Jean stood and so did Becca. “Thank you so much,” the woman said. “This is a huge help.”
“No problem.”
“Are you going to be able to unload those barrels?” Nathan asked.
“I’ve got a couple of helpers that come over for a few hours each day. We’ll get them where they need to be. And when my shipment comes in, I’ll have them bring your replacement feed.”
“No problem.”
Jean drove away and Nathan returned to the table. “So. When’s a good time to go to Nashville?”
Becca rubbed her forehead. “I don’t even know.” She glanced at the clock. “I haven’t talked to my parents in months—like close to a year.” She paused. “I could probably track down someone my father works with and ask.”
“Your dad’s a doctor, right?”
“A surgeon.”
“Right.”
“And my mother is a lawyer.”
He blinked. “Yes, seems like I knew that. The Wrangler’s Corner power couple.”
“Hmm. Until Dad took the job as chief of surgery at St. Thomas in Nashville.”
“And then moved you away from me.” He smiled. “Why don’t you make that call?”
Her parents had let her finish her junior year of high school before whisking her away to Nashville. She’d been devastated to leave Wrangler’s Corner. Which was probably why she found her way back here. She reached for her phone. And realized she didn’t have it. With a sigh, she rose and walked to the counter and retrieved the device. “I’ve got to learn to keep this on me.”
“As long as it’s in reaching distance.”
She dialed her father’s number. Of course it went to voice mail. She hung up and dialed the hospital emergency department number. “This is Becca Price. Could I speak to Rachel Goodman?”
“Price? Any relation to Dr. George Price?”
“His daughter.” She’d admit it if it got Rachel on the phone.
“Wow. Okay. And you want to speak to Dr. Goodman?”
“Yes, please.”
“Just a minute. Let me see if I can track her down for you.”
Rachel always knew where her father was. She was one of his surgeons who had her eye on his job whenever he was ready to retire. He was only fifty-two so she didn’t think that was going to happen for a while. He liked his position of power too much—doing what he did best. Controlling lives, feeling like he was cheating death because without him and his scalpel, his patient would have died. And while that might be true, she believed God had more control over that part than her father did. He didn’t see it that way, though.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Rachel, this is Becca.”
“Becca? I haven’t heard from you in forever. How are you?” The words were pleasant enough, but she could hear the chaos in the background and knew the woman needed to get going.
“I’m fine, thanks. Listen, I won’t keep you, but you’re my only hope for tracking down my father. To make a long story short, he’s not taking my phone calls.” No need to go into details. “Do you know if he’s going to be around today and in his office? What time would be good to drop in on him?”
“Hold on a second and let me check the surgery schedule.” There was a short pause before she came back on. “It looks like he’s going to be in his office between four and five this afternoon.”
“That will work,” Becca said. “Thanks so much.”
“Do you want me to tell him that you are going to come see him?”
“No!” Becca realized she’d nearly shouted the word. She softened her tone. “No, that’s okay. I want to surprise him.” There was no way her father had shared with Rachel the grief his stubborn daughter was causing him, so there was no reason for Rachel to suspect that the surprise wouldn’t be a good one.
“He’s not a big fan of surprises or people just dropping in on him. Are you sure you want to do that?”
Okay, maybe the woman knew Becca’s father better than she thought.
“I’m sure.”
“Becca, he’ll kill me if I don’t tell him you’re coming by.”
“He’ll be fine, Rachel. Don’t say anything, please. He won’t even have to know we talked.”
“He’ll know.” The woman sighed. “Fine. I won’t say anything. It’s not my business to get involved in family matters.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, stop by and say hello if you get a chance.”
“I will.”
Becca hung up and blew out a breath.
“Well?” Nathan asked.
“I think we’re good to go. I can’t believe I’m actually going to do this, but I’m ready when you are.”
“I’m going to call Clay and see if he can set up an escort for us.”
She nodded. “Okay...”
His eyes lingered on hers. “What?” he asked.
“What did you mean that my parents moved me away from you?”
“They did. At least, I took it personally. It was one of the saddest days of my life when you told me you were moving.”
“It wasn’t exactly the best day of my life, either.” She paused.
“You knew I had a huge crush on you, didn’t you?”
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
He lifted a brow. “You seriously didn’t know?”
“No, you never did anything about it.”
A short laugh escaped him. “I didn’t dare. I cherished your friendship too much.”
“But you were the popular basketball star in all the honors classes. You could have had any girl in the school. They fell all over themselves to get you to notice them.”
He didn’t smile. “But not you.”
She flushed. The heat traveled from the base of her throat and into her cheeks. “No, I didn’t know how to flirt and be all prissy like those girls. As much as I wanted to, it just wasn’t me. So, I didn’t.”
“And you noticed who I wanted to hang out with.”
