Taming the Moguls (8 page)

When he got out of the shower, he found Kevin
alone on the couch with a football game on low. “Sarah make herself
scarce?”

“I think she drove over to Lyle’s. She said
something about checking out his new paint colors.”

Dodge grunted, popped the top on a beer, and
stifled a sigh as he sank into his corner. “Hiding never solved
anything.”

“I’m not hiding.”

“Have you seen her?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Then you’re hiding,” Dodge said.

“I trudged all over town today. That’s not
hiding.”

“You know where she is, you know what you
need to do, so go do it. Unless you don’t want to fix this.”

Kevin blew out a breath. “I do want to fix
it. Not fixing it isn’t even on the table.”

“So mosey on over to the table. The stakes
are too damn high to fuck around. You love her. You’ve always loved
her. Go get her back.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is.” Dodge ran a hand over his face
and let out a frustrated groan. “I love your mother. If she left
me, which by the grace of God she hasn’t, nothing would stop me
from getting her back, including my stubborn pride. Memories won’t
keep you warm at night or be there for you when you’re old.”

Kevin stared at his beer and mumbled, “You’re
already old.”

“Don’t I know it?”

“I want her back, but we have to start over.
I let things get out of hand. I let her set the tone for our
marriage, and I won’t go back to that.”

“Okay, fine. So be a man, admit you were
wrong, tell her you love her, and explain that things need to
change. One of you has to make the first move, and from where I’m
sitting, it should be you.”

“I know, I know. I’ll go see her
tomorrow.”

“What’s wrong with right now?” Dodge
asked.

“I need to think about my move.”

“The only move you need to make is out of
here. I want my house back.”

Kevin nudged Dodge with his shoulder. “You
like having us here.” When Dodge slammed his brows together and
shot him a look, Kevin said, “Who would you pick on if we weren’t
around?”

“Your mother.”

“No way,” Kevin said. “You’re as whipped as I
am.”

“Yeah, I am, but my woman hasn’t left me. Not
yet, anyway.” He grinned.

Chapter 16

Wood chips flew and landed like confetti at
Tommy’s feet. His muscles sang from the exertion, but he felt
nothing but the urge to hit and hit hard. He drew in a deep breath
as he lifted the ax, and he welcomed the sting of the cold air
hitting his lungs. The ax whapped as the log split clear through
the middle, each screeching yank to pull the ax out created another
ring of sweat on Tommy’s shirt.

He couldn’t say how long he’d been at the
task he’d put off for too long, but the pile of wood he’d tossed
aside to stack had risen to his waist. He’d yet to exorcise his
demons and the memories that had flooded back. Gretchen as a shy
teenager skulking around when he’d been too angry about his
parents’ divorce and his mom’s remarriage to deal with her grief
over losing her mother. The way she’d morphed into a woman,
taunting him around every corner. The sweet and desperate relief of
their surrender and the feeling he’d never found with another
woman. God knew he’d tried, but eventually he stopped trying and
tucked love safely away where it couldn’t hurt him anymore.

One look, one syllable from that
whisky-coated voice of hers, and he’d plunged right back into the
past. Tommy was done with the past. He’d come to the valley at
twenty-two, ready to start over and get reacquainted with his
father. He hadn’t intended to get sucked into his dad’s second
family. He’d married a gentle woman after escaping the
sharp-tongued wrath of Tommy’s mother. Olivia and Tommy had bonded
from the very beginning, and the glue only hardened after their
father’s passing.

He’d set the past aside and eased into life
with a mission to carry on his father’s reputation as a respected
businessman. Tommy had succeeded on all fronts until the day before
when his past had collided head first with his future. Gretchen had
derailed him once before. He’d be damned if he’d let her do it
again.

“Your back’s going to be screaming in the
morning.”

Tommy whipped his head around. Patrick
Garrity stood beside his truck and whistled at the pile of wood.
“What are you doing here?” Tommy asked.

“Been looking for you. You weren’t answering
your phone, and I couldn’t find you in town. Only place left was
here.”

Tommy wiped his brow and seemed shocked to
find his shirt soaked through. Now that he’d stopped, the cold air
bristled his skin. “I had some stuff to do around the house.”

