Taming the Moguls (6 page)

“Next Monday. I sent you an email with the
details.”

Two more days. “Good.” Gretchen cleared her
throat. “I spoke to Ryan. He’s up to something.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s taking Alex skiing over his week at
Christmas. When I offered to take Alex off his hands, he said
no.”

Robert whistled through his teeth. “He never
says no.”

“Which is how I know he’s up to something. I
don’t like it. Alex has never skied before, and we both know Ryan
doesn’t have the patience to teach him.”

“He’ll probably stick Alex in ski school the
whole time.”

“I’d rather Ryan do that than trudge up the
mountain and expect Alex to follow. Alex hates heights.”

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but he
is the boy’s father.”

“Only when there’s something in it for him. I
just can’t figure out what that would be this time.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything until you got
back,” Robert said, “but word on the street is Ryan’s in trouble.
There are rumors he had sex with a minor.”

Gretchen almost spit out the sip of water
she’d taken. “A minor? Are you kidding?”

“Heard it from a reliable source.”

Gretchen felt a sickening sense of dread.
What if he’d done it again? “He’s a washed-up football player, a
divorced deadbeat dad, and has a revolving door of women. Now he’s
having sex with young girls? Does the man have any standards?”

“Come on, Gretchen, I don’t have to tell you
how big his ego is.”

“What about the sportscaster deal? Do you
think he’s in danger of losing his job?”

“If charges are filed, I’m sure he will.”

“God,” Gretchen grumbled and clenched the
steering wheel, “he feels so entitled to everything. He doesn’t
care about anyone but himself. Do you think this ski trip has
anything to do with the rumors?”

Robert sighed. “Could be he’s thinking to use
Alex to clean up his reputation. No one would believe a delinquent
father. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stages a photo shoot.”

If Ryan needed Alex for show, he’d want to
spend time with him on a regular basis. Alex did so much better
without the anticipation of spending time with his dad, especially
when Ryan ignored him the whole time. Ryan’s sudden interest
without a desire for a genuine connection would only confuse the
boy and undo all the progress he’d made in the last few years. “I
don’t want his pictures all over the news. Alex would hate
that.”

“And so would you.”

“Yes, I would. Damn it, I’ll never be free of
him. I thought we were moving in the right direction since he
wanted nothing to do with Alex. I feel like I’m back to square
one.”

“Don’t jump too far ahead. Nothing is for
certain,” Robert said.

“This is my fault. I started to think
optimistically about the future. Alex was giving up hope on a
relationship with his father, and this will stir him right back up.
I don’t want him to get his heart broken.”

“You can’t control what Ryan does or how Alex
reacts. You can only be there for him if and when he needs
you.”

Everything she’d ever done was for Alex.
Stalking her former love from a safe distance was the one selfish
act she’d allowed herself in a decade. “I will be there for him. I
always am.”

“Elise and I are glad you agreed to take the
time and get away on your own. I know this is business, but I want
you to relax until the meeting.”

“I know, I know. I’m relaxing.” She was bored
from the free time. “Let’s talk Monday before the meeting.” She
hung up feeling grateful her boss had, by some miracle, become her
friend. She opened her emails with her phone. She sucked in a sharp
breath as she read Robert’s email. “No!” The phone slipped from her
fingers. “Oh no.”

Chapter 12

Tommy followed Dodge into the brewery
restaurant in the dusty hiccup between the Lower Fork and Hailey
known as Del Noches. The town made most of its money in the spring
and summer when tourists jammed the streets for antique shopping
and one of the festivals held every month. The specialty brewery
had opened a few years ago.

Tommy knew the owner, a young buck out of
Denver looking to make a better beer using the valley’s
mountain-fed aquifer and locally grown hops, malt, and honey. Tommy
often swung by the brewery on one of his many runs into Hailey or
Westmoreland to grab a growler of their latest seasonal ale.

“Huh,” Dodge said when the owner let them
inside. The restaurant had closed after lunch and wouldn’t open for
dinner for a few hours. “I’ve never been by here. Didn’t even know
they served food.”

“It’s good,” Tommy said. “The pizza’s wood
fired.”

“I can smell it,” Dodge said. He looked
around the small space. “I wouldn’t mind bringing some home after
our meeting.”

