Riding for Love (A Western Romance)

by Susedik, Tina

  As she drove to the restaurant, Eve nearly convinced herself she wasn’t excited. When he left for college, she’d been a naïve seventeen-year-old high school senior, head-over-heels in love. Now, as an adult, years older and hopefully wiser, there was no reason to worry about being with him. Right?

  As nervous as a mother sending her first child off to the wilds of kindergarten, she approached the restaurant. Her sweating palms, racing heart, and flip-flopping stomach were a sure sign she was in deep trouble.

  Taking a deep breath and clutching her purse, she strode across the room to the bar, the soft background music and muted voices of diners doing little to ease her nerves. Her heart picked up speed when Denton stood and attempted to take her hands. Not ready to make their greeting physical, she ignored him, sat down, and ordered a glass of wine.

  “You look lovely, Eve,” he commented softly, picking up his beer.

  “You look pretty good yourself,” Eve answered, mentally kicking herself for letting him know she thought he was still hot stuff. She requested a glass of wine. He kept his eyes on her while he ordered.

  “Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

  “Not really,” she replied. “I’ve been here many times since you left. I’ve made plenty of new memories.”

  “Ouch,” he murmured and turned to face her. “Round One to Eve. Why forget? Why not cherish the memories we made together?”

  She rejected his comments. “Need you ask?” Before she could say anything more, the hostess came to take them to their table.

  Denton placed his hand on the small of her back as they followed the hostess. Heat from his fingers seared through her sweater, up her arm, and settled around her skipping heart. She was over him, damn it, so his simple touch shouldn’t be attacking her body like fire ants on new prey.

  His choice of restaurant pleased her—far enough from town to be free of nosy neighbors. Unfortunately, they passed two couples she recognized. So much for privacy. Would it be too much to hope they hadn’t seen her and Denton? Could they possibly keep their noses out of her business? Her heart fell as they raised their eyebrows and whispered to each other.

  Ignoring their stares, Eve sat down in the chair Denton pulled out for her. She placed a dark green napkin on her lap and hid behind her menu, trying not to peek at him over the top.

  He looked absolutely wonderful. A pair of dark dress pants showcased his slim hips, while a light blue sweater set off the color of his intriguing blue eyes. Depending on what he wore or his mood, they could be brownish green, gray, or light blue. She remembered a story his mother once told her.

  When Rose first realized Denton’s eyes changed color, she’d purposely dressed him in different colored clothes to confuse her mother-in-law. She also changed his clothes several times a day to get “the old bat’s goat.” Rose finally had to fess up when her mother-in-law demanded to see an eye doctor.

  “What’s wrong?” Denton interrupted Eve’s thoughts.

  She certainly couldn’t admit to thoughts about his unique eyes, so decided to get to the point. She placed her menu on the table. “Why did you ask me here, Dent?”

  “To explain things and catch up on our lives,” he answered.

  Her self-confidence slipped a notch. “I suppose after bumping into me, you figured life was pretty much the same as ten years ago. Right?” He didn’t say anything, so she continued. “Answer me honestly. Do I look like ‘poor old Evie’ to you?”

  Denton set his glass down so hard, beer sloshed over the edge. “I never, ever, thought of you as ‘poor old Evie.’”

  Eve raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

  “Yes. I thought of you as pretty Eve, the girl I fell in love with. One who had the misfortune to be in a family with problems, but who survived despite them. Your family never changed those feelings.”

  Controlling the tears swimming in her eyes was not easy. “You say you loved me. If that was true, why dump me? Why did I have to learn through the town’s nasty grapevine you married Marie?”

  Dent ran his hand through his thick, dark hair, reached across the table and took Eve’s hand in a grip she couldn’t pull from. He ran his thumb across her palm.

  “Despite what you might think, I never, ever, lost my feelings for you.” He released her hand. “I never meant to hurt you. Do you remember how Marie chased me in high school, even after we started dating?”

  Eve gave a cheerless laugh. “Of course I remember. How could I forget? She was forever telling me I didn’t belong with you or your kind, that I reached above my station and belonged in our pigsty.”

  He sat back in his chair. “Oh, come on, she wasn’t that bad, was she?”

  The waitress appeared to take their orders stopping Eve from letting Denton know Marie had said those things and worse. The longer Eve and Denton dated, the more unpleasant Marie’s taunts became until she finally suggested Eve lay down, pull up her skirts, and spread her legs so Dent could go at her. After all, that’s all any boy would want her for—a quick and easy lay. Poor girls were for quickies, and girls like Marie were for men to fall in love with and marry.

  Only Eve’s lack of self-esteem kept her from asking Marie if that were the case, why was Dent with her and not with Marie?

  Eve watched the waitress return to the kitchen. Denton played with his beer glass, twirling the contents around and around, making the amber liquid swirl from side-to-side, much like the emotions inside her.

  “So, what happened?”

  Denton sighed and picked at the tablecloth. “I guess I didn’t pay any attention to my other classmates my senior year, being busy with my best girl and all. I had no idea which schools they might head to. So you can imagine my surprise when, after I arrived at the university in Madison, I bumped into Marie in my dorm and found out she lived on the next floor.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I’m still not sure how on earth she managed to get into the same dorm.

