Rancher's Covert Christmas Read online

  A little voice in his head whispered to him as Roy pulled onto the highway, and the answer that whisper gave him sent an unsettling ripple to his core. Yes, he did want to try.

  “Tell me what’s wrong with this picture.” Josh waved a hand in a vague gesture between him and Erin.

  “Uh, not enough coffee?” Erin guessed, then shrugged. “I give up. Tell me.”

  He gave her a raised-eyebrows, it-should-be-so-obvious look. “You’re with the wrong twin. I should be in the lead truck with Roy, and Zane should be here patching things up with you.”

  Erin’s pulse hiccupped. “Zane told you we fought?”

  Josh twisted his mouth in a lopsided grin. “He’s my twin. He didn’t have to tell me. I could see it.”

  Erin hummed acknowledgment of that statement. “Do you know why?”

  Josh sipped from his coffee. “No. You want to fill me in?”

  “Would it suffice for me to say all will be known by everyone in a couple weeks?”

  He gave her a puzzled glance. “Is that supposed to make sense to me?”

  “Let’s just say he didn’t like the way I was doing my job, for good reason, and though we’ve reached an understanding—”

  “He’s not ready to kiss and make up,” Josh finished for her.

  “Sort of.” Erin fingered the seam of her jeans, fidgeting as she replayed the argument she’d had in the guesthouse with Zane. And the kisses they’d shared. Would they ever “kiss and make up”?

  “Here’s the thing about my brother,” Josh said. “He doesn’t do anything halfway. He takes forever to commit to something, but once he does, he’s all-in. Especially with people.”

  Erin glanced at him. “That’s what I figured, but I’m kind of afraid he’ll never trust me again. I may have burned that bridge.”

  The possibility that she’d lost her chance at a relationship with Zane sliced through her like a hot blade.

  “You broke his trust?” Josh asked with a frown. He gave a low whistle. “It’s more serious than I thought.”

  A pang gripped her chest. “I never intended—”

  “I’m not blaming you. You certainly don’t seem like a manipulative wench or man-eater.”

  She gave an ironic laugh. “Thanks?”

  “I’m just saying that Zane...” He scratched his ear and shot her a sympathetic look. “Well, he takes loyalty real seriously.”

  “I get that. And I do, too. Truly. But...circumstances...” She fumbled with the button on her coat. “I was in a bad position because...”

  He lifted a hand from the steering wheel. “You don’t have to explain it to me. Your business with Zane is your business with Zane. I don’t want to interfere.”

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  He curled his bottom lip in, biting it as if fighting the urge to say more as he drummed the steering wheel with his thumbs. Finally he blew a large sigh out in exasperation. “Can I make a request though?”

  She lifted a corner of her mouth. “Sure.”

  He glanced at her with eyes filled with the same cerulean intensity she’d come to love in Zane’s gaze. “Don’t give up on him. If you love him, stick it out. Only a demonstration of your perseverance and dedication to him will push him past his own stubbornness and fears.”

  A knot of emotion rose in her throat, and Erin swallowed to find her breath. Did she love him? She had deep feelings and respect for him. She was insanely attracted to him. She longed to spend time with him and felt a hollow ache when he was gone. Was that love?

  Rather than examine her own feelings, she said, “I’m not so sure he loves me.”

  Josh sent her a frown before returning his attention to the road. “Come on. I have eyes. I know what I saw. And I see how he’s been the last few days.”

  “We had a certain chemistry, yeah. But love is...bigger... It’s more...” Wow. For a pseudo journalist, you sure have a way with words. She groaned at her inability to express herself. But how did she explain to Josh what she couldn’t untangle for herself?

  “Erin, you make him happy. I caught him whistling as he mucked stalls in the stable last week. Whistling, for cripe’s sake! He’s been different since you’ve been around. More like himself. His old self. His true self.” The gravitas in his voice, almost a pleading, squeezed her heart. “And by contrast, more...mopey, for lack of a better word, since this argument of yours.”

  She drew a careful breath and murmured, “He makes me happy, too.”

  Josh nodded, and his jaw tightened. “Then fight for him.”

