Snowbound with Her Mountain Cowboy, page 16
“Brown. Cut kind of chin length...”
“That was one of your nannies,” Karl said. “Cynthia, I think. Your mother wouldn’t have licked her thumb, for one, and she was a beautiful blonde.”
“Could you email some pictures of my mother?” Ben asked. “And you, too—you know, just a few family photos to jog my memory? I don’t like the idea of remembering a nanny and not my own mother.”
“Uh—” His father faltered for a moment. “Yes, of course. I’ll dig up some old albums. I’ll text them to you.”
“Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.”
Ben hung up, relieved that more of his memory was clicking back into place. He could feel more of himself connecting again. A talk with his father had been just the jolt he’d needed to bring back some more detail and remind him of who he was, and the family that had created him...but he wasn’t going to be able to stand quite so firmly on his resolutions as he wanted to. Ben wanted to be the man who stood between Angelina had his family’s whims, but sometimes a man wasn’t going to be big enough to be the protection he wanted to be.
He turned back toward the room and spotted Warren standing in the doorway eyeing him thoughtfully.
“How are you feeling, Ben?” Warren asked.
“Uh—fine,” Ben said. “I’m remembering more.”
“You look like it,” Warren said.
“Oh?” Ben asked. What did a man with memories look like?
“You look more sure of yourself,” Warren replied. “A little more weighed down, too.”
Both of those statements were accurate, but he’d also lost some of his innocence as his memories returned. He was a King—that meant more than he’d realized.
“At least I know who I am again.”
For whatever that was worth.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
FOR BEING WITHOUT internet or phone for several days, Angelina was surprised at how few emails were waiting for her once she logged back into her computer. Most of the day-to-day questions would be fielded by Noah Brooks, her general manager, and he would have taken care of things from home.
Angelina called Noah to check in, then phoned Karl King.
“Ben seems to be doing pretty well,” Angelina said. “Reception is back, so you can contact him and judge for yourself.”
“Yes, I’ve spoken with him already,” Karl replied. “There was something he wanted to talk to you about. Maybe you could seek him out.”
Right. Did Karl know that she knew about the plan to buy her out? She leaned back in her chair.
“Mr. King, I’m going to level with you,” she said. “I know that you want to buy my resort.”
“Talk to Ben. Please.”
“If you think our history will make me more pliable with Ben—”
“Nothing further from the truth. But if I hammer a deal out with you here and now, he isn’t going to forgive me.”
“You’re not understanding me,” she said. “I’m not selling.”
Karl’s voice was calm and unchanged. “Talk to Ben, Angie.”
Angelina rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. “Fine. I’ll talk to him. But I’m not selling.”
“Just talk to him. Call if you need anything more.” Then Karl hung up.
Angelina clenched her teeth. The Kings were always the same. They had plans, and they worked those plans, no matter what anyone else said. A no right now meant nothing to Karl. It was just the opening negotiation for that man. But Angelina didn’t have a price.
She knew she needed to call Belle back, but right now she didn’t think she had it in her to celebrate secret wedding plans. She would soon, but right now, she needed something else... Angelina dialed Gayle Pickard’s number.
“Angelina? I’ve been watching the news about how hard that storm hit the lake area. How are you doing?”
“I’m not too bad, actually,” Angelina replied. “But I needed to talk to a friend.”
“What’s going on?” Gayle asked, her tone softening.
“You wouldn’t believe who landed on my doorstep.”
“Who?”
“My ex-husband.” Angelina told the story as succinctly as possible, leaving out some pertinent details like the shared kisses, and ending with “...so he’s here.”
“My goodness, Angelina...” Gayle breathed out a sigh. “And you’re not okay, are you?”
“I thought I was over him, Gayle,” Angelina said. “It’s been thirteen years since that divorce! Thirteen years! But having him here, without his memory...” She cast about in her mind, looking for a way to describe it. “He’s like he was on the cruise—just Ben, no family connections tugging at him, no demands being made on him. Just Ben and his innate nobility.”
“You’re falling in love with him again,” Gayle said.
“I don’t know... I’m definitely feeling something, but I should know better. Please remind me why this won’t work.”
“Because his family will always come first,” Gayle said simply.
“Always...” Angelina looked up at the ceiling. “There’s a young woman—one of the guests who decided to ride out the storm. She reminds me a lot of myself back then. She’s got this boyfriend from a pretty well-off family and he’s got political aspirations. She’s a definite afterthought for him.”
“Were you an afterthought with Ben?” Gayle asked.
“No... He loved me. I know that. I just didn’t know what I was getting myself into. This girl—she has no idea. And someone will end up marrying this guy! I mean, it isn’t my place to try and steer her away from him. It’s obviously my own issues with Ben that make some college student’s romance feel so personal.” Angelina leaned forward and rested her elbows on her desk. “But I’m remembering what I was like all those years ago, and Gayle, you wouldn’t have recognized me.”