“You got enough wood there to last all winter
and then some.”

“I had a tree fall.”

“You heard of a chain saw?” Patrick
asked.

Tommy tossed the ax down and loaded his arms
with wood. He walked toward the bin by the shed in the back.
“What’s up?”

Patrick picked up a couple of logs and
followed. “Wanted to know how the meeting went yesterday. Didn’t
think I’d have to track you down to find out.”

“It went.”

“And?”

“It was the same old song and dance. We
should be happy with the influx of tourists and the economic uptick
and not worry our simple little heads over things like water and
pollution and taxes.”

“So the guy was a prick?”

Tommy stood up straight, irritated by his
initial instinct to protect Gretchen. “He was a she, and the
meeting was a waste of time.”

“A woman?”

“What difference does it make?” Tommy started
back toward the pile with a wheelbarrow he’d retrieved from the
shed.

“I don’t know,” Patrick said. “It just seems
kinda weird.” Patrick helped him load the wheelbarrow. “So where do
we go from here?”

“Same place we’ve been going. Keep our eyes
open and our ears to the ground until the environmental impact
study is released.”

“She didn’t mention any type of concessions?
Lower residential units? Smaller commercial space?”

“Nope,” Tommy said.

“Think we can sway this lady to our side?
Might be easier than a man. How old was she? Was she hot?”

Tommy tossed a log into the wheelbarrow after
shooting Patrick a withering stare. “That’s the best you can come
up with?”

“You’re single. I’m divorced. I’ve slept with
women for lesser reasons.”

Tommy tightened his grip on a piece of wood
and didn’t even feel the sting of the splinter that pierced his
finger. “Don’t go there.”

“Women divulge things to their lovers.”

Tommy unclenched his jaw and clapped dirt
from his hands after tossing the log into the wheelbarrow. “We do
this above board.” Although the thought of siccing Patrick on
Gretchen did have a twisted kind of appeal. “We’ve come this far
doing everything right. It’s not worth selling our souls.”

Patrick let out a howling laugh. “She must be
dog ugly if you equate sleeping with her to selling your soul.
Maybe I’ll ask Dodge. Heard you let him sit in on the meeting.”

Tommy should have expected Patrick’s
jealousy. “I wanted another man’s take on the meeting. Waste of
both our time.”

“I’m sick and tired of waiting on that damn
study. What is taking the forest service so long?”

“Maybe no news is good news.” Tommy wanted
Patrick gone. He was tired, freezing, and his mood was getting
worse by the minute. Tommy couldn’t take an afternoon off without
somebody coming around.

“Or maybe no news gives us time to do some
digging.”

“What kind of digging?”

Patrick shrugged. “I don’t know. Everybody’s
got a weakness. Holcomb’s proved too high up on the food chain to
touch, but his lady friend might have some low hanging fruit.”

Tommy stood up straight under the guise of
stretching his back. He needed to see Patrick’s expression. “What
do you mean?”

“Everyone has a price. Maybe we can afford
hers.”

“Drop it, Patrick.”

“Why? You had no problem with it when I had
Daddy’s detective look for dirt on Holcomb.”

“Holcomb’s different. He’s in charge. She was
just sent here on assignment. Her life doesn’t change whether the
development goes through or not.”

“You think she’s not going to profit when
this thing gets approved? She’s probably getting a cut of the
action.”

“Doesn’t matter. We don’t operate like that.”
Patrick mumbled something under his breath as he followed Tommy to
the shed. “What’s that?” Tommy asked.

“Nothing.” They stacked wood in silence until
the wheelbarrow was empty. “I gotta hit the road.” Patrick dug his
keys from his pocket. “I’ll see you around.”

Tommy watched Patrick’s truck disappear down
the drive and shook his head. Stupid hothead thought he knew
everything.

Chapter 17

Lyle gritted his teeth as he helped Kevin
carry his suitcases inside the cabin. Just because he’d agreed to
let his brother stay with him didn’t mean he was happy about it.
His brother had been a pig growing up, and Lyle expected the
cabin—and his office—to remain in a state of disarray. Lyle was
forced to move his desk into a corner of his already cramped
bedroom to allow for the queen-sized blow-up mattress their mom had
let Kevin borrow.

