Chapter 10
By the time Owen’s flight landed, he was sure that the people who built airplanes had a sick sense of humor, and planned to introduce the idea that they get their own airplane. Commercial flights were okay if they were short but the trip to Australia was a long one, especially when you were as tall as he was. He was in no mood for games, so when he walked into the hotel he’d booked for the night to find Sarah waiting for him, he was tempted to walk right past her.
But she stepped right in front of him, giving him no chance to do that, instead he was forced to greet her. “Hello Sarah. What are you doing here?”
“I just thought that we should talk before you go home.” She said, putting on her sad face, one that Owen now saw for what it was, a trick.
“And you thought the perfect time would be after I’ve been traveling for nearly 36 hours, most of it on a small cramped airplane?” He shot back at her, surprising her when he didn’t fall for her sad face.
“Well, I…We need to talk.” She stammered.
“That’s true, we do need to talk. But not now, not here. I’ll decide when and where we talk, not you. Now if you’ll get out of my way, I need a shower and some sleep.” He said, and pushed past her.
When he got to the registration desk and discovered that Sarah had already checked in for him, it took everything he had not to scream at the clerk. “How many keys did she ask for?” He finally managed to ask.
The clerk looked at him strangely, “Two of course.”
“I’d like you to issue me a new key card for my room. Only one, and the lady is not to have one.” He said, through clenched teeth.
When the clerk handed him the new key card, he took it and headed straight for the stairs, never even looking back at Sarah who was standing open mouthed in stunned silence too shocked to chase after him. When he got to his room, he double locked the door and called Tabitha, relieved when she picked up on the first ring. If she noticed anything strange in his voice, she didn’t comment on it, simply listened to him complain about the flight, happy that he’d made it safely.
When he got to the ranch, the place that used to feel most like home to him, he found that while he was happy to be there, it wasn’t home anymore. Much to his relief, Sarah wasn’t there as he feared, but then he realized that she wasn’t going to accost him in front of his family like she had in the hotel. He didn’t particularly want to talk to her yet, jet lag and the needs of the family had left him drained after just the first day.
As the week wore on, the impending meeting between he and Sarah began to weigh heavily on his mind. He’d been avoiding any place where he might run into her, but now that the initial grief of Max’s passing had been absorbed by everyone, he had more time on his hands. He wasn’t going to invite a meeting between them, but he was no longer going to avoid her, it was time to put the past where it belonged, in the past.
He did run into Sarah, although she didn’t know he was there. He and his cousin Lucy had been in town to see to the last arrangements for the funeral and had decided to get some lunch before they went home. Lucy was excited to take him to the new restaurant in town so he agreed to go with her, but when they walked in, Sarah was sitting at a table with all her friends. Mercifully, they were sat at a corner table behind a divider that blocked his view of Sarah, which helped, but all too soon he discovered that while he couldn’t see her, he could hear her.
“I just don’t understand why Mike won’t let me get the car. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a convertible, it’s not like I ever spend any time out at the ranch. He’s just being unreasonable.” She was saying to the table.
When one of her friends asked, “Didn’t he buy you a new car for a wedding present?” there was a long silence.
“What difference does that make, we’ll just trade it in, I never liked it and I told him so. He should just give me what I want, I deserve it after all, I’m at his beck and call. Last week he made me drive all the way out to the ranch just because he missed me.”
“I don’t understand why you don’t just stay out there. It’s a beautiful house.” Another friend piped up.
“Are you kidding, spend all my time out there in the middle of nowhere. I should have just waited for Owen, at least his ranch is close to town. Although, I have to admit it’s nice to have the house in town all to myself, I can have company any time I want, no bitching from Mike that he has to sleep.”
Lucy was staring at Owen in shock, but Owen discovered that he wasn’t as shocked as she was. Deep down he’d known all along that Sarah was only out to get what she wanted, a big fancy house, and all the money she could spend. People had been looking at him strangely the whole time he’d been home and now he understood why, he’d come so close to marrying the horrible woman he was listening to right now, that they were relieved for him.
“I think you better tell me what’s been going on since I’ve been gone.” He finally said to Lucy, who was happy to tell him all about Sarah’s spending spree and the rumors that she was already sleeping with someone else.
“But they’ve only been married for a few months.” Owen said, amazed at the turn events.
Lucy only shrugged her shoulders, then asked, “Do you want to get out of here?”
Owen considered her question then said, “I think that might be a good idea. I’ve heard all that I needed to. Did you do this on purpose?”
Lucy looked a little guilty, “I’m sorry Owen, it wasn’t a very nice thing to do, but I wanted to make sure you understood just how close you came to making a huge mistake. But I have to tell you, even I didn’t know how bad Sarah was.”
Owen only nodded his head, thankful that his cousin had done what she had. If he’d had any feelings left for Sarah they had just died in that restaurant. He signaled the waiter and had their food packed up to go and he and Lucy ate their lunch in the park, the silence between them one that spoke volumes. After they’d finished eating, he told her all about Tabitha and by the time they started home, he knew for certain that America was where he belonged.
