Josh, who’d been the more athletic and adventurous twin from the get-go, wore his hair past his ears and often neglected to shave for a day or two at a time, leaving him with a scruffy shadow of a beard. Their mother claimed Josh was part wild stallion, hard to tame, and he had seemed pleased to live up to the reputation. Both had piercing blue eyes that made girls swoon, and they were happy to take advantage of that benefit. Piper had envied her brothers’ blue eyes, her own being a lackluster shade of gray.
Josh swatted at Piper with his hat as he picked it up, and Zane snorted a laugh at her expense.
“Well, some things never change,” said their mother from the doorway with an eye-roll for their shenanigans. “You two leave your sister alone and let her unpack in peace. I’m sure she’s tired after traveling all day.”
The family cat, a brown and black Maine coon mix named Zeke, trotted in and hopped up on her bed to sniff her suitcase. She reached over to pat the feline, glad to see the family pet after months away. She really needed to rethink the apartment she was in with the no-pets rule, she decided. She scratched Zeke on the cheek, the chin, then stroked his back, finishing with a scritch at the base of his tail. Zeke ate up the attention, tilting his head this way and that, encouraging her to continue.
“Can I get you something to eat, honey?” her mother asked. “Or maybe a glass of lemonade? Dinner’s not for another hour, and I’m sure you must be famished.”
“Actually, Brady, Connor and I had ice cream on the way home from the airport. But lemonade sounds great. The airplane air really dried me out.” She grabbed her throat and stuck out her tongue as if dying of thirst.
Giving a mrrp of protest when she stopped petting him, Zeke climbed on the suitcase and rolled over to show the long, silky hair of his belly. Piper couldn’t resist plowing her fingers into the thick, super-soft fur and giving Zeke a belly rub. “Good boy, Zeke. I missed you, too. I bet these mean ole boys ignore you, don’t they?”
Their mother smiled as she said, “Zeke lets us know when he wants attention. Believe me!” Turning to leave, her mother crooked a finger, motioning to Zane and Josh. “Let’s go, boys. Back in a minute with your lemonade.”
Zane lifted a wave as he turned for the door. “Later, then.”
“No, don’t go. I don’t need quiet to unpack,” Piper said, stopping him with a hand on his arm. “In fact, I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to. What’s the gossip in town?”
“Gossip? How the hell should I know?” Zane said. “We don’t keep up with all that he-said-she-said, who’s-doing-who crap.”
Piper pulled a face. “You know what I mean. What’s happening around here? How’s the ranch?”
Zane and Josh exchanged worrisome looks.
Josh rubbed a hand on his scruffy chin. “Honestly, not so good.”
“What?” she said, sitting heavily on the edge of her bed. Zeke nipped at her wrist, demanding more pats, and she stroked the cat’s head while focusing on her brothers. “What’s wrong?”
“Man, don’t dump it on her now,” Zane said. “She just got here.”
“Dump what on me?” She divided a wide-eyed glance between her brothers, her pulse kicking into high gear. “Tell me, ’cause my imagination is going to fill in the blank with the worst possible scenarios if you leave me hanging.”
“We’re planning a family meeting after dinner.” Zane put a placating hand on her shoulder. “We’ll tell you then.”
She shrugged Zane’s hand off and shifted toward Josh. “Tell me, Josh. Give me the bullet points at least.”
Josh shoved his hands in his pockets and sent Zane a defiant look. “She has a right to know.”
Zane only sighed.
“What!” She was ready to clobber them both if someone didn’t end her suspense.
“We’re in pretty bad financial straits. We’ve had a couple turns of bad luck, had some investments go sour and...” Josh took off his hat and raked fingers through his shaggy black hair. “Thing is, we need to find a new income source or we could go under.”
Piper let her jaw drop and her shoulders sag in shock. She narrowed a hard stare on Josh, then cut a querying glance to Zane for confirmation. “Go under? As in lose the ranch? Have to sell?”
Zane raised a hand. “It’s not time to panic yet.” He shot Josh a dark glare. “Tactful, man. Way to go.”
