Taming the Moguls (5 page)

Lyle picked up a blanket and tossed it into
the basket by the couch. “Don’t you have a job to get back to?”

“Not anymore.”

Lyle’s brows jerked up in surprise. He
grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed one to Kevin. “Looks
like you’ve got a story to tell.”

Kevin took a hardy sip and sat on the couch.
“Didn’t this used to be in Mom’s office?”

Lyle nodded. “You going to keep
stalling?”

Kevin rubbed a muscle in the back of his
neck. “I got laid off. Last one hired and all. When I was getting
the news, Shi blew a tire. I’d turned my phone off and didn’t call
her back even though she’d called three times. I was trying to
figure out how to tell her I’d been fired.”

“Yikes.”

“It gets worse. When I pulled up in the
driveway of the house I can no longer afford, this guy pulled up
behind me and Shi got out. Turns out he’s our neighbor, but I
didn’t know that at the time. I flipped out and accused her of
cheating. She slapped me. When she shouted the truth, I realized I
deserved it, but my fuse was already lit and we went at it pretty
hard. Nothing physical,” Kevin explained when Lyle’s mouth fell
open. “We just got a lot off our chests.” He took another sip. “I
never would have believed she could pack a bag so quick. She took
off, and I haven’t heard from her since.”

“I haven’t seen her around town, and believe
me, I’ve been looking since I saw you at the wedding.”

“I’d like to think she’s licking her wounds
the way I’ve been licking mine.”

“I imagine they’re pretty deep after six
years of marriage.”

“Six? Not even four, dumbass. Good thing you
majored in lit.”

“Four, six,” Lyle waved a hand. “It feels
like forever.”

“Yes, it does.”

“So what are you going to do?” Lyle
asked.

“On which front?”

“Both, I guess.”

“Dodge said he could use some help with the
cows.”

“That sounds like fun,” Lyle joked. Helping
Dodge, or any farmer, in the coldest months of the year was the
exact opposite of fun. Kevin especially hated manual labor.

“I talked to Skipper over at the airport.
They’re looking for someone to run the crop duster come spring if
Manny decides to retire.”

“He’s been grumbling about retiring for
years,” Lyle said, “but his wife’s not doing well. It might be a
good time to call it quits.”

“That’s what Skip thought.” Kevin sighed.
“Never thought I’d be wishing for the crop duster job.”

“Not quite as fancy as airline pilot.”

“Not even close.”

“You really think you’ll stick around? What
about the house you just bought?”

“On the market.” Kevin stared at the label on
his beer as if he could see that house. “Not much moves around the
holidays, and if it doesn’t sell until spring, that ought to eat up
what’s left of my savings.”

“Does Shiloh know?”

When Kevin looked up, his answer seemed
redundant. “No.”

“Don’t you think you should tell her? What if
she heads home and sees a sign in the yard?”

“She won’t. I know her. She won’t leave her
mama’s ‘til I’ve groveled and promised her the moon. This time, I’m
not going to do that.”

“Why not? Seems to me like some groveling is
in order.”

“I screwed up, no question, but I’m done
being a lesser partner in this marriage. I let her talk me into
buying a house we can barely afford. I let her spend money we don’t
have until we’re in debt up to our ears. I didn’t pick up the phone
when she called because I knew I would get yelled at like a damn
kid. I’ve worked my ass off trying to make her happy, and all she
ever did was whine and nag.”

“Sounds like you might not be ready to kiss
and make up.”

“I don’t want to make up.” Kevin placed the
empty beer bottle on the coffee table. “I want to start over. I
love her, I always have, but we need a fresh start. Here’s as good
a place as any.”

“Does Dodge know how long you’re planning to
stay? He was damn near giddy when I moved out.”

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

Lyle shook his head as realization dawned.
“Uh-uh. No way. This is my place, and I don’t have room.”

“Dodge said if I was planning to stay longer
than a week, I had to find my own place. I’m broke, Lyle. I can’t
even afford a dump. If I eat up what little savings I’ve got on an
apartment in town, I won’t be able to pay the mortgage and the bank
will take the house.”

Lyle jumped up and strode around the small
space. “I just moved in and Erica—”

“Lives right across the river in a spacious
house of her own.”

“Damn it, I can’t just move in with her.”

“Why not? I know you two are hitting the
sheets with that stupid grin and all.”

