Change of Heart

by T. J. Kline

  Guilt slid into his chest, twisting and coiling around his lungs. He owed her the same. Especially if he cared about her as much as he claimed. But he didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes. He wanted to fix the situation first so that when he told her, he’d see admiration instead.

  Gage took a deep breath and pressed a kiss to the top of Leah’s head before carefully sliding out of the bed. Grabbing his clothing from the dresser, he dressed quickly and tossed a few items into the duffel bag he’d packed the day before.

  “You’re leaving?”

  Gage froze. He’d hoped to make his escape while she slept. To get to San Francisco and back without having this conversation in person. Not yet. Not after last night. He needed just a few days longer.

  “I have to go to San Francisco, and I’m running late, but Leah . . . ” Gage paused, trying to gather his courage. “When I get back, we need to talk.”

  Pansy-ass. Suck it up and spit it out, already.

  She rose onto one elbow, the sheet falling away from her shoulder, and yearning shot through him, making his body hard and his chest ache. He saw the worry in her eyes and hated that he’d caused it.

  “Gage?” Her voice caught on his name, and he could hear the doubt in her tone.

  He turned with a sigh, not giving himself an opportunity to run from this again. “You know my last name is Granger and that I run an IT company, but I didn’t tell you it was Iconics Industries.”

  “Iconics? The company that made Titanium?” A frown creased her brow, and she sat up, pulling the sheet around her.

  “I’m also the reason for our current legal troubles. I signed off on a security program that I knew wasn’t ready. The company was under pressure to perform, and I knew we couldn’t take the hit releasing it late would cause.”

  He rubbed his hands on his thighs, unable to look her in the eye. “It was a mistake that cost the company millions. Then I found out that our COO is trying to get rid of me if I don’t fire enough people to cover the cost of the settlements. That way, it won’t affect our bottom line and the stockholders can still be appeased.” Gage pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “How many?”

  “About four hundred employees, maybe more.”

  She shook her head, hiding her face behind a curtain of caramel-colored waves. He didn’t want to see the loathing in her face. Leah fought for the underdogs, those who couldn’t fight for themselves. He didn’t want to think about how she’d feel about a man who didn’t do the same. “And you’re okay with doing that to them?”

  “No, but I’m not sure what the options are.” He was going to try his best to convince the other partners, but things might be entirely out of his hands at this point. “I may not have a choice.”

  “You always have a choice.”

  He threw his hands up. It was futile trying to make her understand. “I’m doing everything I can to fix it. But the fact that I ran away instead of facing it head on doesn’t exactly instill confidence in my decision making to the rest of the partners.”

  “What do you mean, ‘you ran away?’ ”

  “I needed some time to get my head on straight.” He reached for his bag. “I have to go, Leah. They’re expecting me and I’m already late.” He didn’t look at her, couldn’t stand to see the accusation in her eyes. He would fix this and prove he was the man she thought he was. Somehow.

  “What makes you so sure that’s not exactly what you’re doing again?”

  He paused with his hand on the door, unable to answer, because he couldn’t be sure she wasn’t right.

  Chapter Twenty

  THE SUNRISE CAST the entire room in a deep orange glow as Leah watched Gage leave. She heard the loud roar of the Challenger’s engine before the gravel crunched under his tires.

  Gage was gone. Not just physically, but the man she thought she’d come to know over the past week. He’d kept so much of his life a secret, even after she’d confessed so much of her own. He’d been her rescuer and now, to see him in the role of villain, ready to fire hundreds of people to protect his own interests, made her doubt her own judgment. She wasn’t sure what to believe. Who was the callous man who’d just walked out of this room without a backward glance or a promise to return?

  He’d heard her question. She’d seen it in the way his shoulders hunched. Instead of answering, he’d walked away.

