by Brenda Novak
Fortunately, she’d never caught him at enough of a disadvantage that she’d seriously hurt him. Although there’d been times when he should’ve called the police, he’d had too much pride. He didn’t want his parents and friends—the whole town—to hear how terrible his marriage had turned out to be. So when she got confrontational, he’d hold her down, making it impossible for her to hit, kick or scratch. Or, more often, he’d leave. He’d spent many a night at his office, which Morgan knew; that was, no doubt, partly why she hated Noelle. Morgan was the one who’d arrive the next morning and find him on the air mattress he stored in the closet of his office. She’d probably told other people he wasn’t happy with Noelle, so it wasn’t as if he’d been able to keep his difficulties a secret. But at least no one knew his situation was quite as bad as it had been.
Noelle didn’t answer. So he called again. She always had her phone close by, and if she was asleep, he meant to wake her.
Noelle seemed to be worse now than when he was married to her, he mused as the ringing started again. More reckless. More spiteful. Willing to go even further than before. And he’d been shocked by her behavior then. That was what had him so concerned. It was the reason he intended to make it very clear that she’d better not do anything to destroy Lourdes’s image or hurt her in any other way. Because he would not let that slide.
“Now you call me?” Noelle snapped when she picked up.
She didn’t sound as though she’d been sleeping. Not only was her voice strident, she acted as if he owed it to her to keep in touch, and she’d won some sort of victory in finally getting a call from him.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.
“You caused me to lose my job. That’s what I’m talking about!”
After speaking to Olivia earlier, he’d been somewhat prepared for this accusation. He knew Noelle tied that incident to him, although it made sense only in her own mind. “That’s ridiculous. Surely even you can see I had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry it happened, but from what I hear, you have no one to blame but yourself. You started the fight, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t start it! She provoked me!”
He was too focused on making his point to ask who “she” was. “But I’m guessing you’re the one who got physical.”
“I wouldn’t have gone after her if I hadn’t been so upset by how shitty you’ve been treating me.”
There was the connection, presented with her classic, twisted logic. But this time Kyle’s curiosity about the identity of her victim overcame the need to direct the blame where it belonged. “Who’s she?”
“Genevieve Salter.”
“Your friend? You like her! I’ve seen you with her on several occasions.”
“She was my friend. She’s not anymore.”
“Because...”
“Because she...” There was a pause as she tried to come up with an answer, but she must not have been able to devise one she liked. “Oh, never mind. You won’t believe me, anyway. I know how you are.”
“I’m honest, Noelle, while you’d rather lie to yourself.”
“Shut up! What happened doesn’t matter. Genevieve’s not worth feeling bad about.”
“And your job?”
“I didn’t want to work at Sexy Sadie’s anymore, anyway. That place is a dump. I deserve better.”
“You were already struggling to get by.” From her own admission, she had only $250 in savings—the money she’d told him she could put toward a new water heater—which, come to think of it, she still needed, since she’d foolishly torn out the one he’d given her. But, according to Olivia, Noelle had manipulated their parents into helping her, so maybe she still had a small financial cushion.
“I’m a good server,” she said. “I’ll get on somewhere else.”
He doubted it would be in Whiskey Creek. There weren’t a lot of jobs, and her reputation would precede her. Which meant driving to a different town or maybe the Indian casino that wasn’t too far away...
But why get into that? What she did was her problem. “In the meantime, my spousal maintenance is going to be pretty important...”
There was another pause, this one longer than the last. When she finally responded, he heard a heavy dose of suspicion in her voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’ll need money to get by, no matter what you do. And you’ll be relying on me to provide it.”
“You make it sound like you’re doing me a favor, as if you have some choice in the matter,” she said. “You have to pay me. It’s court-mandated. They’ll take it out of your bank account if you don’t.”
“Except that I’m thousands of dollars ahead, and I can prove it.” He hadn’t added up the exact amount. Until now, he’d had no desire to see it. But he’d kept good records. “Considering the money I’ve given you, it would be six months or so before I’m required to make another payment.”
“Six months!” she cried. “There’s no way you’ve given me that much!”
“Think about it. For the past five years you’ve been treating me like an ATM. I paid over $2,000 to fix your car. I covered your rent several months when you ran short. I’ve paid cell phone and utility bills. And not too long ago, I paid your insurance deductible so you could get your operation. That alone was $3,500.”
“You’re holding my operation against me? My God! What kind of man are you? That was caused by the death of our baby.”
“From the miscarriage, yes. Almost six years ago. We could look more deeply into that, if you feel it’s necessary to bring up the baby. In any case, I doubt the courts would see me as the responsible party if this ever turned into a legal battle.”
“You bastard!”
He could hear the shock in her voice. He’d never played hardball with her; she wasn’t used to it. But he was finished letting her get away with so much. Finished punishing himself for the hurt pride and stupidity that had led him to get involved with her. “I can also prove that I’ve bent over backward to be helpful.”
Surprisingly, she seemed to make an effort to rein in her temper. “And I’ve been grateful. I...I brought you dinner the other night, didn’t I?”
