“I’m home,” Shep called as he walked in the front door late that afternoon. The words made warmth expand in his chest. This house had truly become a home to him, mainly because of Paige. Even the town of Crimson felt like a place he could put down roots.
He’d finally gotten in touch with one of Trinity’s board members, who had assured Shep that they weren’t trying to run him out of the company.
It was hard to be convinced when Vincent had returned to the resort after a long lunch with an obnoxious cat-who-ate-the-canary grin that Shep had wanted to wipe off the other man’s face.
But he’d requested a formal meeting with the board, face-to-face, to talk about progress on the renovation, a marketing plan for the ski mountain and his desire to change the terms of the contract he had regarding the Bumblebee property. He wasn’t sure how he’d deal with taking Rosie back to California next week but hoped Janet might be convinced to go with him. Or even Paige, which would be fantastic, although he doubted she’d have time with preparations for her reopening.
The house was eerily silent as he walked through it. He heard a noise from upstairs and found Janet and Rosie in the girl’s bedroom, playing with a puzzle.
“Hi, ladies,” he said with a smile, bending to kiss the top of Rosie’s head. She handed him a puzzle piece with the toothy grin he’d come to look forward to seeing on her face.
Janet greeted him with a small nod, her brows furrowing.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes,” she said but her tone wasn’t the least bit convincing.
“Where’s Paige?”
“Gone.”
Shep stilled, something in her tone making unease whisper through him. “Gone where?”
Janet shrugged. “Denver.”
“Denver? Why?” Shep ran a hand through his hair. “Does this have anything to do with the dumpster sitting out front? I can’t think of anything that large Paige has to get rid of at this point.”
“You,” Janet whispered, keeping her gaze on Rosie.
“What does that mean?”
Before the older woman could answer, Shep heard his name called from the first floor.
“Give me a minute,” he said, holding up one finger, then headed for the stairs.
Carly Maldero stood at the bottom of them, hands on hips, looking like some kind of modern-day Amazon warrior with her dark hair, angry brown eyes and designer pantsuit. The woman seemed to have no intention of adapting her style to fit Crimson’s casual vibe.
“I knew you were a snake the first time I saw you,” she said. “I know your type. Use people to get what you want with no thought to who ends up hurt in the process.”
“Does this have something to with the dumpster?” he asked, hands in the air, palms up. “Or with Paige going to Denver? I can’t figure out—”
Before he knew what she was about, Carly took a step forward and poked him hard in the chest. He stumbled back a step, tripping over the edge of the rug and landing on his backside. Something was majorly wrong, that was certain.
“What the hell?” he demanded and he scrambled to his feet.
“I hope that’s where you end up,” she shot back, her glossy mouth pulled into a thin line. “After what you did to Paige, you deserve—”
“What did I do?” He rubbed two fingers against his shirt, his chest suddenly tight and not from where she’d poked him. “I haven’t even seen her today.”
“No,” Carly agreed, “but your little henchman messenger has. You were using her this whole time.” She paced toward the front door, turned and stalked back to him. “I almost understand. You’ve got the kid, and you’re doing the single dad thing. You need help. That makes sense. But leading Paige on the way you have doesn’t.”
“I didn’t—”
“She’s got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. A couple weeks of working with her and I feel like she’s the sister I never had. She would have helped you even if you’d told her the truth. That’s how she is, but you had to lie and manipulate.” She poked a finger into his chest, and Shep automatically backed up until his legs hit the bottom step. “I’m going to find a way to stop you. I know people. I have contacts. This house is historic. We can—”
“Enough.” Shep held up his hands again. “What are you talking about? Where is Paige? I didn’t use her. Hell, she’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and not just because of Rosie. But I can’t fix whatever’s wrong when I have no idea what it is.”
Carly crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed, staring at him like she couldn’t decide whether he was telling the truth or lying.
“She went to her mother’s house,” she said finally.
“When?” Shep asked. “Why?”
“Today.” Carly shook her head. “Shortly after Vance or Vince or—”
“Vincent,” Shep muttered, a sick pit opening in the center of his gut. “What did he say to her?” Shep thought about the dumpster out front and almost groaned. “The agreement with Trinity.”
“Exactly,” Carly agreed. “Your buddy left the contract for Paige to peruse. The legally binding agreement that states you’ll begin demo on the house within thirty days of owning it and commits you to leasing this property to them to use for access to the ski mountain.”
