Taming the Moguls (13 page)

His eyes lit up for a moment before a
predatory smile moved slowly over his face. “You’re in luck. I
happen to have a four-wheel drive vehicle and enough time to drive
you up before we lose the light.”

“Now?” she said. “You want me to see the pass
now?”

“Why not? Do you have something better to
do?”

It felt like a trap. Would he push her down a
mountain? Plunge them both over a cliff? Abandon her at the top of
the peak? “No, but…”

He walked back to the counter. “I’ll make a
quick call, grab my keys, and we’ll go.”

After instructing someone on the other end of
the line to come over within the hour, he folded a ski jacket over
his arm. Gretchen watched him shut off the lights and lock the door
as she struggled to put her coat, hat, and gloves back on. With the
store locked, he strode toward the truck. Despite his obvious
discomfort, he surprised her by holding open the passenger door and
helping her inside.

“I don’t have my purse,” she said as the
truck rumbled to life.

“No need. We won’t be long.”

“I need to get my cell phone.”

“Won’t work ten minutes up the road.” He
turned onto the highway and gunned the engine. “You won’t even miss
it.”

She hoped not, since he obviously wasn’t
planning to stop and let her get it. She leaned against the leather
seats and glanced around the cab. The interior was as neat and
clean as he used to keep his Jeep in college. “You still keep a
neat car.”

“No sense living like a pig.” He spared her a
glance. “I bet you’ve already trashed your rental.”

She couldn’t hold back her grin. “I may have
thrown one or two water bottles in the back.”

He snorted and said nothing more. The past
hung like a barrier between them. Gretchen tried to focus on the
soaring mountains and the spruce trees that grew like arrows toward
the sky, but her eyes kept wandering back to Tommy. His long
fingers gripped the wheel and tapped along to the country tune he
played on low. He stared straight ahead carefully navigating the
twists and turns, as she admired his profile. He was still so
handsome, so natural and unaffected, so unlike the men she dealt
with in Chicago. In the small cab, she smelled his masculine scent,
so different from her son’s boyish smell. The farther they drove,
the darker it became as the mountains impeded the light.

She pulled off her cap and gloves when the
cab’s heater finally took the edge off the cold. “How far is
it?”

“Another five miles or so. Doesn’t take but
twenty minutes to get up there.”

Gretchen watched as giant snowflakes began to
fall. “Do you ski?”

He cut his eyes in her direction, barely
moving his head. “Too busy with work.” He jerked his hand, and the
wipers removed the snow from his windshield.

“Did you ever?” When he didn’t answer, she
said, “You’ve lived in the valley for a long time. I assumed you
skied when you were younger. You’ve always loved to compete.”

She heard his teeth clamp shut, and his jaw
appeared sharp enough to cut glass. “You don’t know me. You don’t
know what I loved. You never did.”

Chapter 25

Tommy twisted his grip on the steering wheel
and struggled to remain calm. What had possessed him to suggest a
ride to Bear Stream? Seeing her in his shop was like taking a punch
to the gut. Or maybe the head. Dodge had gotten to him.
You’ve got questions. She’s got the
answers.
He had no other explanation for asking her to go
away and then suggesting they take a road trip together.

Her scent filled the small cab. She smelled
as clean and fresh as a new spring day like the morning smells when
the ground was covered in dew and possibilities seem endless. He
had no possibilities with Gretchen. There was nothing fresh and new
about the pain and bitterness that soured his stomach and left him
unable to sleep.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered before turning her
head and staring out the window.

He wouldn’t feel sorry for upsetting her. He
wouldn’t apologize for saying what lay heavy on his heart and mind.
If she didn’t like the truth, she should never have come to the
valley. “I don’t want your pity.”

Her head swiveled around, and he felt her
eyes boring into the side of his face. He tried to quell his anger,
tamp it down like he did whenever someone irritated him, but
Gretchen wasn’t just someone. She’d changed the course of his life
and left him struggling to put the pieces back together.

“I don’t pity you, Tommy. You seem to have a
wonderful life.”

