“I’M FINE,” Skye insisted as Dana foamed milk at the espresso machine on the counter and Lexi and Izzy both hovered close by. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
She didn’t have to look up to know her sisters and Dana were exchanging looks of disbelief. It was her own fault, she thought grimly. All of this. Getting involved with Mitch. Believing him, trusting him. He’d shown her his true self the first day he’d come home. He’d made everything clear and she hadn’t listened. She’d wanted him to be more and he’d been willing to play along, but he hadn’t changed. He still resented her and wanted her punished. Now he was not only angry about the past, but about Erin. She’d brought this on herself and only she was to blame.
Dana poured the steamed milk into a mug and handed it to her. “Want some whiskey for that?” she asked.
Skye looked at the clock. It was barely noon. “No. I’ll be okay. I just need a minute.”
“What you need is Mitch’s head on a platter,” Izzy said, sounding furious.
They were in the big kitchen at Glory’s Gate. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday. Sunlight pooled on the floor. A warm breeze whispered. Normally that was enough to brighten Skye’s mood, but not today.
“I can’t believe it.” Lexi took the second mug Dana offered. “He seemed like he was really happy to be back. He was so…nice.”
“When did you talk to him?” Dana asked.
“Last night, at the party. I thought he still cared about you.” She looked at Skye. “I’m sorry.”
“He played us all,” Skye told her, trying to keep the bitterness from her voice. “We all fell for it. Me more than most. I was so worried about him, about how he was healing and fitting in. I felt awful when he thought Erin was his. I ached for him when he found out the truth. Now I think it was just more of Garth’s games. Mitch probably never thought anything about Erin. It was just one more way to suck me in.”
“Do you know how long he was working for Garth?” Izzy asked.
“Does it matter?”
“It might,” Lexi said. “If this is a recent development, then maybe it’s not so bad.”
Skye raised her eyebrows.
“At least he wasn’t lying before,” Dana added, then shook her head. “Sorry. I’m trying to be supportive, but I’m just too cynical. Mitch turned into a real jerk and I’m sorry about that. He used to be one of the good ones.”
Before, Skye thought angrily. She would bet that if they were to talk, Mitch would blame all this on her. He would say she’d earned it.
She could accept that he’d slept with her to lead her on and punish her. She could accept a lot of things. But she’d gone to him and asked for help. He’d agreed, the whole time knowing he was going to betray her. He’d set her up.
“He’s not the man I thought,” she whispered. “That’s what gets me the most. I was wrong about who he is on the inside.”
He used to be so honorable, she thought sadly. So earnest.
“I really don’t like this,” Izzy grumbled. “I had a crush on him and now he’s an asshole.”
“Because it’s all about you?” Dana asked.
“Well, yeah.”
Lexi chuckled. Skye tried to smile and failed. Then she reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out the ring she’d dug out of her jewelry box that morning. She tossed the ring onto the kitchen table.
The diamonds glittered in the overhead light. The gold still gleamed. All four women stared at the ring.
“It’s beautiful,” Lexi said.
“It was.” Skye sipped her coffee. “The one Ray gave me was bigger, but this is the one that mattered. Mitch and I were outside. We’d been riding and the clouds had come in. I said it was going to rain and we should get back. He teased me about not wanting to get my hair wet and while we were laughing, he pulled out the ring and dropped to his knees.”
The image was so clear. She could smell the cut grass, see Mitch’s dark eyes, his gaze so intense. She’d stopped breathing and all she could hear was the pounding of her heart.
“He told me loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He said that I was the best thing that ever happened to him, then he asked me to marry him.”
Tears trickled down her cheeks as she remembered how much she’d loved him. How she’d known they would be together forever.
“When I told him I couldn’t marry him, I gave him back the ring,” she continued, her voice shaking. “He took it and threw it in the dirt. I was horrified. We fought and he walked off. I was crying so hard, I could barely see, but I was determined to find the ring. I clawed at the dirt until I saw it.” She touched it with the tip of her finger. “I thought it meant something.”
Dana crouched down next to her. “Do you want me to beat him up for you? I could take him.”
