Temptation on His Terms

by Robyn Grady

  “Not interested.” Dex pulled out some document or other from his desk and looked it over.

  Rance sauntered across to him. When he didn’t speak, just continued to stare, Dex dragged his gaze up and cocked his head.

  “What?”

  “You didn’t answer me about Shelby. Do you still have her on your nanny books?”

  “And you want to know because…?”

  Rance pushed back his glasses then slowly smiled. “She’s left you, hasn’t she? Is she still in L.A.?”

  “If you must know, she went back home.” He swept the document aside.

  “Probably best. She’s a sweet girl.”

  Dex remembered. “Very sweet.”

  “Want some words of wisdom?”

  “Please don’t tell me you want to give relationship advice.”

  “I like Shelby. She’s a real find, and I would have loved the opportunity to know her better.”

  “Your point?”

  “If you’re serious about her—”

  “Look. She’s gone, okay? There’s nothing for anyone to pursue. She’d gone back to Mountain Ridge and that’s the end of that.”

  “If that’s your attitude, then she’s better off.” Rance headed for the door. “If you need some company…”

  “I won’t.”

  “Proof that change is the only constant.”

  After the door closed, Dex surged out of his chair to pace up and down the confines of his office. This crawling in his belly, the infernal itching at his fingertips and the back of his neck… He’d never lived for his work, but lately he couldn’t settle down to any part of it. Nor did he want to kick back. He didn’t want to go anywhere, see or talk to anyone.

  Except Shelby.

  He poured a shot, downed the scotch then dialed his brother in New York. The same afternoon he’d made his statement to the police, he’d organized a conference call with his two brothers; with their father waist-deep in his own problems, the brothers had agreed to keep this situation to themselves. Both Wynn and Cole had expressed their concern and offered to do anything they could to help. All agreed, too, that for the time being Tate would be happiest and safest staying where he was with Teagan—with security measures continuing, of course.

  Now Wynn’s assistant said he was out, unavailable. So the kid did occasionally get out from behind his desk. Dex tried Wynn’s personal cell number. Same result.

  He moved to the wall-to-wall windows and gazed out over the Los Angeles cityscape. He’d always loved the feel of this place. The climate was similar to Sydney; the people in many ways, too. So much energy and opportunity and things to do.

  His jaw clenched and he turned away.

  Seconds later, he was on the phone to Cole.

  “Dex, how you doing? Any more word from the police?”

  “Nothing yet.”

  “They’ll catch up with him. Everything will turn out. Don’t worry.”

  Dex felt better just hearing it. “What’s happening with you?”

  “Taryn and I have just docked at Port Villa. You should see the color of the water. And the people are so casual and friendly.”

  “A long way from the television scene then.”

  “I’ll admit, I’m not missing it. Not that this is permanent. But, damn, it’s a bloody nice break, out sailing the ocean blue with the woman I love by my side.” The man impersonating his usually grouchy brother took a breath. “You’re coming to the wedding, right?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  Cole laughed down the line at the same time Dex kicked his indoor putting cup out the way.

  “I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” Cole said. “No painting ‘save me’ on the soles of my shoes before the ceremony. You might get a kick out of the audience’s giggles when Taryn and I kneel before the pulpit but—”

  “Have you heard from Dad?”

  “Well…sure. Just this morning. Brandon is following leads.” Cole’s longtime friend who fronted his own P.I. firm had joined the push to find the criminal stalking their father. “Experts are looking into the tire tracks of the getaway van. No more attempts on Guthrie’s life though, thank God. Although I think this is a long way from finished.”

  Dex had to agree.

  “How’s work?” Cole asked.

  “The script for our next smash hit is now green-lit for production. The prep schedule will be twelve weeks. Production four to five months.” He’d get excited about it sometime soon, he guessed. “Suppose I should enquire about your love life?” There was a grin in Cole’s voice. “Although I’m sure there’s no need to ask.”

  “I’m…” Dex shrugged. Exhaled. “You know.”

  Two beats of silence. “You’re not serious about someone?”

  Dex automatically denied it. But that wasn’t entirely true. He’d been serious about Shelby. Serious enough to ask her to stay. If anyone would understand, it would be Cole in his present starry-eyed state.

  “Well…” Dex rubbed the back of his neck, cleared his throat. “There was a lady. It was brief.”

  “Who is she? I have to meet her.”

  “It’s over, Cole. She’s gone home to Mountain Ridge, Oklahoma.”

  “You fell for a woman who lives in a town called Mountain Ridge? Oh, no. Wait. You mean the handy nanny Teagan mentioned a couple of times?”

  “Shelby and I… We got, well, close.”

  He couldn’t remember ever confiding in Cole in this way, or recall a time he’d needed to. His older brother never took him seriously. Or was it that Cole took everything Dex had ever done way too seriously? And yet now Dex found himself saying more. He started with how he and Shelby had met, how she accidentally knocked into him, spilled his coffee, how he’d known she was the woman he needed to look after Tate.

  He went over how difficult she was to convince to take the position. Hell, he even admitted why. And, remarkably, Cole didn’t even sniff when he explained about Bernice and that unfortunate episode in front of an inquisitive evening crowd.