Sarah looked up from her food and could have sworn that she saw Owen walk out of the door, but that was impossible she reassured herself, he was down at the courthouse. She’d been keeping tabs on him since their terrible meeting in the hotel that first night, paying informants to watch him. It hadn’t been hard to do, she was already keeping track of Mike’s movements as well, not wanting any surprises when she was entertaining in town.
The only reason she was in town today was that it seemed like a good time to get him alone, but then she learned that his cousin Michelle was with him and had to abandon her plans. It was beginning to look like the only way she was going to get Owen alone was to arrange it at the funeral, not the best place to talk to him, but it was quickly looking like her only option.
She’d made a huge mistake marrying Mike, he’d turned out to be nothing like Owen. Owen had always given her anything she wanted, all she’d had to do was bat her eyes at him, or give him just a little more in bed and he’d do her bidding willingly. Mike on the other hand, questioned every purchase she made, had thrown a fit about the house in town, even taken her credit cards away for a while. It was embarrassing and no way to live, she wanted her life with Owen back.
When the day of the funeral arrived, she dressed carefully. She hated to wear black, would have far preferred red which made her naturally blond hair and light complexion stand out. Still she had an expensive designer dress that would be just perfect, the sheath was cut low in both the front and the back, but it had a tight little jacket that would make it appropriate for the funeral. After the funeral, she’d remove the jacket and let the dress do some of the talking for her.
She’d been the only girl in their graduating class who’d been able to wear a size zero and she’d worked hard to maintain her runway model looks. Now all those early morning workouts would be worth it, Owen would melt when he saw her and the rest would be easy. All she had to do was figure out how to get him alone, which would be even more difficult with Mike around, but she was determined to have her way. Nothing had ever stopped her before, an annoying husband wasn’t going to stop her now.
The day of the funeral went just as she’d hoped. The church was packed to the rafters, but she managed to make her presence known by arriving just as the doors were closing, all eyes turning to her as she marched down the aisle to the pew they usually sat in. When Owen’s eyes met hers, she gave him a seductive smile before she took her seat, mistaking the look on his face for admiration when the truth was that he was as annoyed as everyone else that she’d chosen to make such an entrance.
At the dinner after the funeral, she kept her distance, but as soon as she spotted Owen walking away from the crowd she followed him. She’d known from long experience that he’d need to get away from the crush of people and the emotion, it was only a matter of time. She caught up with him where he was standing under the trees at the edge of the yard, and approached slowly, making sure to swing her hips as she walked, knowing that it used to drive him crazy when she did that.
Owen turned and leaned against the tree, feeling some relief to be away from everyone if only for a few minutes. When he saw Sarah headed straight toward him, he cursed, he should have known that she’d follow him, she’d been giving him looks since the moment she walked into the church with Mike. It made him physically sick to think that he’d almost married her, almost committed his life to a woman who was only after what she could get.
But he’d known for days that this confrontation was bound to happen. Sarah had never been one to back down when she wanted something and he was pretty sure she wanted him. Pasting a smile on his face, he stood silently waiting for her to reach him, rehearsing in his head all that he wanted to say to her. It was time she knew that he was over her, would never have feelings for her again, and put an end to any ideas she might have of trying to fix things.
“Hi Owen, I thought you might need a friendly shoulder to cry on.” She said, her friendly tone immediately putting him on guard.
Owen didn’t have the patience for her games, “Well, if that was the case, I wouldn’t come looking for you.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Sarah had expected him to be angry with her so she just pressed forward, stepping up as close as she could to him. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about what happened.” She said, trying to look sad and depressed. “I made a huge mistake Owen.”
When he just continued to stare at her, she began to panic. “It really wasn’t my fault, I was missing you so much and Mike was there. Before I knew it, we were married and there was nothing I could do about it.”
Owen stared at her in disbelief, she was trying to blame her betrayal on him. “So, you missed me so much you ended up in my best friend’s arms.”
“Yes, don’t you see it was you I wanted but you weren’t here.” She said, with more confidence, this was going just as she’d planned. Before long she’d have Owen firmly back in her grasp.
When Owen burst out laughing she was confused, but his next words made things very clear to her. “You can believe whatever you want Sarah, but it’s clear to me that you never loved me. If you had, you would have come to America before you married my best friend.”
Sarah opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand. “I’m not done. It’s become quite clear to me that you never loved me and the sad truth is that I never loved you. I’ve moved on and so have you, Mike’s your husband now and you need to honor the promise you made.”
Sarah just couldn’t believe that Owen could turn away from her so easily, they’d shared years of their lives together, it couldn’t be over so easily. Then she realized what the problem was, “You’ve met someone else, I heard rumors but I didn’t believe it.”
