Dead Giveaway

by Diane Benefiel

  THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN

  If asked, Gwendolyn Ballard would admit she co-parented her best friend Chloe’s son, Cameron. Now Gwen is all he’s got as they flee from the man who murdered his mother. There’s only one place Cameron will be safe, and that’s with his uncle, Elijah MacElvoy. Arriving on his doorstep at the Broken Arrow Ranch is a desperate decision, and Gwen knows he’d slam the door in her face if she didn’t have his nephew with her. But she’ll do anything for Cam, even if it means putting up with Elijah’s distrust and judgment.

  Chloe’s dead. Cam’s orphaned, and Elijah is confronted with the prospect of living with the one woman who’s driven him crazy for the past ten years. He’ll fight to keep her safe. That’s encoded in his DNA. But can he trust her with a little boy who just lost his mother? As Eli watches how Gwen loves and cares for his nephew, he reevaluates his thinking and gives in to the smoldering attraction he felt the first time he saw her. With so much on the line, Eli comes clean about his past, making way for a future that’s all about silver linings.

  PRAISE FOR DIANE BENEFIEL

  Solitary Man

  NATIONAL READERS’ CHOICE AWARD WINNING NOVEL

  “I am in love with this story. I devoured this book and didn’t want it to end. The chemistry between the characters and the plot kept me wanting to read late into the night. This is my first read from Diane Benefiel but definitely not my last. I can’t wait to read more from this amazing author. Thank you Diane Benefiel for getting me hooked on your books!” ~ CJ’s Book Corner

  “Ryder was exactly who Brenna needed in her life, and trust me when I say you will love him because yeah he really is that good of a guy. Solitary Man is my first book by this author and it will not be the last. I really think you all will enjoy this one as much as I did it is one I do recommend.” ~ I’m A Sweet And Sassy Book Whore

  “I really enjoyed this book and there were a few twists and turns that kept me completely involved in the story. This is the first time I have read this author and it definitely won’t be my last!” ~ Sassy Southern Book Blog

  HIGH SIERRAS SERIES

  Flash Point

  “Diane Benefiel takes us on a story filled with mystery, suspense, and action as we try to solve what is going on in the small town of Hangman’s Loss. Flash Point is a story that will have you flipping the pages and wondering who is the behind the attacks against Hangman’s newest resident and why.” ~ Sarah Reads

  “Flash Point really surprised me. It’s not what I was expecting but I really enjoyed reading it. It’s a fun easy read that captured me from the start.” ~ Coffee Chat

  “Diane Benefiel has written a winner. From the moment I scrolled the first page, I was hooked. This beautifully written story has every element that makes a romance novel entertaining. Brad Gallagher is a hero worth rooting for. Emma Kincaid is a heroine worth loving. The supporting characters are strong and interesting and the bad guys are deliciously fun to hate. There were hints dropped that other characters in the book will be getting their own stories soon. I can’t wait!” ~ seniorphotog

  DEAD GIVEAWAY

  Diane Benefiel

  www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

  DEAD GIVEAWAY

  Copyright © 2018 Diane Benefiel

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

  ISBN 978-1-948029-16-2

  E-book formatting by Maureen Cutajar

  www.gopublished.com

  To Kevin, my own personal hero

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A great big thank you to the fine folks at Boroughs Publishing Group who allow me to do what I love, writing a darn good romance.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  DEAD GIVEAWAY

  Chapter One

  “No, no, no. This can’t be happening right now.”

  But it could. The car gave a sputtering cough, and Gwen coasted to a stop on the shoulder. Shifting into park, she turned the key in the ignition, trying to restart the car. Nothing. No steady hum of the engine. Not even a slight hiccup. She rested her forehead against the steering wheel, closing her eyes for a moment. The anxiety she’d lived with for the past four days swelled, snapping and snarling like a rabid dog at her heels. They were in the middle of nowhere, the sun had slipped behind the craggy peaks of the Sierras, and already tall trees cast heavy shadows darkening the deserted two-lane road. And the burner phone she’d bought? Useless since cell coverage had disappeared about twenty minutes ago.

  “Can we fix it?”

  Gwen straightened to glance at the slight form in the passenger seat. “I don’t know, Cam. Would you pass me the flashlight?” He did and she tested it. “Stay in the car and I’ll see what’s up.”

  Flashlight in hand, she stepped out of the car, quickly zipping her sweatshirt against the evening chill. She lifted the car hood and directed the beam of light around the engine. Maybe some hose or wire had wiggled loose and all she’d have to do was connect it. Then they’d be on their way. A quick look, and nope, no such luck.

  With a gnawing worry she guessed would eventually eat a hole through her stomach, she gave in and leaned against the front of the car. Cameron couldn’t see her, so she took a minute with her hands pressed to her eyes to push back on threatening tears. She hadn’t cried yet, and she wouldn’t now. Staying strong for Cameron was priority.

