Taming the Moguls

Chapter One

Tommy Golden took a deep breath of icy air and let it out through his nose, watching the puff of breath float into the cloudless night sky. The bass from the music inside the hotel thumped gently through his chest, and the air carried the faintly metallic smell of snow. He rubbed a frigid hand over his face and closed his eyes. It wasn’t her. It couldn’t have been. Gretchen Lowry couldn’t be in south central Colorado when she had a life—and a husband—in Chicago.

Just the thought of her marriage made him want to ram his fist into one of the hotel’s stucco pillars. After all those years, after all that time, the anger and hurt he thought he’d buried threatened to break free with the power of an avalanche. He tried to swallow it down as he glanced back inside the glass doors.

People milled around the foyer, waiting for the bride and groom to make their escape to the limo idling nearby. Tommy caught a fleeting glance of Tyler Bloodworth as he waited for his new wife. He’s only one kick in the balls away from heartache. What did it say about Tommy that he felt nothing but pity for his young friend at the start of his marriage? When Jill appeared and linked her fingers with Ty, Tommy thought maybe they might beat the odds. Maybe.

Tommy saw Patrick Garrity wandering through the crowd. Tommy knew he should go back inside and let Patrick tell him about the latest news from the Stop the Slaughter coalition. The STS was fighting to derail the commercialization of Bear Stream, the region’s beloved and currently undeveloped ski area, but Tommy thought Patrick needed to learn how to take a night off. Patrick would eventually find him outside, standing apart from the revelry.

Tommy just wanted five minutes—hell, five seconds—alone. Was it too much to ask for five damn seconds of peace and quiet? With a heavy sigh, he reentered the foyer and squinted in the bright overhead light. His sister laced a delicate hand around his arm and pulled him aside with unexpected strength. Unfortunately, she dragged her current paramour in her wake.

“Just the man I’ve been looking for,” Olivia said, letting go of his arm. “I have news.” She beamed as she wrapped both hands around Jack Forrester’s impressive, suit-clad bicep. “We’re getting married!”

“What?” Tommy couldn’t have been more surprised if she’d ripped her bridesmaid’s dress over her head. “How much have you had to drink?”

Olivia slapped Tommy’s arm. “Be happy for me. I love him.”

Jack cleared his throat and looked at Olivia in a way that made Tommy’s stomach clench. They weren’t joking. “Despite my less-than-romantic proposal, your sister’s agreed to share her life with me.”

“What proposal?” Olivia teased Jack. “You told me we were getting married after you told me I was doing my student teaching in Denver.” She rubbed against him like a cat scratching its back on a piece of furniture. “Good thing it’s what I want.”

“You’re moving to Denver?” Tommy asked.

“Yes. You’re going to have to hire that waitress after all.” As if his biggest concern over her leaving town was the vacant waitress job at his restaurant. Tommy glanced over Olivia’s shoulder to be sure the bar was still assembled. He needed a drink for sure. “Olivia—”

“No,” she said. “No lectures. I’ve waited my whole life to feel like this. Just because you think marriage is a prison sentence doesn’t mean I feel the same. I love Jack, and he loves me. We’re going to make a life together with or without your blessing, but I’d rather you swallow your pride and give it.”

Jack stiffened beside Olivia and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. Tommy knew Jack Forrester didn’t give two damns what he thought. As Olivia’s older brother, Tommy had to respect the man even though he wasn’t convinced he could trust him. But anyone with a pair of eyes could tell how much he cared about Olivia.

“I’m just surprised,” Tommy said. “Congratulations. I mean that.”

Olivia launched herself at him and clasped her arms around his neck. Beneath the silk dress and woman’s body, she was still the little girl who’d dug her claws into his broken heart years ago. “I love you, Tommy.”

“I love you, too, Olivia.” Tommy reached his hand out for a truce shake with Jack. When Olivia pulled back and led Jack’s hand to his, Tommy realized he’d forgotten Jack’s visual impairment. His impetuous little sister had fallen for a man who needed her and knew how to handle her at the same time. Olivia squealed and dashed toward Jill, leaving Tommy and Jack in an awkward standoff.

“No one will ever love her more,” Jack said.

In that moment, Tommy knew he spoke the truth. “I’m counting on that.” Tommy watched Jill and Olivia hug. “When will you leave the valley?”

Jack inhaled. “Are you asking for your sister’s sake or because of the wind study?”

“Both,” Tommy admitted. Since he’d discovered Jack’s wind study on the property he’d bought along the river, Tommy had been making plans to stop him. He couldn’t stand the thought of a wind farm in the valley he’d grown to love and call home. Who knew Olivia would accomplish that feat for him?

“Lyle’s done with the interviews for the book. As soon as I can get Olivia packed, we’ll head north. But,” Jack added with a quirk of his lips, “my sister’s staying on until the study’s complete.”