  The room was quiet, completely still as she waited for an answer to materialize. When none came, she took a deep breath and flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling and wondering how she could have been so stupid. She had allowed herself to fall for him, the one thing she’d sworn to never do. She’d opened herself up completely and had been rewarded with rejection.

  He’d gotten what he’d wanted and disappeared.

  You should have known better than to trust a man, she scolded herself.

  She couldn’t blame Gage entirely. She’d been a willing participant in their relationship, more than willing. Leah reached for the quilt at the foot of the bed, tugging it around her, wanting to insulate her heart as easily from the pain that seemed to chill her. She’d been weak, and Gage had simply used that weakness to his advantage. A single tear slid from her eye into her hair, but she quickly swiped it away. It was only sex, and it wasn’t the first time she’d been used and cast aside. She’d survived before, and she would survive this time as well.

  Leah slid from Gage’s bed and retrieved her clothing from the floor. She wasn’t looking forward to making the “walk of shame” to her house, but if she was careful, she could sneak into her back door without anyone the wiser.

  She looked around the room. Gage’s presence could still be felt. He hadn’t taken everything—there was a pair of jeans and a T-shirt slung over the corner of the bed, clothes hung behind the slightly askew closet door—which mean he’d be returning. It also meant that she needed to snuff out her emotions before then. She couldn’t make this same mistake again, regardless of how her body responded to him. Even now, her insides began to hum at the thought of his hands.

  Leah silently tugged on her clothing and snuck out the front door, hurrying to her own house. Once inside, she closed the door, leaning against it.

  “It was just a mistake,” she whispered in the silence, trying to ignore the ache throbbing deep in her chest the admission caused her. “One I’ll never make again.”

  Puma and Lynx came skidding around the corner, meowing loudly, demanding breakfast. Leah was grateful for the distraction they provided, but she knew, like Gage’s disappearance, it was only temporary.

  “HEY, LEAH!” BAILEY waved from the doorway of the dog kennel. “What brings you here?”

  Leah tucked her hands into her pockets and headed for the outbuilding, casting a wary glance at the main house, wondering if Julia was inside waiting but not wanting to be rude by ignoring Bailey.

  “Julia and I were going to see if some of the dogs might be ready to work with a group of girls Jessie has coming.” She stepped inside and was greeted by loud yips and barks, enough to rattle her senses for a moment.

  “Quiet down, you guys,” Bailey said firmly to the animals. Surprisingly, most of them obeyed immediately.

  “They listened.”

  “I have the magic touch,” Bailey joked. “They only get like that for two reasons: visitors and feeding time.” She walked down the aisle between the large indoor runs and led Leah into a small kitchenette area, motioning for her to have a seat at a small pub table at one end of the room.

  “Julia should be out in a bit. She was just finishing feeding Emily.” Bailey reached inside a refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water, holding one out to Leah. “Want one?”

  “Sure.” She took the bottle and eyed the woman taking the seat across the table from her.

  So far, she hadn’t spent much time talking to Bailey, but the little she had at the barbecue had made it clear that Bailey was a straight shooter. She said whatever came to mind. As Leah watched her now,
lips twisted to one side thoughtfully, eyes hesitant, it made her wonder what Bailey was thinking and why she didn’t just say it.

  “What?” Leah asked, taking the offensive.

  Bailey sighed. “You look upset and Jessie mentioned that you and Gage—” She shrugged. “Never mind. It’s none of my business. It’s just, Gage is a good friend.”

  “I’m sure he is. Not to mention, he’s Julia’s brother-in-law. I’m not sure what Jessie told you but—”

  “Are you two together?”

  “What?” Leah was taken aback. Bailey was right; her relationship with Gage was none of her business. But she got the distinct impression this family didn’t operate under normal personal boundaries. “Gage and I are . . . we’re friends.”

  “Friends?” Bailey repeated.

  Leah wasn’t even sure the word quantified what she and Gage were. Friends may have been a good explanation before the latest complication. Now, she wasn’t as sure. But, at least it was a safe explanation and far better than the truth.

