A Winter Wedding(65)

“Except that I’m thousands of dollars ahead, and I can prove it.” He hadn’t added up the exact amount. Until now, he’d had no desire to see it. But he’d kept good records. “Considering the money I’ve given you, it would be six months or so before I’m required to make another payment.”

“Six months!” she cried. “There’s no way you’ve given me that much!”

“Think about it. For the past five years you’ve been treating me like an ATM. I paid over $2,000 to fix your car. I covered your rent several months when you ran short. I’ve paid cell phone and utility bills. And not too long ago, I paid your insurance deductible so you could get your operation. That alone was $3,500.”

“You’re holding my operation against me? My God! What kind of man are you? That was caused by the death of our baby.”

“From the miscarriage, yes. Almost six years ago. We could look more deeply into that, if you feel it’s necessary to bring up the baby. In any case, I doubt the courts would see me as the responsible party if this ever turned into a legal battle.”

“You bastard!”

He could hear the shock in her voice. He’d never played hardball with her; she wasn’t used to it. But he was finished letting her get away with so much. Finished punishing himself for the hurt pride and stupidity that had led him to get involved with her. “I can also prove that I’ve bent over backward to be helpful.”

Surprisingly, she seemed to make an effort to rein in her temper. “And I’ve been grateful. I...I brought you dinner the other night, didn’t I?”

To her, that somehow made their contributions equal? “You did. That was a nice gesture.” Even though she’d only done it hoping he’d get back in bed with her... “So I’ll be generous and take a hundred bucks off the total I’ve paid.”

Silence. Now he’d really thrown her. “What are you getting at, Kyle? Are you saying you’re not going to pay me from now on?”

In the moonlight, Kyle could see the glimmer of snow clinging to the ground in small patches. He turned up the collar of his coat, but he could scarcely feel the cold. “No. That’s not what I’m saying. I wouldn’t want you to have to move back in with your parents.” He knew she’d do anything to avoid that. Then they’d learn exactly how she was living—staying out all night, drinking and partying to excess, sleeping around, buying stuff she didn’t need and then asking to borrow money.

“So why are you mentioning it?” she asked.

She could tell something was up. “Because I think it’s time you and I came to an understanding.”

“You’re piling on, making things worse,” she accused him.

“That isn’t true.”

“It is! You’re so full of yourself now that you have someone else. But you should realize Lourdes won’t be staying forever, Kyle. You won’t be able to have a serious relationship with her. She won’t even remember your name once she goes back to Nashville.”

Noelle had stated that in her typical mean-spirited fashion, but Kyle believed it was true. “What happens between me and Lourdes is none of your business, Noelle. So don’t give me any advice. All I want is for you to stay out of it.”

“I’m just saying you might not want to be too nasty to me. Once she leaves, you may need me again.”

What was she saying now?

“No, I won’t, Noelle. I will never need you, and I haven’t needed you in—” he almost said forever but figured there was no reason to be needlessly cruel “—a long time. And for the record, no matter what you seem to remember, we haven’t had sex since before we separated. There were even three or four months at the end of our marriage when we slept in separate rooms.” Once she’d told him she’d lost the baby, he hadn’t been willing to risk another pregnancy. He hadn’t trusted her. Nor had he desired her. And he had no idea why she felt that would change, except that, as usual, she was inventing things.

“Because you’ve always had a boner for my sister, even though she’s with your own brother!” she screamed.

She’d hurled that accusation at him so many times. It used to bother him—because it was true. But tonight, when he could easily answer with “whatever” and mean it, he knew he was truly over the past. Finally!

“You’ll be sorry for what you’ve done to me,” she said. “You’ve ruined my life!”

His indifference had only made her angrier. “Don’t hang up.” He could tell she was about to. “You need to hear the rest.”

“Go ahead and say it,” she cried. “You’re not going to pay me anymore. Isn’t that what you’re driving at?”

“Whether I pay will depend on you.”

“How?” This response sounded more sulky than angry.

He pivoted at the corner of the patio but kept his head down so his voice wouldn’t carry inside the house. “You have to stay completely away from me and Lourdes. No more calls, no more pleas for help, no more seeing my truck and stopping when I’m trying to eat or shop or grab a cup of coffee—”

“Oh, get over yourself,” she broke in. “You make it sound like I’m stalking you.”