Tommy watched Jack’s sister, Erica, sidle up to local author Lyle Woodward and plant a kiss on his cheek. “Looks like she’s staying for more than the wind study.”

“Lyle might be orchestrating the end of my biography, or at least part of it. He’s a good man, and he makes Erica happy. God knows she deserves to be happy.”

“So does Olivia,” Tommy said. “If you’re the one who makes her happy, I wish you the best. If she’s ever unhappy, you’ll hear from me first.”

“Duly noted,” Jack said. “Just so we’re clear, the wind study is business. Olivia and Erica are personal. I’m going to move heaven and earth to take care of your sister. I’d appreciate if, in my absence, you would keep an eye out for mine. Erica puts on a good front, but she’s vulnerable. I know Lyle cares about her, but I’d feel better knowing someone else was looking out for her, too.”

“I don’t really know your sister, Jack, but I’m more than happy to ride herd over Lyle. I’ll make sure she’s taken care of and knows to call me if she’s ever in need. I guess we’ll be family soon enough. Family looks out for family.”

That time, Jack stuck out his hand with a smile. “Family. I suppose we are.”

The unexpected moment was interrupted by the approach of Patrick Garrity.

Chapter Two

Kevin Woodward watched his brother, Lyle, from the railing of his perch on the balcony above the hotel lobby. He didn’t want his mom and stepdad to catch sight of him the way Lyle had. Kevin didn’t even know what had happened between him and his wife, so how was he supposed to explain it?

He hadn’t spoken to Shiloh in the week since he’d come home and found her getting out of another man’s car. They’d had an argument that had escalated to the point where neighbors poked their heads around blinds and drapes to watch the young couple who’d moved onto the quaint block a few months prior. He hadn’t gone even a day without hearing her voice for eleven years. He ached down to his toes from not talking to her.

He knew where she was. Shiloh had always been a mama’s girl, and Regina Robinson would have been more than happy to welcome her daughter back into the fold.

He’d spent Thanksgiving week in an empty home, drinking and plotting his next move. He’d finally taken the first step in his plan to get her back—on his terms.

He’d always let Shiloh have her way. Always. It was time for things to change. He’d created a monster: a spoiled, indulgent over-spender, an immature partner whose happiness was tied indelibly to his ability to buy her things and shower her with attention. He was drowning in debt and worry from trying to make his wife happy. He absolutely couldn’t do it anymore.

He watched Lyle link fingers with a striking brunette. Huh, that’s new. From the dopey look on Lyle’s face, it was obvious his little brother had finally tripped and fallen head first into love. When Lyle lifted their entwined hands and pressed his lips to her knuckles, Kevin knew he’d made the right move in booking a room at the hotel in Westmoreland instead of crashing with his brother. From the look of things, Lyle wouldn’t be alone.

Lyle’s girlfriend blinked her big brown eyes as he whispered into her ear. A sharp stab of envy rose in Kevin’s gut and settled right between his ribs. When was the last time Shiloh had looked at Kevin the way Lyle’s girlfriend looked at him—as if he’d slayed an army of dragons instead of suggesting something lewd in her ear? Of course, when was the last time Kevin had held his wife’s hand, offered her a kiss on her knuckles, or suggested they partake in something racy? Hell, when was the last time he’d looked at her—really looked at his wife? Probably when he’d watched her rolling her suitcase out the door of their new home. Before then, he felt ashamed to admit he didn’t know.

Kevin stood up straight as Lyle, their mom and stepdad, and Lyle’s new girlfriend followed Jill Jennings, or whatever her new name was, outside to the limo he’d spotted earlier. The bride and groom looked so happy, so full of love for one another. He twisted away from the revelry and went back toward his room, determined to find that kind of happiness again with his wife.

After discovering Shiloh with another man, he’d jumped to conclusions and accused her of things he knew she wouldn’t do, getting him nowhere but put in the dog house. The dog house was damn lonely. He’d almost blown things when Lyle spotted him outside catching a breath of air. Lyle had promised not to say anything to their mom about seeing him at the hotel. He’d deal with her later.

The first thing he had to do was get Shiloh away from the protective glare of her parents. It wouldn’t be easy. Shiloh had always longed to be the center of his world the way she’d been the center of her parents’. She was the center of his world, but he had to make a living.

His mom had always told him to choose something he loved and make that a career. “You spend too much time at work to hate every second of every day,” she’d said over and over and over again. Deciding to become a pilot had satisfied everyone. He used his love of flying to support himself and Shiloh. The hours were long and unpredictable, especially since he’d been working so hard to move up the ranks and possibly join a larger carrier, but he had to do his time. Doing his time had taken a toll on his marriage and hadn’t gotten him anywhere with his job.

