He stopped in front of his father’s desk. “So, you see why I have to leave.”

“No,” Elliot Janack said slowly. “I don’t.”

“I can’t be with her. I know what she’d want. Love. Marriage. Forever.”

“Why is that bad?”

Tucker started for the door, then turned back. “I never told you what happened with Cat. Caterina Stoicasescu. That artist? We did the installation for her about ten years ago. It was the first time you put me in charge of a job. I fell for her, Dad. I fell hard.”

Haltingly, he detailed his obsession with the irresistible artist and how difficult it had been to break away.

“I don’t want that. Sure, Nevada is great and I’m going to have a hell of a time getting over her, but I can’t be that man again.”

His father nodded. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I take on another job. Prove myself. I know you’re disappointed that I’m not staying on to finish up the Fool’s Gold resort.” He shook his head and swore. “Finish. It’s not even started. The pipes are just now going in. There’s a lot to do. Will’s a great guy and capable, but this is bigger than anything he’s ever done. He’s going to need help.”

Elliot leaned back in his chair. “Why do you think you have anything to prove?”

“I have to earn my way into the position. You’re not going to leave the company to me just because I’m your son.”

“That might be a concern if you were someone else, Tucker. But you’ve been capable of running Janack Construction for years. Everyone else knows that — I’ve been hoping you’d figure it out, too. The only reason you’re not in charge now is that I haven’t been ready to step down. I didn’t ask you to run the Fool’s Gold project to prove anything. You said you were interested, so I gave it to you. You’ve already earned my trust, and you’ve always had my love. I’m proud of you.”

Tucker felt like he was a kid again, all long legs and awkward gestures. He swallowed. “Thanks, Dad.”

“You’re welcome.” His father motioned to the chair in front of his desk. “Ready to have a seat?”

“Sure.”

He sank onto the soft cushion, then wanted to jump up again. He couldn’t just sit still. He needed to be doing something. Get busy. Or run.

He pushed the last impulse away. He wasn’t running. He was making an intelligent choice. There was a difference. Not a big one, but it was enough.

“When your mother died,” his father began, “all that kept me going was knowing I had to take care of you. I couldn’t stand to stay here, there were too many memories. So I took you wherever the work was. All over the world. I told myself that you would enjoy living in different places, meeting different people. And you did. But while you gained a lot, you also lost out.”

Elliot leaned forward in his chair. “You didn’t get to have the same friends year after year. You never stayed in a school long enough to play sports or fall for the girl. I’m not saying there weren’t women. I still remember that incident with the ambassador’s daughter when you were seventeen.”

Tucker grinned. “Hey, that wasn’t my fault. She’s the one who crawled into my window to wish me happy birthday.”

His father smiled. “Point taken. But while there were different girls, you never stuck around long enough to fall for any of them. Until Cat.”

Tucker studied his dad. “You say that like you knew her.”

“I knew of her. One of the guys on the crew called me and told me what was going on. He said you were in over your head, but I figured it was time you learned about life and love. So I stayed away.”

Tucker grimaced. “They knew?”

His father laughed. “You weren’t subtle. You fell hard, got your heart broken and learned your lesson, just like I’d planned. Only it was the wrong lesson, son. Love doesn’t make you a fool. Some of us are blessed with several partners we can love, while others never find anyone. But the lucky ones find that one person who changes everything. For me, it was your mother. I love her as much today as I did when I proposed. I would rather have had her those few years than have loved anyone else for a lifetime.”

Elliot’s mouth twisted. “I would give all this away.” He motioned to his office. “I would sacrifice everything but you to have her back just for a day. To love is to be blessed. What you had with Caterina was…”

“An obsession,” Tucker said grimly. “I’ve heard.”

“But you don’t believe. You think you can’t love and still be who you are. You think the price of love is too high. You’re wrong. Love is worth everything. Not that I’m going to be able to convince you,” his father added.

“Probably not.”

Elliot nodded. “Fair enough. Let’s get together in the morning and talk about the next step. We can start the transition for you to take over the company now or find another job you want to run.”

That was more than Tucker had expected. “Thanks, Dad.” He rose.

