Silence fell over the room. Mayor Cooper removed her arm from his and stepped away leaving her alone in the middle of the room. All eyes were on her except Sawyer’s. He was staring at the floor. She had embarrassed him, made him look pathetic in front of the whole town.
But that’s what you wanted. That was the whole idea.
The inspiration came from Janice when she said Sawyer’s career wouldn’t survive if this deception got out. Shelby’s intention was to get it out in the most publicly embarrassing method possible. To make him feel what she felt—completely and utterly betrayed. But revenge didn’t have the satisfying tang she thought it would. She wished she could crawl into a hole.
Dolly broke the spell that had fallen over the room. “If you don’t want to marry Sawyer, you don’t have to. I think he’s a fine man but I’m partial. It’s your life. You must marry whomever you choose.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to marry Sawyer—”
“Of course you do. You’re in love with him. Anyone can see that.”
“Dolly!” The word echoed through the hall like a gunshot. “Stop this. You aren’t senile; you know exactly what’s going on. This wedding was a hoax and Sawyer, Ryan and Janice were the perpetrators.”
“Nonsense. He gave you Barbara’s engagement ring.” Dolly scratched at her cheek and peered at Sawyer and Ryan. “Boys, how far were you planning to take this hoax?”
“Shelby had to be stopped, Aunt Dolly. She had to be shown she’s just as hypocritical and dishonest as she accuses Sawyer and me of being. I’m sorry it had to come to this, but she brought it on herself.” Ryan tried to grin. “Although, if Sawyer married her that would keep her off our backs, or at least out of our septic tanks.”
Shelby turned to him, wide-eyed. There was only one way Ryan could know about the fiasco with the septic tank. Sawyer had told his brother about her investigation. So. He had turned out to be a corrupt official as well. He really had her fooled with his talk about the poor in Mandrake Falls needing jobs. Fooled to the point she was prepared to back Ryan’s proposed expansion in this week’s editorial.
Shelby found her voice. She had lied to protect Dolly and Sawyer had lied to protect his brother. As far as she was concerned they were even.
“I’m glad you brought up my investigation of your company, Ryan. Everyone here will be interested to know how you threatened me to keep the Gazette out of the council meeting yesterday.”
“I didn’t threaten you. You asked me to play along with this fake romance with my brother and I agreed on the condition that you pass on the meeting. You did. Apparently, when it comes to your personal comfort you’re willing to sell out your so-called principles.”
Shelby saw Jason pull out his notepad while Trevor surreptitiously readied his camera. Her staff wasn’t going to let a little thing like their boss’s broken heart get in the way of a good story.
“You wanted to keep me out of that meeting because I’d tell the public you’re trying to push a revision to the Country Barn plan through council—an entertainment complex that will wipe out Main Street, not to mention the environment. Can you explain how this expansion fits in with the original approved permit for the site? Is this an attempt to scare the smaller retailers off, leaving the Barn open, so to speak, for the big chain stores to move in?”
Shelby had hit the mark. A murmur rose through the hall as Mandrake Falls reacted. Ryan blanched and looked to Mayor Cooper for rescue. Before the mayor could answer, Janice Feron’s voice cracked the atmosphere like a whip.
“Who do you think you are questioning Ryan McIntyre’s credibility? The McIntyre family has lived here for generations. We can trust that Ryan and Sawyer have this town’s best interests at heart. You, on the other hand, come from the streets, the offspring of a petty thief and a hooker, sleeping in doorways, causing trouble for every foster family that was willing to take you in. Lying and manipulation is what you know best. You even tricked this town into believing you were Dolly Porter’s niece. She’s not your aunt. You’re not related by blood. That was another lie, another manipulation.”
Silence fell over the large hall like a blow. Shelby felt the blood leave her face and the room swam. She raised her eyes to Sawyer.
Dolly slipped her arm through Shelby’s. “Come on, Shelby, dear. Let’s go. I’m tired of this and I’d like to go home.”