“I bet I would,” Gayle countered.
“I doubt it,” Angelina replied. “I was bright-eyed and ambitious. I thought that a good heart would be rewarded. I married Ben fully believing that our love could carry us through anything...”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Gayle said softly.
“I needed him, Gayle.” This was the part that was so hard to admit. “I relied on his love for me. With him and his loyalty, I was whole. Without the kind of love I needed, it was like being hollowed out.”
“That’s called being in love with him,” Gayle said. “And it’s always a risk. Now, I’m going to say something you don’t want to hear, but I’m saying it in love.”
There was silence for a beat. “Okay,” Angelina said. “Give it to me.”
“You need to find someone you can be vulnerable with again,” Gayle said. “You’ve seen most of us move on into romantic relationships, getting married again, and you’ve held out. It wasn’t because of a lack of options. I think you’re afraid of needing a man again.”
“Ben is still dangerous for me,” Angelina said.
“I didn’t say Ben, did I?” Gayle asked. “You need to trust someone...some regular, sweet man who will worship you. Someone who will know just how far you are above him and live the rest of his life in gratitude.”
“I’m not sure I can do that,” Angelina replied.
“Then some fantastic duke!” Gayle laughed. “Sweetie, I’m almost old enough to be your mother, and I managed to move on again after Stu came out of the closet. It was hard to trust again, but do you know what made it worth it?”
“What?” Angelina asked.
“Being loved,” Gayle said. “There is something about having a man at the breakfast table who thinks you are amazing, just as you are. I want you to find that.”
“Do you know what I need?” Angelina asked. “I need a Second Chance Club dinner—all of us together with a really good bottle of wine. That’s what I need.”
“We’re due for a nice dinner,” Gayle agreed. “And we can see what the other girls have to say about this. I think you’ll be outnumbered in this. We’d all like to see you open yourself up again. Obviously, a man won’t solve your problems—we all know better than that. But the right one might help you destress a little bit, and put a smile on your face. You deserve that.”
“Maybe so.” Angelina smiled. “Thanks, Gayle. I knew a chat with you would help me settle my thoughts.”
“Glad to help,” Gayle said. “So...where does this leave you and Ben?”
“I don’t know where it leaves Ben,” Angelina replied, “but it leaves me with my feet solidly on the ground.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“I’d better go,” Angelina said. “I have to get some lunch, and then I’m going to be shoveling snow.”
“Have fun,” Gayle said. “Should I call the girls and find a night that works?”
“Please!” Angelina replied. “I appreciate it.”
Angelina had to admit that she did feel better. There was something very grounding about a group of friends who knew her so well. They’d keep her accountable and wouldn’t let her go do something stupid...or at least not very stupid. Apparently, they all wanted to see her enjoy some romance again.
She’d said she was ready for that, hadn’t she? Ben had a way of derailing her attempts to move on without even trying.
Angelina tucked her phone into her pocket and headed out of her office, locking it behind her. Karl wanted her to talk to Ben, and maybe she should. She’d listen to the pitch, and then give her answer. Whatever the price the Kings were offering, Angelina wasn’t selling. It was high time they didn’t get their way for once.
Angelina glanced into the fireside room and the dining room, but didn’t find Ben, so she headed up the stairs toward his suite.
Angelina’s knock was answered a moment later. Ben stood in the doorway with his phone in one hand. He’d taken off his sweater and was wearing a white undershirt with his jeans, a relaxed look that she hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Hi,” she said. “I talked to your dad.”
Ben nodded. “Come in?”
Angelina brushed past him and came into the room. The bed was made and a faint smell of bleach that indicated the cleaning staff had already been through came from the bathroom.
“So what did he say?” Ben asked.
“He asked me to come talk to you,” she replied. “I told him that I’m not interested in selling, but he just kept repeating that I needed to talk to you. So that’s what I’m doing. Let’s get this out of the way.”
Ben pulled a chair around for her, and Angelina took a seat. Then he sank onto the edge of the bed.
“I asked my father about that memory,” he said quietly, “the one with the woman wiping my face when I was a boy. And you were right. It was a nanny. My father said my mother would never have licked her finger to clean my face.”
His dark gaze clouded. “I don’t remember her... That feels really wrong.”
Angelina’s heart gave a squeeze. He hadn’t remembered his mother yet? “Your mother suffered from depression, Ben.”
“She did?” He stilled.
“Yes. I didn’t think it was my place to talk about her since I never met her. I only know what you told me. She passed when you were a teenager, but she could be very emotionally distant—not that it was her fault. From what I understand, she just had a lot of other things going on in her mind. That’s why the nannies were such a big part of your life.”
“Oh...” He nodded. “I don’t remember that.”
For a moment they were both silent, then Angelina said, “Are you going to save us both the time and just tell your father I’m not selling?”
Ben shook his head. “It’s a little complicated, actually...”
Her heart sank. Here it was... Ben was siding with his family. It shouldn’t surprise her, but it stung all the same.