Despite everything, Skye laughed. “That’s really sweet of you, but I don’t want you to hurt him.” Skye wiped her face. “Is that stupid or what? After all this time and everything that’s happened, I don’t want him hurt. Stupid, stupid me.”
“You didn’t know,” Lexi said. “You couldn’t have known.”
“He betrayed me.”
“He’s not over you,” Izzy said. “He can’t be. These aren’t the actions of a man who doesn’t care. He’s really pissed off.”
“He blames me for the loss of his leg. If I hadn’t dumped him, he wouldn’t have gone into the navy and so on. It’s my fault.”
Yesterday she would have said there might still be something between them. A chance, maybe. But now? Today? There was only anger and treachery.
“What if he’s sorry?” Izzy asked.
“What if he’s not,” Dana said, then swore. “Why did it have to be Mitch? I could handle someone else, but not him. Not like this.”
Skye stood and wiped the last of her tears. “We’re not going to fix this. It happened and we’ll deal. Mitch isn’t one of the good guys anymore. End of story.”
She sounded strong, she thought, pleased she was faking it so well. She left the kitchen and found Erin sitting on the stairs. Her daughter had pulled her knees to her chest. The girl looked sad and scared.
“What’s wrong?” Skye asked, sitting next to her and smoothing her hair.
“You’re mad at Mitch.”
Skye winced silently. “You were listening.”
Erin looked at her. “Not on purpose. I just heard a little and then I left.” Her daughter leaned against her. “You were crying, Mommy.”
“I’m done now.”
“I don’t feel good.”
It was the tears, Skye thought. They reminded her of when Ray had died. Skye had cried for weeks.
“Does your tummy hurt?”
Erin nodded.
“It will get better. You want to go riding? We could go for a long ride and that will help.”
“I’m supposed to practice my jumps with Arturo.”
Which put her on the Cassidy Ranch. Skye didn’t know what to say. While she didn’t want her daughter coming into contact with Mitch anytime soon, she didn’t want to forbid her from visiting with Fidela and Arturo. They both meant a lot to her and she needed them in her life.
“I’ll drive you over,” Skye said. “Go get your boots.”
Fifteen minutes later she pulled up to the barn. She didn’t see Mitch anywhere, which was a good thing. She didn’t feel strong enough to face him right now.
Arturo was waiting. He opened the car door for Erin. “You have a horse to saddle,” he told Erin. “Then we’re jumping.”
Her daughter grinned. “I’m ready,” she yelled as she hurried to the barn.
Arturo bent down and looked at Skye. “You okay?”
The simple question told her he knew what had happened. Maybe not the specifics, but enough that he was concerned about her.
“I will be,” she said.
“I’m sorry. That’s not who he is.”
“Apparently it is.”
Arturo sighed. “I’ll bring Erin home when she’s done. She’ll want to see Fidela so it will be a couple of hours.”
“That’s fine. Thanks for bringing her back.”
“No problem.”
He stood and closed the passenger door, then turned toward the barn. Skye put the car in Drive and headed back home. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye but didn’t turn or look back. There was nothing there for her to care about anymore. The sooner she realized that, the better for everyone.
MITCH KNEW it was going to be bad when he walked into the kitchen for lunch and found a can of tuna sitting on the counter. Fidela was nowhere around, but the message was clear. He was to get his own lunch.
He couldn’t remember her ever not cooking for him, no matter what he’d done.
She’d seen him talking to Garth that morning, had seen Skye run away and had asked questions. When he’d told her the truth, she stared at him as if she didn’t know him anymore, then had gone back inside. Apparently she was still angry.
He wanted to find her and tell her it wasn’t as bad as she thought. He’d never actually given Garth any information. He’d been a halfhearted accomplice at best. But did any of that matter? Wasn’t it all about intent?
He’d been so angry, he thought now as he searched the refrigerator for something to eat. Angry because he’d been forced to come back. Angry at the loss of his leg and angry at Skye for a list of transgressions, some of which she’d even done. Finding out Erin wasn’t his had pushed him over the edge.