“No point in sugarcoating it.” Josh beat his hand against his Stetson and leaned back against the wall. “The truth is the truth. We’ve had a series of bad years, topped off by accidents and hard luck, and it’s taken a toll.”
Acid burned her gut and backed up in her throat. In all the years she’d been in Boston, she’d never considered the possibility that someday the ranch wouldn’t be here, that her childhood home and her family’s way of life could disappear. “Wh-what kind of accidents?”
Josh crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, this summer we lost a lot of cattle when one of the ponds in the west pasture got tainted with pesticides.”
She furrowed her brow, perplexed. “How did that happen? We don’t use pesticides in the pastures.”
“Vandalism, most likely,” Zane said.
“Vandalism!” She goggled at Zane. “Did you find out who did it? Were they charged?”
“We may never know.” Josh’s face was dark with disgust. “Not like there were security cameras out there to catch the perp. No cans left around with fingerprints. No reports of the same happening to other farmers.”
“What about tire tracks or footprints or...or...”
Zane was shaking his head. “Nada. The ground was too hard thanks to the dry spell in July.”
“That’s horrible! How many head did we lose?”
The tap of footsteps heralded their mother’s return before she appeared in Piper’s doorway with a glass in her hand. “Here you go, sweetheart. I—” Melissa McCall stopped short, sending a frown to her sons. “I told you two to skedaddle and let her unpack.” Her scowl softened when she looked from her sons to Piper and back again. “Good grief. What’s wrong? Why the long faces?”
“They were telling me about the financial troubles the ranch has had. And the poisoning of the west-pasture pond.”
Their mother pinched her mouth tight in irritation. “Why are you two burdening her with this? She’s only been home five minutes!”
“Don’t blame them, Mom. I asked. A better question might be why didn’t anyone tell me about the trouble the ranch has been having sooner?” She pinned an accusing look on her mother, then shared the glare with her brothers.
“Oh, honey, I didn’t want to worry you when there was nothing you could do about any of it. The ranch business is—”
“Still my business,” she interrupted.
“Is it?” Zane asked. The bitter edge in his voice surprised her. “Your absence over the last few years would say otherwise. I don’t remember you being here while we were sweating through vaccinations and branding or losing sleep over how to make the books balance.”
“Zane!” Their mother stepped into her bedroom and set her glass of lemonade down on her dresser with a thump. “That’s enough!”
He rolled a palm up, his jaw remaining set. “I’m just saying...she chose to move away and not be a part of the nitty gritty of running the ranch. Family is supposed to come first, and it bothers me to know she can turn her back on us so easily.”
“Bro,” Josh said in a hushed tone, “chill.”
Piper raised a hand to Josh. “No, that’s okay.”
“It’s not okay, Piper. I’m sorry he was so rude to you,” Melissa said.
She shook her head again. “No, I’m a big girl. If that’s how he feels...” She shifted on the bed to face Zane, tucking a foot under her. “Nothing about leaving my family for Boston was easy, Zane. My staying away has nothing to do with my love of the ranch or my fami
ly. It’s...complicated. But the last time I checked, I’m still a McCall. I’m still one-third heir to the ranch...eventually.” She cut a wry grin to her mother. “No rush, Mom. Just saying.” Then to Zane, “Just because I chose to accept a scholarship and pursue a career in Boston doesn’t mean I don’t care about the ranch. Especially if the future of the ranch itself is at stake. This ranch is in my blood, same as yours. Don’t shut me out.”
Zane rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Here’s the thing, Piper. And don’t take this the wrong way because, well...you know I love you, right? I’d do anything for you.”
She hummed her disagreement and twitched a corner of her mouth at him. “Except clean the bathroom, as I recall.”
Zane matched her teasing grin. “Okay, there are exceptions, but...when it counts, I’d die for you.”
Josh clapped a hand to his heart, his expression melodramatic. “Same here, sister. In a heartbeat.”