  He went on about his growing fascination with Shelby, how he’d kissed her that night and she had put him straight. But circumstances had conspired against them. He’d found himself in Mountain Ridge, defending her in front of her ex-friend, making love to her in that barn.

  When he was spent, Cole grunted.

  “It can totally get you feeling like that,” he said. “It creeps up behind you and you’re hooked before you know what hit you. It was like that with me and Taryn.”

  “This isn’t love. I don’t want to fall down on one knee and pledge my heart and soul.” He thought about it more deeply. “I just don’t want it to end right now.” Not like this.

  “I understand. It’s scary at first, until you accept the inevitable.”

  Dex was curious. “You were so committed to work.” To his lifestyle. Long-established habits.

  “I’m still behind the company one hundred percent. Same way I’m behind my family. That will never change. But, hey, I guess we all have to grow up and understand that we each are responsible for making our own lives truly full. There’s more to being on this earth than board meetings and cash flow.” He paused. “Or parties and good times.”

  Cole wasn’t being boorish. He was being sincere. Only none of that advice helped.

  “She’s not coming back.”

  “Then get on your horse and go after her.”

  “And then? I can’t live in Mountain Ridge. I have work to do here. And Shelby’s not the type to settle for a long-distance affair. She won’t accept feeling used that way.”

  And he didn’t want to feel as if he was using her, either. She’d come out of the other side of that tunnel before, feeling chewed up. She knew what she wanted. What she deserved.

  “If
you want her, love her, you won’t be able to give up.”

  Dex heard the word love, but instead of shrinking away from it this time, he held his breath and let the notion wash over him. All his years as an adult, he’d never given that kind of a relationship much immediate thought. He’d been having too much fun to spoil it by making himself vulnerable in that way. When a guy committed, he needed to do it without reserve. Was he capable of that kind of promise?

  “I won’t hurt her,” he said. “She’s been through enough.”

  “Seems as if you have some serious deliberation ahead of you. And, hell, what do I know? Maybe I’m out of line. Maybe you’re just not cut out for marriage.”

  After they hung up, those words echoed through Dex’s head. Reality seemed to be inverted. Dex Hunter wasn’t one to genuinely consider settling down. And yet now, sitting in this big bright office with the hours dragging on, it seemed as if he couldn’t think about anything else.

  Fifteen

  When Shelby opened the front door of the Scott family home, she couldn’t have been more surprised. What was Reese doing here? And looking so hangdog, someone might have died.

  Shelby’s first urge was to make an excuse and tell Reese that, whatever had brought her here, she was busy. She’d been back two weeks and was helping her dad reroof the barn. But her former friend looked so stooped and weary… Reese might have betrayed her trust—the basic tenets of friendship—but Shelby was still capable of compassion. As Reese clutched the doorjamb, Shelby stepped forward.

  “Do you want to sit down? You look pale.”

  “I’m not well.”

  As much as she could, Shelby felt for her. But she wasn’t a doctor. She came straight to the point.

  “What are you doing here, Reese?”

  “I needed to speak with you.” Her chin dimpled and eyes shone like she was ready to cry. “Shelby, I’m having a baby.”

  Shelby felt the slug to her gut. To her bones. But when two people became a couple and pledged their love, their life, usually they had a family in mind. Shelby certainly thought that way.

  All those months ago, when she’d missed her cycle, Shelby wasn’t worried as much as excited. She hadn’t planned to fall pregnant before their wedding, but if she were, she’d have welcomed a child with all the love in her heart. Then she’d got ill. If she’d been pregnant before, she hadn’t been afterward.

  With Reese’s news now, Shelby would like to be gracious. Say congratulations. But that word stuck in her throat like a dry brick. She’d moved on with her life. She was a thousand times over Kurt. But, damn, sometimes it was hard to forgive.

  “There’s something else, Shelby…” Reese seemed to get even paler. “Kurt’s gone.”

  “Gone where?”

  “The next town, the next state. Away from Mountain Ridge. Away from me. From us.”

  Shelby held onto the jamb.

  What goes around, comes around, they say. But seeing Reese now—so lost and frightened—Shelby only remembered all the other trials they’d been through over the years, from first-grade scratches to dreaming about being best friends until they were gray. This woman had hurt her badly, but no one deserved this kind of payback.

  She took Reese in her arms and held on while her friend shook. She might have felt abandoned when Kurt had dumped her, but she hadn’t been left to worry how she would tell her baby when it was grown that his daddy hadn’t been man enough to stick around.

  Reese swiped at a tear rolling down her cheek. “I can’t forgive myself for what I did. You were my friend, my best friend, and while you were hovering between life and death…”

  When Reese bowed her head, suddenly Shelby knew she was completely free from being haunted by those ghosts anymore. Not because her friend was hurting but because Shelby Scott had crawled through the fire and come out the other side stronger, but human enough to still have a heart.

  She took Reese’s cool hands and gently squeezed.

  But Reese shook her head. “I feel so ashamed.”

  “Don’t,” Shelby said. “Don’t blame yourself. Life’s just too darn short.”

