Susan Mallery: Hot On Her Heels

“Nothing.”

All three of them stared at him.

“Nothing as in…” Izzy said.

“Nothing,” he repeated. “She told me not to say anything.”

“And you chose that moment to listen?” Izzy’s voice was a shriek.

Lexi’s annoyance turned to speculation. “You were totally freaked out,” she said slowly.

“That’s not how I would describe it.”

“But you were. You don’t want her to love you. After all, you stood in my office and said you weren’t in love with her. I believe your exact words were ‘I don’t love Dana. I don’t do love. Ever.’”

The sisters all exchanged a look. He knew exactly what they were thinking, but they were wrong.

“She wasn’t there,” he said.

“Yes, she was,” Lexi told him. “She heard it all.”

He swore silently. No way. He wouldn’t have wanted that. Wouldn’t have said anything if he’d known. “Are you sure?”

Lexi nodded.

“Talk about sucky timing,” Izzy said. She pointed at Garth. “This is all your fault.”

“Why? What did I do?”

“You hurt Dana.”

“I never asked her to care about me,” he said without thinking.

“There’s a defense,” Lexi snapped. “Dammit, Garth.”

He stood. “No way. I’m not the bad guy here. I was minding my own business.”

“You were coming after us,” Skye reminded him.

“When out of nowhere, Dana appeared.”

“You hurt us,” Lexi said. “She was protecting us. Man, you so don’t deserve her.”

He agreed with that.

He hated that he’d hurt Dana. She didn’t deserve that. She was…he didn’t know what. Special for sure. But love? He wasn’t the kind to fall in love. Out loud, he only said, “I don’t believe in love.”

Lexi nodded as if she thought that was perfectly understandable. “Yes, but the question is, do you believe in Dana?”

Garth was quiet. “What?” Izzy demanded. “What are you thinking?”

“Shh,” Skye said. “Let him be. He’s a guy. This isn’t easy.”

He ignored that and them.

He’d always told himself he didn’t want to fall in love. That love was all risk and no benefit. He’d won-he had it all. And without Dana, what was it worth?

He wanted to be with her, to share his life with her. He wanted to make her laugh, make her happy. He wanted her crabbiness and her humor, her stubborn determination and her tender heart.

“What the hell have I done?”

“Finally,” Lexi said, and collapsed back on the sofa. “I’m exhausted.”

Izzy tilted her head. “I could almost hear the rusty gears grinding in place. I wonder if Nick went through the same kind of thing. I’ll have to ask him.”

“There’s a conversation designed to make him feel good,” Skye murmured.

“What do I do?” Garth asked. “How do I fix this?”

“Not our problem,” Lexi told him. She picked up the list he’d brought. “Back to dividing up the assets you bought. There are a few personal things I want from the house. A desk in the east guest room. One set of china.”

“The one with the blue flowers?” Skye asked. “You always liked that pattern.”

“That’s the one.”

“There’s a great set of flatware that goes with it, and you should take some of the crystal.”

“Okay.”

“I want the racehorses,” Izzy said. “When they retire, they can come live on the ranch. Rita will be thrilled.” She turned to Garth. “Rita runs the stable.”

“I don’t care about who gets what,” he said, frustrated again. “You have to help me.”

“A, we don’t have to do anything,” Skye said, grinning. “B, you called this meeting to divide up assets. I’ll take a few thousand shares of Titan World for Erin. I know you’re going to sell off the company, so they’ll be converted into something else, but that’s fine. Mitch should get the cattle. I’m with Lexi on wanting a china set. Which leaves the house.”

They weren’t listening and he had a feeling it was on purpose.

“I’m thinking Garth,” Izzy said.

“You should have it,” Lexi told him. “You earned it.”

“Plus we can have Christmas Day there,” Skye said.

Wait a minute. “You said you were having Christmas at Cruz and Lexi’s place.”

“We changed our minds,” Izzy told him. “Just as an FYI, you need a really big tree. I know where all the ornaments are, if that will help.”

“It won’t.”

“I have the name of several caterers,” Skye added. “I’m guessing you won’t want to cook.”

“We are not having Christmas at Glory’s Gate.”

“Of course we are,” Lexi said. “Trust me. You’ll love it.”

He dropped his head to his hands again. “You’re killing me.”

“Then our work here is complete.”

GARTH EASED HIS CAR up the long driveway.

“Where are we going?” Kathy asked anxiously from the passenger seat.

“It’s a surprise.”

The look she gave him told him that in her world a surprise wasn’t a good thing. Something else Jed had done to her, he thought grimly.

“I have something I want to show you,” he amended. Kathy didn’t look reassured. He reached out and patted her arm. “It’s right there.”

He pointed to Glory’s Gate.

The large house stood silhouetted against the blue Texas sky. It seemed larger than usual, with windows staring down like eyes and a white fence that rolled to the horizon.

“Who lives here?” Kathy asked as the car came to a stop.

“No one, right now. I want to show you the house.”

It was something he’d been planning since he was fourteen and Jed had thrown him out of his office, he thought as he parked the car, then came around to the passenger’s side and opened the door.

Kathy got out slowly, cautiously. He held out his hand and helped her out of his car. She stared up at the house.

“It’s big.”

“Yes, it is,” he told her. “And very pretty inside.”

She didn’t look convinced.

“Jed used to live here,” he said.

That got her attention. She smiled. “I know Jed.” The smile faded. “He’s very sad. He cried. But he’ll be better soon.”

Nothing Garth was hoping for.

“Is he here now?” she asked.

“No.”

Jed was in jail. The judge had seized his passport and revoked bail. The list of charges grew every day. More people were coming forward with information to help the prosecution. It seemed that everyone Jed had ever screwed wanted payback.

“I knew him,” Kathy said slowly. “A long time ago.” She screwed up her face, as if trying to remember something, then shook her head.

Garth nodded, then released her hands. “Come see the house.”

She followed him up the stairs, then through the wide front door. He’d been by earlier, to make sure the place was clean and there were fresh flowers. Now he led her from the entryway to the living room. He started toward the kitchen, but she came to a stop and shook her head.

“I don’t like it,” she whispered.

“It’s my house, Kathy. I bought it for you.”

She shook her head again. “No. It’s too big.” Tears filled her eyes. “I want to go home. Please take me home.”

Anger filled him, quickly followed by helplessness. Why couldn’t she see he’d done this for her? He wanted her to have everything…

And then he knew. In one of those blinding flashes of insight that were never comfortable, he got it.

All these years and all the effort that had gone into winning, into beating Jed into the ground, had one purpose. He’d always believed that if he could defeat the man who had let this happen to her, if he could just hand her Glory’s Gate, then she would be healed. He’d allowed himself to think that simply stepping through the doors and knowing this was her home would be enough. That the magic of victory would replace the damaged cells in her brain.