An explanation, he thought grimly. Not an excuse.
He gave up on lunch and went outside. He followed the sound of hoofbeats and laughter until he stood at the edge of the corral where Arturo worked with Erin.
The girl took the practice jumps easily, then begged for them to be higher. Arturo was patient with her, pointing out what she should do differently, praising her when she got it right. Mitch was sure they’d both seen him, but neither of them acknowledged his presence.
Arturo made sense. Fidela would have told him about Garth. But Erin? What did she have to be mad about? Had Skye said something to her about him? He didn’t want to believe it, but what else could it be?
Mitch left them and went into his office. Okay-so he’d blown it. He was sorry. Didn’t that count for anything?
He spent the next half hour feeling sorry for himself, then Erin walked into his office.
She was four feet of eight-year-old fury as she stalked up to his desk and glared at him.
“You made my mom cry,” she said, obviously outraged. “I wasn’t supposed to be listening but I was and she was crying because of you. Heroes aren’t supposed to be mean. You’re supposed to take care of us.”
It was as if the strength suddenly left her and she sagged a little. Tears filled her eyes and poured down her cheeks. “You made her cry,” she whispered.
Watching her was the worst thing he’d ever been through. The sense of guilt and helplessness drove him to his feet. He circled around the desk and tried to reach for her, but she backed up.
“Don’t,” she yelled, wiping her face.
“I’m sorry,” he told her. “I didn’t mean to hurt your mom.”
“But you did hurt her.” She sounded shocked by the concept. As if she hadn’t known he was capable of that sort of thing. “You’re a bad man.”
“I’m not. I made a bad choice. They’re not the same.”
“Yes, they are.”
He knew in his head she felt betrayed by someone she hadn’t known could betray her. But he didn’t know how to make it better.
“I’m sorry, Erin.”
She shoved him, as if trying to push him off balance. As if trying to make him fall. He didn’t go down but he was stunned she would do that. Which was maybe a little of what she was feeling.
The tears came faster now. She covered her face with her hands. He bent down and grabbed her around the waist and set her on his desk. She sobbed and kicked her feet against the wood.
He waited until she’d quieted some before speaking. “You can’t stay mad at me forever.”
“I can,” she said, and wiped her face.
“I’ll make it right with Skye.”
Erin looked doubtful. “You’re a hero,” she murmured. “You’re special. But you’re not. You’re just…”
She jumped down and glared at him. “You’re just mean and I don’t like you anymore.”
In Erin’s world, it was probably the worst thing she could say. She left him. Sitting there alone, he knew he’d lost something very precious. Something that wouldn’t easily be replaced or mended.
The hell of it was, he hadn’t had to do anything for Garth. The other man had won the round without even trying. Mitch had played right into his hands. Now Skye was feeling more isolated and Garth was that much closer to getting everything he wanted.
SKYE SPENT a terrible weekend pretending to be strong for Erin and feeling as if she’d been sucker punched in her heart. By dawn Monday morning, she’d given up trying to sleep and was grateful she had work to deal with. At least going into the office would be a distraction.
She showered and dressed and was just about to go down for coffee when Izzy came into her room.
“You’ll want to see this,” her sister said, handing her the morning paper.
The headline made Skye’s head spin-Titan Executives Charged With Smuggling.
“This isn’t happening,” she whispered as she began to read.
The article was light on facts, but heavy on speculation. Apparently the shipping division of Titan World Enterprises was under investigation. Not only had company employees been charged with bribing foreign officials, they’d brought in ships with illegal cargo.
Manifests had been forged. What was supposed to be simple manufacturing parts turned out to be guns and ammunition. Jed Titan was being accused of being a gunrunner.
“This is bad,” Izzy said. “They’re hinting at treason.”
“It’s bad,” Skye agreed, knowing Garth was behind this. She’d worried about what the next attack would be and here it was.
“Jed could go to jail,” Izzy said.
Skye put down the paper. “If he’s charged with treason, there’s no way he’s getting out of this one, and going to jail will be the least of his problems.”