“I signed that deal long before I met Paige,” he offered weakly. “Before I’d even come to Crimson. It was after Rosie came to live with me, and I wanted some sort of guaranteed income each month. The lease agreement seemed like an easy way to get it.”
“And you never thought to talk to your bosses once you made the bargain with Paige or to mention to her that you weren’t the all-powerful King of Crimson Ski Mountain who could change legal contracts on a whim?”
He drew in a breath, which wasn’t easy with his chest constricting painfully. “I was desperate for help, and I thought she’d refuse if I didn’t agree. At that point, I wasn’t even sure Paige really wanted to open the inn. It seemed to me she’d stalled out in her planning, and I thought that meant it didn’t actually mean that much to her.”
“It means everything,” Carly said softly.
“I get that now. But she didn’t—”
“She was scared,” Carly told him, moving to the sofa and propping on one arm. “It’s because of the cancer and—”
“Cancer?” Shep reached out a hand to brace himself on the stairway bannister. “Paige has cancer?”
“No,” Carly answered immediately. “Not anymore.” She looked at him strangely. “You know that she’s a cancer survivor, right?”
He gave a sharp shake of his head, bile rising in his throat. So he hadn’t been the only one keeping secrets. The fact that Paige hadn’t shared that part of her felt like it meant something about who he was to her. She hadn’t trusted him to know the truth about her past.
It was hard to blame her when he’d mishandled the situation with the inn so badly, but it still hurt.
“It was when she was in high school,” Carly explained, her tone gentler. “She had—”
“It’s okay.” He forced a tight smile. “If Paige wants me to know about her past, she can tell me. As far as this house and my agreement with Trinity...” He paused, looking for the right words. “I obviously made a mistake in not making things clear with Paige. But I’m going to California next week to meet with the board and convince them we don’t need the Bumblebee property.”
“And if you can’t?” Carly demanded softly. “The fact that you let Paige believe everything was fine...”
“I never said that,” he argued. “Not exactly. I need to talk to her. When did she leave for Denver?”
“Give her some time,” Carly said by way of an answer. “You messed up bad, Shep.”
“Story of my life.” He glanced up the stairs then back at Carly. “But I’ll find a way to fix it. She’s too important to me.”
Carly studied him for a long moment then nodded. “I hope you can.” She reached out and squeezed his arm then turned and walked toward the front door.
“I messed up bad.” Shep repeated Carly’s words from earlier as soon as his brother opened the door.
“You sure did,” Sienna said, coming to stand next to Cole in their doorway.
“You’ve talked to Paige?” Shep asked. “She won’t take my calls or return my texts.”
Cole stepped back to allow Shep to enter, but Sienna continued to block the doorway. “Do you blame her?” she demanded.
“Sweetheart,” Cole said gently, placing a hand on Sienna’s shoulder. “Do you think Shep and I could have a few minutes to talk?”
“You’re nothing like him,” the gorgeous blonde said, accusation clear in her tone. “I don’t understand how the two of you can be twins and be so unalike.”
“He takes after our mother,” Shep answered simply. “I’m a chip off the old paternal block.”
He saw Cole’s jaw tighten, and even Sienna looked surprised to hear him admit the truth so freely.
What was the point of pretending anymore?
Without another word, Sienna turned and moved through the hallway toward the kitchen.
“She’s got a temper,” Cole said by way of explanation, “and a fierce protective streak when it comes to her friends.”
“Not a bad thing.” Shep stepped into the entry, closing the door behind him with a soft click. “I just wish I wasn’t on the receiving end of her anger.”
“I won’t fault you for that,” Cole agreed. “It wasn’t too long ago that I was in your shoes.”
“I remember.” He followed Cole deeper into the house. “But you fixed it. I don’t know that I’ve got that option.”
“You should have told me the truth.”
Shep stilled, his mouth dropping open as he turned to find Paige standing in the door to the home office Cole had set up in what would have been the house’s formal living room.
“She’s here,” Shep murmured, glancing back at his brother.
Cole gave a small nod. “I was sworn to secrecy. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be mad at him,” Paige said, hugging her arms around her waist.
“I’m not.” Shep swallowed back the emotion clogging his throat then realized him holding things in was the reason for this mess in the first place. “I’m just so damn happy to see you,” he told her.
“I’ll give you two some time to talk,” Cole said.
Paige looked past Shep to his twin brother. “Tell Sienna I’m fine, okay? I don’t want her to worry.”