She nodded blindly, feeling her way to the door of the hall with Dolly on her arm. She couldn’t think about Sawyer’s betrayals with a clear head. Her body was strangely numb. Shock, she supposed. Eventually it would wear off, but with any luck not before she was home in her own bed. She felt the ring on her left hand and stopped at the door. Viciously, she twisted it off and spun around. She caught sight of Sawyer’s dark gaze and hurled the ring at his face. She was never a good shot, Shelby remembered bitterly, as the sapphire thudded against his chest and fell with a tinkle to the floor.
“You promised that whatever happened, we’d protect her. I hate you.”
Shelby took Dolly’s arm and they left the hall in silence.
Sawyer hesitated for a fraction of a second and then stooped to pick up the ring. Turning the blue gemstone in his fingers, he turned to his brother and asked quietly, “How did you know about the septic tank?”
Ryan glanced over his shoulder nervously. “You told me.”
“No,” Sawyer said evenly, “I didn’t. You’re the informant at McIntyre Construction. You were setting the Gazette up to print a false story so you could slam Porter with a libel suit. I screwed up your plans when I told her about the abandoned septic tank and she backed off.”
“Sawyer, he was just trying to help. We both were.”
Janice stepped out of the shadows at the back of the hall. The shock of seeing the beautiful Janice Feron again would have been enough to silence the audience—if the drama unfolding wasn’t already keeping their mouths shut. She walked down the aisle, perhaps hoping Sawyer would see her as his bride. At the moment, nothing could be further from Sawyer’s mind.
“Where did you get your information about Shelby’s parents? I already knew, by the way. Shelby told me herself, but since her file was sealed because it involved a minor child, I want to know who informed you.”
Janice didn’t hesitate. “Ryan told me.”
Ryan turned to Sawyer. “I hired a private investigator to run a background check on Shelby. I mentioned his findings to Janice over drinks last night.” He turned to the blonde. “I didn’t expect you to bring it up in front of the whole damn town!” he shouted.
Sawyer turned his back on both of them. “Everything my ex-fiancée said tonight about Shelby Porter misrepresented the facts. Shelby’s parents had problems but their situation has nothing to do with what went on here tonight. Shelby was trying to make Dolly happy. We both were and Dolly’s not my blood relation either.”
“That’s all right, Sheriff,” a voice called from the back of the hall. Sawyer recognized Hart Burridge, Robin’s father. “You don’t need to tell us that Miss Feron here has the wrong end of the stick. To my way of thinking, Dolly didn’t have to pretend Shelby was blood. She’s Mandrake Falls through and through. She’s one of us. Always has been.”
Easily the longest speech Sawyer had heard Hart Burridge give in thirty years. Sawyer wished Shelby was there to hear it. He couldn’t change what happened but he could make his brother take responsibility for his actions.
“Ryan,” Sawyer said, “I’m arresting you for public mischief, supplying misleading information, unpaid parking tickets, and anything else I can dredge up. Do I need to handcuff you or will you come peacefully?”
Ryan stared at his brother in astonishment. “You’re in love with her.”
“Knock it off,” Sawyer snapped a little sharper than he’d intended. “Stop stalling or I’ll slap these cuffs on you in front of the whole town.”
Slowly, Ryan lifted his hands to be cuffed. His voice held an awed excitement, as though a light had come on in hi
s understanding and he was seeing his brother clearly for the first time. “I wondered. I mean, I thought it was strange when you joined me at the front of the hall but it makes sense now. You wanted to do this thing. If she hadn’t stopped the ceremony, you’d be married right now.”
Sawyer snapped the handcuffs around his brother’s wrists hating everything about him at that moment. “What I wanted was for this not to happen. After tonight, I’ll count myself lucky if Porter doesn’t spit every time our paths cross.” He caught Ryan’s upper arm and steered him down the aisle to the door.