“You’re welcome.”

His father stood and walked around his desk. The two men hugged. Elliot put his hands on his son’s shoulders.

“Your mother would be very proud of you. She loved you.”

Tucker thought of the vague memories that had no real form and wished he could have had her in his life longer. But she’d been taken without warning, leaving behind a little boy and a grieving husband.

Tucker left.

Once he was in the hallway, he crossed to the elevator and pushed the button to go down. He kept a small apartment in the city. Getting some sleep seemed like a good idea. Then he’d give some serious thought to what he wanted to do next. Getting out of the country sounded good. He would stay busy. Forget. Because there was no going back.



SOMETIME AROUND THREE the next afternoon, Tucker decided to throw his TV out the window. There was nothing on the damn thing. Despite the fact that he hadn’t slept in two days, had spent nearly three hours working out in the gym in his building and had walked most of the city, he couldn’t relax, couldn’t focus and couldn’t find anything to watch on television. He needed to be in a rain forest somewhere. Maybe a decent jungle fever would put his world into perspective.

He got up from the sofa and crossed to the small kitchen. In the refrigerator he found beer and leftover pizza. Neither appealed. Still restless, he walked toward the bedroom. Maybe if he took a shower he would get sleepy, or at the very least, forget.

He was halfway there when someone rang his doorbell.

Nevada!

He knew it was her, he thought, as he jogged to the door. She’d come to knock some sense into him. To yell at him and tell him why he was wrong. She would convince him and he’d let her and…

He opened the door only to find Cat standing in the hallway of the condo building.

“Oh,” he said, disappointed and frustrated. “It’s you.”

“I’m not that happy to see you, either,” she snapped, pushing past him. “I feel horrible. I haven’t been working. I’m lost and nothing helps.”

She stepped into the middle of his living room and faced him. Misery pulled at her face and her mouth was a full pout.

“I hate this,” she said, then stomped her foot. “I miss Nevada and I miss that stupid little town. What little creativity I felt is gone. But now I don’t know what to do. Cody was a disappointment.”

“Who’s Cody?”

“Oh, one of the college boys renting a room from Nevada. I thought he would help, but he doesn’t. Then I remembered how good you and I were together, so I came here. You have to fix this, Tucker. I need you.”

Her voice was a whine, her expression petulant. She was a child who hadn’t gotten her way. After stomping out of the party, she regretted what she’d done and wanted to go back.

“Sorry. I can’t help you.”

“You can, but you won’t.” She crossed to him and put her hands on his chest. “How can you resist me?”

“Easily,” he said without thinking, knowing it was the truth.

The truth slammed into him like a professionally thrown fastball. It hit his gut going ninety-seven miles an hour and knocked the wind out of him.

“I love her,” he said.

Cat’s big green eyes narrowed to angry slits. “What did you say?”

He pushed her hands off his chest and stared into space. “I love her. I have for a while. I didn’t love you at all. Being with you was like being a junkie waiting for my next fix. I could never match the previous high but I was sure the lows were going to kill me. Nevada isn’t like that. Every time I’m with her, I feel better and stronger. She gives everything.”

He turned in a slow circle, not sure where to go or what to do. “She told me she loved me and I left. What the hell was I thinking?” He grabbed Cat’s upper arms. “She said she loved me. What am I doing here with you?”

His car keys were on the small table by the drawer, where he always tossed them. So was his cell phone. He picked up both as he headed out the door.

He was halfway down to the parking garage when he realized he probably should have packed something, or closed the door to his condo. Whatever, he thought with a shrug. Cat would shut the door behind her. Or maybe not. Either way, he didn’t care. This wasn’t his home — he didn’t belong here. He belonged with his woman and, by God, he was going back to her.



NEVADA THOUGHT maybe she should get a pet of some kind. While the self-sufficiency of a cat was appealing, maybe a dog would be better. Some kind of mixed-breed rescue dog who could come with her to the job site. She logged into the Fool’s Gold Animal Shelter website with the idea of looking at pictures. Maybe staring into big, brown dog eyes would make her feel better. Eventually something would have to.