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comments from the
opposition? Did you bother to consider someone else’s point of
view? Did you ever wonder how your actions affect others?”
    Was he talking about Holcomb or their past?
From the strangled sound of his voice, she couldn’t be sure.
    “Just because you can’t see the little people
you step over doesn’t mean you haven’t left footprints all over
them. Maybe it’s time for you to come down from that ivory tower
and figure out how real life works.”
    Her chin shot into the air. Real life? He
didn’t have a clue what real life looked like for her. An ivory
tower? She wished with all her might he could see the small ranch
house she’d worked her tail end off to finally afford. “I’ve got my
feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you very much, and I have
for some time.”
    “I guess life in the fast lane isn’t as
glittery as you once thought.”
    The only thing fast about her life was how
fast she’d been forced to grow up.
    Fortunately, A.J. Dodge slapped his hands on
the table and got slowly to his feet. “I’ve got to get back to
work. I’m not sure there’s much left to say. It was nice to meet
you, Ms. Lowry.”
    Gretchen stood and shook his hand. “Likewise,
Mr. Dodge.”
    Tommy stayed seated and stretched his long
legs beneath the table, crossing his boot-clad feet. The door at
her back jangled at Dodge’s retreat. Gretchen remained standing.
She didn’t trust herself to be alone with Tommy. She’d anticipated
a difficult audience before she knew he was involved. But standing
there, facing him, felt like facing a one-man firing squad.
    “If you don’t have any questions, I suppose
we can call this meeting adjourned.”
    “I’ve got plenty of questions,” Tommy said,
gripping his chin. The motion drew her attention to his mouth and
the lips she’d dreamt about only the night before. In her dreams,
they were soft and inviting, a far cry from the tight line they
formed as he pressed them together. “Was this fun for you?
Ambushing me?”
    “It wasn’t an ambush. I didn’t know you had
anything to do with STS until a few days ago. By then, I was
already here and it was too late to back out.”
    “Backing out is your style. Why change now
when you can dig the knife a little deeper into my back.”
    Oh, God. She’d hurt him. The anger and the
pain were so evident, and she’d tried so hard to shield him from
pain. “I’m not trying to hurt you, Tommy.”
    “You can’t hurt me, Gretchen. I’d have to
care for you to hurt me, and I just don’t anymore. You made sure of
that.”
    She swallowed against the wave of nausea.
What would he do if he knew the truth? What would it cost her? “I’m
sorry you feel that way.”
    He stood up slowly, tucking his legs beneath
him and straightening to his full six feet, two inches, forcing her
to look up to meet his icy stare. “I don’t feel anything but
disgust. I remember the girl who wanted to see the world and make a
difference. I never thought she’d become a corporate hack. Course,
I never thought she’d do a lot of things. Shame on me for expecting
better of her.”
    She should be numb. Why was he able to aim
those darts right where it hurt the most? “That girl is gone. She
died right along with her dreams.”
    Tommy leaned down. Gretchen felt his breath
stir her hair and squeezed her eyes closed. “I could have told you
he wasn’t worth it,” he whispered. His boots clicked on the
hardwood floors as he moved toward the door.
    “We don’t always get to choose,” she
murmured.
    The door jingled as he gripped the handle,
and Gretchen turned her head just as he cut his eyes out the front
window. “Everything we have in life is a choice. I’m not going to
let this valley suffer because you made the wrong one.”
    He might not make the valley suffer, but he
sure as hell would make her suffer.
     

 
    Chapter 15
    Dodge felt tired to the bone. When he drove
up to his cabin, the last rays of the sun were casting the sky