Janice reached out, her long blonde hair was like shining cream silk. Her blue eyes were tear-filled and her nose ran a little. “Sawyer, I’m sorry. Please. Can please we talk about this? I only did it because I love you. When Ryan told me about Shelby’s past, my only concern was how a relationship with a girl like that was going to affect your career. You have to be careful about the company you keep if you want to advance—”
“I don’t want to advance.”
Sawyer hauled Ryan to the front entrance, passing the coat closet which gave him a feeling in his gut like a dull open wound. Behind them, the band struck up a tune and Mandrake Falls seemed prepared to enjoy what was left of the Harvest celebration. Sawyer pulled Ryan outside, grateful for the blast of crisp night air. Run the procedure, McIntyre. Don’t think.
Janice followed them outside, her heels grinding and wobbling over the gravel. “Excuse me, but that is not what you said when we first met. You said you wanted to become the best of the best!”
“What does that have to do with advancement? I wanted to excel, become one of the best of the best law enforcement officers in the country. I don’t have to quit being sheriff to do that.” Sawyer stopped and turned. “Is that what this was all about? You wanted to get married so you could convince me to leave Mandrake Falls?”
Janice came toward him, her eyes shining, her hands clasped together.
“Sawyer, darling, you are wasted here. There’s a position in New York that will offer you five times your current salary, working with celebrity A-list clients. Michael Shannon who plays Vicki Webber on Tomorrow Never Comes is one. This job would lead to contacts for me too. I still love you and I know you love me. I disappointed you, I know I did. I let you down but I won’t again. We can buy a house and start a family and have the life you always wanted. Oh Sawyer, it isn’t too late for us!”
“Someone once told me we marry a human being not a lifestyle. Are you willing to stay here with me, Janice—Mandrake Falls sheriff, make a home at the farm and start a family?”
“You know that’s not what I want,” she said coldly. “I’ve tried it your way. Why can’t you do this for me?”
“Because I don’t want to. Because when you left my heart didn’t crack.”
“What does that even mean?” Janice shrieked. Sawyer turned away, escorting Ryan to the cruiser. “What’s happened to you? I don’t understand you anymore!”
Sawyer opened the back door and guided his brother into the back seat with one hand on his head, while Janice stood in the middle of the parking lot, trying to make sense of the insensible.
“My car keys are in my jacket pocket,” said Ryan. “I gave her a ride over. She’ll need them to drive back to the Inn.”
Sawyer walked the keys over, dropped them in her hand and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out but I’m grateful to you for trying. If you hadn’t come back, I think I’d always wonder why we failed. Seeing you again made it clear to me, I hope it makes it clear to you too. I’m not your man. The right man for you is waiting in New York.”
“Sawyer ... wait ... oh my god ... I don’t believe this—are you in love with Shelby Porter? That small town newspaper bitch with the chip on her shoulder, the one who has brought you nothing but trouble and walked out of here hating your guts?”
“I think I am. Yes.”
“Well.” She breathed and flushed scarlet. “Well. You certainly had me fooled. I thought you were a man of ambition and interests beyond this pokey little town, and all this time you wanted to find someone as pokey and dull as yourself! Well, good luck. Good luck getting that manipulative bitch to forgive you now!” She spun on her heels, tottering to Ryan’s car. “In five years, when you’re saddled with four kids, a leaky roof and a wife who weighs three hundred pounds, do not come and look me up. Good-bye. Loser!”
Sawyer watched as she turned the ignition and sped off, spitting gravel, in the direction of Mandrake Falls Inn.
“She took that well,” said Ryan. He’d been observing the exchange from the open door of the cruiser. “I hope you know what you are doing, bro.”
Sawyer put the cruiser in drive and pulled away thinking that knowing what he was doing wasn’t the issue. His heart was cracking under his ribs and he’d never feel good about anything again. Shelby hated his guts.
“Let me talk to her.” Ryan reading his thoughts like he used when they were boys. “I had no idea you were serious about her. I figured you were still hung up on Janice.”
“I suppose I did too. Shelby wasn’t what I expected.”
“I’ll talk to her. Explain everything.”
“What got into you, Ryan? Since when do you pick on women to put over a business deal?”