“Can’t you just tell them no, and let it be?” she asked, feeling tired. “You know my answer. You know why.”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to protect you,” he said. “I do. But there’s more to the situation.”
It had always been the same—Ben making promises, and then breaking them for his family. Not without remorse, and never without explanation, but breaking them nonetheless. The same line that he’d used over and over again that year of marriage had been that things were complicated. But she was no longer a hopeful young wife.
“There is nothing complicated here,” she said frankly. “There are some rich men who want their way with property that doesn’t belong to them. From where I stand, it’s pretty simple.”
“That might be partly true,” Ben agreed. “But there’s more to it. Angie, when I came dashing out here to try and catch you ahead of that storm, it was because I wanted to help you. This wasn’t selfish on my part.”
“Help me?” Angelina tried to tamp down the anger that rose up inside of her, but she couldn’t do it. “You came out here to try and buy this place out from under me because it was all about what would make me happy?”
Had he listened to anything she’d tried to tell him? Did he even care what she felt about this place, or was this going to be about the Kings wanting their way again?
“You’re smart, talented and good with business,” Ben said quietly. “You’re so much more than anyone gave you credit for—me included. You can start over.”
“I don’t want to start over.” She couldn’t help the ice in her tone.
Ben’s expression remained solemn, and he didn’t even blink.
“Angie, I really think you should consider it. Just from a business perspective.”
* * *
BEN WATCHED ANGELINA’S FACE, waiting for some eruption of emotion, but she met his gaze icily. And in the back of his mind, he had that memory of the argument they’d had early in their marriage, where he’d said something cruel and gotten that same frozen response before she crumpled into tears. His heartbeat sped up, and he had the urge to take it back, to tell her to stand her ground, to give her what she wanted to hear. But he knew better, and avoiding this confrontation now wasn’t going to change the lengths his family was willing to go to.
“What happened to backing me up?” Angelina asked.
There weren’t going to be any tears here. This Angelina was stronger, older and she needed less from him.
“This is a chance for you to make a lot of money,” he said, “more than you’d ever make selling this place later. It’s worth hearing me out.”
“You remember more,” she said.
“Yeah...” He sighed. “A lot more has come back.”
“Is this personal?” she asked. “Are you angry? Was there a grudge that I didn’t know about?”
“Yes, it’s personal,” he said, leaning forward. “But this isn’t about a grudge. I promise you that. My grandfather and my father are determined to get this land back.”
“Who cares?” She spread her hands. “They want a lot of things in life and most of them they get. Money can’t buy everything.”
“I know.” Ben leaned forward. “And I agree with that. But hear me out. I know this place is personal for you, but if you looked at this from a purely financial perspective for a moment—”
“Purely financial,” she said dryly. “Is anything purely financial?”
“Let me talk.” His own frustration was rising. He didn’t ask to be stuck in the middle of this, but he was. “I forgot how eloquent you get when you’re angry. I can’t argue with you about the finer points of my family’s dysfunction, all right? But I think this is important. And at the very least, you need all the information that I can give you. You can’t argue that!”
She pressed her lips together. “Fine. Explain it.”
Ben could see the way her expression had changed—closed off, hardened. He was breaking his word that he wouldn’t ask her to sell. He was letting her down, and he hated that. He wanted to be the guy who helped her, not someone who pushed her into a corner.
“I don’t know why my grandfather wants this property back,” Ben said. Her expression grew less impressed, and he plunged on. “Whatever his reasons, he’s willing to do just about anything to get it.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No.” Ben sighed. “My dad says he understands that I—” He paused. He was going too far admitting this, but maybe it was better to say it out loud. “He understands that I still feel...a lot...for you. There are some women that come and go from your life with hardly a footprint. And then there’s the kind of woman who is your first memory when you start recovering from amnesia.”
Ben met her gaze pleadingly. Did she understand what she was to him?
“I’m not trying to manipulate you with that,” he added quickly. “I promise. But my dad knows that for me, you’re that woman. And he also appreciates that you’ve been cooperative. You really impressed him over the years.”
“Ironic,” she said. “I wasn’t impressive enough when I was married to you.”
“I’m not defending him.” Ben pressed his lips together. “But the thing is, there is a combination that works in your favor right now.”
“Which is?” Her gaze locked onto his.
“First of all, my father seems to be feeling nostalgic. Secondly, my grandfather has decided that he wants this property more than anything else. He’s absolutely stuck on it. Thirdly, my dad doesn’t want to screw you over. Call it fear of karma or whatever you want, he wants to make sure that our family’s treatment of you remains fair.”
“And you believe that?” she asked.
“They’ve put the entire deal into my hands.”
Angelina let out a slow breath. He could tell that she was listening now, her combative posture easing as she uncrossed her arms.
“That means I can give you whatever I want for this place, and they’ll sign off on it,” he concluded.
“What makes them so willing to overpay?” she asked.
