His tone was tinged with accusation, and Piper felt the barb to her core.
“I ask. They always say they’re fine.”
And she was all too happy to believe the generic reassurances that all was well with her family and at the ranch in her weekend phone calls, as if time had frozen when she left town. In her freeze-frame view of her home, no harm came to her family or their business. No one grew older or dealt with financial worries, vandals or health scares.
Her brother grunted and rolled his eyes in a manner that spoke for his disappointment in her passive acceptance of their parents’ palliation.
As Zane walked away, Brady stepped up beside her. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to sound so rough. Everyone’s on edge because of the fi—”
“I deserve it. I haven’t kept up with any—” Her voice cracked, and she paused to gather herself, to clear the phlegm the smoke caused from her throat. Brady slid an arm around her shoulders, and the dam of emotions she’d tried to hold in check broke.
Tears poured from her eyes, and she sobbed so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. “I’m a t-terrible daughter!”
“No.” Brady pulled her closer, holding her and rubbing her back. Her head told her to pull away, but the solace he offered and the comfort of his embrace were just the balm her aching heart needed. Just as they’d always been.
Brady had always known just what she needed and been right there to provide it. Be it a scraped knee in the ranch yard, a helping hand with her chores or a shoulder to cry on following preteen disappointments, Brady had been her champion.
“I sh-should have known about my dad’s b-blood pressure. And the ranch’s t-troubles. I should have asked more questions, not been satisfied with platitudes that made me feel safe.” She buried her face in his shoulder, and he squeezed her tighter.
“They were trying to protect you. They didn’t want to burden y—”
She raised her chin and shook her head. “No. That’s no excuse. I’m not some helpless female that needs shielding from b-bad news.” She paused to gulp a breath. The smoke and her tears made her nose run, and Brady produced a folded bandana from his back pocket. “I should have asked. I should have been more involved with the b-business.” She blew her nose and wiped her face on the bandana, then leaned into his chest again.
“We all have our secrets, it seems,” he said in a low tone. When she tensed, guilt stringing her tight, he stroked her hair and kneaded the tendons at the back of her neck.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“Shh. Forget it. It’s not important right now.” His fingers worked magic on her muscles, and she found it easy to cant against him, allowing him to ease her worry. But as his massage, his embrace, soothed her distress, his touch wound her up in other ways.
Sparks of desire lit her nerves as he trailed a hand along her spine and dug his fingertips into her shoulder muscles. His breath fanned her temple as he held her close, and the well-worn flannel of his shirt gently caressed her cheek.
Home. Even more than being back in her old bedroom, back around her family’s dinner table or following familiar ranching routines, being held by Brady felt like home.
She stood there, in the shelter of his arms, for several minutes, savoring the security and comfort, until Zane called to Brady, “Can you take care of getting Roy’s horse back to the stable?”
He nodded and took a step back from her. “Okay?”
She sniffled and wiped her face one more time before nodding. “Yeah. Thanks.” She started to hand the bandana back to him but paused. “I’ll just...wash this and get it back to you later.”
He grinned and winked as he headed to the area where the horses milled about, grazing.
Piper tucked the bandana in her back pocket and helped Josh load the charred saddle blankets and saddles on the back of the ATVs. Josh gave her a boost up onto Hazel, and she rode bareback to the stable.
Once Hazel had been settled back in her stall, she went in search of her father. She wanted to know more about his health issues and assure herself that he’d recovered from his outburst. Her first stop was her parents’ bedroom, but no one was in there except Zeke, who’d curled in a ball to sleep on her mother’s pillow.
Shaking her head at the liberties the cat got away with, she went next to her father’s office. Instead of her father, she found Karl Townsen rifling through her father’s desk. She furrowed her brow.
“Can I help you with something, Karl?” She pitched her tone in a manner that let him know his intrusion was improper and highly suspect. Why was he here instead of helping with the fire?