“She’s different. I don’t want to live with
her until…”

“Until?” Kevin asked. “Holy shit. You’re
thinking about marriage?”

“Thinking about and doing it are two
different things.”

“One and the same, little brother. They’re
practically one and the same.”

“You’re just saying that because you want my
cabin.”

“I’m saying that because I need a place to
stay and because it’s the truth. You don’t think about marriage
until you’ve met the woman you intend to marry.”

“Says the recently separated man who married
his middle-school girlfriend.”

“Does it make you feel better to kick me when
I’m down?” Kevin asked.

“Stay your week at Mom’s, and let me think
about it.”

“What’s to think about? I’m either bunking
with you or I’m out on the street.”

“You could stay with your wife.”

“Starting fresh means no groveling. Come on,
Lyle. Are you going to make me beg?”

Lyle rubbed his throbbing head. Damn it. He’d
just gotten settled and just taken a huge step with Erica. Lyle
couldn’t catch a break. “Fine. I’ll give you the office, but
there’s no bed in there, so you’d better bum a sleeping bag off
Mom.”

“You’re putting me on the floor?”

“It’s there or the couch.”

“Fine. I think Mom has a blow up mattress
she’ll let me borrow.” Kevin stood and held out his hand. “I
appreciate this. When you and your little woman have a fight, I’ll
return the favor.”

Lyle reluctantly shook his hand. Great. Just
great. He’d envisioned a roommate, but not one with balls and
facial hair. His fantasy of sharing intimate meals with Erica in
the cozy cabin he’d renovated disappeared as fast as Kevin did
after Lyle agreed to let him stay.

Chapter 10

Tommy brought the cold weather inside the Tap
when he jogged from the ski shop to the restaurant. The menus
fluttered as he pulled the door closed. A chorus of “Hey, Tommy”,
hat tips, and waves greeted him as he looked around. He slipped
into the vacant seat next to A.J. Dodge. Meredith delivered Dodge’s
burger and a cup of steaming coffee for Tommy.

Dodge acknowledged him with a grunt before
biting into the burger. Tommy added sugar to his coffee and waited
for Dodge to chew and swallow.

“You got a minute?” Tommy asked Dodge.

“From the size of this burger, looks like
I’ve got about ten.” He wiped his hands on the paper napkin.
“What’s up?”

“I got an email from Holcomb.”

“The
Holcomb?”

“The one and only. He wants to send a guy
down to meet with me about Bear Stream.”

“Interesting.” Dodge took a sip of his Coke.
“You going to do it?”

“I’m inclined to, if for no other reason than
to see what he’s got to say. I’m sure he’s hoping to bulldoze over
us country bumpkins, but I’m not stupid enough to be swayed by
false promises.”

“I’d be shocked if you were.”

“I wanted to get your take on the meeting.
See what you thought.” Tommy swiveled to face Dodge. “You’ve
articulated—in a straightforward and honest way—the implications of
a development the size of which they’d like to put at Bear Stream.
You’ve seen it first hand from both sides.”

“I have. Hell, you’ve seen how just the
possibility of this thing going through has land prices on the
rise. Taxes will be next. Before you know it, generations of
ranchers and farmers will start selling out because they can’t pay
the taxes or the value of the land is too much to resist. Working
their land will seem like a waste of time.” He munched a fry.
“Water supply, water quality, the effect on the wetlands and the
wildlife, not to mention the businesses on both sides of the pass.
Economically and environmentally, a development the size they’re
proposing has fingers with very long reach.”

“Exactly. We’ve said, as a group, that we’d
be willing to accept a compromise if we’re in jeopardy of losing,
and as long as Holcomb’s been at this, I don’t think he’s going to
give up now.”

“Can’t imagine he would.”

Tommy gulped his coffee when his eyes felt
heavy from sitting still. “So, I’m going to go to the meeting. I’ll
listen, take notes, and see which way the wind blows.”

“I’d do the same.”

Tommy pushed his cup away. Any more and he’d
feel jittery. “I was hoping you’d say that because I’d like you to
come along.”

“Me?” Dodge froze while lifting his burger
from his plate to his mouth. “Why me?”

“For all the reasons you just gave, plus your
base is in Hailey. Like you said, this thing has fingers. All my
businesses are in the Lower Fork, so having someone along from
Hailey would help. Besides, you’re a rancher and landowner. The
development will affect you in a way it won’t affect me. You might
process the information differently because of your
perspective.”

