Taming the Moguls by Christy Hayes Page B

know darn well how to please myself, and I’m
more than happy to do so until you figure things out.” When she
yanked the curtains closed, Kevin sat where he was, painfully
aroused and more confused than ever. When he heard the bed creak,
he imagined her doing just what she’d threatened. He shimmied back
to the trellis and made his way down clumsily. By the time his feet
hit the ground, he knew he deserved what she’d done. He might be
able to appreciate her methods after his body stopped throbbing. In
a weirdly twisted way, he was proud of her for taking a stand.
    She’d taken one hell of a stand.
     

 
    Chapter 22
    Dodge walked into the Golden Tap hungry,
tired, and looking for the owner. He figured he’d order his
favorite bacon burger, and by the time it was ready, Tommy would
make an appearance. If he didn’t, Dodge would trek across the
street to Golden Mountain Sports. Dodge had just flipped through
the front section of the local paper when Tommy barreled in wearing
a dark green sock cap, a day-old beard, and a scowl. Dodge waved
him over with the lift of his chin.
    “Hey,” Tommy said when he stopped by the
table. “You need me to see what’s up with your order?”
    “No.” Dodge kicked out the chair in front of
Tommy. “Have a seat.”
    Tommy looked over his shoulder at the
half-full restaurant, shrugged, and sat down. He steepled his
fingers on the table and blew out a breath. “I don’t want to talk
about it.”
    “How do you know what I’m going to say?”
    “Did you want to discuss the storm predicted
to hit us this weekend? The cost of hay? Complain about my
food?”
    “Storm predictions are never right, the cost
of hay is what I expected, and I haven’t had any food yet today, so
you’re batting a thousand in that department. Ahhh,” he said as
Tommy’s new waitress delivered his burger and fries. “Give me a
minute, and I’ll let you know.”
    Tommy passed Dodge a bottle of ketchup and
waited. “How’s my average now?”
    “Home run,” Dodge said and wiped his mouth.
“I don’t want to sour this delicious meal with a bunch of personal
talk, but that meeting the other day’s been sitting on my mind.
When I can’t get something off my mind, I start to get pissed. I
don’t want to be pissed at you.”
    Tommy ripped the sock cap from his head and
ran a hand through his hair. “We were involved.”
    “I figured that much. How involved and
when?”
    “Very involved. College.”
    Dodge knew an evasive answer when he heard it
but decided not to push. “It didn’t end well?”
    “It ended when she ran off to marry somebody
else. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since. I guess you could say
I’m harboring some lingering resentment.”
    Dodge folded a fry into his mouth. “Patrick’s
been asking questions. I don’t like any Garrity coming around and
poking into my business. I’d rather know what’s up so I can shut
him down. Telling him, ‘I don’t know,’ only seems to keep him
interested.”
    “Patrick,” Tommy mumbled under his breath.
“He’s relentless.”
    “He’s getting folks stirred up. Pretty soon
everyone’s going to ask questions, and I won’t get anything done.
Spill it, son, so I can get on with my nice, quiet life.”
    “Garrity’s digging into Gretchen’s past. He
digs deep enough, he’ll find me. I’m not going to have to step down
from STS. I’m going to get run out of town.”
    Dodge took a sip of soda and did what he
hated most: butt his nose into someone’s personal business. “Before
you do something stupid like step down, you need to get over your
resentment so we can get back to fighting the development.”
    “It’s not that simple,” Tommy said. “I read
the file Patrick started on Gretchen. The resentment’s not going
anywhere.”
    “You read the file?”
    “He dangled it in front of my face like a
carrot to a horse. As pissed off at her as I am, I won’t use
anything he finds. I can’t.”
    “That means there’re