He’d known Shiloh wasn’t happy. He thought buying a house would help, and it did at first. Then, every room needed updating. They were already stretched thin with the mortgage. Paint, tile, rugs, accessories, fabrics…everything came with a price. Not to mention the utilities, insurance, and general maintenance. They were over their heads before they even knew what had happened.

So, he’d lost his wife and his job. Unlike Shiloh, he hadn’t come home to lick his wounds. Kevin Woodward came back to Hailey to reclaim his wife and figure out his next move. Watching love unfold in front of him with the newlyweds and Lyle, Kevin was more determined than ever to forge a new path.

Chapter Three

Gretchen Lowry fumbled with the thermostat of the rental car, trying in vain to warm the interior. She couldn’t believe how much colder a ten-degree difference made. Everyone thought Chicago was cold in the winter. In Colorado, she felt chilled to the bone.

It could be nerves, she told herself as she followed her GPS away from the lights of Westmoreland into the darkness of the rural parts of the valley. She wondered again if exploring at night was a good idea, but she’d been too antsy to sit around her hotel room. Lingering at the hotel bar had seemed like a bad idea with the wedding reception spilling into the hallway. She wanted to remain inconspicuous for as long as possible.

Tommy’s businesses had been easy enough to find on the Internet considering every one of them included his last name. She appreciated the display of the wit he rarely shared. She remembered how long it had taken her to break through his icy exterior and discover his warm, sensitive side. They’d gone from bitter enemies to cautious cohabitants to lovers in the span of five years. It had only taken a fraction of that time to reverse course and go back to being bitter enemies.

At least that’s how she knew Tommy felt.

Gretchen shook away her mood and pressed forward. She shouldn’t look back when everything about her trip meant moving forward. It was just a coincidence—an odd, disarming, too-alluring-to-resist coincidence—that Tommy Golden, her first and only love, lived in the valley where she’d been sent for work. She tapped the brakes when the speed limit changed to thirty-five through the main thoroughfare of Hailey. In no time, she was back to sixty with only a smattering of cars on the two-lane highway to shine their lights in her windshield.

Her stomach tightened when the GPS announced her destination was ahead in a cluster of dimly lit businesses. She recognized the Golden Tap sign moments before she turned into the gravel parking lot and idled with her headlights shining on the restaurant’s front entrance. A piece of paper was taped to the red front door.

Gretchen looked around the deserted area before getting out of her car and approaching the entrance. “Closed for the Bloodworth-Jennings wedding,” the sign said in Tommy’s distinctive, slanted scrawl. His bold handwriting brought a lump to her throat and reminded her of the notes he’d shoved under the door of her apartment in college. She kept every one safely hidden back in Chicago. The most tender were fraying along the fold lines.

She looked left and right before pressing her face to the glass to get a look inside. If the Bloodworth-Jennings wedding was the same one she’d avoided back in Westmoreland, Tommy more than likely had been at the hotel! She jumped when her headlights flicked off. She took it as a sign she needed to hurry. She wouldn’t be able to explain why she was snooping around after ten o’clock on a Saturday night.

She walked the twenty-five yards or so to the Golden Rule Raft and Fly Shop that shared the same parking lot as the Golden Tap. The official “Closed for the Season” sign helped explain how Tommy ran four businesses. He’d always been ambitious, but she couldn’t understand how one man could keep the details of four businesses straight.

She tugged her coat tight around her and made her way back to her car, shivering. She rubbed her hands together before typing in the address to Golden Mountain Sports, but she needn’t have bothered; it sat right across the highway for easy access to the pass that led to the ski lift. She felt an insane pride well in her chest for everything Tommy had accomplished. She’d known he would succeed at whatever he chose to do. She’d never met anyone so determined to make his own way in life.

Gretchen input one more address and hit Go with a shaking finger. Going by his house was risky, but she couldn’t turn back, especially when the GPS said she was only three miles from her destination. “Three miles and ten years,” she said and pulled back onto the crisscrossing highway. When she was instructed to make a right onto a pebbled drive, she wondered if she should turn around. Doing a casual drive by would be impossible if Tommy lived deep in the woods with little to no neighbors.

Despite her trepidation, she crept forward around curves and up an incline until his paved driveway came into sight. She marveled at the stone and cedar home that seemed to have taken root and grown up through the towering trees. His massive wooden front door was flanked by two gas-burning lamps that cast an inviting glow over the deep porch. An illuminated lamp sat on a desk near the window, and a floodlight flashed when two deer emerged from the fringe of trees and nibbled on the grass in the side yard. Gretchen knew she was pressing her luck by idling in the middle of the road staring at the house of the man who’d made quite a life for himself without her.

Did he share that home with a woman? Did he live alone? Did he have children? She’d find out. From the sizes of the towns she’d driven through and the nature of his business, she wouldn’t be able to avoid running into him on her trip.