A Woman's Touch

one of these days.“
    „An interesting scenario, but I wouldn’t pin my hopes on it if I were you. I’ve got plans for Rebecca.“
    „Yeah, but is she going to go along with them? That woman’s got a mind of her own.“
    „Let me worry about Becky,“ Kyle said forcefully. „We’ve got other things to discuss.“
    Glen nodded thoughtfully. „A ski resort, huh?“
    „You’re right. It would never work,“ Kyle said broodingly.
    „A partnership between a Stockbridge and a Ballard wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell.“
    There was silence for a long moment and then Kyle said musingly, „You remember that Halloween when the two of us went out to Alice’s place and chased off those creeps who were going to trash the barn?“
    Glen nodded. „I remember.“
    „We worked together then.“
    „True. For about an hour.“ Glen fell silent again. „I reckon we could try putting together a plan for a ski resort in Harmony Valley. Maybe if you and I stayed at arm’s length, and we let our assistants do most of the work…“
    „Don’t kid yourself. When it comes to Harmony Valley, neither of us is going to be able to keep our hands off. This isn’t going to be a routine development project.“
    „Maybe if we had a couple of peacekeepers around to chaperon us, we could refrain from slitting each other’s throats. Darla and Rebecca might be able to manage things.“
    Kyle considered that. „Maybe.“
    Another long silence fell.
    „You know,“ Glen finally observed, „our fathers and grandfathers must be turning over in their graves.“
    „I’ll bet Alice and her mother are having a good laugh somewhere, too.“ Kyle ate the last cold French fry from Rebecca’s plate and got to his feet.
    Glen rose and reached for his hat. „I see Jan hovering down at the cash register with our tab. Probably too scared to bring it over to us.“
    „I’ll take care of it.“
    „Like hell you will,“ Glen said amicably. „No Stockbridge is buying me lunch. You take care of your half, and I’ll take care of mine.“
    „Suit yourself.“ Kyle grinned suddenly as he tossed a few bills down onto the counter.
    „What’s so funny?“ Glen added an equal amount to the small pile of cash.
    „You told Rebecca we couldn’t even split an apple pie. And we just split the lunch check. Not bad for our first effort at doing business together.“
    „Don’t get too excited. I expect it will be all downhill from here on in.“

    Kyle smiled thinly in agreement. „I expect it will. Trouble is, I don’t see any other choice for us but to figure out how to put this project together.“
    „You ever had a feeling you’ve been caught in your own trap?“ Glen asked reflectively.
    „Yeah, I’ve had that feeling a lot since I met Rebecca.“ He walked out of the cafe, aware that everyone in the place was watching, open-mouthed in astonishment. A Stockbridge and a Ballard had just dined together, and neither was bleeding.
    He knew the new town marshal would probably get the credit.
    Kyle headed toward the motel, not bothering to give his new business partner a backward glance. He had a few things to discuss with Rebecca now that his temper had cooled.
    It came as a shock when he discovered that Rebecca had checked out ten minutes earlier.
    A cold shiver of dread went through Kyle. It had finally happened. He had lost his temper with Rebecca, and she had run from him just as his wife had run from him. Just as Darla had run from him.
    Just as his mother had run from his father.
    But there was one major difference this time around. He wasn’t going to let Rebecca go the way he had let Heather and Darla go. And Kyle was damned if he would give up and sink back into himself the way Cale Stockbridge had done when Martha had fled.
    Kyle vowed he would find Rebecca if he had to track her down to the ends of the earth. She wasn’t going to get away with teaching him about love and then walking out on him.
    „You can run, lady,“ he said softly, „but you can’t hide.“

TEN
    The next four days were the worst Kyle had ever experienced in his life. He spent them in a desperate search for Rebecca. He wasted one entire day looking for her in the mountains: Alice Cork’s place, the motel, the Ballard house.
    He tried motels in neighboring towns. Then he got into the Porsche and drove back to Denver, anguish and anger eating at him all the way.
    She had run from him. Kyle couldn’t seem to absorb the shock of it. Deep