Riding for Love (A Western Romance) (6 page)

“At first, I didn’t know anyone, so it made sense we hang out. She acted like we were only friends, but unknown to me, she told everyone we’d been dating in high school and the girls should keep their hands off her property.”

“Sounds like her.”

Dent picked up a fork and turned it over and over. “Sure wish someone had told me. Anyway, I never could figure out why, when we were with a group of kids, we’d always end up alone. One night, after I came back from Thanksgiving, I went to a party. I missed you like hell and got drunk.” He smirked at Eve. “Well, more like I got plastered, smashed, crocked.”

Eve giggled at his description. Her heart flipped, realizing he’d truly missed her. Then she remembered that Thanksgiving break and dropped her smile.

“Anyway, I went to the party alone and, of course, Marie showed up. The next morning I woke up in bed with her. To this day, I honestly don’t know how the hell she managed it. A few months later she told me she was pregnant.”

Eve couldn’t believe what he said. Was Dent that naïve? “Are you serious?”

“Unfortunately. Talk about being stupid, huh? If I’d thought a little more, I’d realize I was too drunk to have done anything, let alone get her pregnant. Hell, if I recall, I could barely walk.” He shook his head and took a drink. “I didn’t set out to hurt you, Eve. Mom didn’t tell you, did she?”

“No. Once you married Marie, your name never came up between us, even though Rose and I became good friends.” Eve didn’t add that Rose became more of a mother than her own.

“She always liked you,” Dent said, smiling. “She disliked Marie and figured out long before I did she was only after our money, and,” he continued, his words dripping with sarcasm, “the ‘social circles’ she thought we ran in.”

“But you married her anyway.”

“It happened so fast. She insisted we get married right away because of the baby. I wanted to give the child my name.” He let out an ironic laugh.

Eve’s stomach did a nosedive. Men could really be incredibly stupid. “Let me guess. No pregnancy.”

Denton’s head snapped up. “Did you hear this already?”

“No, but it figures,” Eve replied. “What I can’t believe is that you fell for it.”

Running a hand over his face, he added, “Yeah, well, I guess stupid is my middle name. She blindsided me.”

Silence fell while the waitress served their salads. Eve picked at the lettuce. “Was this going on when you came home at Thanksgiving?”

“God, no!” he answered quickly. “I wouldn’t have done that to you. I loved you.”

Long suppressed anger flared up inside her. She leaned forward, staring directly into his face. “Then why marry Marie without even breaking up with me first, or at least explain what happened?” She spat out the words between clenched teeth. “If you loved me like you say, why couldn’t you have had the decency to at least lie to me and let me think you’d fallen out of love and needed to move on? I had to hear the news from Marie’s mother. She made sure I’d been put in my proper place and said you’d be happier with someone of your station and that was her lovely, pure daughter.”

“Man, Eve. She had no right to say those things to you,” he said, hanging his head. “Besides, I’d never lie to you.”

She couldn’t remember being this livid before, even when he married the witch. “You went on your merry way while I endured pity and laughter. One weekend people saw us holding hands, the next thing they knew you were married to someone else. I had no explanation. Oh, my last year of high school was wonderful.”

“I know. It was wrong of me. But—”

Eve interrupted. “If you were aware, then why?” She heard her voice rising, not caring if anyone in the restaurant listened and carried their conversation back to town.

Dent tossed his cloth napkin on the table. “Guilt. Fear. It was difficult enough admitting to myself I was duped by her, but how could I explain to you?”

Eve calmed down a little when he admitted he’d been scared. In his shoes, it was possible she would have done the same thing. But she wouldn’t have been as gullible. “Look, Dent. I’m not saying what you did was right.” She wasn’t ready to let him off the hook, though. “But can’t you understand what I went through? The shame and humiliation? The taunts and jokes at school?”

He picked up his napkin and smoothed it over his pant leg. “I understand completely. I had the same reactions when she dumped me for someone richer out in California. I imagine you got a big laugh over that one.”

“I never heard anything, except you divorced a year after moving out West. It was none of my business,” Eve admitted, surprised at the compassion flowing through her, knowing he had suffered the same humiliation. “Why didn’t you come home after your divorce?”

“I enjoyed my job at the accounting firm. I liked the weather. Besides, I didn’t want to run home with my tail between my legs. I thought there was nothing left here for me.” He lifted his chin, pain showing in his eyes, turning them more gray than blue.

“You were right,” she agreed. “Although, I suppose the gossips figured you’d return and crawl back to me.”

“The thought crossed my mind many times.” His comment pierced straight to her heart. “The question is, where do we go from here?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right? I go home to my place, you to yours.”

“You know darn well that isn’t what I mean!” Dent snapped back. “You and me. Do we have any chance at a future together?”

“We’re not going anywhere together, Denton Johansen, and there is no future for us.”

He shook his head to toss off her words. “I don’t believe that any more than you do, Eve Dayton. I care for you. Always have. Always will.” He took her hand in his. “I believe you share those feelings.” He paused, looking at his large hand holding her much smaller one. “Let me ask you this. Why haven’t you married?”

“None of your business.” She jerked her hand away. At the rate he grabbed and she pulled, her fingers would be an inch longer by evening’s end. “It just so happens I’ve been too busy.” And lonely, she failed to add.

“Hmph.” He leaned his elbows on the table and pointed at her. “Seems you weren’t too busy to go out with Mr. Veterinarian.”

Eve sat back in her chair, surprised at the petty, childish tone in Dent’s voice. “That is none of your business.”

His exhaled breath blew across Eve’s face. “How many times do I have to apologize? I want to get together again, see if we can resurrect what we had as teenagers.” He bent forward, closing the distance between them. “I don’t know how I can convince you.”