The hand jerked his head up and squared his shoulders. “No. Just...looking for a pen to leave your father a note.”
“Could I give him a message for you?” She folded her arms over her chest and walked into the office.
He shrugged stiffly. “I just need ask him about taking next weekend off. Family business in Boulder.”
Piper drew close enough to her father’s desk to see the drawer Karl had been searching. There was an ample number of pens in plain view—as well as a flat money box where her father kept petty cash.
She pulled one of the pens out along with a small notepad and handed them to Karl. “How many years have you worked for the family?”
The hand pursed his lips as he thought. “About eight.”
She nodded. “Oh, that’s right. You came on my senior year of high school. That’s a pretty long time. A lot of history between you and my family.”
He rolled his shoulders and cocked his head to the side. “Yeah. And?”
Motioning to the pad, she added, “Oh, nothing. Just reminiscing. Go on and write your note. I’ll see him in a few minutes and give it to him.”
He balked, his face growing flushed. “Um, never mind. I’ll just ask him when I see him later.”
Piper arched an eyebrow. “Mmm-hmm. Karl, if I opened the petty cash box, would everything be there that should be?”
The hand stiffened, and his mouth grew taut. “Are you accusing me of stealing?”
She shrugged. “You have to admit it looks suspicious.”
His expression became hostile. “I ain’t stealing, just gettin’ what I’m owed.”
Piper blinked. “What you’re owed?”
“Your daddy has always said he’ll reimburse us for ranch expenses. I needed payback for some stuff I bought, so...” He shrugged as if his explanation excused his actions.
Piper cleared her throat. “So then you lied about leaving a note for my dad?”
Karl only glared at her.
“Did my father give you permission, today, to go in the cash box without him for your reimbursement?”
He narrowed his eyes but still said nothing.
“Do you have a receipt showing how much you spent when and on what?”
His glare darkened. “I don’t like being accused of theft.”
She squared her shoulders, unintimidated by the hand’s glower. “Karl, taking money from my father without his knowledge or any kind of receipt qualifies as theft in my book.” She drew a deep breath. “You’re fired.”
Karl bristled. “You ain’t the boss.”
“But I’m part of the owner’s family, and that’s close enough. Get your things and leave the premises.”
“Forget fired. I quit!” He stomped toward the door where he paused long enough to send her a sneer. “Besides, this place is on its way out. I’m better off getting a new job before you all go belly-up.”
Piper opened and shut her mouth in shock.
The thud of the ranch hand’s angry steps echoed down the hall.
She dropped in her father’s chair and stared at the cashbox.
“Crap,” she grumbled on a sigh. What had she done? Maybe Karl had been pilfering from the petty cash, but confronting employees was her
father’s job. She should have brought the incident to her father’s attention and left the rest to him. On a day when things had already taken a bad turn for the ranch, she’d managed to make things worse.
* * *
Wasting no time following the decision to make the adventure ranch a four-way partnership, the four new partners spent several hours, led by Zane, going over details of their new business arrangement. Zane had called the bank and made an appointment for the next morning to sign the paperwork to make the deal official. In addition, he’d negotiated terms for a business loan and made sure they could close that deal, as well.
Now, Piper gazed around the lobby of the bank where dusty fake plants and thin-cushioned couches attempted to make customers feel at home. Beside her, Brady bounced his heel, jiggling his leg in agitation.
“You can change your mind, you know,” she said in a hushed tone. “If this makes you nervous—”
“No,” he cut her off, shaking his head. “I’m still in. It’s just waiting rooms make me nuts. Waiting rooms are where you wait for bad stuff. The doctor to tell you your mom’s got cancer. The school principal to tell you you’re getting detention. The ER to tell you your brother didn’t survive his car wreck. The police station to tell you your dad will have to spend the night in the drunk tank.”
She put a hand on his bobbing knee and squeezed. “I’m sorry.”
He flipped one hand in dismissal.
