Tate watched color flood Nathan’s face.
The woman’s birdlike gaze turned sharp. “Would you feel vindicated if I said I’ve chosen this project as the grand prize winner?”
Nathan’s smile was slow in coming. “I guess.”
“Good.” She leaned on her cane. “Once word gets out that you’ve won, I imagine the demand for your landscaping services will skyrocket. Your business should double.”
Tate stared at the ground until it seemed to shift beneath her feet. Time stopped. The dizzy sensation moved from her stomach to her head in record time as the truth hit her like a ton of paving bricks.
Nathan’s motive in taking on her landscaping project hadn’t been because of the promise of art lessons or unencumbered sex, but the possibility of winning a competition. A competition she knew nothing about. A competition in which he’d submitted her draft as his own.
She had been played. Again.
The familiar, bitter betrayal arose. To think she’d fallen for him. Last night had been the real clincher. She’d even foolishly contemplated giving up everything if he’d asked her to stay. But he hadn’t asked—and he wouldn’t. It was obvious his work, his damn job, would always come first.
No doubt she’d cause serious problems for him and his business reputation if she insisted he hadn’t disclosed to her that he’d entered the competition. In this case, revenge felt wrong. Suddenly everything felt wrong. Now there was no reason for her to remain in sleepy Spearfish, South Dakota. She’d passed the inspection and the only thing left was to sign the realty contract and hire a cleaning service to ready the house for potential buyers. Once the house sold, she’d come back with a U-Haul for the few decent pieces of her aunt’s furniture and never return.
That thought punched a hole straight in her heart, effectively breaking it in two.
“Miss Cross?” The elderly woman set a shaking hand on her arm, prompting her from her nightmare. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Tate smiled awkwardly. “Just confused as to what I do now. My attorney insists I get the final details documented.”
“Naturally. If you’d like, you can sign everything at our office. When would it be convenient for you to drop by?”
“It’d be great if we could get this out of the way this morning. Could I catch a ride to your office? I’d love to hear more about this award. Mr. LeBeau was pretty mum on the details.”
Before Nathan could object, the woman trilled, “What a lovely idea. That’d be fine.”
Tate smiled even when she felt like part of her had died. “I’ll grab my purse. While you’re waiting, why don’t you tell Mr. LeBeau about the award ceremony? I’m sure he’s anxious to know when and where”—she flashed her teeth at him—“so he can pass out flyers.” Dirty pool, but he deserved it. She blindly passed the stone birdbath and tripped over a clump of barberry bushes as she escaped to the house.
She’d barely stumbled past the couch when the screen door slammed. She didn’t need to turn around to gauge Nathan’s mood; his anger pulsated across the room like a sonic wave.
His voice was hard as steel. “What’s the deal?”
Physically coming face-to-face with him would have to wait until she regained control. She sorted through junk mail on the table. “The deal is completed. You fulfilled your end of the agreement. I fulfilled mine. Time to move on.”
“Move on?” he repeated dully.
“I called a real estate agent. She’ll be here at two o’clock.”
A minute of stunned silence followed. “You called a Realtor? When?”
She finally glanced up at him. “Yesterday.”
“Right after you got the news.”
Tate nodded, but didn’t tell him yesterday she hadn’t made any firm plans. She’d foolishly hoped they’d make future plans together. “That’s why I wondered what time the inspectors would be finished. The Realtor needs written documentation that I’ve met the Beautification Committee’s requirements before she can list the house.”
“Is there a reason why you didn’t tell me this last night?”
“It didn’t exactly come up while we were having sex, did it?”
“Making love,” he corrected with an edge to his voice. “We were making love last night, Tate.” His eyes searched hers. “And you didn’t think to tell me about this sudden development?”
“That’s because it wasn’t sudden.” Needing something to do with her hands, Tate picked up her cup and downed the cold coffee. “It’s simple. We’ve both known all along what happens now. I’m returning to Colorado.”
Silence stretched between them, heavy, thick, oppressive.
“Why?” he said finally. “If you lost your job in Denver, why are you leaving here?” His eyes turned shrewd. “If this is about money—”
“It’s not about money,” she snapped.
“Then what?” he snapped back.
It took every ounce of Tate’s resolve to keep her gaze firmly locked to the distress growing in his. “I didn’t lose my job, Nathan. They held the hearing early. I was cleared and promoted. I can start Monday.”
Blood drained from his face, turning his robust complexion pasty white. She fought the guilt that swamped her and maintained an aloofness she didn’t feel.
“Whoa.” He stepped away, wrapping his big hands on the top rung of the ladder-back chair. “Wait a minute. You didn’t get fired? If you were reinstated,” he repeated slowly, “then why were you crying last night?”
The sound of his ragged breathing resonated in the silent room as he waited for her response. Tate didn’t dare glance up to confirm that the anger in his voice was reflected in his eyes. She knew.
“Fine. We’ll do it the hard way,” he said. “Why were you crying? And don’t feed me some bullshit story about those tears being tears of joy. I’m not stupid. I know the difference.”