  “At first, I didn’t know anyone, so it made sense we hang out. She acted like we were only friends, but unknown to me, she told everyone we’d been dating in high school and the girls should keep their hands off her property.”

  “Sounds like her.”

  Dent picked up a fork and turned it over and over. “Sure wish someone had told me. Anyway, I never could figure out why, when we were with a group of kids, we’d always end up alone. One night, after I came back from Thanksgiving, I went to a party. I missed you like hell and got drunk.” He smirked at Eve. “Well, more like I got plastered, smashed, crocked.”

  Eve giggled at his description. Her heart flipped, realizing he’d truly missed her. Then she remembered that Thanksgiving break and dropped her smile.

  “Anyway, I went to the party alone and, of course, Marie showed up. The next morning I woke up in bed with her. To this day, I honestly don’t know how the hell she managed it. A few months later she told me she was pregnant.”

  Eve couldn’t believe what he said. Was Dent that naïve? “Are you serious?”

  “Unfortunately. Talk about being stupid, huh? If I’d thought a little more, I’d realize I was too drunk to have done anything, let alone get her pregnant. Hell, if I recall, I could barely walk.” He shook his head and took a drink. “I didn’t set out to hurt you, Eve. Mom didn’t tell you, did she?”

  “No. Once you married Marie, your name never came up between us, even though Rose and I became good friends.” Eve didn’t add that Rose became more of a mother than her own.

  “She always liked you,” Dent said, smiling. “She disliked Marie and figured out long before I did she was only after our money, and,” he continued, his words dripping with sarcasm, “the ‘social circles’ she thought we ran in.”

  “But you married her anyway.”

  “It happened so fast. She insisted we get married right away
because of the baby. I wanted to give the child my name.” He let out an ironic laugh.

  Eve’s stomach did a nosedive. Men could really be incredibly stupid. “Let me guess. No pregnancy.”

  Denton’s head snapped up. “Did you hear this already?”

  “No, but it figures,” Eve replied. “What I can’t believe is that you fell for it.”

  Running a hand over his face, he added, “Yeah, well, I guess stupid is my middle name. She blindsided me.”

  Silence fell while the waitress served their salads. Eve picked at the lettuce. “Was this going on when you came home at Thanksgiving?”

  “God, no!” he answered quickly. “I wouldn’t have done that to you. I loved you.”

  Long suppressed anger flared up inside her. She leaned forward, staring directly into his face. “Then why marry Marie without even breaking up with me first, or at least explain what happened?” She spat out the words between clenched teeth. “If you loved me like you say, why couldn’t you have had the decency to at least lie to me and let me think you’d fallen out of love and needed to move on? I had to hear the news from Marie’s mother. She made sure I’d been put in my proper place and said you’d be happier with someone of your station and that was her lovely, pure daughter.”

  “Man, Eve. She had no right to say those things to you,” he said, hanging his head. “Besides, I’d never lie to you.”

  She couldn’t remember being this livid before, even when he married the witch. “You went on your merry way while I endured pity and laughter. One weekend people saw us holding hands, the next thing they knew you were married to someone else. I had no explanation. Oh, my last year of high school was wonderful.”

  “I know. It was wrong of me. But—”

  Eve interrupted. “If you were aware, then why?” She heard her voice rising, not caring if anyone in the restaurant listened and carried their conversation back to town.

  Dent tossed his cloth napkin on the table. “Guilt. Fear. It was difficult enough admitting to myself I was duped by her, but how could I explain to you?”

  Eve calmed down a little when he admitted he’d been scared. In his shoes, it was possible she would have done the same thing. But she wouldn’t have been as gullible. “Look, Dent. I’m not saying what you did was right.” She wasn’t ready to let him off the hook, though. “But can’t you understand what I went through? The shame and humiliation? The taunts and jokes at school?”

  He picked up his napkin and smoothed it over his pant leg. “I understand completely. I had the same reactions when she dumped me for someone richer out in California. I imagine you got a big laugh over that one.”

  “I never heard anything, except you divorced a year after moving out West. It was none of my business,” Eve admitted, surprised at the compassion flowing through her, knowing he had suffered the same humiliation. “Why didn’t you come home after your divorce?”

  “I enjoyed my job at the accounting firm. I liked the weather. Besides, I didn’t want to run home with my tail between my legs. I thought there was nothing left here for me.” He lifted his chin, pain showing in his eyes, turning them more gray than blue.

  “You were right,” she agreed. “Although, I suppose the gossips figured you’d return and crawl back to me.”

  “The thought crossed my mind many times.” His comment pierced straight to her heart. “The question is, where do we go from here?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right? I go home to my place, you to yours.”

  “You know darn well that isn’t what I mean!” Dent snapped back. “You and me. Do we have any chance at a future together?”

  “We’re not going anywhere together, Denton Johansen, and there is no future for us.”

