Taming the Moguls

by Christy Hayes

  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.”

&nbs
p; “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.”

  “When Kevin’s dad and I first got married, we were very young. Fresh out of college without a dime to our names. We lived in an apartment for a lot longer than I wanted—both boys were born before we bought a house—because we knew we couldn’t afford to buy a house until he was earning more. It was hard not to go ahead and jump when a house became available that was just a little bit over our budget, but Todd was a stickler. We made a plan, and he wouldn’t budge from that plan. It set us on a good course, and we were financially secure because of it.

  “I’m not saying it’s your fault or Kevin’s fault. Frankly, it’s both your faults for buying something you can’t afford, but now that you have, there are consequences. You two need to talk to each other honestly and make some tough decisions about the future.”

  “I don’t care about the house. If I cared about the house, I would have kicked him out instead of leaving.” She buried her face in her hands when she felt a crying jag coming. “He never said anything. Anything at all. And then when he did, he didn’t hold anything back. He couldn’t have hurt me more if he’d punched me.”

  Sarah blew out a breath. “My son has the patience of a saint until it runs out, and then you’d better run for cover.” She moved around the coffee table, sat next to Shiloh, and ran her hand up and down her spine. “Marriage is hard, sweetie. I know it feels like a mountain, but this is just a bump in the road when you’re in it for the long haul. You two have always been in it for the long haul.”

  “He hasn’t even called.” The words came out as a whimper because she’d forced them past the lump in her throat.

  “I think he’s taking stock and trying to figure out how to fix this and make things right with you.”

  “What if he doesn’t want to make things right with me?”

  Sarah hugged Shiloh, and Shiloh breathed in her familiar apple scent. “Honey, you know better than that. I’ve never seen a man more in love. He’s like his dad—one look and he was gone. It’s a wonderful gift to be loved as much as Kevin loves you. You’ve given him the same gift in return. Sometimes, when life throws challenges your way, you forget all the gifts you have and take them for granted.”

  Shiloh wiped tears from her cheeks. “I’d never cheat on him. I can’t believe he thought I would.”

  “You need to talk to him. Tell him how you feel. Be honest. That’s the only way you two can make things right.”

  “He doesn’t want to talk to me.”

  “He will, when he’s ready.”

  “So what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Sit here and wait?”

  “You do whatever you want to do.” Sarah reached for the box of tissues on the table and passed it to Shiloh. “What about your job?”

  A stab of guilt pierced Shiloh’s stomach. “I took vacation last week, and I called in sick today. I need to go home and deal with it, but I was hardly making any money. If Kevin’s here…”

  “You two need to talk. The sooner the better. He’s staying with us for a few days. If you decide to come out to the house, I’ll make sure Dodge and I leave you two alone for as long as you need.” She patted Shiloh’s shoulder and stood to leave.

  “Sarah?” Shiloh called. Her mother-in-law turned at the door. “Thank you. I was going out of my mind wondering where he was and what he was doing.”

  “He’s wherever you are. He always has been.”

  Chapter 14

  Gretchen refused to squeeze into the booth where Tommy and his companion had been sitting. She couldn’t be so close to him in such a confined space without wanting to touch him or bursting into tears. She pulled a chair from a table for six and hoped the men would join her. Walking into the meeting knowing he would be there with a decade’s worth of anger had taken every ounce of courage she had.

  “I’m A.J. Dodge.” The man extended his hand. From the feel of his callouses and the state of his jeans and flannel shirt, she assumed he was either a farmer or a rancher.

  Gretchen returned his greeting. “Gretchen Lowry.”

  Tommy yanked out a chair, sat down, and crossed his arms. He’d been so large in college, all muscle and bulk thanks to the game he loved but never intended to make his career. He was leaner, more lanky than bulky, but his wide shoulders and long arms were no less intimidating. Focusing on his stature was easier than looking into his eyes. She’d always said she could see his soul through his stormy brown eyes. She saw only hatred.

  “I appreciate you both taking the time to meet,” she began.

  “We’ve got nothing but time down in our little valley,” Tommy sneered. “I can’t imagine how you spent the week. We don’t have Chicago’s fancy shopping or a gourmet restaurant on every corner.”

  His words felt like acid on her fragile skin. “I’m quite enamored with the valley,” Gretchen countered. “There’s a lot to be said for a slower pace of life.”

  “That’ll change,” Dodge interrupted their verbal sparring, “if this development goes through.”

  “It could be a positive change.” She pulled a file from her bag and retrieved the graphs and charts she’d meticulously created. “Developments spur growth in outlying areas. When the village at Butterfly Bend was created, the sleepy town of Kingsland became a year-round tourist destination. Property values went up substantially, economic development spurred, and the area experienced a population boom.”

  “We’ve studied Butterfly Bend, too,” Tommy said. “Unlike you, we’ve actually talked to city officials, business owners, residents, and the farmers and ranchers whose land became too expensive to work.” Tommy leaned forward, his long fingers spread on the table. She remembered the strength and tenderness of his touch and yearned to feel it again. “Residents were displaced by tourists and out-of-towners with zero appreciation for the history and traditions of the area. Schools became overcrowded, taxes went up, and long-time residents moved elsewhere. We won’t let that happen here.”

  She’d always admired the way he’d throw himself into something he believed in. It used to be her. “Mr. Holco
mb believes we can strike a balance.”

  “With over two thousand residential units?” Tommy’s brows disappeared under the fringe of his dark hair. “Two hundred thousand square feet of commercial space, ten restaurants, and a handful of exclusive hotels? You think the valley you’ve spent all week exploring can compete with that, Mrs. Lowry?”

  Gretchen straightened. He could throw all the development facts in her face and she wouldn’t blink an eye, but the moment he connected her to Ryan, all bets were off. “It’s Ms.”

  “Oh, excuse me,” he said.

  “Those are the specifics of the development on the peak,” she explained. “The trickle-down effects will benefit all the towns between the Lower Fork and Westmoreland.”

  “We disagree on what you deem a benefit,” Dodge said in a tone void of malice. “Your development will steal our water, increase our traffic, and destroy the area’s wildlife. Look, Ms. Lowry, I’ve lived in this valley most of my life. We aren’t fancy people. We don’t need a bunch of restaurants and clothing stores, and we certainly don’t want to be a thoroughfare for those who do.”

  “That’s why Holcomb has spent substantial time and money studying and analyzing other developments in the region. We can control the most offensive consequences of the project so both sides are satisfied.”

  “With all due respect,” Dodge said, “you can’t control anything. Nobody can. You can control your buildings and your leases, but outside your village, the trickle-down effects are out of your hands. Ranchers and farmers who rely on the valley’s aquifer don’t need you sucking up all the water. When land prices go up, so do taxes and the cost of damn near everything. We run our businesses at the mercy of the weather, and we don’t need Holcomb mucking everything up and competing with God.”

  “The environmental impact statement—”

  “Hasn’t been released yet,” Tommy interrupted. “Did you or your boss even read the comments from the opposition? Did you bother to consider someone else’s point of view? Did you ever wonder how your actions affect others?”

  Was he talking about Holcomb or their past? From the strangled sound of his voice, she couldn’t be sure.