As usual he was dead-on. She couldn’t lie to him, but the truth of her pathetic hopes seemed worse.
“Tate? Answer me.”
She shook her head.
“Goddammit. At least look at me.” He loomed above her, filling every inch of available space until she couldn’t breathe. “Look me in the eyes and tell me that last night and everything that happened between us the past few weeks were nothing more than a business arrangement. Tell me you’re not that blind.”
A thread of anger rose to the surface, supplanting her misery. She grabbed it with both hands. “Blind?” she spit, pleased when he retreated. “Yes, I’ll admit after what I’ve seen and heard this morning I might’ve been blind. Blind to the real reason that you agreed to this ‘deal.’ Winning the award was the new direction for your business, wasn’t it? Seems you neglected to tell me that fact. Why?”
His gaze zoomed to the china hutch. Then to the crystal teardrop chandelier and the arrangement of yellow, white and purple daisies in the center of the table, but never once landed on her. “Because you were selling the house anyway, and I didn’t think it would matter.”
“Look me in the eyes, Nathan LeBeau. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you didn’t mislead me in any way about any thing.”
He turned and studied her without comment.
Tate’s heart dropped. It was true. She’d been nothing but a means to an end. And the end was here. She yanked her backpack off the teacart, knocking the phone book to the floor. “I’ve gotta go. They’re waiting—”
“They’re gone,” he said crossly. “I told them I’d give you a ride downtown.”
Her grip on the thick straps tightened as she fought the urge to whirl around and smack him with it. “You had no right.”
“I have every right. You’re not going anywhere until we talk about this. You are avoiding the main issue here, Tate.”
“Which is what? That you lied to me?” She gave him a scornful once-over. “You never wanted the intimacy—”
“Yeah? Then how did we get to be so very intimate?”
“At my urging,” she argu
ed against his pseudo-seductive tone. “From day one you tried to avoid the physical aspect of the deal.” The truth made another sharp stab at her soul. “God. I’ve been so stupid. That romance angle was completely bogus, wasn’t it? No way did any woman tell you that you were a bad lover. You would have done anything, said anything to me to feed the lie because you only wanted to win that stupid contest. I’m not stupid either, Nathan. Entering that contest meant everything to you if you’d been planning it for a year.”
Guilt flared in his eyes. “You’re right.”
His admission floored her. “I am?”
“Yes. I didn’t tell you about the competition. Honestly, I couldn’t care less about it now.” He shuffled his feet and seemed equally at a loss as to where to place his hands. “But that’s not the worst part, okay?”
Tate managed to keep cool even as her stomach roiled. “What else?”
“I never wanted…” Nathan scrubbed his hands roughly over his face. “Hell, it’s complicated.” His laugh was bitter. “Jesus. This is gonna sound so wimpy. The truth is, for the first time in my life I didn’t want just a sexual relationship.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s the only kind of relationships I’ve ever had.”
Tate didn’t block her disbelief. “I find that hard to swallow.”
“Look at me.” He threw his arms wide open. “I’m not some high-powered suit-and-tie-wearing businessman that regularly sweeps women off their feet. I build sewers, Tate. I get dirty and I like it. I’ve never felt the need to apologize for it or change my ways until—”
“Kathy?” she prompted with a sneer.
“Partly.” He lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “She was a catalyst of sorts. She never said I was lousy in bed, but she did tell me I wasn’t relationship material. Guess I’m the kind of guy who’s only good for a tumble in the hay as long as I’m cleaned up. I wanted to prove her wrong.”
“And you used me to do that.” Another realization dawned as that sick feeling invaded her stomach again. “Did you decide on the romance angle before or after we’d met?”
Nathan frowned. “Why does that matter now?”
Tate clenched her teeth to keep her chin from trembling. “Because if you made that decision after we met, then you saw me as the pitiable friend of Val’s who would gladly accept whatever crumbs you offered. A good girl like me would agree to a romantic relationship instead of a sexual one. Then you’d be off the hook and wouldn’t have to feel guilty about using me to further your business plans, right? Now it makes perfect sense as to why we didn’t continue the art lessons after you submitted my drawings for both this place and the fire station.”
He didn’t refute her claim. “We’re getting off track here. The main issue—”
“The only issue is that you lied to me and used me.”
“No. I never used you.” His mouth turned hard. “As long as my embarrassing truths are laid on the table, yours had better be too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Instead of staying here and figuring out what you want to do with your future, you’re running back to Denver to live out the life your mother has mapped out for you.”
Tate shrank back. “How dare you. You can’t possibly stand there and judge me when you’re guilty of the same thing.”
Nathan crossed his beefy arms over his puffed-out chest, acting every inch the macho male. “How so?”
“Maybe you don’t run, Nathan, but you sure as hell hide, claiming your business eats up every minute of your time.”
“You know it does.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
“And how am I supposed to change that?” His reaction was surprisingly cool to this touchy subject. In fact, he looked calm and rested. For the first time in weeks his brown eyes were clear and free of shadows. Why? Because she hadn’t kicked him out of her bed last night?