  * * *

  Roy took a sip from his travel cup, and in his memory, Zane heard Erin saying, Roy’s drinking again. I’ve smelled it when I was in the truck with him.

  He took a deep breath, trying to sniff the air. Gritting his back teeth and fisting his hands at his sides, he debated how, and if, he should confront Roy about Erin’s contention.

  When Roy drifted toward the center line, then overcorrected, Zane made up his mind. He reached for Roy’s cup, pried off the lid and took a swig. The burn of liquor seared his throat as he swallowed.

  Roy cut a startled look at him, panic in his eyes. “That’s my cup!”

  “I know.” Zane rolled down his window and dumped the rest of the heavily spiked coffee on the highway. “Roy, we need to talk.”

  The foreman’s jaw tensed, and he scowled darkly at Zane. “You had no right to do that.”

  “Don’t I?” Zane sighed, his gut in knots. How in the world did he address this? He considered waiting until they returned from the auction, letting Brady deal with it, or—but no. He wouldn’t cop out. He cared about Roy, and the man’s drinking affected his family’s business.

  “How long have you—?” He cut himself off. That wasn’t what mattered. He gathered his thoughts while Roy stared straight ahead out the windshield, his face flinty. “You’ll have to go back to rehab.”

  Roy drew and released a tremulous breath. “I...can’t—You don’t understand, Zane. It’s not that simple.”

  “I know it will be hard. But you have to get this under control. We all care about you, and—”

  “You don’t know!” Roy replied sharply.

  Zane fell silent, studying the man he’d known his whole life. He’d never heard Roy raise his voice that way. What’s more, Roy was shaking, and something frightening and turbulent filled his eyes.

  “There’s a runaway truck pull-off up ahead. I want you to stop and let me drive.”

  Roy gripped the wheel harder. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. I’m going to drive.” Zane kept his gaze on his foreman, his second father. Sweat had beaded on Roy’s upper lip and forehead, despite the cold temperature in the cab. His breathing had grown erratic, and he blinked rapidly as if fighting back tears. The man seemed to be crumbling before him. When Roy reached up to wipe sweat off his face with his sleeve, the truck swerved.

  Zane grabbed his armrest, his pulse thumping loudly in his ears. “Roy.” He kept his tone calm but firm. He didn’t want to push Roy when he was already visibly upset, but he had to make his point clear. “Pull over, and let me drive.”

  “It’s been so hard, son,” Roy said in a low, raspy voice. “So hard. I just want it to be over.”

  Zane shifted on the seat to more fully face the foreman. “What’s been hard, Roy? Your battle with addiction?”

  Roy snorted and curled his lip. “Drinking isn’t the problem. It’s the way I forget. It’s how I’ve survived for all these years.”

  Zane’s mouth grew dry, and the taste of alcohol that was still on his tongue became bitter. He wanted to hear what Roy had to say, but the man was clearly too upset, too inebriated to be driving. Especially while pulling a huge livestock trailer on a twisting mountain road in questionable weather conditions.

  “Roy, please. Pull over. We�
�ll talk about it. I don’t mean to castigate you. I want to help. Just...pull over.”

  Whether he ignored Zane or wasn’t listening to him, Zane couldn’t say, but Roy stared straight ahead, his expression bereft. “I never meant anyone harm. I never...meant...”

  A chill rippled up Zane’s spine. “Roy? Have you hurt someone? What are you talking about?”

  “I did his bidding to keep him quiet. He knew...’bout what I’d done.”

  Apprehension coiled in Zane’s gut, the foreboding of disaster careening toward him that he couldn’t prevent. His voice sounded strangled as he asked, “What did you do? Roy, what’s going on?”

  Roy turned bleary, grief-stricken eyes toward him and held his gaze so long, Zane had to snap him from his inattention, shouting, “Roy, watch the road!”

  Heart hammering, Zane slid his cell phone out and started a text to Josh. Then changing his mind, because his brother was behind the wheel, as well, he redirected the text to Erin.

  We have a situation. I’m trying to get Roy to pull over and change drivers. May need police assistance.