“Do I?” He adjusted the wipers when the
trickle of snow became a steady stream. He squinted against the
glare.

“I assume so. You have friends and four very
successful businesses.” She ran her leather gloves between her
fingers. “Of course, I can’t speak for your personal life.”

Tommy snorted. He pressed the brakes harder
than he’d intended and the back end fishtailed. “You never could. I
used to think you were protecting me from your father by keeping
our relationship a secret, but I guess that was just how you
rolled.” He didn’t take his eyes off the road, but he felt her
tense and heard the air whishing in and out of her lungs. Good, he
thought. Get mad. Feel something other than pity.

“I didn’t cheat on you. That’s not what
happened.”

“Oh, really? I’ve seen a picture of your son.
He’s the spitting image of his father.”

“He’s nothing like his father,” she spat.
“You don’t know anything about him. You don’t know anything at
all.”

Tommy couldn’t keep his attention on the road
when the strained edges of his temper frayed. He felt the vein in
his head pulse as he gripped the wheel in a white-knuckle grasp.
When he spotted the familiar road, he turned off, slammed the truck
into park, and faced the woman who’d not only broken his heart but
shattered it into a thousand pieces. “You’re damn right I don’t
know anything. You made sure of that.”

Her chest heaved, and she slammed her lips
closed. “I think we should turn around. I want to go back.”

“Oh, no, you don’t. You started this. You had
to know we’d end up here when you ambushed me at the meeting.”

“I was ambushed, too. I didn’t want to face
you.”

“Did your guilty conscience get the best of
you? My God, it only took ten years.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

Tommy struggled with his temper and the words
that wanted to break free. She’d humiliated him. He’d left
everything behind because he couldn’t deal with the pain and anger
and because he wasn’t sure he could face her again without trying
to retaliate. He didn’t want to lash out at her, but he knew the
only way to let go of the hurt was to be honest. Maybe if she knew
what she’d done, she’d go home and leave him in peace.

“You didn’t hurt me. Hurt is too thin a word
to describe how I felt when you took off. I was panicked at first.
I was so damn worried that something had happened to you. I went
home thinking you must have gone there when you’d left campus, but
your father said you’d decided to drop out for the semester. I knew
he was lying, I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t find you.
For a solid month, I did nothing but worry.”

He’d leave out the drinking and the skipped
classes. Quitting the team had seemed only logical when he could
barely put one foot in front of the other. “It wasn’t you who told
me you were married, but my mother. She forgot to mention the baby
growing in your belly. Good thing, since I probably would have made
a fool of myself trying to prove it was mine.”

Gretchen’s eyes filled with tears as he spoke
and they ran down her face in slow, methodical ribbons. She gulped
in a breath when he finally stopped. She shook as she held in the
cries he knew wanted to escape, and he felt nothing. Not guilt, not
pain, nothing but blessed numbness. He couldn’t sit still and watch
her crumble because of something she’d done to both of them.

He yanked the door open and stalked away,
taking in huge gulps of biting air. He stared off into the distance
and tried to get his emotions in check. He felt exhausted and
hollow. Only after a few minutes of staring into the white-washed
scenery did he realize the pelting snow was accumulating and fast.
She’d get her wish. They’d have to return.

Her door opened as he turned back for the
truck. “Get inside,” he shouted. “It’s snowing too hard. We have to
head back.”

She didn’t listen and stalked toward him.
“You need to hear the truth.”

“I’m done. I’m so fucking done. Get in the
truck, and I’ll take you back to your car.”

“No,” she said and wiped a snowflake from her
cheek. “You need to hear the truth, and we’re not going anywhere
until you do.”

Chapter 26

Shiloh entered the bank on the corner of Main
Street and Pine wearing the same skirt and blouse she’d been
wearing when she came home. The same outfit she’d worn on her last
day of work in Denver. Who knew, when she’d stormed out of her home
in Denver, that the next time she’d wear those clothes would be for
an interview in Hailey.