Owen took a deep breath becoming more annoyed by the second, the last thing he wanted to do was talk about his love life with Sarah. But he decided that maybe she needed to know that he’d found someone who gave as much as she took. “There is someone else and she’d so much more than you’ll ever be. Tabitha has worked for everything she has and she’s shown me the value in building something yourself. I’m sure you can’t understand that since you expect everything to be handed to you.”
Sarah didn’t even hear the last words Owen spoke, she was already thinking of how to eliminate this Tabitha person from the picture. Once she got rid of Tabitha the road would be open for her again. Knowing that she’d lost this battle and wanting to save some face, she simply turned and walked away, plans for Tabitha’s destruction already swirling in her mind.
Owen had been in Australia for almost three weeks and he was more than ready to go home, had in fact already purchased a ticket. He’d be leaving in three days, and although he’d miss the ranch and the people there, he knew that his home was now in America with Tabitha. He was glad that he’d come, it had been the chance he needed to come to terms with many things, including his parent’s death, but most important, it had made him realize that he loved Tabitha and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
But he still had one more thing hanging heavily on his mind, and not until he’d dealt with it would he be completely free to move on with his life. Mike had been his best friend for most of his life. They’d been friends even before Sarah had come on the scene, and he couldn’t leave without seeing him one more time. More than anything else, he wanted to be able to forgive Mike for what he’d done, he of all people should know just how manipulative Sarah could be, that he’d never seen it before was beside the point.
Mike was surprised when he called but invited him out to his ranch that night, the hope for a reconciliation easy to hear in his voice. When he greeted Owen at the door, there was a minute of strained silence, but Owen gave him a big hug and said, “Let’s see if we can salvage a little bit of our friendship.”
Mike looked at him strangely, not sure who this man standing in front of him was, the old Owen would have never hugged him, and especially not after what he’d done to him. “I’m sorry Owen, I don’t know what else to say.” Mike finally said, closing the door and leading Owen out onto the back porch, their favorite place to hang out.
When he offered Owen a beer, he turned it down and instead suggested that they take one of their night rides, a tradition from their childhood that had evolved from a test of their survival skills to a monthly excuse to get away from everyone and everything. Mike was surprised by his suggestion but immediately agreed, one of the things he missed most about Owen being gone was those nights when they were out on the range. They were saddled up and on the trail in only a matter of minutes, each knowing that out on the range they’d be able to say the things to each other that needed to be said.
Sarah got the call just as she was getting ready to go out for the night to a big party at one of the best homes in town. She’d been working for the invitation for weeks, chatting up the right people at the club she’d joined, and being seen at all the right places. But with just one phone call, she abandoned those plans and jumped in the car to drive to the ranch. Owen was there with Mike, the last thing she wanted to happen, if she was lucky she’d get there before they could do any talking.
The drive seemed to take forever, but when she pulled into the drive and saw Owen’s truck she knew that it had been the right decision. She’d never be able to get Owen alone with Mike there, that she knew, but at least she could prevent any damage talking to him might do to her chances of fixing things with Owen. She’d begun to see Mike as simply a bump in the road to her true happiness with Owen, and tonight she’d make sure he understood that perfectly.
But when she got into the house, it was ominously quiet, no one to be seen. She cursed Mike’s insistence that they not have any live-in help, but searched the house anyway, calling his name as she went. It was only after she’d gone onto the porch and seen their phones and keys on the table that she understood that they’d gone another one of their midnight rides.
She’d learned to hate those rides over the years, neither man willing to share their tradition with her, flat out refusing time after time to let her go with them. Her anger rising by the second, she thought of all the times they’d come back closer than ever and she’d have to wait for days for Owen to fall under her spell again. After she and Mike got married, she’d tried to get him to go on one of those rides with her, but he’d refused again, claiming that it was something that only he and Owen did.
Wanting to strike out at both of them, she picked up Mike’s phone and threw it out in the yard, then grabbed Owen’s planning to smash it up against the house. But just as she got her hands on it, it rang and the name Tabitha came up on the screen. As the phone rang, a plan sprang into her mind, letting it ring a few more times, she made her way into the house and the downstairs bathroom.
Once outside the door she answered, “Owen’s phone.” Then waited through the long pause she knew was sure to come.
“Umm, is Owen there?” Came a hesitant voice, which she knew as Tabitha.
“I’m not sure if he’s available. Can I tell him who’s calling?” Sarah said in a sweet voice.
There was another long pause but finally the voice on the other end said, “This is Tabitha.”
“Okay, hold on.” Sarah said, then muted the phone and turned on the shower. When she took the phone off mute she put it on speaker sure that Tabitha would be able to hear the shower in the background. Then she practically shouted, “Darling, there’s a Tabitha on the phone for you.” She waited a few minutes before unmuting the phone, “I’m sorry but he can’t talk to you right now.” Then she disconnected the call, put Owen’s phone back on the porch and left, smiling at her quick thinking.