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” Tommy
chose a seat at a booth along an exposed brick wall. He rapped on
the table after checking his watch. “We’re early. I wonder if
Holcomb’s guy knows where this place is?”

“I didn’t, and I grew up in the valley.”

“He’s got the address. I’m sure his rental
has a GPS.”

Dodge stretched his long legs and sat back
against the cushions. “Relax and quit fidgeting. You’re as bad as
Lyle when he hasn’t had a run.”

Tommy deliberately stilled his fingers and
crossed one knee over the other. “How is Lyle? I’m supposed to
check up on him and Erica per Jack Forrester’s request.”

“He’s good. We hardly see him anymore since
he’s making time with Jack’s sister. She’s a quiet little
thing.”

“Quiet?” Tommy thought back to their first
introduction. “I thought she was feisty.”

“The quiet ones usually are.”

Tommy blew out an impatient breath. “I’m
anxious to hear what this guy has to say. I wonder if he’s going to
threaten us with legal action or ask us what we’re looking to
accomplish.”

“Maybe both, but we won’t know ‘til he gets
here.”

“I don’t think he’ll offer to downsize right
off the bat. I’m sure he’s trying to feel us out, see how serious
we are.” Tommy fiddled with his phone but stopped when Dodge gave
him a pointed stare. “We’re not the only group fighting them.
There’s a smaller but fairly well organized outfit out of Patonka
Springs. I’ve spoken to their president. He feels like he’s
fighting a losing battle over there.”

“Patonka Springs is more trendy than this
side of the pass,” Dodge said. “They’ve got nicer restaurants,
shops, and more amenities to attract tourists. I’d think the
majority of residents there would be interested in seeing the
development go through.”

“Yeah but a fancy development could stifle
their growth. Right now, they’re the closest thing to a base for
Bear Stream for the tourist type. You know as well as I do that
Lower Fork serves the less sophisticated crowd.”

“Even the rednecks have money to spend.”

“Hallelujah to that.” Tommy’s head jerked
toward the door when a shadow passed outside. “I think he’s
here.”

Tommy stood and waited for the stuffed suit
to make his appearance. When the door opened, his first thought was
that Holcomb’s representative wasn’t a man. Everything after was a
blur of emotion. His knees buckled, and he had to put a hand atop
the booth in order to keep from falling over.

Her hair was long, skimming the tops of her
breasts. Ten years had sharpened her features in the same way a
bottle of wine ages to perfection in an oak barrel and
temperature-controlled room. Even though she was wrapped in a thick
woolen coat, he made out the womanly figure that had driven him to
insanity as a teen. When her mouth quirked, deep dimples appeared
in her cheeks and her molten brown eyes looked haunted in her too
pale face.

“What the hell,” Tommy muttered.

“Looks like Holcomb’s guy’s a girl,” Dodge
whispered.

“Tommy,” Gretchen said in a choked voice, “I
know you’re surprised to see me.”

He felt as though he’d need a crane to loosen
his jaws. “Sucker punched is more like it.” Tommy felt Dodge
staring at him, wondering why he hadn’t moved, wondering why he’d
all but spat at Holcomb’s rep. Gretchen stepped inside the door but
stopped when Tommy narrowed his eyes. “What the hell are you doing
here, Gretchen?”

“I work for Holcomb. I didn’t know until a
few days ago I was meeting with you.”

Gretchen working for Holcomb? “A few days
ago? I saw you—” he closed his eyes and willed his brain to
work—“over a week ago, the night of the wedding.”

She cleared her throat and loosened the belt
on her coat. The move was deliberate, he knew, to distract him.
“I’ve been in town since just after Thanksgiving.”

“Doing what?” he asked. “Spying on me?”

She jerked a shoulder and the movement opened
her coat, exposing a gray sweater that clung to her curves. Damn
her for ambushing him when he was so unprepared to deal with her.
With everything. “I was becoming familiar with the valley. It was
part of my assignment.”

“I know how much you hate to fail at
assignments, but this meeting is over.”