Dodge dropped his burger and sighed. “I don’t
know.”

“You know how…passionate some folks at STS
are about stopping Holcomb. Most days, we feel like we’re fighting
a losing battle. If I go alone and come back willing to listen,
willing to compromise, they’re going to think I drank the Kool-Aid.
If you go too, and we come back singing the same tune”—he
shrugged—“they might just listen.”

“Anyone else going? Mitchell Garrity?” Dodge
asked, and scrunched his face as if he’d bitten into a lemon.

“No one but you and me, if you agree.”

“Fine. I’ll go as long as there’s not a
Garrity on board. I don’t trust either one of them.”

Tommy smirked. “Patrick’s the one who rubs me
wrong.”

“They put the ass in passionate,” Dodge
deadpanned.

Tommy let out a barking laugh and slapped
Dodge on the back. “You got that right.”

“When’s the meeting?” Dodge asked and resumed
eating.

“Next week sometime. I’ll write back and let
you know. Any days not work?”

“I’ve got a shipment coming in on Tuesday.
I’d rather not have to deal with this then.”

“Not on Tuesday,” Tommy said. “Easy enough. I
appreciate your help with this, Dodge.”

“No sense you killing yourself alone when
this thing affects us all. Most folks figure the development is
somebody else’s problem even though we’ll all feel the effects. You
know better and are willing to stand up so our voices get heard. If
anyone else was asking, I’d have told them to fuck off.”

Tommy stifled a grin. “To be honest, that’s
what I expected.”

“I like you, Tommy. You work hard—harder than
most—and you keep your nose clean. You look after your family and
your businesses and the valley. I respect that.”

Tommy was humbled. Dodge was a decade older
than him—too young to be a father figure—but he was a solid man and
highly respected. Tommy had hoped his father would one day utter
those words, but he’d been gone a long time. Tommy thought his need
to hear that kind of praise had died with him. Apparently not. His
mother, alive and kicking in Chicago, had and would never utter
such a compliment. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from
you.”

“It’s the truth.” He pulled his wallet from
his back pocket when Meredith slid the bill across the counter.

“It’s on me.” Tommy crumbled the ticket
before Dodge could fetch his cash. “I appreciate your help.”

Dodge shrugged and held out his hand. “Let me
know about the meeting.”

Chapter 11

Gretchen answered her cell on the second
ring. She was relieved to hear the voice on the other end. “Robert,
how are you?”

“All’s good back at home. Alex is keeping us
entertained.”

“I’m sure he is.” She pulled her rental car
into a convenience store and parked along the side. “He said you
took him to a basketball game and you sat courtside.”

“The best seat in the house.”

“You spoil him, Robert. You and Elise
both.”

“We love him, Gretchen. He keeps us young.”
Robert and Elise Holcomb had played an essential role as
pseudo-grandparents, but no one could fill the void left by his
father. Alex was desperate for a father. As much as Gretchen
despised Ryan, in the beginning, she hadn’t tried to keep them
apart. She was too young and scared to do anything but survive. She
knew Ryan had no interest in the child that had provided the only
stumbling block in his seemingly perfect ascent to stardom.
“Besides,” Robert continued, “he told me you’d already gotten him a
gift.”

“You asked me to become familiar with the
area. There’s an antique store in Del Noches that has the most
wonderful Indian relics. I can’t wait to see the look on his
face.”

“So, what do you think of the valley?”

Gretchen looked out the window at the naked
trees in a nearby park and the cars lazily moving through Hailey’s
main drag. “I think it’s nice. Cold, slow, and quaint are the words
that come to mind. It could rival Chicago for the Windy City
title.”

“Yes. I recently discovered someone’s applied
for a wind study. It got me thinking.”

“You’re always thinking.” Robert never let a
business opportunity pass him by. “Have you set the date? I’m
anxious to get home and see Alex.” She couldn’t hang out in the
valley and avoid Tommy forever. People were friendly enough, but a
few more days spent driving and poking around and they’d start
asking questions. She’d risked driving past Tommy’s businesses
during the day. As expected, they were thriving, but she hadn’t
caught a glimpse of him. She desperately wanted to see his house in
the daylight but couldn’t risk getting caught.