It Had to Be Him(89)
Josh stopped packing. “Retaliation?” Ryan hadn’t said that many words since Josh had met him. He hoped he wouldn’t stop now.
Ryan shrugged. “My dad convinced everyone years ago the only way for our small town to thrive was to provide a place for celebrities to come where they could have complete privacy. The town was on the verge of bankruptcy, so Dad made everyone promise we’d never go to the rags or alert the paparazzi. In order to have a retirement fund and net profits, we had to sign the ‘pact.’ It’s a profit-sharing corporation. But my dad has all the power. He controls the land, the buildings, and all the money. So far, everyone has stuck to it because while so many small towns are failing, ours is thriving. Anderson Butte wouldn’t still be here if not for Dad’s business smarts. Everyone knows it. So when he asks for a favor, they don’t go against him. Never have.”
Josh grunted. “I knew that was Jim Carrey.”
Ignoring that, Ryan said, “Didn’t help that Dad was always extra hard on Meg. She never understood why.”
“Because he’s not her father?” Josh stuffed the rest of his shirts into the bag.
“Partly. But mostly because she’s a lot like our mother was. But we’ve all noticed a real change in Meg since she’s been back this time. Maybe even since she’s had Haley.”
“Meg’s the same person I’ve always known. She’s a great mother.” Josh only hoped he’d be as good a father to Haley.
“Speaking of Haley, what are your intentions there?”
The challenge dug at Josh. He met Ryan’s gaze, unflinching. “To be her father. Meg asked me to leave, but I’m not going far.”
Josh crossed to the bathroom and grabbed his dopp kit. When he returned, he found Ryan settled on the edge of the bed, looking like he’d gone ten rounds. “That’s what she’d expect you to do. Leave her while she pretends it doesn’t matter to her—like the others have.”
“Others?” Meg kept her past as close to her chest as he did.
“Meg’s track record with men isn’t great. It started with Randy, who ran off with Amber, and it just got worse from there. I wanted to beat the crap outta each and every one of them.”
“Me included?”
“You most of all. You got her pregnant and then ran off on her.” Ryan’s hand balled into a fist before he shook his head and relaxed his fingers again. “My dad convinced Meg she’s not worth loving or something. No one’s ever fought for her.”
“I’d like to beat the crap out of your father for that.” Josh tugged the zipper closed on his duffel and looked around one last time for anything he might have missed. “So I should stay, even though she asked me to go?”
“Yeah. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
“Would I be wasting my time asking Casey for a room?”
One side of Ryan’s mouth quirked up. “Casey will take Meg’s side. But you could beg and come clean. Then, maybe . . .” Ryan stood. “Can you help me decipher some of these federal charges against my father? My dad can be a real SOB, but he’s not tech savvy enough to pull something like that off. I’d like your help to prove it.”
Josh hadn’t gotten a guilty vibe from the mayor during the arrest. And he trusted his instincts . . . with most everything but Meg. The Duncan lady was going to jail for a long time. Watts would give Josh’s opinion weight. “Let me see about a place to stay, then I’ll make a few phone calls. Catch up with you at your office?”
“Yeah.” Ryan stood and held out his hand. “Appreciate it.”
“No problem.” Josh returned the shake.
As they walked out together, Ryan pointed at Josh’s bag. “Besides your truck, is that really all you own?”
“Nope.” Josh cranked his truck’s door open. “I have a registered gun, and those two dogs in the pen over there. See you later.”
Josh drove to the other side of the lake and pulled up to the hotel. He left his bag in the truck. It’d be a tough sell to get Casey to agree to let him have a room. He might have to stay at the hotel fifteen miles down the road, but he wasn’t going any farther away than that. Hopefully Zeke would still let him keep his job.
He wouldn’t be like the other guys who left Meg, but if she couldn’t love him back, he’d stay for Haley and Eric’s sake. Even if it’d kill him to see Meg every day, knowing he could never have her.
When the lobby doors swished open, someone he hadn’t met stood behind the front desk. She smiled and said, “Hi. May I help you?”