  Reese still looked stricken. “You remember his sister?”

  “How could I forget?” The woman she’d accused of being Kurt’s lover that engagement party night.

  “Turns out she wasn’t flesh and blood at all. Last fight we had, just before he left, it all came out. That’s where he was going. To be with her. You and me…we were just part of their plan.”

  Shelby ushered Reese over to the porch swing. They both needed to sit down.

  “Nan and I lost the ranch,” Reese went on. “And despite all his talk, Kurt had nothing. He was only with me, with you, to get his hands on some profits. He missed his mark where I was concerned. There were so many debts, we couldn’t keep up. When he found out we had to sell and there wouldn’t be much left over, he got so angry. He told me everything—then he just stormed out.”

  It all made sense and yet Shelby couldn’t keep her mind from whirling. If she hadn’t fallen ill, she and Kurt would have been married. Those papers would have been signed and he’d have been a landowner, a respectable man who’d cheated on his wife with his “sister” the whole time.

  Shelby nudged Reese’s shoulder. “Remember that car Kurt loved? The Mustang? Before lightning struck and that tree came crashing down…”

  When she confessed how she’d inadvertently rammed its hood a couple times with the old pickup and how damn good it had felt, Reese actually laughed before she sobered and folded her hand over hers.

  “Shelby, can you forgive me?”

  Shelby looked into those tortured eyes. It seemed that her whole life she’d thought about forgiveness. Looking only forward now, she found a supportive smile.

  “What’s important is that baby having an aunt.”

  Then they wrapped their arms around one another like they’d done all their lives.

  * * *

  “I hear you’re back for a while, living with your dad.”

  In the gauzy light, Shelby recognized Mrs. Fallon’s bulky frame. Smiling, she got to her feet.

  It had been a week since Reese had knocked on her door. Earlier today her friend had suggested they hang out at the monthly open-air movie night. Shelby had asked her dad if he wanted to tag along, but he’d insisted, after three weeks back home from L.A., she could use a night without his company. So she and Reese had met at the high school athletic field along with a ton of other residents. As they’d arranged deck chairs and treats right up front, she’d felt the town’s eyes on them both, one pair belonging to Millie Oberey.

  Shelby only grinned to herself. Perhaps she ought to work up a handheld sign that announced, Get on with your life. I have.

  But Judy Fallon wasn’t a gossip. She was sweet and patient. Now, at the end of the night after watching two movies, Shelby smiled at a memory. No wonder she and Shelby’s mother had been good friends.

  “Actually, Mrs. Fallon,” Shelby explained, “I’m back home to stay.”

  Judy Fallon sent her calm smile as if she’d known all along but didn’t want to presume.

  “Are you looking for something to fill in your day?”

  “Like working at the kindergarten?”

  The older woman touched her arm. “We’ve missed you.”

  “I would love to. Thank you. But I can’t do quite as many hours as before. I’ve applied for a college degree. Distance learning, mostly. I want to be a teacher.”

  Beaming, Judy Fallon swept her in for a hug. “Any school would be lucky to have you. Anything I can do to help, you be sure to let me know.”

  As the kindergarten teacher headed off, Shelby sat on her deck chair and asked Reese, “Want to come back for a hot chocolate? No coffee, right?”

  Or soft c
heese or certain kinds of fish. Expectant mothers had to watch those kinds of things. Growing babies deserved the very best start in life, particularly when the baby in question would be Shelby’s godchild.

  Reese leaned on the back of her chair. “I would love to get my lips around a hot chocolate if I could stop yawning. I have never been so tired in all my life. The doctor said I’ll feel more myself soon. Although I’m dog sure that won’t include my appetite. You’ve seen me eat everything in sight, particularly anything sweet. We really need to whip up a batch of your cupcakes.”

  And just like that, that big muscle beneath Shelby’s ribs dropped and quivered. Even without cues, she thought about Dex all too often…how he’d praised her cooking, among other things. How happy she’d been with him, at least for a time.

  And Dex wasn’t the only person she missed. She would love to have known Tate and Teagan better. All the Hunter pack, in fact: the recently seafaring Cole and his future bride; Wynn, the solemn brother; Guthrie, the founder of Hunter Enterprises and a man who, it seemed, had made enemies enough for someone to want to take his life. Shelby was even intrigued by Dex’s stepmom…so polished and conniving, Eloise might have starred in her very own daytime drama.

  But knowing about all that commotion also made Shelby more content than ever to be home. She liked routine, familiarity, predictability. Although she’d learned well enough…life could always throw a curve ball into the mix and shake things up. Sometimes a person simply needed to ride out the bumps and get back on track, no matter how much easier running away might seem.

  “I need to see that last movie again sometime.” Reese was polishing a huge apple on her sleeve. “That final scene almost made me cry.”

  “Reese, you were sobbing.”

  Reese studied the apple as if she were scrutinizing her reflection, then shrugged. “Must be the hormones.”

  It was because she had a heart.

  So did Shelby, even if most of the time now it felt flat. Next life she’d come back as a tree or a shrub. Plants didn’t having feelings. They didn’t fall in love.