For His Brother's Wife

As soon as she managed to compose herself, she had every intention of ordering Cole to pack his things and leave the ranch. After what he and Craig had done to her, the way they had manipulated her life, she didn’t care that the Double R had been in his family for years. It was hers now and if he ever dared to step foot on the property again, she would have him arrested for trespassing.

* * *

When Cole entered the house, he expected to find Paige in the kitchen making sandwiches for him and the work crew to have for lunch. She was nowhere in sight. She wasn’t in the family room or the room she wanted to turn into her studio, either.

“Paige,” he called as he walked through the house.

When she wasn’t in the den, he climbed the stairs and finally found her sitting on the side of the bed in his room. Her head was slightly tilted down as if she was studying her hands, which were twisted into a tight knot in her lap.

“Why didn’t you answer me?” When she lifted her eyes to look at him, the abject pain in the crystalline gray depths made him feel as if he’d taken a head butt to the gut.

“Paige, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” he demanded, crossing the room to stand in front of her. When he reached for her hands, she jerked them away.

“Don’t call me that,” she said, her voice tense with emotion. “And I don’t want you ever to touch me again.”

Sensing that whatever had happened was going to take a lot longer to resolve than just his lunch hour, Cole turned to leave the room. “I’ll be right back.”

As he went downstairs, he took his billfold out of the hip pocket of his jeans and removed a couple of hundred dollar bills. Stepping outside, he called to Harold. When the man reached the porch, Cole handed him the money. “Take the crew to the Royal Diner for lunch on me, then everyone has the rest of the day off with pay.”

Without waiting for the man to comment, Cole walked back into the house, closed the door and retraced his steps back upstairs to his room. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” he asked, walking over to the bed.

When he sat down beside Paige, she rose to her feet and walked several paces away. “I want you off the ranch as soon as you can pack your things.” She turned back to face him. “And I don’t ever want you to come back. If you do, I swear I’ll have Sheriff Battle arrest you.”

“Do you mind telling me what I’ve done?” he asked calmly. If she knew him better, she would realize his demeanor was a facade he had perfected years ago to keep his brother from knowing just how much he was getting to him.

“I’m not going to go into everything,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s too sordid to repeat. But I know what you and Craig were up to and the sick game you were playing at my expense. It was your turn to have me? Really, Cole? How could you?”

Cole’s heart came to a complete halt. Without thinking, he asked, “How did you find out?”

He watched her close her eyes a moment as if she were struggling to maintain her composure. “Oh, dear Lord, Cole, does it matter?” Opening her eyes, she stared at him. “How I found out isn’t important. I told you I know about your vile game and that’s all that matters. Now please pack your clothes, take your men and leave.”

“Who’s going to finish the barn and repairs to your other buildings?” he asked, stalling for time. He needed to think of a way to get her to listen to him. But at the moment, it appeared hell would freeze over before that happened.

“I’ll hire someone else to do the work.” She shook her head so vehemently that her ponytail swayed back and forth. “I want nothing more to do with you or your company.”

Deciding that she needed time to cool down and he needed time to think, Cole got up from the bed and opened the closet to get his suitcase. “I can arrange to have Aaron take over the job. There’s no sense penalizing the workers because you have a problem with me. Besides, the barn is almost finished and all that’s left are the repairs to the sheds and turning that room into your studio.”

“I’ll think about it and let him know,” she said, walking to the door. “I want no further contact with you.” Then she left the room.

As he gathered his things, Cole searched for the gym shorts he’d worn the day he discovered the memory stick with Craig’s journal and copies of the messages he’d sent to Cole. He had put it in his pocket when Paige walked into the room that day to keep her from seeing the damning evidence of Craig’s depravity. When he failed to find the shorts along with several other items of his clothing, he bet every dime he had that she’d been doing laundry and had found it.