Page 9 of Need You
Delaney waited for the customer to leave and said, “They’re no longer mine, they’re Robert’s.”
She didn’t talk much about the divorce or the bitter court battle. But she didn’t want to mislead Hannah, who got a lot of sales mileage out of telling patrons that Delaney lived locally. Soon Delaney Scott couture and ready-to-wear would be designed by someone else, who most assuredly wouldn’t be living in Glory Junction.
“Oh,” Hannah said, clearly at a loss as to how to react. “Was that in the plans?”
Delaney gave a mirthless laugh. “No. Given that California is a community-property state, I knew Robert would get half. I just didn’t think he’d get the clothing business. He also got the name, Delaney Scott.”
Hannah gasped. “How can that be?You’reDelaney Scott.”
Yes, one would think it would be equitable to let a person keep her own name. “Apparently, I’m a brilliant designer but unsavvy in the ways of business. On paper Robert ran the company, so he gets to keep the name.”
“Oh, Delaney, I’m so sorry. What are you going to do?”
“Start a new clothing line and get a new name.”
“That hardly seems fair. And it’s bizarre.”
Bizarre indeed. Delaney just shrugged. A year ago, Robert had thrown her such a curveball that nothing surprised her anymore. As far as the business, her lawyers had warned her that the judge would likely side with Robert. But losing the Delaney Scott brand ... Well, that she hadn’t seen coming.
“I’m sorry, Delaney. I can’t imagine how upsetting this must be for you.”
“Success is the best revenge,” she said with a tight smile. At least according to her attorney.
“Was he ... Robert ... awful?” Hannah asked.
No one knew the real reason for her and Robert’s breakup. Most assumed he’d been cheating on her. She let them believe it because it was less humiliating than the truth.
“We just had different values.” Delaney took a pair of hand-tooled cowboy boots off the shelf, hoping to change the subject. “These are beautiful.”
“Aren’t they? A woman I grew up with makes them. She has a studio in Nugget, a town about thirty minutes away. She’s designed boots for rock stars, professional baseball players, and rodeo cowboys. In fact, you guys would love each other. One of these days, I’ll take you over there to meet her. Or do a trunk show in the store.”
Delaney examined the boots with a discerning eye. They were gorgeous, the leather supple to the touch and the tooling an intricate design that must’ve taken hours to execute. The boots were giving her all kinds of ideas and that’s exactly why she’d walked downtown in the first place. “Would you mind if I took a picture of them?”
“Not at all. My guess is Tawny would be tickled pink to know Delaney Scott shot a photograph of her boots.”
Delaney retrieved her phone from her bag, snapped a few shots, and left Hannah’s store feeling a little more optimistic. That was until she ran into Colt outside Old Glory. He bobbed his chin at her in greeting, reminding her of the jocks she went to high school with and their overinflated egos. Just for kicks she mimicked the gesture and saw one corner of his mouth kick up. He took off his aviator sunglasses, hooked them in his shirt pocket, leaned against the exterior wall of the bar, and assessed the street as if he were Lord of Glory Junction.
“Looking for criminals?” she asked, slowing down in front of him.
He just made that arrogantyou’re-bothering-meexpression he nearly always wore. “Shopping?”
She could’ve sworn that he sneered. “Window shopping. I needed a little exercise and it’s too nice of a Saturday to waste it indoors.”
“It is that.” He gave her a quick, efficient once-over and she wondered what he saw. A confident, put-together woman of the world or the mess that she’d become?
“I guess you’re on duty.” She motioned at his uniform.
“Yep.”
And not much of a conversationalist, she thought.
His gaze snapped past her and she saw him squint at something on the river walk as he pushed off the wall. She turned to see what had captured his attention. A man and woman were fighting. Delaney couldn’t hear them over the din of the cars and the crowds, but from their body language she could tell they were engaged in a heated argument. The woman started to walk away and the man grabbed and shoved her against the beach wall. Then he backhanded her across the face.
Colt briskly moved around Delaney, stopped traffic, and crossed the road, jogging toward the couple. The man didn’t welcome his interference, though, and what she saw next made her shout out a warning.