Ryan shifted his gaze. “I have a lot of money from backers invested in this development. Money I’ve already spent. If the expansion was killed at council, I’d be in a hell of a mess. Bankrupt. I was at the end of my rope. I couldn’t risk Shelby ruining this and we both know she would have because she’s never seen a development she didn’t hate. I had no choice.”
“Yes, you did, you dumb bastard.” Sawyer wheeled the car through the center of town. “You could have talked to her about it. You could have looked into her objections. The expansion would have had a better shot with the support of the Gazette. You made her the enemy.”
“Let me talk to her, Sawyer. I’ll tell her I was the informant and you knew nothing about it.”
“She won’t believe you.”
“Let me try. It’s the least I can do.”
“I’ll think about it.”
He could think about it until the sun fell out of the sky but Sawyer knew that nothing he or his brother could say would change Shelby’s mind about him. When she was a kid, uniforms meant trouble; she had no reason to trust them. And since he had stood silently by while Ryan and Janice spewed their vitriol, maybe she was right.
*
SHELBY TURNED back the comforter and helped her aunt into bed. She removed the pink sequined mules Dolly insisted on wearing and dropped them to the floor with a sigh.
“Shelby, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
“I should have thought it was fairly obvious what was wrong, even for an eternal optimist such as you. I’m not getting married. I’ve let you down.”
Dolly caught her hand with surprising strength. “You’ve been my one great blessing in an otherwise uneventful life. I don’t want you to be alone but above all I don’t want you attached to the wrong man. Far from letting me down, you’ve confirmed what I’ve always known about you; you have a good heart. You’ll be very happy.”
Sawyer wasn’t exactly the wrong man. Shelby’s eyes burned with how much damage the right man could do. “Let’s make a pact that you won’t worry about me being alone anymore and I won’t grab the first guy I see just to keep you from worry, okay?”
Dolly chortled. “I’ll do my best, but love and worry go hand-in-hand.”
Shelby kissed her softly on the forehead and turned off the light. “We’ll talk in the morning. Good night.”
“Shelby?” Dolly’s voice floated to her in the dark. “There was something special between you and Sawyer wasn’t there? The way he looked at you when you came down the aisle on Mayor Cooper’s arm ... I could see it.”
“You can’t see three fingers in front of you without your glasses.”
“I was wearing my glasses, dear.”
“Oh.” Naturally. She was the nosiest person in town. She never went anywhere without her glasses.
“The way he looked at you … that boy’s in love with you … he’ll be back.”
Shelby sighed and lied once more before leaving. “I don’t want him back. Wrong man, remember?”
The sadder truth is that I asked a man to fake being in love with me and then had the stupidity to fall in love with the man himself.
Let Dolly believe what she wanted to believe for a little while longer. Shelby would make her understand in the morning. By now the whole town was probably picking over her history with a fine-toothed comb and Ryan would be on hand, all too willing to fill in the blanks. She crawled into bed just wanting the night to be over.
No such luck.
Everything about being with Sawyer these past two days came back to taunt her the minute she closed her eyes. His midnight blue serious stare bore right into her behind her closed lids. She shifted restlessly, her body responding to his remembered touch. The heat from his mouth was still on her lips and Shelby brushed at them with the back of her hand. She’d never have that kiss again. She wouldn’t have had it at all if Sawyer didn’t love Dolly so much.
How could he kiss her like that and not feel something for her?
Lust. He was a man. He didn’t have to fake lust.
Shelby kicked back her blankets. It was clear she wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.
Chapter Fourteen: Sleeping With the Enemy
SOMETHING WAS ringing. A painful horrible sound that was splitting his brain in two.
The phone.
Sawyer lifted his head from the cot he was laying on and stumbled to his feet. A bottle of scotch clattered to the floor and the evening’s events returned to him along with the pounding headache: the McIntyre brothers got drunk last night.
Lie For Me: Autumn (Mandrake Falls Series Romance Book 2) Page 16