To her, that somehow made their contributions equal? “You did. That was a nice gesture.” Even though she’d only done it hoping he’d get back in bed with her... “So I’ll be generous and take a hundred bucks off the total I’ve paid.”
Silence. Now he’d really thrown her. “What are you getting at, Kyle? Are you saying you’re not going to pay me from now on?”
In the moonlight, Kyle could see the glimmer of snow clinging to the ground in small patches. He turned up the collar of his coat, but he could scarcely feel the cold. “No. That’s not what I’m saying. I wouldn’t want you to have to move back in with your parents.” He knew she’d do anything to avoid that. Then they’d learn exactly how she was living—staying out all night, drinking and partying to excess, sleeping around, buying stuff she didn’t need and then asking to borrow money.
“So why are you mentioning it?” she asked.
She could tell something was up. “Because I think it’s time you and I came to an understanding.”
“You’re piling on, making things worse,” she accused him.
“That isn’t true.”
“It is! You’re so full of yourself now that you have someone else. But you should realize Lourdes won’t be staying forever, Kyle. You won’t be able to have a serious relationship with her. She won’t even remember your name once she goes back to Nashville.”
Noelle had stated that in her typical mean-spirited fashion, but Kyle believed it was true. “What happens between me and Lourdes is none of your business, Noelle. So don’t give me any advice. All I want is for you to stay out of it.”
“I’m just sa
ying you might not want to be too nasty to me. Once she leaves, you may need me again.”
What was she saying now?
“No, I won’t, Noelle. I will never need you, and I haven’t needed you in—” he almost said forever but figured there was no reason to be needlessly cruel “—a long time. And for the record, no matter what you seem to remember, we haven’t had sex since before we separated. There were even three or four months at the end of our marriage when we slept in separate rooms.” Once she’d told him she’d lost the baby, he hadn’t been willing to risk another pregnancy. He hadn’t trusted her. Nor had he desired her. And he had no idea why she felt that would change, except that, as usual, she was inventing things.
“Because you’ve always had a boner for my sister, even though she’s with your own brother!” she screamed.
She’d hurled that accusation at him so many times. It used to bother him—because it was true. But tonight, when he could easily answer with “whatever” and mean it, he knew he was truly over the past. Finally!
“You’ll be sorry for what you’ve done to me,” she said. “You’ve ruined my life!”
His indifference had only made her angrier. “Don’t hang up.” He could tell she was about to. “You need to hear the rest.”
“Go ahead and say it,” she cried. “You’re not going to pay me anymore. Isn’t that what you’re driving at?”
“Whether I pay will depend on you.”
“How?” This response sounded more sulky than angry.
He pivoted at the corner of the patio but kept his head down so his voice wouldn’t carry inside the house. “You have to stay completely away from me and Lourdes. No more calls, no more pleas for help, no more seeing my truck and stopping when I’m trying to eat or shop or grab a cup of coffee—”
“Oh, get over yourself,” she broke in. “You make it sound like I’m stalking you.”
Sometimes it felt that way, but he went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “And you’d better not do anything malicious to Lourdes. If I hear that you’ve been saying slanderous things, posting gossip on the internet or doing anything else that could damage her career—or hurt her in any way—you won’t get another dime out of me.”
“You can’t refuse to pay me forever,” she said, slightly less defiant than she’d been before.
“That may be true. But I can hold off until I owe you money. Then I can make you try to force me. And just before you manage that, I can take you back to court and whittle down the amount I owe per month. I promise you, if it goes that way, you’ll have to pay a lot more of your own bills than you’re paying now.”
“You’ve already had the amount lowered once! The judge won’t let you do it again.”
He didn’t think she was totally convinced of that, despite her words. And neither was he. He’d been so eager for the divorce he’d agreed to pay far too much, so he’d gone back to court to have the amount adjusted. But the judge had simply consented to what he’d offered in lieu of the first amount, which was still more than he should have to pay, considering they’d been together for such a short time and didn’t have any children. He’d been largely supporting her for the past five years. That was plenty of time for a childless partner to take over responsibility for her own finances.
“Are you willing to take that chance?” he asked. “Are you willing to risk getting much less? Or even zero?”
Nothing. No response.
“At least tell me you understand my terms,” he said. “Otherwise, I’ll assume you refuse to comply, and I won’t send January’s check.”
“You’re serious! I just lost my job, probably won’t even be able to eat, and you’d do this?”
She always had her parents. He wasn’t too worried about her eating. “I absolutely would,” he said.
“You’re not being fair—”
“Tell me you understand,” he repeated. “That’s all I want to hear.”
After several seconds, she gave him a grudging, “I understand.” Then she added, “But I’ll never forgive you for this,” and disconnected.