Despite what her head told her, a piece of her heart split at the pain on his face. “I’m not sure what you can do. I don’t know if I can trust you again.” She tossed her napkin onto her untouched plate and stood. “Right now I need to get out of here.”

She didn’t look back to see the helplessness on his face as she stormed from the restaurant.

Chapter 5

Denton scratched the back of his head and rolled his neck from side-to-side. Already a month since going out to dinner with Eve, and if his level of frustration got any higher, he’d be halfway to the moon. She hung up on him, wouldn’t answer messages left with Tom, and this past week her answering machine picked up the calls in Tom’s voice, shooting any chances of at least hearing her voice.

If he weren’t so busy figuring out how his mother’s accountant had cheated her out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, he’d drive out to the ranch. Now his fifteen-hour days finally paid off. He and the lawyers had worked out how the bastard filtered funds out of the company. Unfortunately, the man not only took money from his mother, but from the employee profit-sharing plan. If they didn’t recoup it through the court system, their employees would be out money put away for retirement.

By the end of the month they’d have gathered enough evidence to charge him with a felony for fraud. Then they would wait for a hearing to learn if the case would be presented in court or follow mediation. Even though it would probably drag things out for years, Denton hoped the case would go to trial and the bastard would end up in the slammer for a good, long time.

After the next few busy, crazy weeks making sure all the ‘t’s were crossed and ‘i’s dotted and the man positively caught, Denton would take some time off. He picked up the brochure sitting on his mother’s kitchen table. He knew exactly where he was going to spend at least two weeks.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Rose said, ruffling his hair before going to the refrigerator for a glass of lemonade.

He jumped and slapped a hand to his chest. “Geez, Mom, you scared the daylights out of me.” He set the brochure down and picked up an envelope. “What are you doing home? I thought you were going out with friends tonight.”

Rose sat down on the opposite her son. “I did, but Tom had to get back early and the others had family obligations. Tonight is the last night at the ranch for a youth group from Milwaukee.” She reached over and slid the brochure across the table. “It’s a group of teenagers learning to ride and care for horses to teach them alternative ways to channel anger. Eve developed the program this year.”

“Wow, I’m impressed.”

“You should be,” Rose commented, flipping through the pamphlet filled with photos of the cabins, lodge, barn, and horses on trail rides. “Eve’s worked very hard to make the ranch a success. Every year she comes up with another way to help others relax and have fun. Last year was the first year for winter activities.” She folded the brochure and pressed it smooth. “Have you been out there yet?”

Denton opened the envelope and slipped out a sheet of paper. “No, I’ve been too busy at work. Besides, I don’t think Eve would appreciate me just showing up.”

“Why? She’s so proud of what she’s accomplished.” Rose peered at her son. “You never did tell me what happened when you went to dinner with her. Is she still mad?”

Running a hand over his face, he huffed out a breath. “I guess that would be a good way of putting it, although
mad
seems too light a word. I explained about Marie, and she seemed to understand what happened, but, after all these years, she’s still angry with me.”

“There could be a good reason.”

“Yeah, like what?”

Rose reached across the table to stop his shredding the sheet of paper he was holding. “Could be she still has feelings for you. Do you still care for her?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Just answer your mother, Denton Johansen.”

“I never lost my feelings for her.” He pushed the paper away and tapped his fingers on the table. “She said she never had closure. Well, neither did I. One week, I’m home enjoying time with her and next, I’m married to someone else.” He raked his fingers through his hair again. “Now she’s ignoring me. I’m probably beating my head against the wall. I’ve called, written, sent flowers.”

“Hmm . . .”

Lord, he hated it when his mother got that tone in her voice. She didn’t have to say one word, just utter “hmm” like she knew something he didn’t and he would ultimately pay for it. “Hmm, what?”

“What happened when you went to dinner with Eve?”

“We met, had a drink, talked about old times, etc., etc.”

Rose chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure much more than that happened for you to be this upset.” She held up a hand to stop a reply. “Don’t say you’re concerned about the lawsuit. I’m your mother. You’re a problem solver and taking care of the embezzlement was more than work for you.” Rose rested her chin in her hand and stared at her son. “It’s solving the problem of Eve making you discombobulated.”

Denton pushed the piece of paper toward his mother.

“What’s this?”

He smiled nervously, stood, and paced the length of the kitchen, stove to refrigerator and back again. “Part of a plan to get close to Eve.” He finally settled his backside against the stove, folding his arms over his chest in defiance.

Rose dropped the paper on the table. “Are you crazy? You can’t possibly do this.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Rose stood and placed a hand on his cheek. “But this is a little drastic, isn’t it? Are you so keen on getting her back you’d go this far?”

“Mom, I need to find out if what we had as teenagers can be resurrected.” Denton wrapped his arms around his mother and held her close so she wouldn’t notice the tears in his eyes. “I’ve missed Eve for ten years and will do anything to win her back. Anything.”

“But, dear, how are you going to be able to get through two weeks of riding lessons? Aren’t you still afraid of horses?”

He laughed, hoping to ease the trip in his heart at the thought of spending fourteen days on the back of one of those giant creatures. But fourteen days spent in Eve’s company sent his heart tripping faster. “Nope.”

Rose leaned back. She squinted at him.

“Nope, not afraid.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and he refrained from wiping sweat from his upper lip. “More like petrified, horrified, scared stiff.”

“Well, you should be, considering what happened the last time you rode one,” Rose said, leaving Denton’s arms and picking up the confirmation for his stay at the ranch.

“Mom, that was twenty years ago. I need to overcome my fear of horses to spend some time with her, hopefully break through the wall she’s built against me,” Denton replied, trying to convince himself as much as his mother.

Rose shook her head and patted her son on the shoulder. “Well, you have only three weeks to convince that to your shaking hands, my dear boy.”