Taming the Moguls

by Christy Hayes

  “Yikes.”

  “It gets worse. When I pulled up in the driveway of the house I can no longer afford, this guy pulled up behind me and Shi got out. Turns out he’s our neighbor, but I didn’t know that at the time. I flipped out and accused her of cheating. She slapped me. When she shouted the truth, I realized I deserved it, but my fuse was already lit and we went at it pretty hard. Nothing physical,” Kevin explained when Lyle’s mouth fell open. “We just got a lot off our chests.” He took another sip. “I never would have believed she could pack a bag so quick. She took off, and I haven’t heard from her since.”

  “I haven’t seen her around town, and believe me, I’ve been looking since I saw you at the wedding.”

  “I’d like to think she’s licking her wounds the way I’ve been licking mine.”

  “I imagine they’re pretty deep after six years of marriage.”

  “Six? Not even four, dumbass. Good thing you majored in lit.”

  “Four, six,” Lyle waved a hand. “It feels like forever.”

  “Yes, it does.”

  “So what are you going to do?” Lyle asked.

  “On which front?”

  “Both, I guess.”

  “Dodge said he could use some help with the cows.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Lyle joked. Helping Dodge, or any farmer, in the coldest months of the year was the exact opposite of fun. Kevin especially hated manual labor.

  “I talked to Skipper over at the airport. They’re looking for someone to run the crop duster come spring if Manny decides to retire.”

  “He’s been grumbling about retiring for years,” Lyle said, “but his wife’s not doing well. It might be a good time to call it quits.”

  “That’s what Skip thought.” Kevin sighed. “Never thought I’d be wishing for the crop duster job.”

  “Not quite as fancy as airline pilot.”

  “Not even close.”

  “You really think you’ll stick around? What about the house you just bought?”

  “On the market.” Kevin stared at the label on his beer as if he could see that house. “Not much moves around the holidays, and if it doesn’t sell until spring, that ought to eat up what’s left of my savings.”

  “Does Shiloh know?”

  When Kevin looked up, his answer seemed redundant. “No.”

  “Don’t you think you should tell her? What if she heads home and sees a sign in the yard?”

  “She won’t. I know her. She won’t leave her mama’s ‘til I’ve groveled and promised her the moon. This time, I’m not going to do that.”

  “Why not? Seems to me like some groveling is in order.”

  “I screwed up, no question, but I’m done being a lesser partner in this marriage. I let her talk me into buying a house we can barely afford. I let her spend money we don’t have until we’re in debt up to our ears. I didn’t pick up the phone when she called because I knew I would get yelled at like a damn kid. I’ve worked my ass off trying to make her happy, and all she ever did was whine and nag.”

  “Sounds like you might not be ready to kiss and make up.”

  “I don’t want to make up.” Kevin placed the empty beer bottle on the coffee table. “I want to start over. I love her, I always have, but we need a fresh start. Here’s as good a place as any.”

  “Does Dodge know how long you’re planning to stay? He was damn near giddy when I moved out.”

  “That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

  Lyle shook his head as realization dawned. “Uh-uh. No way. This is my place, and I don’t have room.”

  “Dodge said if I was planning to stay longer than a week, I had to find my own place. I’m broke, Lyle. I can’t even afford a dump. If I eat up what little savings I’ve got on an apartment in town, I won’t be able to pay the mortgage and the bank will take the house.”

  Lyle jumped up and strode around the small space. “I just moved in and Erica—”

  “Lives right across the river in a spacious house of her own.”

  “Damn it, I can’t just move in with her.”

  “Why not? I know you two are hitting the sheets with that stupid grin and all.”

  “She’s different. I don’t want to live with her until…”

  “Until?” Kevin asked. “Holy shit. You’re thinking about marriage?”

  “Thinking about and doing it are two different things.”

  “One and the same, little brother. They’re practically one and the same.”

  “You’re just saying that because you want my cabin.”

  “I’m saying that because I need a place to stay and because it’s the truth. You don’t think about marriage until you’ve met the woman you intend to marry.”

  “Says the recently separated man who married his middle-school girlfriend.”

  “Does it make you feel better to kick me when I’m down?” Kevin asked.

  “Stay your week at Mom’s, and let me think about it.”

  “What’s to think about? I’m either bunking with you or I’m out on the street.”

  “You could stay with your wife.”

  “Starting fresh means no groveling. Come on, Lyle. Are you going to make me beg?”

  Lyle rubbed his throbbing head. Damn it. He’d just gotten settled and just taken a huge step with Erica. Lyle couldn’t catch a break. “Fine. I’ll give you the office, but there’s no bed in there, so you’d better bum a sleeping bag off Mom.”

  “You’re putting me on the floor?”

  “It’s there or the couch.”

  “Fine. I think Mom has a blow up mattress she’ll let me borrow.” Kevin stood and held out his hand. “I appreciate this. When you and your little woman have a fight, I’ll return the favor.”

  Lyle reluctantly shook his hand. Great. Just great. He’d envisioned a roommate, but not one with balls and facial hair. His fantasy of sharing intimate meals with Erica in the cozy cabin he’d renovated disappeared as fast as Kevin did after Lyle agreed to let him stay.