  Bailey didn’t give her the opportunity to respond. “Because I know this really great guy, and I think the two of you have a lot in common.” She went on without waiting for any encouragement. “He’s a doctor in town, a pediatrician.”

  “I don’t know, Bailey, I don’t usually—”

  “It wouldn’t be anything serious, not even a date. But Jessie said you haven’t really left the ranch since you got here, and I know Blake needs a night out to unwind. I just thought having a few more friends around town wouldn’t hurt.”

  Leah might have imagined Bailey’s emphasis on the word friends, but she didn’t think so. What could she say without arousing Bailey’s suspicions?

  “I guess.”

  “Why don’t we hit The Watering Hole tomorrow night? I’ll double check with Blake, but I’m pretty sure he’s got the night off. Chase will be there, too, since I’m singing an early set. There you are, Jules,” Bailey said, looking toward the doorway where Julia leaned against the frame, her daughter on her hip. “You and Dylan want to join us tomorrow evening for a night out?”

  Just the idea of going out with Bailey and Chase made Leah nervous, but adding in Julia and Dylan made her heart skip a beat. Dylan looked so much like Gage, and the pain of his departure was still too fresh. Leah wasn’t in any hurry to spend an entire evening with him.

  “And who will I get to babysit?”

  Relief flooded Leah, just before guilt set in. How could she begrudge the couple a night out? Suddenly an idea surfaced. “I’ll watch her. You four go out.”

  “I’ve got a better idea. What about Aleta? She’d love to watch her.”

  Julia looked like she was considering the idea. “She doesn’t have any night classes right now, and I’m sure she’d love the extra money, since she’s trying to save up for her own place.” Julia shrugged. “Maybe Jessie and Nathan want to come?”

  Leah felt caught up in a whirlwind and wondered how this had gotten out of her control. Bailey pulled her phone from her back pocket and tapped her fingers against the screen. “I’ll let everyone know. This is going to be a blast.”

  Julia smiled as Bailey hurried out of the kitchen. “Ready to find a couple of dogs?”

  “What just happened?” Leah asked, unsure how she’d just gotten roped into a blind date with three other couples.

  “Hurricane Bailey blew through.” She laughed and rubbed her nose against Emily’s. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

  “GAGE, WHAT THE hell is going on?”

  Looking up from the laptop he’d set up in the office he’d appropriated in their San Francisco building, Gage frowned at George. He’d been busy putting the final touches on his plea to the shareholders, but he wasn’t sure how much he wanted to reveal before the meeting this morning. However, he knew he couldn’t keep George in the dark about his plans. He owed it to him, especially when Gage took into account what this change was likely to cost George.

  “Come inside.” He motioned to George to shut the door behind him. “We need to talk.”

  “You know that this is going to get ugly, right? Cooper is ready to hang you out to dry.”

  “I know, and I’m going to give him his way.”

  Shock registered on George’s face, just before his eyes clouded with anger. “Are you kidding? You’re going to leave me to deal with this mess?”

  “You don’t want this any more than I do.” Gage held his arms out, indicating the massive office. “This isn’t what we set out to do, Georgie. We were going to make a difference. All we’ve done is make Cooper and the rest of the stockholders richer. We haven’t helped anyone. Not really.”

  George shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh. “You didn’t seem to mind before these lawsuits.”

  “Bullshit. We’ve both been complaining about what this company has turned into. We turned into ‘yes-men,’ and it got us into this mess. If I hadn’t been the one to cave and sign my name to that program, they would’ve gotten you to do it.” George crossed his arms, but he didn’t deny it. “We’ve let the shareholders take what we started, our company, and destroy it. They’ve turned it into some corporate monster only satisfied when it’s churning out profits.”

  “So, your solution is to run away?”

  “My solution is to wash our hands and start over. Do it our way this time and really make a difference.” It felt good to say the words aloud. Just the act of saying them gave Gage more determination to see his idea to fruition. “I want to start a program for gifted kids.”