Dodge grabbed Tommy’s arm when he tried to
muscle past. “Wait just a minute. Obviously you two have some kind
of history, but the meeting hasn’t even started. As president of
STS, you need to put your personal feelings aside and talk
business.” Dodge lowered his voice and slanted his body away from
Gretchen. “You’ve worked too hard for too long to walk out. I don’t
know what happened between you two, and frankly, I don’t give a
damn, but you owe it to yourself and everyone involved with STS to
listen to what she has to say.”

Chapter 13

Shiloh’s stomach clenched when the doorbell
rang for the second time. Her mom had gone out to run errands and
her dad was working. Someone was outside and trying to calm her
parents’ blue heeler in his enclosed pen. Shiloh inched closer to
the door when she heard a woman’s voice. When Shiloh peered through
the peephole, she recognized the trim backside of her
mother-in-law.

Sarah stood straight and turned around when
the door creaked open. “Shiloh. Do you have a minute?”

Of course she had a minute. She had nothing
but time since she’d left her husband and decided to hide out at
her parents’ house. “Come on in. Sorry I didn’t answer sooner. I
thought you might be Kevin, but I guess he’s still in Denver.”

“He’s not,” Sarah said after closing the door
behind her.

The pity she saw in Sarah’s eyes made Shiloh
wish she’d showered and gotten dressed instead of lounging around
in the sweats she’d slept in. “Kevin’s in town?”

“Yes. Where do you think he’d be? That boy
hasn’t ever been more than a mile or two from you since you
met.”

Shiloh lifted her chin and sniffed before
walking into her mother’s tidy den. She grabbed a needlework pillow
and clutched it to her chest before plopping down on the worn
couch. “Did he tell you what happened?”

“He did.” Sarah leaned against the threshold
and crossed her arms. “But there are two sides to every story, and
I’d like to hear yours.”

“So you can refute it?”

“So I can figure out where you’re both coming
from before I do the typical mother-in-law routine and offer some
advice.”

“What’d he tell you?” Shiloh asked.

“That he screwed up and didn’t call you back
and then accused you of cheating.”

“He said he screwed up?”

“Yes.” Sarah stepped inside the den and
slowly lowered onto the recliner across from the couch. “He also
said he’s been working himself to exhaustion to pay for the house,
the cars, and all the other expenses.”

“I know he has. I work, too.”

Sarah nodded. “You do, but he explained that
you use your salary for clothes and unnecessary extras. Would that
be a fair statement?”

Shiloh felt herself pout and then
deliberately made her face neutral. “I wouldn’t call clothing and
furnishings unnecessary.”

“But certainly not as essential as the
mortgage, car payments, and insurance.”

“Well…no, not that essential.”

“You’ve been upset that he’s never home?”

She shoved the pillow aside. “Of course I was
upset! I don’t know anyone in Denver except my co-workers, and I
don’t want to socialize with them. He’s always gone. When he gets a
day off, he takes extra flights. I never see him.” She knew she was
whining, but she couldn’t help it. How dare his mother come over
and blame everything on her?

“He took the extra flights to pay for the
mortgage, the cars, and the insurance.”

Shiloh felt like her mother-in-law was
blaming her for Kevin’s never being home, even though she’d kept
her voice calm and soothing. “So I shouldn’t miss him because he’s
working hard for me? Is that what you’re saying? I should just shut
up and make due without him?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Sarah
scooted to the edge of her seat and linked her fingers. “Kevin
loves you. He always has. He’s been working so hard to pay for all
that stuff because he knows how important they are to you.”

“They’re not more important than him.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that, sweetheart. I
really am.”

“Did he tell you I love the house and the
cars more than him? That the only reason we’re together is so he
can buy me stuff? Because that’s not true.”

“He didn’t say that, but I think he feels
pressured. He loves you. When you love someone, you want to give
them everything they want.”

“I want him. I want us to be together and
happy like we used to be.” She twisted and knocked on the
windowpane because the dog wouldn’t stop barking. The sound of it
was grating on her nerves. “I don’t mean to pressure him, but we
both wanted to live in that neighborhood. When the house came on
the market, I knew it would sell fast. They only accepted our offer
because we took it as is. It needs a lot of work. When he’s not
around and I’m home alone all the time, I come up with ways to fix
it. I never demanded anything. If it was getting to be too much, he
should have said something.”