Taming the Moguls (17 page)

“We need to get our stuff from the
house.”

“We will. We can make a plan to go up, bring
some stuff down.” He kissed one cheek and then the other. “We’ll
figure this out, Shi. It’s just a bump in a very long road.”

Her hands rested on his shoulders, her scent
enveloping him, intoxicating him the way it always had. “So I can
tell Mrs. Lyons we’re home for good?”

“Definitely home for good.” He moved his lips
to her neck while his hands unbuttoned her blouse. It had been so
long, too damn long since he’d had his hands on her.

“Kev?” she asked, her voice already a throaty
whisper.

“Hum?” His lips moved south, following every
button.

“How much does the training cost?”

He paused. Damn. He’d forgotten to mention
that little detail. “Let me worry about that.” He concentrated on
the task at hand—getting her out of her clothes and under him as
quickly as possible.

She had other ideas. “No.” She pushed him
back. “No. Don’t tell me not to worry my pretty little head about
this. If we’re starting over, we both have to change.”

She was right, of course, but he wasn’t sure
how much longer he could wait to be inside her. “You’re right,
you’re right. It’s…expensive.”

“How expensive?”

He dropped his head in her lap. He should
have known she’d derail him. “Do we have to talk about this
now?”

“Kevin…”

“All right, all right.” He sat up, looked
into her weary eyes, and braced for the scream. “It’s ten thousand
dollars.”

Chapter 34

Dodge walked into the Hailey diner for lunch
and sat down at the only available booth along the wall. He spotted
the group at the table next to him. They piqued his curiosity, be
he didn’t have any interest in joining. He pulled the plastic menu
from the holder and perused its contents even though he knew it by
heart.

Sarah was late, of course, but he expected
that. She’d get caught up in her stories and wouldn’t look at the
time until she came up for air. If he were a smart man, he’d have
gone home for lunch instead of meeting her at the diner. It was
their habit to have lunch together at least once a week, and the
diner had been their usual place. Since Lyle moved out, Dodge
needed to be more creative and go home for lunch. Lunch at home
included dessert—his favorite variety.

As he shoved the menu into the holder, she
walked in, smiling at everyone and waving to a few. She eased into
the booth across from him and leaned across to give him a kiss.
“Sorry I’m late.”

“Figured you would be.”

“I got caught up in a scene that’s been
giving me fits. I think I worked it out.”

“You always do.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re awfully
agreeable today. What gives?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking we need to
shake things up a bit.”

“Oh? I like the way that sounds.”

“How about next week I come home for lunch?”
He waggled his brows. “Like the good old days.”

“I see.” She sat back, and her lips formed a
sexy smirk. “You want lunch
after
dessert.”

“Or before. I’m not picky.”

“No,” she said. “You never have been about
that.” After the waitress took their order, Sarah’s eyes kept
zoning in on the table over his shoulder. “Some place you’d rather
be?” he asked.

“Huh?” She looked back at Dodge. “That’s a
curious group, don’t you think?”

“Bunch of know-it-alls.”

She screwed her face into a comical frown.
“You know what I mean. It’s an STS meeting.”

“So?”

“So, why weren’t you invited? And, more
importantly, where’s Tommy?”

He sighed. Her quick mind was always two
steps ahead. “I told you the younger Garrity’s been asking
questions about the meeting we had with Holcomb’s lady.”

“He’s still poking around?” She tsked and
shook her head. “Tommy needs to shut him down.”

“Patrick’s like a dog in heat. It’d be easier
to stop Miguel’s dog on the scent than to keep Garrity’s big nose
out of other people’s business. Besides, Tommy’s got his
reasons.”

“I know you think I’m being romantic, but I’m
kind of glad this woman from his past has made an appearance. He’s
too young to be so closed off and fanatic about work.”

“Now you sound like Garrity, poking your nose
where it doesn’t belong. Tommy doesn’t need anyone else butting
into his business.”

“That’s not stopping them.” She nodded to
father and son Garrity and their posse of yes men.

“Not your business, sweetheart.”

“I know, I know. How has Kevin seemed to
you?” she asked.

Dodge shrugged. “Fine. He took off early
today to go talk to Skip about the crop dusting job.”