  “What?” George laughed, nervously. “Okay, for a second, I thought you were going to walk away from all of this in order to play games.”

  Gage shrugged. “Sort of, I guess. We were nearly destroyed by a bunch of bored kids. What if we taught them how to turn those skills into something marketable, if we taught them to make a difference for their futures?”

  “How is that going to make Iconics money?”

  “It’s not.” Gage laughed at the ridiculousness of what he was proposing, but it didn’t stop him from knowing it was the right thing for him to do.

  George rose from the chair and stalked to the door, ready to storm out of the room, but he turned back suddenly. “Are you joking? Take the same kids who cost us millions and teach them to do worse?”

  Gage leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head. “No, help them learn to focus their skills, to hone their abilities into something good. Think about how much more we could have done, even before college, if someone would have helped direct us, helped us find our niche. I’ve already got most of the funding lined up, and I have several professors from local colleges willing to donate time to teach these kids.”

  Gage saw George clench his fists at his sides before jamming them into the pockets of his slacks. “You’re really going to go through with this? Leave Iconics and teach kids? What if I say no?”

  “Then I’m going to do it alone.” Gage rose from behind the desk and, walking to the front of it, leaned his hip on the corner. “But, Georgie, I don’t want to. I want you in this with me, man. Like the old days.”

  “You’re crazy.” George sighed heavily, before walking out of the office and leaving Gage completely alone.

  “YOU REALLY THINK these three will work?” Leah sat on the stoop in the yard where she and Julia had just finished working the dogs. Tango, Julia’s massive Great Dane, trotted around the yard, while a long-haired shepherd mix sniffed at Julia’s feet. A Lab and border collie played tug-of-war with a long rope nearby. “They don’t even seem . . . I don’t know, interested?”

  “Bingo, Chaz, come.” The two playing in the yard dropped their rope and hurried to Julia’s side. “Sit.” All three dogs planted their rear to the ground and looked up at her expectantly. She turned toward Leah. “Now, bury your face in your hands like you’re crying.”

  “What?”

  “Just do it.”

  Leah shrugged slightly and hunche
d her shoulders, covering her face with her hands. She was just about to make sobbing sounds when Razor, the German shepherd nudged her hands with his nose. Bingo, the border collie, laid his smooth head against her thigh, and Chaz laid a paw on her leg, his dark eyes concerned. Even Tango came trotting over to see what was going on.

  “See?” Julia grinned. “They’re grounding, and each one does it differently. They might act like regular dogs, but the fact that they’ll drop what they’re doing instantly is a good sign.” She reached out to pet the dogs. “And that was with you faking it. Imagine if it were real.”

  Julia cued the dogs to move, releasing them into the yard to play again and sat down beside Leah. “You realize you’re probably going to need to keep them with you most of the time. These aren’t going to be typical outside pets.”

  “I have two kittens in the house already. Now I get to add three dogs?” Leah shook her head and leaned her chin into her palm.

  “Not what you signed up for, huh?” Julia chuckled.

  “Not exactly. It’s a good thing Gage—” she stopped, the mere act of saying his name making her lungs constrict.

  Julia eyed her suspiciously, and she immediately regretted mentioning him at all. Now that she had, she was better off finishing her thought than leaving it hanging and letting Julia guess about their relationship.

  “He’s been helping me with the kittens. I have no clue what I’m doing.”

  “Gage has? I’m surprised he knows how to take care of kittens.”

  “Justin helped us get them settled and vaccinated, but they love Gage.”

  “Most animals have a sense about good people. He’s a good guy.”

  Leah wanted to change the subject. She didn’t need to get into a discussion with Gage’s sister-in-law about what kind of man he was. Leah didn’t want to be the one to crush his “good guy” image by telling Julia how he’d left her in his bed without even a good-bye.