’s been here. He’s so stubborn.”

“Just like his brother,” Erica said.

Lyle stopped walking and faced her. “What is
that supposed to mean?”

“I mean you’re stubbornly refusing to let me
tell anyone about our engagement.”

“I thought you were okay with keeping it
quiet?”

“I was, but it’s killing me. I feel like I’m
lying to Jack whenever he calls.”

“I don’t want you to lie to your brother, but
keeping something from him is technically not lying.”

“That doesn’t help my conscience.” She
stepped onto the rocks and made her way across the river. “Pretty
soon we won’t to be able to use these rocks.” She looked at the
sky. “They’re forecasting snow tonight. We probably should have
taken your truck.”

“I don’t mind getting snowed in.” When she
gave him a saucy smile, he patted her butt. “You’ve got more food
than I do.”

“Is that all I’ve got? Lyle!” she screamed
when he tackled her onto the bank. “You’re the idiot brother!”

“Hey.” He kissed her neck and inhaled her
scent. No smell had ever made him feel more alive and more at home.
“Do you want me to tell you what you’ve got besides food?”

“I want you to get off of me.”

“You’ve got this fantastic way of snarling
that’s sexy and pouty at the same time.” He kissed the side of her
lips, and she stopped squirming. Her hands went limp where he’d
captured them against his chest. “You’ve got skin that’s as soft
and milky and kissable as silk.” She made a noise that had his
heart rate skipping. “And all that fabulous skin is wrapped around
a body that drives me to distraction every second of every day. I
can hardly concentrate on work or driving or anything from thinking
about you.”

“You make it hard to stay mad when you say
stuff like that.”

“I don’t want to make you mad.” He loosened
his grip on her hands. “If you want to tell your brother and
Olivia, we can.”

“No.” She brushed her fingers along his jaw.
“You wanted to wait. We’ll wait.”

Lyle dropped his forehead to hers. “I want to
get you a ring. I can’t afford what I want to get right now. When I
turn in the book, I’ll have enough.”

“Lyle, I don’t want you to spend so much
money on a ring. That’s silly. I’m not marrying you for a
ring.”

“I know.” He loved her that much more for
knowing it. “But here’s the thing. I’m only doing this once.
Marriage is forever in my book. When we have tough times, we work
through them. When we fight, we make up. When life throws us
lemons, we make lemonade—and knowing you, it’ll be the best
lemonade in the world. I want to get you a ring that shows you and
the world how much I love you, so you’ll never question it.”

Big willowy drops threatened to leak out of
the corners of her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re telling me this
while I’m laying on the cold, hard ground.”

“I’m sorry.” He wedged himself off and hopped
up, offering her a hand. She took it, and he pulled her into his
chest. “That better?”

She threw her arms around his neck, nearly
shoving him into the freezing river. “You say the most amazing
things. You take everything that’s in my heart, and it somehow
comes right out of your mouth. It’s like getting a gift whenever
you say stuff like that.”

“It’s what I feel.”

“It’s what I feel, too. I love you so much
and in so many ways. If I could tell you with words, I would.”

“You tell me in other ways—ways I can’t.” He
pulled back so he could look into her eyes. He wanted her to know
how much he appreciated the ways she fed his soul. “You show me you
love me every time you make me a meal, every time you sing a song
and let me listen.” She blushed and hung her head. If only he could
make her see herself as he saw her: a strong, beautiful artist with
a heart of gold. “Every time you smile at me, I see the love in
your eyes. That’s as good as words.”

“I’m going to do my best to make you happy.”
She grabbed his forearms and jumped like a firecracker about to
explode. “I’m about to burst with it.”

“That makes two of us.” His lips met hers,
and the feel of them—cold, soft, inviting—had him guiding her
backward toward her house. “You’re freezing.”

“So are you,” she said, barely breaking
contact to speak. “I’ll bet you’re starving.”

“For several things.”

She stopped, and he bumped into her chest. “I
took the soup to your cabin because I didn’t know when you’d be
home.”

“See,” he said, “that shows you love me right
there.”

She smiled up at him. “It also says you don’t
have dinner.”

He looked over his shoulder at the cabin.
Neither Kevin nor Shiloh had come out. “We could always go back for
it.”