Considering she’d worked in a multi-state
bank in Denver as an assistant for one of the area’s most
successful vice presidents, she felt sure she was qualified for the
opening. She couldn’t sit around her parents’ house one more day
waiting for Kevin to figure things out, so she’d scoured the local
paper and found the ad. She smoothed a hand over the twist in her
hair and pasted on a polite smile as the branch manager
approached.

“Shiloh? Well, goodness. I haven’t seen you
in over a year.” They shook hands like professionals even though
Shiloh and Mrs. Lyon’s daughter, Kelly, had attended school from
kindergarten to twelfth grade together. “Look how pretty you
are.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Lyons.”

“Come on back to my office.”

Shiloh followed the woman along the wall of
windows, past the line of tellers, and into the back where potted
plants marked the entrances to five offices. Mrs. Lyons entered the
third office and closed the door behind Shiloh. She directed Shiloh
to have a seat and meandered around the large wooden desk. The
chair creaked as she sat.

“I understand you’re interested in the
administrative assistant position.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Mrs. Lyons set her elbows on the leather
blotter and linked her fingers. Her bangle bracelets clanked. “I’m
confused, honey. I thought you and Kevin lived in Denver.”

“We did.” Shiloh cleared her throat. She
wasn’t expecting to have to explain her living situation. “We’re
back.”

“Oh.” The single word, and the way she
dropped her eyes, told Shiloh Mrs. Lyons thought the worst. “I
see.”

“I brought my resume.” Shiloh pulled the
sheet she’d printed off that morning from her notebook.

“Great.” Mrs. Lyons smiled, grateful to have
a distraction. “Let’s have a look. You worked in a bank until
recently?”

“I worked for Sapphire Bank in Denver for
over a year.”

“There’s a bit of a gap here between
graduation and your job.”

“Well, Kevin and I got married right after
school, and then we moved to Denver. It took a while to get
settled.”

“And what did you do as an assistant to the
vice president?”

“Credit checks and analyses, loan
underwriting and loan origination, as well as whatever needed to be
done for the board of directors.”

“Well, you sound perfectly qualified. We’re a
little smaller than Sapphire, as you know, and our deposits aren’t
nearly as large. I don’t know what you were making in Denver, but
our salary is most likely considerably less.”

“I’m prepared to take a pay cut.” Shiloh
prayed it wasn’t too significant a cut.

Mrs. Lyons nodded and set the paper aside
with deliberate care. She raised her eyes to Shiloh and smiled
without showing her teeth. “How long will you be in town?”

“Excuse me?” Shiloh asked. “What do you
mean?”

“Are you back for good?”

“I…I’m not sure. I think so.” In the time it
took for Mrs. Lyons to breathe, Shiloh felt her chances of getting
the job disappear.

“Shiloh, honey, I’d like to offer you this
job. I’d have to check your references, of course, but I’ve known
you long enough to know they’ll be fine.”

Shiloh let out the breath she was holding.
She got it. She got the job.

“However…”

Uh-oh.

“We look for stability when we hire
employees. It takes too much time and financial commitment to train
someone who may or may not be around in a year. I know there are no
guarantees when hiring an employee, but we do our best to judge
appropriately. If you’re not sure how long you’ll be in town, I
won’t be able to offer you the position.”

Shiloh wanted to interject and tell the woman
she would be around for good, but she knew she couldn’t make that
promise. “I understand.”

“If you and Kevin decide to make Hailey home
for good, give me a call. We’d love to have you on the team.”

Shiloh stood and reached across the desk to
shake Mrs. Lyons’ hand. “I appreciate your time.”

She kept her chin up as she walked through
the building and outside in the bitter cold and wind. When she
closed the door to her car, her eyes lowered and her shoulders
slumped. She wanted to be mad, but she couldn’t quite light her
temper. She didn’t blame Mrs. Lyons for not wanting to hire her
since her future was so unsure. She wanted to blame Kevin, but he’d
been fired. If she hadn’t left him and come running home, they’d
have probably ended up back in Hailey anyway.

They were back, living apart, not sleeping
together, and barely seeing one another. She was fine with being
home. She was fine with starting over, but it was past time to face
Kevin and make some decisions about their future. Together.