  Roy cut a glance to him. “Are you calling the cops? Turning me in?”

  Zane shook his head. “Just letting Erin know we’ll be changing drivers just ahead. Okay? Roy, you need pull over and let me drive.”

  Roy heaved another shuddering breath and nodded weakly. “I know.” Then his face crumpled, and tears filled his eyes. “Oh, God... I deserve what I get. I’ve... I’ve been a coward. I know that. I just... I was scared. I had a boy to raise. Brady needed... And I thought it had gone away, that no one would ever know. But then...”

  The confession spilled from Roy like a dam opened to release floodwaters. His tears flowed, and his past transgressions poured out of his soul. “I killed a woman. A long time ago. Hit her car when I was drunk. Then I ran.”

  Shock punched Zane. He gaped at Roy, left mute and frozen as Roy continued.

  “I left her there and fled before anyone could find me. Or so I thought. But I was seen. And he’s held my crime over me all these years...”

  Zane forced his jaw to move, but no sound came out. What would he say anyway? He needed time to process this bombshell. The phone in his hand beeped with an incoming text, but he barely registered it.

  Because Roy wasn’t finished.

  Wiping his sleeve across his face, Roy rasped, “He threatened to turn me in if I didn’t...help him.” Roy’s throat convulsed as he swallowed. He turned bleak eyes toward Zane for a moment, then away. His face contorted with agony as he mumbled, “He blackmailed me to...to...sabotage the ranch.”

  Zane’s ears buzzed with adrenaline, and numbing disbelief paralyzed him. No! He must have misunderstood...

  Roy stared straight ahead, his cheeks wet and his complexion pale. He was trembling hard enough for Zane to feel the vibration in the truck’s bench seat. Or maybe that was his own body quaking. As shock faded, Zane was consumed with the slow rise of tangled emotions. Too many to sort out. But riding high and center was betrayal.

  “Y-you?” he stuttered, his voice barely recognizable.

  Roy licked his lips. “I had to. He...he was going to turn me in. I—”

  “No!” he grated. “You didn’t have to! You chose to!”

  Roy jerked a startled glance to Zane, then back to the road. “You don’t understand. I had to protect Brady. I couldn’t—”

  “The only one you were protecting was your own sorry ass!” The full weight of Roy’s confession settled on Zane like a granite boulder. “You’re responsible for destroying our family’s business! We could lose the ranch because of you and your selfish deceit!”

  “I’m sorry.” Roy reached for his travel mug, then frowned at the empty cup.

  “Sorry! Sorry doesn’t begin to make up for—” Fury and heartsickness welled in his chest, choking his breath. His phone pinged again, and he glanced at the screen, more out of habit than anything else.

  What situation?

  Then, What the hell is happening? Are you all right?

  Zane wasn’t sure he’d ever be all right again. Roy, who’d been a second father to him his entire life, had killed a woman in a DUI hit-and-run. Sabotaged the Double M to hide his secret and—

  “Who is he? Who is blackmailing you?” His heart galloped, thrashing against his ribs.

  What little color had been in Roy’s face leached away. He shook his head. “No. I can’t... He can still come after me. He can hurt us! Brady, Connor...”

  The truck drifted across the center line, narrowly missing a car in the oncoming lane. The other vehicle blasted its horn, and the sound jerked Zane from the bubble of disbelief and anger that had blotted out the more immediate danger of Roy’s physical and mental condition. He had to get the man out from behind the steering wheel.

  “Roy...” Zane took a deep breath, trying to rein in the roiling in his gut. “You have to pull over. Now.”

  Roy was still shaking his head, his gaze distant and cloudy. “Can’t go back now. What’s done is done.”

  “Roy!”

  “I don’t deserve forgiveness. I’ve ruined everything...”

  Zane was in no mood to disagree with him on that point, but he had to snap Roy out of his funk. The man wasn’t fit to be behind the wheel, and his emotional meltdown was only escalating the danger. Would he have to take the wheel by force? That seemed equally risky on this twisty road. He grabbed Roy’s sleeve and shook him. “Roy, listen to me. Stop the truck! Now!”