  He shook his head to toss off her words. “I don’t believe that any more than you do, Eve Dayton. I care for you. Always have. Always will.” He took her hand in his. “I believe you share those feelings.” He paused, looking at his large hand holding her much smaller one. “Let me ask you this. Why haven’t you married?”

  “None of your business.” She jerked her hand away. At the rate he grabbed and she pulled, her fingers would be an inch longer by evening’s end. “It just so happens I’ve been too busy.” And lonely, she failed to add.

  “Hmph.” He leaned his elbows on the table and pointed at her. “Seems you weren’t too busy to go out with Mr. Veterinarian.”

  Eve sat back in her chair, surprised at the petty, childish tone in Dent’s voice. “That is none of your business.”

  His exhaled breath blew across Eve’s face. “How many times do I have to apologize? I want to get together again, see if we can resurrect what we had as teenagers.” He bent forward, closing the distance between them. “I don’t know how I can convince you.”

  Despite what her head told her, a piece of her heart split at the pain on his face. “I’m not sure what you can do. I don’t know if I can trust you again.” She tossed her napkin onto her untouched plate and stood. “Right now I need to get out of here.”

  She didn’t look back to see the helplessness on his face as she stormed from the restaurant.

  Chapter 5

  Denton scratched the back of his head and rolled his neck from side-to-side. Already a month since going out to dinner with Eve, and if his level of frustration got any higher, he’d be halfway to the moon. She hung up on him, wouldn’t answer messages left with Tom, and this past week her answering machine picked up the calls in Tom’s voice, shooting any chances of at least hearing her voice.

  If he weren’t so busy figuring out how his mother’s accountant had cheated her out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, he’d drive out to the ranch. Now his fifteen-hour days finally paid off. He and the lawyers had worked out how the bastard filtered funds out of the company. Unfortunately, the man not only took money from his mother, but from the employee profit-sharing plan. If they didn’t recoup it through the court system, their employees would be out money put away for retirement.

  By the end of the month they’d have gathered enough evidence to charge him with a felony for fraud. Then they would wait for a hearing to learn if the case would be presented in court or follow mediation. Even though it would probably drag things out for years, Denton hoped the case would go to trial and the bastard would end up in the slammer for a good, long time.

  After the next few busy, crazy weeks making sure all the ‘t’s were crossed and ‘i’s dotted and the man positively caught, Denton would take some time off. He picked up the brochure sitting on his mother’s kitchen table. He knew exactly where he was going to spend at least two weeks.

  “Hi, sweetheart,” Rose said, ruffling his hair before going to the refrigerator for a glass of lemonade.

  He jumped and slapped a hand to his chest. “Geez, Mom, you scared the daylights out of me.” He set the brochure down and picked up an envelope. “What are you doing home? I thought you were going out with friends tonight.”

  Rose sat down on the opposite her son. “I did, but Tom had to get back early and the others had family obligations. Tonight is the last night at the ranch for a youth group from Milwaukee.” She reached over and slid the brochure across the table. “It’s a group of teenagers learning to ride and care for horses to teach them alternative ways to channel anger. Eve developed the program this year.”

  “Wow, I’m impressed.”

  “You should be,” Rose commented, flipping through the pamphlet filled with photos of the cabins, lodge, barn, and horses on trail rides. “Eve’s worked very hard to make the ranch a success. Every year she comes up with another way to help others relax and have fun. Last year was the first year for winter activities.” She folded the brochure and pressed it smooth. “Have you been out there yet?”

  Denton opened the envelope and slipped out a sheet of paper. “No, I’
ve been too busy at work. Besides, I don’t think Eve would appreciate me just showing up.”

  “Why? She’s so proud of what she’s accomplished.” Rose peered at her son. “You never did tell me what happened when you went to dinner with her. Is she still mad?”

  Running a hand over his face, he huffed out a breath. “I guess that would be a good way of putting it, although mad seems too light a word. I explained about Marie, and she seemed to understand what happened, but, after all these years, she’s still angry with me.”

  “There could be a good reason.”

  “Yeah, like what?”

  Rose reached across the table to stop his shredding the sheet of paper he was holding. “Could be she still has feelings for you. Do you still care for her?”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “Just answer your mother, Denton Johansen.”

  “I never lost my feelings for her.” He pushed the paper away and tapped his fingers on the table. “She said she never had closure. Well, neither did I. One week, I’m home enjoying time with her and next, I’m married to someone else.” He raked his fingers through his hair again. “Now she’s ignoring me. I’m probably beating my head against the wall. I’ve called, written, sent flowers.”

  “Hmm . . .”

  Lord, he hated it when his mother got that tone in her voice. She didn’t have to say one word, just utter “hmm” like she knew something he didn’t and he would ultimately pay for it. “Hmm, what?”

  “What happened when you went to dinner with Eve?”

  “We met, had a drink, talked about old times, etc., etc.”

  Rose chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure much more than that happened for you to be this upset.” She held up a hand to stop a reply. “Don’t say you’re concerned about the lawsuit. I’m your mother. You’re a problem solver and taking care of the embezzlement was more than work for you.” Rose rested her chin in her hand and stared at her son. “It’s solving the problem of Eve making you discombobulated.”