“Really? Do you think they’re going to stay
in the valley?”

“Sounds like it, although I’m not sure
where.” His antenna went up when she stared at him and bit her lip.
“No. I know what you’re thinking, and the answer’s no. We just got
rid of Lyle.”

“Come on, honey. It wouldn’t be forever. We
let Lyle stay for over a year. How can we say no when Kevin’s in a
bind?”

“It’s not just Kevin. Do you really want them
to move in with us with no set date for them to move out? What if
their house never sells?”

“I wouldn’t mind. Besides, they don’t want to
stay permanently any more than we want them to stay. I won’t refuse
our home to them if they ask.”

“What about our lunch dates?”

She reached under the table and patted his
leg. “Rain check?”

The waitress delivered their food. Between
bites, Dodge pouted and Sarah kept her ears peeled to the table
behind them.

“Did you hear that?” she whispered. “They’re
talking about Tommy, wanting to replace him as head of STS because
he won’t use the dirt Little G dug up on the lady from
Holcomb.”

“Sarah…” he warned.

“Aren’t you going to do something? You can’t
let them turn on Tommy. Besides, the only reason STS has any
credibility is because he’s involved. If they squeeze him out, half
the valley will go too.”

Damn it, she was right, but that didn’t mean
he liked the idea. He dropped his fork, wiped his mouth, and
scooted out of the booth, narrowing his eyes at her as he went.
Within two steps, he was at the table. “Gentlemen.”

“Dodge.” The men nodded, and Garrity closed a
file on the table between his plate and his father’s. “How’s
business?”

“Good,” he said. “You boys working on STS
without your leader?”

“Tommy’s got his agenda,” Patrick said.
“We’ve got ours.”

“Yours includes digging up dirt on an
innocent woman and slandering her reputation. Is that how we’re
doing things now?”

Patrick leaned back and tucked his thumbs
into his front pockets. It was a wonder he could find the pockets
considering the size of his belly. “We won’t know if she’s innocent
unless we dig.”

“Guilty until proven innocent?” Dodge shook
his head at the elder Mitchell. “Thought you were a lawyer, not
judge and jury all wrapped into one.”

“This isn’t a matter of law. It’s a matter of
livelihood. Since when are you afraid to get your hands dirty?”

Dodge lifted his hands and flipped them over,
inspecting them for dirt. “Mine are clean. I plan to keep them that
way. So does Tommy. If the man who’s gotten us this far doesn’t
want to inflict personal harm on a woman, I stand with him. No
matter which way this thing falls, I want to be able to look my
wife in the eye and myself in the mirror when it’s over.”

“We want to be able to look at our town, our
valley and know we did whatever it took to save it.”

“Won’t be much worth saving if we lose our
values in the process.”

“We disagree,” Mitchell said.

“I guess some things don’t change.” Dodge
started to turn but stopped. “Tommy’s a good man. He’s done more to
help our cause than all of us combined. If he’s not willing to harm
a woman’s reputation, I’d say those are more points in his
favor.”

“Price of your land will go up if this thing
goes through,” Patrick said to Dodge’s back. “How do we know you’re
not playing both sides? You and Tommy both.”

“Price of everything will go up. This game
you’re playing, it has a price too, one you might not be able to
pay.”

Sarah cinched her lips tight when he sat back
down but patted his hand.

“I’m done dealing with those fools,” he
said.

“You dealt with them good. You did the right
thing. I’m proud of you.”

“I enjoy calling out stupid, but Tommy will
be the one to suffer.”

“Are you going to tell him what they’re up
to?”

“He knows,” Dodge said. “Trust me, he
knows.”

Chapter 35

Gretchen found a blanket in the bedroom
closet and brought it to the den. Tommy was busy stacking wood in
the fireplace. They hadn’t spoken since she’d washed her face. He
must be mad about being stuck in the cabin with her for God only
knew how long. She knew how she felt being alone with him. She
could only sit on the couch and wonder what went through his
mind.

Gretchen found herself watching the muscles
of his back and arms bunch under his shirt as he placed wood in the
fireplace. His hips appeared narrow in contrast to his powerful
muscles flexing beneath his jeans. Desire, so long buried, felt
foreign inside her body. It sprang to life along with the fire that
began to smoke under Tommy’s care.