“If this is temporary, why do you have so
much stuff?” Lyle asked.

“I’m not going home, remember?”

“Have you heard anything on the house in
Denver?”

“Nothing, but I wasn’t expecting to. It’s
only been a week.”

It felt like a year. “You talked to Shiloh
yet?”

“I’m going today. Figure I’ve given her
enough time to get over being mad.”

“So why are we bothering moving you in and
setting up this bed? If she’s over being mad, won’t you make other
arrangements?”

“Like what?” Kevin plugged the mattress into
the wall, and it began to inflate. “Stay with her parents? No
way.”

Lyle dropped his hands on his hips. “Here?
Both of you here?”

“I don’t know.” Kevin let out a breath and
looked up at Lyle. Lyle had never seen such a vulnerable expression
on his brother’s face. “Go ahead and make fun. I lost my job, my
home, and my wife. Thanks to Dodge, I’m working. If I’m lucky
enough to get my wife back, we’re going to have to bum some favors
off family until we’re back on our feet.”

“I’m not trying to kick you when you’re down.
God knows, I lived with Mom and Dodge for almost a year before they
kicked me out.”

“Technically, you’re the reason I was only
allowed to stay a week.”

“Well, you
are
married.”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Come on, Kev. You know she’s coming
back.”

“I don’t know. Hopefully I will today.”

Lyle looked around at his new home and
sighed. Images of Erica wrapped only in a blanket prancing through
the den to the kitchen brought a smile to his lips. No more walking
around naked. No more sex by the fire. They’d be locked in his room
trying to keep their voices down. They could stay at her place, but
something about that didn’t feel right. He was the man. She ought
to stay with him, not the other way around.

“Go talk to her and make some plans,” Lyle
said. “I’ve got work to do.”

“How’s the book?”

“It’s humming along. I promised Jack a first
draft before Christmas.”

Kevin stood up. “Sorry about your office,
man. I want out of here as much as you want me out.”

“Just fix your marriage. Lucky for you I can
work from anywhere.”

Kevin slapped him on the shoulder. “I intend
to.”

***

Kevin waited until he knew both the Robinsons
had left for work before driving to their farmhouse and knocking on
the door. His car was under the carport, so he figured Shiloh was
home. How many times had he stood on the porch with his heart in
his hands and a bucket of butterflies in his belly? He’d have felt
fifteen again if the consequences hadn’t been so high or his
confidence so low. He heard her footsteps pause before she opened
the door. He knew she was contemplating whether or not to let him
in. He shuffled his feet and tried not to appear impatient. He’d
wait for her forever.

The knob turned, the door began its familiar
creaking, and one of Shiloh’s big blue eyes appeared in the crack.
“What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

She stared at him, her expression serious.
“You took your sweet time getting here.”

Kevin dropped his head and rubbed the toe of
his boot on the bristles of the welcome mat. “I needed some time. I
thought you might, too.”

She opened the door wide enough so he could
see both her eyes and the flannel pajama pants she favored on cold
winter mornings. She’d paired it with one of his old Hailey High
sweatshirts. A lock of her blond hair fell across her forehead when
she dipped her eyes and took him in from head to toe. “Why are you
so dirty?”

Kevin looked down. He’d gotten motor oil on
his jeans when he’d loaded up the tractor to take it into the shop,
and his boots were covered in mud. “I’ve been helping Dodge around
the farm.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You hate
helping Dodge.”

Kevin lifted a shoulder. “I don’t mind so
much. Can I come in?”

“My mama’ll kill you if you traipse mud all
over her floors.”

That was the scent he recognized. Wood oil.
“I’ll leave them outside.”

He toed off his boots and followed her
inside. Herbs were on the kitchen windowsill and a half-eaten pie
sat on the stovetop. Kevin followed Shiloh into the den. She
scooped laundry into a basket and used the remote to shut off the
TV. She didn’t sit down.

Kevin stood before her. He knew everything
about her from her tiny pinkie toenails to the feel of her hair. He
loved her heart the most, and yet he knew the least where it stood.
“I’m sorry, Shi. For so many things I’m not sure where to
begin.”