She tossed a throw pillow at Josh. With a withering glance to Zane, she said, “I’m touched. Why do I hear a but coming?”
“But...” Zane said.
She tapped the tip of her nose and sent Josh a wink. “Called it.”
“But...” Zane continued, nonplussed by his siblings, “I see no reason to keep you in the loop if you’re not here on the frontlines, putting in sweat equity every day the way we are.”
Zane’s bluntness punched Piper like a cattle prod to the gut. She grabbed a fistful of chenille bedspread and squeezed while she swallowed her pain and worked to hide her hurt from the three pairs of eyes studying her. She lifted a shoulder and forced a tight grin. “Love you, too, bro.”
“Way to win her over before we lay out our proposal,” Josh muttered.
“What proposal?” she asked.
Zane and Josh exchanged one of their twin-telepathy glances. After a moment, Josh bobbed a quick nod and said, “We’ll fill you in tonight. Zane and I want to have a family meeting after supper to talk about some ideas we have for the ranch.”
“Am I invited?” Piper asked, giving Zane a churlish look.
“Don’t be a brat.” He hooked an arm loosely around her neck and dragged her in for a knuckle noogie to the top of her head. “Of course you are. You’re family, right?”
Wiggling to her feet and free of his grasp, she swatted at him and straightened her hair. “Am I, Mr. Sweat Equity? Am I allowed an opinion?”
He easily caught one of her hands as she batted at him and drew her into a hug. “Sure, as long as it agrees with mine.”
“Okay then, my opinions and I will be there.” She returned his hug, savoring the sense of calm and security that flowed through her after the strained ride from the airport. Her brothers had always protected her growing up, and she’d missed having them close by while she faced the challenges of her life in Boston. Too soon, her brother backed out of the embrace—because heaven forbid he appear too emotional or affectionate!—and, reluctantly, she released Zane. His crooked smile asked silently, Are we good?
She nodded and returned a we’re good half grin.
Josh quickly took his brother’s place, giving her a quick squeeze before shuffling toward the door. “Welcome home, Pipsqueak.”
“Thanks, Doofus.”
“Ditto,” Zane said.
Their mother stood back to let her sons pass, and she smiled warmly at Piper. “It is good to have you home, honey. Oh, I’ve missed you!” Her mother stroked her hair and kissed her forehead before following the guys out. “Let me know if you need anything.”
A sudden, unexpected wallop of emotion surged up in Piper’s throat, making a verbal reply impossible. Instead, she blinked back tears and gave her mother a nod and a smile.
Turning toward her suitcases on the bed, she dashed away the moisture that stung her eyes and swallowed against the knot that choked her. Why was she so weepy about this trip to the ranch? She hadn’t been this sentimental and fragile even on her first trip back after her freshman year at BC. After the physical, mental and emotional upheaval of the longest year of her life. After having Brady’s baby, surviving finals week while purging all the pregnancy hormones from her system, and coming to grips with the idea she’d never again see the face of the tiny life she’d created—and given away.
She’d prayed that whole first trip that no one would read the truth of what she’d done in her eyes...and that Brady wouldn’t learn how she’d deceived him about the fate of their baby. No, she hadn’t lied to him, she’d told herself, but letting him live with his mistaken beliefs that she’d miscarried still gnawed at her conscience. Yes, that trip back to the Double M had been colossally difficult, but she’d survived it and visits since then with a stiff upper lip. And she had to do the same now.
Certainly the shock of seeing Brady at the airport had worn down her defenses. As had the poignant introduction to his nephew and the reminder of Scott and Pam’s tragic deaths. Add to that the stressful month at work where the company had lost the Regal, Inc. account, one of their most important clients, and had reps from the corporate office breathing down her neck. And the freak accident that had killed the guy that worked in the cubicle across from her. Ron had been a nice enough guy, if a bit forward at times, and his bizarre death a couple weeks back had shaken the office staff. Then to be greeted with the news that the Double M could go under was the pickax blow to the thin shell that had held her intact in recent weeks.