  Things could be worse. She wasn’t sure how, but knew they could be, so she’d suck it up. “Never say die” was her personal motto, and right now she’d better live it. Not much of a pep talk but it would have to do. With a fortifying breath, she lowered the hood and returned to the driver’s seat.

  Cameron had turned on the dome light. He looked at her expectantly, and when she shook her head, he pushed the open map at her. “I don’t think we’re that far from Uncle Eli’s ranch. Maybe we can walk.”

  Gwen peered out of the windshield at the already darkening sky. A nearly full moon offered some light, but the trees on either side of the road made it feel like they were in a dark tunnel. Maybe they should stay put. Sleeping in the car held little appeal, but they’d be safe and could figure out what to do in the morning. They still had
a couple sandwiches and several bottles of water. But if Cameron was right, walking for a mile or so might get them into warm beds.

  She spread the map across the console between them. Cameron pointed with a grubby finger, reminding Gwen they both needed showers. “Look. We took this road from highway three ninety-five and went through this town. We’ve been going kinda slow ‘cause the road is windy, so I guess maybe we got to about here before the car conked out.” He pointed again. “If Uncle Eli lives on this road like you said he does, we could be close.”

  Uncle Eli. Gwen could imagine the reception they’d get. Since she doubted Elijah MacElvoy had attended charm school since she’d last seen him, he was more likely than not to slam the door in their faces. Well, he’d probably let his nephew in the house. But Gwen? If he was feeling generous, he might let her sleep in the barn. Unless he decided to turn her over to the police first and ask questions later.

  “Okay, Cam, here’s the deal. We’ll walk and see if we can find your Uncle Eli’s ranch. If we don’t come to it within, say, twenty minutes, we turn around and come back to the car. Good plan?”

  “Yep.” Cameron leaned past her to get his coat from the backseat.

  She studied him in the dim light. He’d been so miserable the past few days, she was grateful for the mild show of enthusiasm. At nine, he was bright and always eager to do whatever came next. But the devastating events of the previous week had him reeling.

  They got out of the car and Gwen opened the trunk, digging around until she found her jacket. No use wishing she’d packed something warmer. She reached back in and grabbed a daypack, then took a minute to stuff her purse and a water bottle into the bag. She put on the jacket over her hooded sweatshirt, stashed the burner phone in her pocket, and locked the car. She turned to Cameron. “You ready?”

  Now that the sun had set, the temperature was dipping fast. Cameron pulled up his coat zipper and nodded. She let him hold the flashlight, and they set off. Tramping along the side of a lonely road in the dark should have been scary. Instead, Gwen’s spirits lifted. The evening seemed to pulse with life. A breeze blew through the pines with a whispering sigh, and when they came to a gap in the trees, stars emerged in bright points of light against a sky of the deepest indigo. With everything that had happened, she wanted to hoard the boost being outdoors in the mountains gave her.

  “Look, Gwenny.” Cameron pointed with the flashlight, and a pair of eyes reflected back before disappearing into the brush. “What do you think it was?”

  “Maybe a fox.” Even to her own ears, her response sounded distracted. When she spoke again, she chose her words carefully. Their reception was likely to be less than warm, and he needed to be prepared. “Cameron?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You know we’re going to your uncle’s because we need a place where we’ll be safe.” No matter how much the thought of accepting help from Eli grated on her pride, when they’d fled that horrible scene in terror all she could think about was if she and Cameron could get to Eli, he would offer them protection.

  “We need to be safe from Justin because he killed my mom.” The wobble in his voice broke her heart.

  “Yes, we need to be safe from Justin.” The image of Cameron’s stepfather standing over a motionless Chloe, the bloody bookend in his grip, flashed through her mind. At least the boy hadn’t seen that. She draped an arm across his shoulders. Nine years old and his mother had been murdered.

  He tilted his head up to look at her and she sensed the apprehension in his next question. “Gwenny, what’s going to happen to me? You’ll stay with me no matter what, right?”

  “I will do my absolute best to stay with you. But blood relatives have a lot more say in what happens to you, and being your mom’s best friend doesn’t make us related.”

  “But I call you Aunt Gwenny. I wish you were really my aunt.”

  “Yeah, me too.” She paused. “But back to what I was saying. We don’t know if your uncle knows about your mom.” And she really, really didn’t want to be the one to tell him of his sister’s death. “I’m betting he does, though, and that he’s been worried sick about where you are. People may think I’ve kidnapped you, so we may have some explaining to do.”

  “Uncle Eli will understand.”

  Understanding wasn’t exactly Elijah MacElvoy’s strong suit. While she’d witnessed him being, if not exactly friendly, at least approachable to other people, with her he’d been the opposite. Judgmental and inflexible seemed much more apt descriptors. Maybe time had softened some of his harsh edges, but her gut told her that was unlikely. “He might not understand, and since he and I have never really gotten along, I think he may be more inclined to be angry with me when we show up. I want you to know that no matter what he says to me, he’ll be really happy to see you.”