True. But it didn’t stop him from going out with the other girls. Occasionally. And never one for very long.
He gave another low laugh. “And as for the honors classes, you were in those, too. I was a sixteen-year-old kid without a dollar to my name. You were the rich kid who lived in the big ranch on the hill with a maid and all the boys chasing after you.”
Becca swallowed. “I didn’t care about all that. The boys or the house. The boys were just interested in my parents’ money, and the only thing I loved about that house was the horses. I spent most of my days riding and working in the barn.”
“I know. You were really focused on that. And besides, you spent every weekend at competitions. You didn’t have time for a boyfriend. Even I could see that.”
“True. Maybe.” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “But it might have been nice to have the option.”
“You mean you would have given me the time of day? Other than hanging out as a friend, I mean?” He scoffed. “Come on.”
She shrugged. “You never know.”
“And I guess we won’t now, will we?”
“No. I guess not.” She looked away, then turned back to him. “Why did you kiss me? Was it to satisfy some kind of leftover teenage crush curiosity?”
He held her gaze and then shook his head. “No. I wasn’t even thinking about that.”
“Then what?”
“I was thinking about how strong you are. How determined and honorable...and how much I admire you.”
“You admire me?” She frowned. “I don’t know that I deserve your admiration. Some days I feel like a huge failure.”
“Becca, surely you can see how amazing you are. Not everyone could have accomplished so much in such a short time.”
He gripped her fingers and the sleeping butterflies in her belly fluttered to life. “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit.”
“Maybe not.”
“You’re a doctor.”
“I am. On paper anyway. And in practice, for a while.”
“And yet you gave it all up to chase your dreams.”
“Hmm. I wouldn’t say I gave it all up.”
“What would you say then?”
She blew out a low breath. “I would say that I put a career that I love on hold to see if I could do this. To find out if I can have a successful barn, watch children’s eyes light up when they ride a horse for the first time, watch a student get the form right for a jump. All of that. It’s so amazing. Almost as amazing as surgery. Sometimes more so.” She paused. “Depends on the surgery.”
“Exactly. Admirable.”
She bit her lip and he leaned in. Her heart thundered in her ears as she realized he was going to kiss her again.
TWELVE
Her lips beckoned him. His deception stopped him. What was he doing? He couldn’t keep kissing her, confusing her until he came clean. He sat back with a mental slap upside his head. A romance with her wasn’t an option until she knew everything.
She blinked. “What is it?”
“I... Look, there are some things we should probably talk about.”
“What?”
“My reason for being here, for one.”
Now it was her turn to frown. “You’re here to help me on the ranch, right?”
“Well, yes...”
“Then what are you talking about?”
Would she send him away? Would she hate him forever? Would she leave herself open and vulnerable to whoever wanted her dead? Once again those thoughts stilled his tongue.
“I—”
The knock on the door sent waves of relief through him. He needed to keep his mouth shut. “I’ll get it.”
He turned to see Brody Mac standing on the front porch. Nathan opened the door and stepped back. Brody Mac walked inside and pulled his hat off. “Hi, Becca.”
“Hi, Brody Mac. I’m glad to see you back here. Is everything all right at home?”
“Yes. I think so. My daddy left, so my mama is singing again. She only sings when she’s happy.”
“I see.”
“I just came to tell you that I’m going on an overnight field trip with my class so I won’t be here tomorrow.”
Becca nodded. “Thanks for letting me know.”
He shuffled his feet. “Did Nathan help you out?”
“What?”
“The other day. I saw him in your office. He said he was doing something to help you. I like that, Becca. I want you to have all the help you need because I like you. I can help you more if you need me to. You just have to tell me, okay?”
Becca gave a slow nod, her brow furrowed, and Nathan’s heart dropped into his boots. He cleared his throat. “I’m going to give Clay a call and see if we can get an escort to Nashville.”
“Okay.” He could feel her eyes following him as he stepped into the den. He dialed Clay’s number.
“Hello?”
“We’ve got a problem.”
“We sure do.”
Nathan frowned. “What’s going on?”
“Larry Bowen had nothing on him to tell us if he was working with someone else or not, at least nothing that would help us ID someone, but he had ten thousand in cash.”
“Whoa.”
He lifted his eyes to the blank spot where Becca said she wanted to hang his stocking. His heart ached, his deception killing him. She trusted him, had invited him into her home and her life—maybe even her heart? And here he was, lying to her.
“Nathan? You there?”
Nathan blinked and focused back on Clay. “I’m here. So, you think that money was for taking out Becca?”
“There’s not a doubt in my mind.” The stone-cold fury in Clay’s voice echoed the rising emotion in his own chest.
“Clay, maybe we can take this in a different direction,” Nathan said. “Time to go on the defensive.”