Kyle didn’t feel the elation he’d hoped to feel after that call. Noelle’s parting words left him uneasy. To keep the peace in Whiskey Creek, to prevent the past from tainting Olivia and Brandon’s happiness, and to atone for his own mistakes, he’d always chosen to avoid direct confrontation. He’d stalled Noelle, cajoled her, ignored her when he could and compromised with her when he couldn’t. His go-to solution had been to give her money, because that satisfied her the quickest. He’d never decisively kicked her out of his life—not until now—and wasn’t entirely sure how she’d react.
But he meant what he’d said. He wouldn’t hand her another dime if she did anything she shouldn’t.
He was finished with letting what he’d felt for Olivia control him. There was no question he was finished putting up with Noelle. Although he’d been shackled to both women, for different reasons, he was breaking free...
Taking a deep breath, he smiled. Maybe he did feel a little elated.
18
As soon as she got off the phone with Kyle, Noelle called Olivia, but Olivia didn’t pick up. It took three attempts before she did.
“Hello?”
At last. When Olivia answered, Noelle could tell by the thickness of her voice that she’d been sleeping.
“Noelle? Is that you?” she said when Noelle didn’t immediately respond.
Drawing out her sister’s wait for dramatic effect, Noelle fiddled with the faucet on her kitchen sink. It’d started leaking about five minutes ago, and nothing she’d tried had fixed the problem. She needed a plumber—for this and to install a new water heater. As a matter of fact, she needed a lot of things, and she’d be much less likely to get them now that she’d lost her job. She wasn’t sure why she’d been working at Sexy Sadie’s, anyway. She shouldn’t have to work two jobs, not when everyone around her had it so much easier. Olivia was planning Riley’s wedding—as if that was hard.
“Noelle?” Olivia repeated, this time with the appropriate concern. “Are you okay?”
“No. I’m not okay,” she said, faking tears. “Kyle just called me.”
There was some rustling at the other end. “This late?”
“I told you. He isn’t the considerate guy you think he is.”
Olivia made no reply, but Noelle could hear Brandon in the background. “Who is it, babe? What’s going on?”
“It’s my sister,” Olivia murmured. “Go back to sleep. I’ll talk to her in the living room.”
“Hang on,” Olivia said into the phone and didn’t speak again for several seconds—until she wouldn’t disturb her beloved husband. The same beloved husband who wouldn’t give Noelle the time of day. He was a prick, she thought, just as bad as his stepbrother.
“Okay...what’s going on? Why did Kyle call you? And please don’t suggest it was a booty call. He told me you two haven’t been seeing each other in that way.”
“Of course he’d say that. Now he’s banging the great Lourdes Bennett, he has no use for me. He was calling to tell me he’s not going to pay my spousal maintenance anymore. Can you believe that?”
“But Kyle knows he can’t stop. When you divorced, he agreed to a certain amount every month. I remember that amount went down not too long ago, but he’s been paying, hasn’t he?”
“Apparently, he’s planning to take me back to court and have it reduced to nothing.” She sniffed. “I have no idea how I’ll get by.”
“Don’t panic yet. I’m not sure the judge will allow—”
“Kyle’s got the money to hire the kind of high-powered lawyers who can do it, Olivia,” she broke in.
“Still, that doesn’t sound like Kyle. He’s tried really hard to be generous with you.”
“You only say that because
you don’t want to believe he could be such an asshole. You’d rather believe I’m the cause of all the problems between us. Everything’s my fault. It’s always me.”
“Noelle, stop. I’m not pointing any fingers. I’m trying to figure out why he’d suddenly change course. He’s been great about paying you. He’s even gone above and beyond on occasion, probably more than I know.”
“He hasn’t gone above and beyond. He’s been keeping track of every dime he’s ever given me, and now he’s charging me for it.”
“Anyone would do that, Noelle. He doesn’t owe you extra money, so even a loan is nice. All he owes is the amount specified by the court, which he pays—usually early, since you’re so desperate for it.”
“You want me to give him credit for that? Why would I? It’s nothing, a pittance! If we were still married, I’d be living as well as he does.”
“But you’re not married, and you haven’t been for five years.”
“That doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have to count every dollar, especially when he has so much more than I do.”
Olivia made a sound of irritation. “Sometimes the way you think— Never mind. Anyway, he just gave you a water heater. That was nice, wasn’t it?”
“He gave me an old water heater.”
“He didn’t have to. And I’m sure he’s not charging you for it.”
“Because he wanted to get it out of his warehouse and didn’t have anything better to do with it!”
After a brief pause, Olivia sighed audibly. Then she said, “I’m sorry. It must be upsetting for you. After losing your job, any new problems would seem overwhelming.”
That was a dodge. As usual, her sister was just paying her lip service. Olivia wouldn’t truly take her side, not when it came to Kyle. She respected him too much and didn’t have that same respect for Noelle. But who was Olivia to feel superior? She acted as if she’d done a great thing by forgiving Noelle for getting together with Kyle, but she and Kyle weren’t even a couple when Noelle ran into him that night at Sexy Sadie’s. Olivia had moved away to Sacramento, put her business ahead of her supposed “love.” Then she’d played the martyr when Noelle stepped in to take what she’d left behind.