  Cameron reached out and gripped her hand. “It’ll be all right, Aunt Gwenny. You and me will stick together. I love you, and Uncle Eli will too.” For the first time in days, Gwen had the uncontrollable urge to laugh.

  The road began to slope downward, the landscape brightening up ahead. Within minutes Gwen could see why. The trees thinned as they descended into a valley, the moon bathing the scene in a silvery light bright enough to cast shadows.

  They walked along the side of the road, grass crunching under their feet, the beam of the flashlight bobbing in front of them. After driving most of the day, Gwen didn’t mind the walk, and moving kept her from getting too cold. The forest gave way to range land and barbed wire fencing bordered the road. In the distance, cattle lowed. Several large shadows on the other side of the fence shifted and had Cameron’s grip tightening in hers. She spoke in a low tone. “It’s only some cows.”

  She knew they were past the twenty-minute limit, but she figured the cattle were a sign they were getting close to someone’s ranch. Even if it wasn’t Eli’s, the owner would likely know of his ranch and might have his phone number.

  “I think there’s a sign or something up there, Gwenny.”

  Sure enough, they drew nearer and she could see a road snaking off to the left. Cameron shined the light on two stout wooden posts supporting a typical Western ranch overhead declaring it the Broken Arrow Ranch.

  “Is this it?”

  “I have no idea. I guess I thought it would be called the MacElvoy Ranch.” She spied a row of mailboxes. “Let’s see if there’s anything on the mailboxes.”

  Cameron shifted the light and Gwen let out a sigh of relief. Under the words Broken Arrow Ranch, the name MacElvoy was stenciled on the largest of the metal boxes. They turned to follow the gravel road and trudged through the darkness with only the occasional cattle lowing for company.

  Cameron was starting to drag his feet, and her stomach gave a rumble. She plodded on, refusing to let second thoughts and doubts turn her back. After about fifteen minutes they topped a rise and ranch buildings spread before them, lights glowing like beacons.

  Soon they were passing out buildings, and then a wide grassy area in front of a large, two-story house, its pitched metal roof shining dully in the moonlight. A dog barked from inside, announcing their arrival. They approached the stairs, and the porch light snapped on in a blaze.

  “Is it going to be okay?” Cameron’s voice gave a slight waver.

  She reached out and squeezed his hand. “Yes, it’s going to be okay.” She hoped to God she was telling the truth. Memories of arguing with Eli because he thought she should leave Chloe and Cam alone, that Gwen was a bad influence, sprang to mind, lighting sparks to her temper all over again. She stopped at the top of the steps to gather her courage, then crossed the porch and knocked. From inside deep barking increased in intensity, accompanied by higher-pitched yaps. A low voice gave the dogs an order and they quieted. A moment later the door swung open and she was looking into the handsome, scowling face of Elijah MacElvoy.

  Chapter Two

  In the long, drawn-out moment that Eli stared at her, she saw something flicker in his expression. The
flint gray eyes she remembered so well seemed to burn over her, his scrutiny like a physical touch. Gwen kept her feet locked to the ground even as the insane urge to turn and run surged through her.

  He shifted his gaze to Cameron, then back to her. Cameron’s death grip nearly cut off the circulation in her fingers.

  “Gwendolyn.” His deep voice held a timbre that, despite their mutual animosity, had always sent warm shivers down her spine.

  “Elijah.” She held her breath as tension swelled, and waited for the door to slam in their faces. He stepped back.

  “We can come in?”

  With a mocking look, he opened the door wider. She let out her breath in a shaky sigh. Two dogs, the larger a Rottweiler mix, the smaller a fluffy black and white terrier, sat at alert, the terrier all but quivering in excitement. Stepping into the warm house, Gwen felt the fear and panic she’d been carrying ease a fraction, leaving behind an aching exhaustion. For tonight at least, she and Cameron were safe.

  The dogs sat with butts planted. Keeping Cameron at her side, she held out a hand to each of them to let them get her scent.

  Nerves jumping, Gwen straightened. She hadn’t seen Eli for over five years and the subtle signs of the passing of time were evident. While he still maintained the rangy, lean build he carried on a tall frame, his face showed fine lines fanning out from narrowed eyes. He wore his straight brown hair longer than she remembered, combed back except for where it fell across his forehead.

  His bearing, the way he carried himself, made her think of a cowboy sheriff in the old West, tough and unshakable. After the terror of the past days, she needed someone with that unyielding steadfastness on her side. She really hoped that he would be on her side.

  She could see the questions in the hooded eyes, but he didn’t ask why she had shown up at his door.

  Cameron gave his uncle a cautious look. Eli must have sensed the boy’s reserve, because he crouched down on one knee. Gwen watched, curious as to how he would interact with his nephew.