“What are you talking about?”
Nathan explained their idea about confronting Becca’s father.
Clay sighed. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I really don’t have the manpower, especially with Trent still in the hospital. With Bowen’s death, I’ve called for help on the state level. Investigators should be arriving within the hour.”
“Good, you’ll need them.”
“Exactly. Which means that right now I have two open deputy positions to fill and only three deputies to cover the entire town of Wrangler’s Corner. I’m sorry, Nathan, I can’t help you out on this. At least not today.”
Nathan pursed his lips. “It’s okay, I understand.”
“But...”
“But what?”
“Give me a few minutes to think on it.”
“Fine. You think, but don’t hang up yet.”
“What else is going on?” Nathan sympathized with the weariness in the man’s voice.
He walked to the kitchen and saw Becca wiping down the countertops. Nathan returned to the den. “Brody Mac spilled the beans about me being in Becca’s office the other day. She’s going to ask me about it and I’m going to have to tell her the truth. I won’t lie to her.” Not anymore.
“I know. Just try to delay answering if you can. Can you distract her?”
“Distract Becca? That’s a good one.”
“Right.” Clay sighed. “Do what you have to do on that score. Let me see what I can do with getting you an escort to Nashville. Talk to you shortly.”
Nathan hung up and closed his eyes. Now might not be a bad time to pray. He walked into the kitchen. “Clay’s working on getting us some protection to get to Nashville.”
“Good.” She turned and opened her mouth.
His phone buzzed. “Hold on. It’s Clay calling back.” He lifted the device to his ear, grateful for the timely interruption. “Hey.”
“All right. Since the state people are going to be here shortly, Lance is going to follow you to Nashville. What time do you want to leave?”
Lance Goode. Amber’s husband. “As soon as he can get here.”
* * *
Becca wasn’t sure what to pray. On the one hand, she wanted to know who was trying to kill her. On the other, she certainly didn’t want it to be her own father. Anxiety twisted inside her. She was glad Lance was driving. He’d decided they should take the cruiser to make a statement to anyone who might have the idea to cause them trouble.
Nathan sat in the front seat and she almost wished she’d asked him to sit in the back next to her. It would have made it easier to hold his hand.
But no. Sitting in the back was good. It would give her time to think and not be distracted by Nathan and the fact that she was attracted to him.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t in Wrangler’s Corner for the long haul and she was. At some point, he’d return to Nashville and to the job he’d left to heal.
Brody Mac’s words came back to her. What had Nathan been doing in her office? She wanted to know but didn’t want to bring it up in front of Lance.
Knowing she could blow the whole surprise thing if her mother decided to tell her father, Becca decided it was worth taking a chance on. She shot a text to her, stating where she would be and at what time. Becca didn’t mention seeing her father, just that she would be at the hospital. Sadness engulfed her. She wanted to
see her mother. To hug her and talk with her. But as long as her father demanded her mother not speak to her, she wouldn’t. For someone who could rule the courtroom with strength and passion, she was a complete wimp when it came to standing up to her control-freak husband.
“You okay?”
Becca glanced up to see Nathan looking back at her. She nodded and swiped the stray tear that had escaped. She cleared her throat. “I’ll be okay. I just want this over with.”
“Yeah.”
What was she going to say? Hi, Dad. Did you hire someone to kill me? Oh yes, that would go over well. She grimaced.
“Becca?”
She raised a brow.
“Don’t stress over it.”
“Don’t stress over it?” She laughed. “I wish I could take that advice.”
She fell silent, going back to her mental rehearsal of what she was going to say to her father when she saw him for the first time in a year. The day she’d closed on the ranch, he’d showed up at the bank to let her know she was no longer a part of his family, no longer welcome in his home. As far as he was concerned, she no longer existed.
She’d only admitted to herself and her counselor in Nashville that she’d nearly caved. Had been very tempted to fall into her childhood and teen pattern of following his commands. But Lisa’s words rang in her ears from one of their earlier counseling sessions. “Only you can decide for you what you truly want. Whether it’s using that medical degree you worked so hard for or branching out and trying something new, it’s something only you can decide with God’s direction. You control your future, not your father.”
And the truth was, she’d prayed about it but had never gotten a clear sense of whether or not it was the right thing to do. So, she’d gone with it. Resigned from her position at the hospital, bought the ranch in Wrangler’s Corner, and now look where she was. Had it all been a huge mistake? From where she sat now, it certainly looked like it.
She blinked when Lance turned into the parking lot of the hospital. Time had passed quickly between her thoughts and her vigilant mirror watching.
Lance pulled the vehicle into the police parking spot by the entrance to the emergency department. She’d chosen this entrance because the nearest elevator went straight to the second floor. Which was where she would find her father.
Christmas Ranch Rescue Page 13