Oh no. She was not taking the blame for his faults. Nathan worked too much. One night rolling around in her sheets wasn’t the cure-all. It never would be.
“Come on, quit stalling with your advice,” he urged. “This I’m dying to hear.”
“No, you don’t want to hear that you live in a perpetual state of exhaustion. Of loneliness. Of complete isolation that doesn’t have a damn thing to do with the color of your skin.”
The muscle in his temple jumped. “Pretty broad judgment, don’t you think? Let’s cut to the chase and save the lecture. I’m self-employed. I have no one to rely on but myself. I’m tired. So? A little hard work never killed anyone.”
“You have no life outside of work. You’re so busy killing yourself trying to prove you’re not another lazy Indian and to show your father you’re not screwing up his business that you use it as an excuse to avoid everything. Even your dog—”
“Don’t you drag Duke into this,” he warned. “You don’t even like him.”
“Because I don’t know him. Neither do you. There’s no room in your life for anything but work.” She pushed her final point, regardless of the stark expression in his eyes. “The truth hurts, doesn’t it? Nancy, Tina and Vickie’s husbands are in the construction business. Even they mentioned how hard it was to convince you to take time to join a simple pool league.”
Nathan did a double take. “You talked about me to them? Where do they get off poking their noses into my business? Did you tell them about the landscaping?”
“No. But why does that matter?”
“Because it’s something I’ve kept quiet on purpose. The online courses, the weeks I spent down south in the off-season learning the basics of how xeriscaping works.” He inhaled. “No one knows I’ve been going to school.”
“Why did you keep that to yourself? I’d think you’d be proud—”
“I am proud. But the guys I work with will give me a rash of shit for changing the focus of my business to ‘planting posies.’ I didn’t want anyone to know until I had a contract. Even then they’ll harp on the fact that I think I’m too good to dig utilities.”
“Nathan, they are your friends. I doubt they’d believe that.” Tate softened her tone. “Besides, it seemed they were hoping that I’d show you there’s more to life than work.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” he exploded. “Everything has changed in the last few weeks since I met you. How can I prove—?”
As if on cue, his cell phone trilled.
Heartsick, she closed her eyes, willing him to ignore it.
Please just this one time let it go. I’ll stay here and talk to you, just don’t answer it. Prove it to me now. Show me that I mean more to you than a business call. Ask me to stay. Please.
After five rings, he answered it with a snarled “What?”
Tate bolted while she still had the chance.
After packing her car in record time, Tate drove to Val’s.
Sneaking out of town like a guest who’d outstayed their welcome was a poor way to repay her friend. Although she promised herself the announcement of the end of her “deal” with Nathan and her departure from Spearfish would be as cheerily civilized as their first conversation about her lackluster love life. Quips only, no hysterical sobbing. During the last few weeks she’d definitely experienced that awesome sex she’d craved. Too bad she’d lost her heart in the process.
Val answered the door, sleeping baby nestled in the crook of her arm. While Maddie’s sweet pink mouth was slack with sleep, Val’s perpetual smile seemed slow in coming.
She motioned her inside, kicking a path through Legos, headless Barbies and stacks of board games.
Wow. The hallway used to be spotless. Tate tried not to gawk, but the living room looked worse. Puzzles, videos, naked baby dolls, towering Erector sets competed with clothes piled higher than the Big Wheels parked in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
With Maddie settled in the wicker bassinet, Val flopped on the leather couch. She tossed aside a package of graham crackers she’d inadvertently crushed between
the seat cushions.
“Where are the kids?” Tate whispered, staggered as much by the god-awful mess as the absolute quiet.
“You don’t have to whisper.” Val shoved a hand through her already tousled hair. “They’re at the fish hatchery and park with my mom, all afternoon, thank God.”
“You okay?”
“Exhausted beyond belief. C-sections are awful. Strange, how you block out the amount of work there is in taking care of a baby. Seems I just get Maddie quieted down and she’s howling again. Or the kids need food, attention or a referee all at the exact same time.”
Tate noticed Val’s shirt was on inside out. Best not to mention it. “Doesn’t Richard help?”
“When he’s home.” Val’s attempted smile was wan at best as she gestured to the cluttered space. “Welcome to chaos central. You want something to drink?”
Eyeing the dozen or so sticky glasses on the slate fireplace, Tate shook her head. “If I’ve come at a bad time—”
“No. I’m glad you’re here. I didn’t mean to unload on you the minute you tripped through the door.”
“That’s okay. I’ve unloaded on you plenty of times.”
“Friends do that.” She yawned and stretched. “So what’s up?”
Don’t stall, just spit it out. “I stopped by to tell you I’m leaving tonight.”
The blurry, sleep-deprived look left Val’s eyes pronto. “What do you mean you’re leaving?”
Tate fiddled with the hem unraveling on her sundress. The same one she’d worn in the Bobcat with Nathan. “Let me explain before you completely freak out.”
“Too late,” Val snapped.
Dirty Deeds: Standalone sexy romance Page 23