“I will,” Cole promised and headed toward the kitchen.
Shep took a step toward her. “Everyone said you’d gone to your—”
“I’m heading to Denver tomorrow morning.” Paige held up a hand, like she didn’t want him to come any closer. “My plan was to leave today, but Sienna thought I was too upset to drive.”
“I need to explain what happened.”
“Do you?” she asked softly. “I’ll make arrangements to clear out the house when I get back from my mom’s.”
Now that he’d gotten over the initial shock of seeing her, he noticed her red-rimmed eyes and blotchy skin. He’d really hurt her, and the realization of it just about killed him.
“You won’t have to do that,” he promised, hoping he could make it so. “I’m flying to California next week to talk to the Trinity board about the Bumblebee property.”
“I saw the contract,” she said without inflection. “Everything is spelled out clearly. I was never going to get the chance to reopen the inn.” Her eyes narrowed. “Was I?”
He blew out a breath. “At first I didn’t even think you really wanted it. Nothing had happened, so I figured you’d change your mind anyway.”
“That’s not an excuse for lying,” she pointed out.
“I know,” he agreed. “I’m sorry, Paige. I didn’t mean to mislead you.”
“So basically you didn’t believe in me. You agreed to the deal to get what you wanted and didn’t even take into account what would happen if you couldn’t fulfill your end of it.”
“I did consider that,” he insisted then was forced to add, “eventually. I’ll admit I wasn’t thinking clearly but—”
“You were clearly lying.”
“Stop saying that.” He stepped closer then backed up again when she shook her head. Where was the sweet, amiable woman who’d been his biggest cheerleader, who made him feel like he could do anything? He’d ruined that. His selfishness had destroyed her like it did most everything else in his life. “I will make this right. I never meant for it to go so far. Vincent had no business coming to the inn. He doesn’t understand the bigger plan.”
“He’s not the only one,” she whispered. “I’ll be in Denver through the weekend. I’d like you to be out of the house when I get back.”
“Paige.”
She shook her head. “I know you own it, but please give me this, Shep. I have a ton of work to do to clean it out and—”
“I get how important it is to you. I’m going to fix things. You won’t have to—”
“Maybe this is how it was meant to be. You’re right. I wasn’t sure about reopening the inn when we first made the deal. I’d let doubt and fear run my life for so long.” She swiped her fingers along her cheeks. “The funny thing is that you’re the one who helped me believe in myself. You seemed to have all the faith that I could do anything I wanted.”
“I still have that faith.”
She huffed out a sad little laugh. “That’s not how it seems from where I’m standing.” She drew in a breath and met his gaze. “Goodbye, Shep.”
“What about Rosie?” he demanded, desperate for anything that would keep Paige in his life.
She shook her head. “Don’t do that. I know how much you love your daughter, and even the suggestion that you’d use her cheapens it.”
“Yeah, well...” He looked up at the ceiling, hating himself as much as was humanly possible. “Cheap is how I feel.”
“You’re a great dad,” Paige told him, her innate goodness outweighing any need she might have to hurt him for what he’d done to her. Another thing that made her so special and him such a fool for ruining things the way he had. “Rosie will be fine.”
“I don’t want this to be the end,” he told her and saw a tear track down her cheek.
“Goodbye,” she repeated and disappeared into the office, closing the French doors behind her.
He stood there for several minutes, his body hollow and his mind frozen. He could storm in, force her to keep listening to his excuses. But what good would that do him?
“Give her time,” Cole said from behind him.
Shep turned, shaking his head. “I’ve ruined her. Just like Dad did to Mom.”
“You’re not like him. He broke the law. You screwed up because you were terrified of being a single dad.”
“I hurt her with my lies the same way,” Shep insisted. “That’s what counts.”
“What counts is how you handle the aftermath,” Cole told him. “Mom loved Dad with her whole heart. If he would have tried—”
“Are you saying you think Paige loves me?” Shep could barely fathom a world where he’d deserve that, but the thought of it made every cell in his body stand at attention.
“I think she has a big heart, and you need to prove that you deserve another chance to win it.”
“I need to fight for her,” Shep muttered. He was so used to thinking of himself as someone who was destined to fail the people he cared about that the idea of doing something better was an unfamiliar concept.
“You need to at least try,” Cole agreed.
Shep nodded. “I can do this.” He had to. It was too difficult to imagine his life without Paige in it.