  Roy cast a blank side gaze to him, causing the truck to swerve. “I didn’t mean to kill her.”

  Zane scrubbed a hand over his face. Damn, damn, damn! “Forget the accident for now. Stop the truck before you cause anoth—”

  “Not that one. Helen.” Roy groaned. “She found out. I only wanted her to be quiet. I didn’t mean to...”

  A fresh bolt of shock and horror streaked through Zane. Roy had murdered Helen? He squeezed his hands into fists, trying to tamp down the surge of anger and grief. He had to keep it together until he had Roy off the road.

  Roy raised a hand to blot his streaming eyes and nose, and the truck traveled into the oncoming lane again.

  “Roy!” He’d run out of time. He had to take control of the truck or someone could die because of Roy’s inattention. Someone else could die.

  Shoving the distracting thought aside for the moment, Zane unbuckled his seat belt and swept the clutter on the bench seat to the floor. “I’m taking the wheel. Don’t fight me!”

  He slid closer to the driver’s side, trying to grip the steering wheel. His actions seemed to wake Roy from his stupor.

  “Hey! Stop!” Roy stiffened and raised an arm to block Zane.

  “Give me the wheel, Roy, or pull over for yourself.” He tried to infuse his tone with calm rationale.

  “I can’t go to jail! And I won’t let that bastard hurt my family!” Roy roared, panic in his eyes. The truck jerked hard to the left then back into their lane, narrowly missing an SUV.

  Zane raised a hand, palm out. “Take it easy, Roy. No one is going to jail.” Yet.

  When he tried again to reach for the wheel, he saw that Roy’s hands were shaking. Hard. A quick glance at the foreman’s face revealed the level of the man’s desperation and disconnect. His eyes darted wildly from the road to Zane to the sharp drop-off at the edge of the highway.

  “No, no, no, no...” Roy moaned. “I can’t... I can’t...”

  “Roy!” Zane gripped Roy’s shirt, shaking him, trying to reach him through his panic. He scooted closer and put one hand on the base of the steering wheel. “Just let go of the wheel and let me—”

  “No! I have to—” In that instant the front tires hit a patch of black ice. The truck lost traction, skewing slightly. And Roy reacted in the worse possible way. He slammed on the brakes. The back tires locked, hit the ice patc
h, skidded. The momentum of the trailer pushed them forward, out of control, and sent the truck in a sharp veer across the oncoming lane. Bumping over the narrow, rocky shoulder. Through the guardrail.

  And over the steep embankment.

  Chapter 15

  Erin screamed, watching helplessly as the lead truck left the road. The truck went nose-first, hitting a boulder that brought the vehicle to an abrupt halt. Zane was thrown through the windshield like a rag doll and slid across the crumpled hood to lie in a heap on the ice and dirt at the top of the hill.

  The trailer flipped on its side, skidding over rocks, icy scrub trees and dead grass. The trailer weight dragged the truck backward before friction, a small outcropping and a few aspens managed to catch the trailer’s slide on a protruding ridge of earth several dozen yards down the drop-off.

  The crash was over before Erin could draw her next shaky breath. Before Josh could bring their truck to a safe stop. He braked hard, guiding his truck to the narrow shoulder of the highway, and they sent each other stunned looks. Erin leaned forward to peer through the windshield. From their vantage point on the lower side of a hairpin turn, looking up at the vehicular carnage, she saw no movement. Her gut churned with fear. Dread.

  Josh recovered from the shock first. He cut the engine, whipped out his phone and tried to dial. But the sneer that crossed his face and the bitter curse word he barked told the frightening result.

  “No freaking signal!” he shouted, throwing the phone on the seat with a growl. He banged the steering wheel with his fist, muttered a quick, “Please God,” under his breath and launched himself from the front seat.

  Erin released her seat belt with trembling fingers and a frantic need to reach Zane. With her heart in her throat, she followed Josh as he ran up the highway toward the accident. She said her own prayer as she rushed up the mountain road. She’d already lost one person she loved far too early. She could bear to lose another...