  Chapter 10

  Tommy brought the cold weather inside the Tap when he jogged from the ski shop to the restaurant. The menus fluttered as he pulled the door closed. A chorus of “Hey, Tommy”, hat tips, and waves greeted him as he looked around. He slipped into the vacant seat next to A.J. Dodge. Meredith delivered Dodge’s burger and a cup of steaming coffee for Tommy.

  Dodge acknowledged him with a grunt before biting into the burger. Tommy added sugar to his coffee and waited for Dodge to chew and swallow.

  “You got a minute?” Tommy asked Dodge.

  “From the size of this burger, looks like I’ve got about ten.” He wiped his hands on the paper napkin. “What’s up?”

  “I got an email from Holcomb.”

  “The Holcomb?”

  “The one and only. He wants to send a guy down to meet with me about Bear Stream.”

  “Interesting.” Dodge took a sip of his Coke. “You going to do it?”

  “I’m inclined to, if for no other reason than to see what he’s got to say. I’m sure he’s hoping to bulldoze over us country bumpkins, but I’m not stupid enough to be swayed by false promises.”

  “I’d be shocked if you were.”

  “I wanted to get your take on the meeting. See what you thought.” Tommy swiveled to face Dodge. “You’ve articulated—in a straightforward and honest way—the implications of a development the size of which they’d like to put at Bear Stream. You’ve seen it first hand from both sides.”

  “I have. Hell, you’ve seen how just the possibility of this thing going through has land prices on the rise. Taxes will be next. Before you know it, generations of ranchers and farmers will start selling out because they can’t pay the taxes or the value of the land is too much to resist. Working their land will seem like a waste of time.” He munched a fry. “Water supply, water quality, the effect on the wetlands and the wildlife, not to mention the businesses on both sides of the pass. Economically and environmentally, a devel
opment the size they’re proposing has fingers with very long reach.”

  “Exactly. We’ve said, as a group, that we’d be willing to accept a compromise if we’re in jeopardy of losing, and as long as Holcomb’s been at this, I don’t think he’s going to give up now.”

  “Can’t imagine he would.”

  Tommy gulped his coffee when his eyes felt heavy from sitting still. “So, I’m going to go to the meeting. I’ll listen, take notes, and see which way the wind blows.”

  “I’d do the same.”

  Tommy pushed his cup away. Any more and he’d feel jittery. “I was hoping you’d say that because I’d like you to come along.”

  “Me?” Dodge froze while lifting his burger from his plate to his mouth. “Why me?”

  “For all the reasons you just gave, plus your base is in Hailey. Like you said, this thing has fingers. All my businesses are in the Lower Fork, so having someone along from Hailey would help. Besides, you’re a rancher and landowner. The development will affect you in a way it won’t affect me. You might process the information differently because of your perspective.”

  Dodge dropped his burger and sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “You know how…passionate some folks at STS are about stopping Holcomb. Most days, we feel like we’re fighting a losing battle. If I go alone and come back willing to listen, willing to compromise, they’re going to think I drank the Kool-Aid. If you go too, and we come back singing the same tune”—he shrugged—“they might just listen.”

  “Anyone else going? Mitchell Garrity?” Dodge asked, and scrunched his face as if he’d bitten into a lemon.

  “No one but you and me, if you agree.”

  “Fine. I’ll go as long as there’s not a Garrity on board. I don’t trust either one of them.”

  Tommy smirked. “Patrick’s the one who rubs me wrong.”

  “They put the ass in passionate,” Dodge deadpanned.

  Tommy let out a barking laugh and slapped Dodge on the back. “You got that right.”

  “When’s the meeting?” Dodge asked and resumed eating.

  “Next week sometime. I’ll write back and let you know. Any days not work?”

  “I’ve got a shipment coming in on Tuesday. I’d rather not have to deal with this then.”

  “Not on Tuesday,” Tommy said. “Easy enough. I appreciate your help with this, Dodge.”

  “No sense you killing yourself alone when this thing affects us all. Most folks figure the development is somebody else’s problem even though we’ll all feel the effects. You know better and are willing to stand up so our voices get heard. If anyone else was asking, I’d have told them to fuck off.”

  Tommy stifled a grin. “To be honest, that’s what I expected.”

  “I like you, Tommy. You work hard—harder than most—and you keep your nose clean. You look after your family and your businesses and the valley. I respect that.”

  Tommy was humbled. Dodge was a decade older than him—too young to be a father figure—but he was a solid man and highly respected. Tommy had hoped his father would one day utter those words, but he’d been gone a long time. Tommy thought his need to hear that kind of praise had died with him. Apparently not. His mother, alive and kicking in Chicago, had and would never utter such a compliment. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.”

  “It’s the truth.” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket when Meredith slid the bill across the counter.

  “It’s on me.” Tommy crumbled the ticket before Dodge could fetch his cash. “I appreciate your help.”

  Dodge shrugged and held out his hand. “Let me know about the meeting.”

  Chapter 11

  Gretchen answered her cell on the second ring. She was relieved to hear the voice on the other end. “Robert, how are you?”