With a cleansing breath, she shoved at Zeke’s backside to scoot him off her suitcase where he’d settled. “Time to unpack, fuzzball. Move it.” Another push roused the large cat, who stood and stretched. When she unzipped the top of the luggage, the noise intrigued Zeke. With his ears pointed forward and a quick head cock to the side, he bicycled his paws on the suitcase as if digging up whatever prey inside had made the rasping sound. The cat’s antics tickled Piper, and the laugh that bubbled up in her helped staunch the rising tears. “You goofball,” she said, lifting the Maine coon into her arms for a snuggle. Immediately the feline’s chest rumbled and he head-butted her chin, returning the affection. “I missed you, too, fuzzball.”
After a moment, Piper set Zeke on the floor and pulled her favorite blue jeans from the suitcase along with her well-worn cowboy boots and started for the closet. Then paused. Turning back to the bed, she stripped out of the slacks and blouse she’d worn on the airplane. As the clothes fell to the floor, she kicked them aside and pulled on the jeans, a T-shirt and her boots, welcoming the comfortable fit like an old friend.
Seeing Brady at the airport had been an unsettling surprise, but it was behind her. For the rest of her trip, she resolved, squaring her shoulders, she would survive by avoiding Brady the same way she had on previous visits. She’d help her family sort through the difficulties the ranch was facing, would celebrate her parents’ anniversary and would be back to Boston in a week. And everything would return to normal.
Yes. Normal. Normal was good. The status quo was safe.
Her strategy seemed sound. Logical. Achievable.
So why did her plan leave her feeling so empty?
* * *
Brady couldn’t sit still. He paced from the kitchen table in the house he shared with his father to the picture window in their living room. He gazed out at the Double M Ranch yard to the tree where Connor was playing on a tire swing while the boy’s dog, Kip, sniffed around the yard, and he heaved a sigh. Ever since picking up Piper at the airport he’d been restless.
Of course, he knew the source of his restlessness. Piper’s visit had the potential to blow his world apart.
Or not.
The situation could play out in so many different ways. And if experience had taught him anything, it was that life had a way of unfolding in completely unexpected directions. You couldn’t prepare for all the strange twists and possible scenarios fate had in store. That unpredictability was at the root of his uneasiness. Be
cause his first and most important priority was protecting Connor.
He knew Piper would never intentionally hurt Connor. But Brady, of all people, knew that good intentions could still backfire. He’d let Piper rip his heart out again, relive the agony he’d known when she’d left him behind for Boston, if he could spare Connor even a little pain. The poor kid was already dealing with the loss of his parents. The boy was vulnerable, and Brady had to keep his guard up.
He heard the back door open and close, followed by the familiar scuff of feet and weary grunt as his father came in at the end of the day and shucked his work boots in the mudroom. “Brady?”
“In here.” He shuffled back to the kitchen to greet his dad.
“You’re back from the airport already?”
“Yeah. Plane was on time. We got back a few minutes ago.” Brady propped a hip against the counter and jabbed his fingertips in his front pockets.
Roy Summers gave a small nod. “And how is Piper?”
“Fine.” Still beautiful. And witty. And determined to deny the feelings that are so clearly just beneath the surface of our broken relationship.
His father stopped at the sink to wash his hands. “She met Connor?”
“Yep.”
“And?”
“And what?” he asked irritably.
Roy frowned as he dried his hands on a dishcloth, then yanked open the refrigerator. He selected a beer and popped the tab on the can. “Jeez, never mind.”
“What do you want me to say? They met. Connor charmed her with his jokes. We stopped for ice cream. Connor and Piper had chocolate fudge. I had butter pecan. Anything else you want to know?”
His father took a long drink of his beer and gave Brady a sour stare. “Nope. Not a thing.”
Shoving away from the counter, Brady stalked across the worn linoleum floor to move Connor’s school backpack from the table to a hook by the mudroom. With his back still to his father, he said softly, “Sorry. I’m just...edgy.”
Rancher's Deadly Reunion Page 4