Taming the Moguls by Christy Hayes

not,” Sarah said after closing the door
behind her.
    The pity she saw in Sarah’s eyes made Shiloh
wish she’d showered and gotten dressed instead of lounging around
in the sweats she’d slept in. “Kevin’s in town?”
    “Yes. Where do you think he’d be? That boy
hasn’t ever been more than a mile or two from you since you
met.”
    Shiloh lifted her chin and sniffed before
walking into her mother’s tidy den. She grabbed a needlework pillow
and clutched it to her chest before plopping down on the worn
couch. “Did he tell you what happened?”
    “He did.” Sarah leaned against the threshold
and crossed her arms. “But there are two sides to every story, and
I’d like to hear yours.”
    “So you can refute it?”
    “So I can figure out where you’re both coming
from before I do the typical mother-in-law routine and offer some
advice.”
    “What’d he tell you?” Shiloh asked.
    “That he screwed up and didn’t call you back
and then accused you of cheating.”
    “He said he screwed up?”
    “Yes.” Sarah stepped inside the den and
slowly lowered onto the recliner across from the couch. “He also
said he’s been working himself to exhaustion to pay for the house,
the cars, and all the other expenses.”
    “I know he has. I work, too.”
    Sarah nodded. “You do, but he explained that
you use your salary for clothes and unnecessary extras. Would that
be a fair statement?”
    Shiloh felt herself pout and then
deliberately made her face neutral. “I wouldn’t call clothing and
furnishings unnecessary.”
    “But certainly not as essential as the
mortgage, car payments, and insurance.”
    “Well…no, not that essential.”
    “You’ve been upset that he’s never home?”
    She shoved the pillow aside. “Of course I was
upset! I don’t know anyone in Denver except my co-workers, and I
don’t want to socialize with them. He’s always gone. When he gets a
day off, he takes extra flights. I never see him.” She knew she was
whining, but she couldn’t help it. How dare his mother come over
and blame everything on her?
    “He took the extra flights to pay for the
mortgage, the cars, and the insurance.”
    Shiloh felt like her mother-in-law was
blaming her for Kevin’s never being home, even though she’d kept
her voice calm and soothing. “So I shouldn’t miss him because he’s
working hard for me? Is that what you’re saying? I should just shut
up and make due without him?”
    “No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Sarah
scooted to the edge of her seat and linked her fingers. “Kevin
loves you. He always has. He’s been working so hard to pay for all
that stuff because he knows how important they are to you.”
    “They’re not more important than him.”
    “I’m glad to hear you say that, sweetheart. I
really am.”
    “Did he tell you I love the house and the
cars more than him? That the only reason we’re together is so he
can buy me stuff? Because that’s not true.”
    “He didn’t say that, but I think he feels
pressured. He loves you. When you love someone, you want to give
them everything they want.”
    “I want him. I want us to be together and
happy like we used to be.” She twisted and knocked on the
windowpane because the dog wouldn’t stop barking. The sound of it
was grating on her nerves. “I don’t mean to pressure him, but we
both wanted to live in that neighborhood. When the house came on
the market, I knew it would sell fast. They only accepted our offer
because we took it as is. It needs a lot of work. When he’s not
around and I’m home alone all the time, I come up with ways to fix
it. I never demanded anything. If it was getting to be too much, he
should have said something.”
    “When Kevin’s dad and I first got married, we
were very young. Fresh out of college without a dime to our names.
We lived in an apartment for a lot longer than I wanted—both boys
were born before we bought a house—because we knew we couldn’t
afford to buy a house