  “All’s good back at home. Alex is keeping us entertained.”

  “I’m sure he is.” She pulled her rental car into a convenience store and parked along the side. “He said you took him to a basketball game and you sat courtside.”

  “The best seat in the house.”

  “You spoil him, Robert. You and Elise both.”

  “We love him, Gretchen. He keeps us young.” Robert and Elise Holcomb had played an essential role as pseudo-grandparents, but no one could fill the void left by his father. Alex was desperate for a father. As much as Gretchen despised Ryan, in the beginning, she hadn’t tried to keep them apart. She was too young and scared to do anything but survive. She knew Ryan had no interest in the child that had provided the only stumbling block in his seemingly perfect ascent to stardom. “Besides,” Robert continued, “he told me you’d already gotten him a gift.”

  “You asked me to become familiar with the area. There’s an antique store in Del Noches that has the most wonderful Indian relics. I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

  “So, what do you think of the valley?”

  Gretchen looked out the window at the naked trees in a nearby park and the cars lazily moving through Hailey’s main drag. “I think it’s nice. Cold, slow, and quaint are the words that come to mind. It could rival Chicago for the Windy City title.”

  “Yes. I recently discovered someone’s applied for a wind study. It got me thinking.”

  “You’re always thinking.” Robert never let a business opportunity pass him by. “Have you set the date? I’m anxious to get home and see Alex.” She couldn’t hang out in the valley and avoid Tommy forever. People were friendly enough, but a few more days spent driving and poking around and they’d start asking questions. She’d risked driving past Tommy’s businesses during the day. As expected, they were thriving, but she hadn’t caught a glimpse of him. She desperately wanted to see his house in the daylight but couldn’t risk getting caught.

  “Next Monday. I sent you an email with the details.”

  Two more days. “Good.” Gretchen cleared her throat. “I spoke to Ryan. He’s up to something.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s taking Alex skiing over his week at Christmas. When I offered to take Alex off his hands, he said no.”

  Robert whistled through his teeth. “He never says no.”

  “Which is how I know he’s up to something. I don’t like it. Alex has never skied before, and we both know Ryan doesn’t have the patience to teach him.”

  “He’ll probably stick Alex in ski school the whole time.”

  “I’d rather Ryan do that than trudge up the mountain and expect Alex to follow. Alex hates heights.”

  “I know you don’t want to hear this, but he is the boy’s father.”

  “Only when there’s something in it for him. I just can’t figure out what that would be this time.”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything until you got back,” Robert said, “but word on the street is Ryan’s in trouble. There are rumors he had sex with a minor.”

  Gretchen almost spit out the sip of water she’d taken. “A minor? Are you kidding?”

  “Heard it from a reliable source.”

  Gretchen felt a sickening sense of dread. What if he’d done it again? “He’s a washed-up football player, a divorced deadbeat dad, and has a revolving door of women. Now he’s having sex with young girls? Does the man have any standards?”

  “Come on, Gretchen, I don’t have to tell you how big his ego is.”

  “What about the sportscaster deal? Do you think he’s in danger of losing his job?”

  “If charges are filed, I’m sure he will.”

  “God,” Gretchen grumbled and clenched the steering wheel, “he feels so entitled to everything. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Do you think this ski trip has anything to do with the rumors?”

  Robert sighed. “Could be he’s thinking to use Alex to clean up his reputation. No one would believe a delinquent father. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stages a photo shoot.”

  If Ryan needed Alex for show, he’d want to spend time with him on a regular basis. Alex did
so much better without the anticipation of spending time with his dad, especially when Ryan ignored him the whole time. Ryan’s sudden interest without a desire for a genuine connection would only confuse the boy and undo all the progress he’d made in the last few years. “I don’t want his pictures all over the news. Alex would hate that.”

  “And so would you.”

  “Yes, I would. Damn it, I’ll never be free of him. I thought we were moving in the right direction since he wanted nothing to do with Alex. I feel like I’m back to square one.”

  “Don’t jump too far ahead. Nothing is for certain,” Robert said.

  “This is my fault. I started to think optimistically about the future. Alex was giving up hope on a relationship with his father, and this will stir him right back up. I don’t want him to get his heart broken.”

  “You can’t control what Ryan does or how Alex reacts. You can only be there for him if and when he needs you.”

  Everything she’d ever done was for Alex. Stalking her former love from a safe distance was the one selfish act she’d allowed herself in a decade. “I will be there for him. I always am.”

  “Elise and I are glad you agreed to take the time and get away on your own. I know this is business, but I want you to relax until the meeting.”

  “I know, I know. I’m relaxing.” She was bored from the free time. “Let’s talk Monday before the meeting.” She hung up feeling grateful her boss had, by some miracle, become her friend. She opened her emails with her phone. She sucked in a sharp breath as she read Robert’s email. “No!” The phone slipped from her fingers. “Oh no.”

  Chapter 12

  Tommy followed Dodge into the brewery restaurant in the dusty hiccup between the Lower Fork and Hailey known as Del Noches. The town made most of its money in the spring and summer when tourists jammed the streets for antique shopping and one of the festivals held every month. The specialty brewery had opened a few years ago.