He clapped dirt from his hands and stood,
eyeing her before walking to the hallway. She heard water running
and assumed he was washing the grime from his face and hands. She
wrapped herself in the throw from the back of the leather chair and
left the larger blanket for Tommy.

He stood in the doorway and stared, studying
her face. “The fire will heat this place up shortly. You should
move closer, but be careful. The wood’s dry. It may pop out at
you.”

She did as he suggested and moved to the
floor in front of the fireplace, taking the throw with her. He
waited until she was settled and walked to the kitchen, opening
cabinets and drawers. “He’s got canned soup and chili, enough for a
couple days. It’s not fancy, but it’ll get us through.”

“Whose cabin is this?” she asked.

“A friend.”

He wasn’t offering any specifics. It
shouldn’t have hurt, but it did. She’d admitted her most painful
secret, laid everything out for him to judge, and he couldn’t even
spare the details of whose cabin they were staying in?

He opened several cans, dumped the contents
into a pan, and carried the pan and a wooden spoon to the fireplace
with a long oven mitt on his hand. He held it over the flame while
she stewed and fretted. She felt helpless, exhausted, and
useless.

“His name’s Bosco. I’m not sure what his real
name is. He used to work at Bear Stream. He keeps this place for
weekends when he comes into town to ski. He’s rented skis from me
for going on six years now.”

“Oh.”

He switched arms on the pan.

“I can help with that when your arms get
tired.”

He looked at her. “You stay put and keep
warm. Your color’s getting better. You were gray for a while.”

Great. He looked more handsome, more
masculine than ever, and she was gray. Fantastic.

“I’m wondering how you survive a Chicago
winter?” he asked.

“We stay inside.”

He pursed his lips. “Good strategy.” He
stirred the soup and switched hands, studying the fire as his
expression hardened. “So what happened after the baby was
born?”

Gretchen took a fortifying breath. She
thought they’d put that away. Apparently not. “We divorced within a
month. Ryan’s parents had the papers drawn up before Alex was born.
He provides child support, a figure I’m sure my father negotiated
in my favor, and we left open the possibility of visitation. I
argued against that point, but my dad said Ryan and his parents
would cut the child support payments to the legal minimum if the
visitation wasn’t included. I wasn’t allowed to stay at home with
our parents, so I needed the money. I signed the papers, found an
apartment in the city, and did the best I could with a new baby and
no help.”

“My mom and your dad didn’t help with
anything?”

She tried to shrug away the painful truth.
“Phone calls to check on us, promises to visit that never came to
be. We were on our own.”

His eyes sharpened on her face before he
returned his attention to the soup. He carried the pan to the
kitchen, poured the contents into two bowls, and delivered hers
with a spoon, napkin, and a bottle of water.

“Thank you.” She waited for him to retrieve
his bowl and sit next to her on the floor. He crossed his ankles
and sampled the soup. “Not bad.”

“It’s good. I was hungry.”

“I could tell.” When she stared at him
questioningly, he said, “Your color. You get pale when you need to
eat.”

How did he know that? How did he remember
those little details and yet not know how fast her heart beat with
him sitting next to her in front of a roaring fire? “You get surly
when you’re hungry.”

He grunted and took another bite. “Was it
hard? Being on your own with a kid?”

“I did the best I could.” She had no words to
describe the depths of her love for the child that changed her life
and the accompanying loneliness from losing Tommy and contact with
everyone she knew and loved. “Every day was about survival. I had
no way of knowing what life would be like with an infant—the lack
of sleep, the stages that seemed to shift every time I thought I
had a handle on things. The first few years were a blur.” She took
a bite and had some water as the memories flooded back. She still
didn’t know how she’d managed to make it through each day.

“I got a job at Holcomb when Alex was three.
They had an inter-office daycare, so it was perfect. Holcomb’s
wife, Elise, ran the daycare, and we became friends. I was so happy
to be around people again. I’d become pretty isolated, and the
social interaction was wonderful. I did a good job, finished my
degree, and got promoted to Holcomb’s management team. This job at
Bear Stream is my first as a project manager.”