“How about the airport waiting to go on vacation? That’s good,” she suggested.
He gave her a side-glance. “Never flown before. Only vacation my family ever took outside the state, we drove.”
She frowned. She’d known that about him in high school, if she’d thought harder about it before she’d spoken. “Well, how about waiting at the airport for me to arrive this week?”
His knee stilled, and when he met her gaze she sent him a sassy grin, he returned a warm smile that made her toes curl and heat gather low in her belly. “Yeah,” he whispered. “That was good.”
“Hey, did you know Karl quit?” Josh said, looking up from his phone to Brady with a puzzled look.
Acid curled in Piper’s gut, and she bit her bottom lip.
“What?” Brady said, his chin jerking up.
“Dad told me this morning. He didn’t give any reason, but he was going to talk to him, try to change his mind. You know how short-tempered Karl is.”
Piper scratched her temple and said meekly, “It’s my fault.”
Three pairs of eyes swung toward her.
“I caught him in Dad’s office yesterday after the fire. He was going through Dad’s top drawer where the petty cash is kept, and...” She blew out a breath, buzzing her lips. “I assumed the worst. I guess I was on edge because of the fire and...I basically accused him of stealing from Dad. I fired him on the spot.”
“Piper!” Josh groaned.
“He blew up and said he quit, so either way...he’s gone.” She ducked her head, guilt gnawing her. “I told Dad, and he promised to smooth things over with Karl. But...well, I did what I thought was right.”
“Did he say why he was in Dad’s office?” Zane asked, his eyes narrowed. “He has no business being there.”
She explained Karl’s story about needing reimbursement, but before either brother could comment, a woman called to them from the door of one of the offices. “Zane McCall? Mr. Carver will see you now.”
The foursome rose and followed the woman into the small but well-appointed office where Gill Carver, a former classmate of theirs, sat behind a desk most people would see as too large for the room. But Gill wasn’t most people. He’d always been a pretentious troublemaker who seemed happiest when he was tormenting others. Gill had become especially hateful toward them after his father’s ranch had gone bankrupt when they were in high school, and the Double M, among other nearby ranches, had acquired some of the Carvers’ equipment and land at the bankruptcy auction. Piper had no doubt that family humiliation had been part of what had motivated Gill to get his degree in finance and get a job in banking.
Piper was galled by the notion that Gill would be managing the business loan, but Zane had researched the competitors and determined First Bank of Boyd Valley, small as it was, had the best interest rates and repayment terms. She might not like the idea of doing business with Gill Carver, but Piper trusted Zane’s business sense.
Gill stood as they entered his cramped office, and when he recognized them, his smile took on a sardonic edge. “Well, well. Look at that. The three McCall Musketeers and their faithful sidekick together again.”
Piper sensed more than saw Brady tense at being cast as sidekick. She knew he’d always felt he lived in the shadow of her and her brothers. As the employee’s son. The odd kid out. The tagalong to their blood-bonded threesome. That Gill would make a point of highlighting that discrepancy after all these years spoke volumes to her. Gill was still a vindictive, petty jerk. She sent Zane a side look that said Do we really have to do business with this cretin?
Zane’s returned expression asked her to overlook the slight and trust her brothers’ decision.
“How can I help you today?” Gill waved a hand toward the two chairs across the massive desk from him.
Zane, who was closest to the chairs, sidled toward the far chair, and Josh motioned for Piper to take the other.
“First we need a notary to witness the signing of partnership papers. Then we want to open a new business account.”
Gill arched a manscaped eyebrow. “Partnership? You’re finally making this little club of yours official, huh?”
Piper bit the inside of her cheek. Gill’s smile was just shy of a sneer, and his contempt for her and her brothers was palpable.
“Zane?” she whispered under her breath.
“That’s right. We’re starting a business together.” Her brother nodded to the unctuous banker and placed a hand on her wrist, giving it a quick reassuring squeeze. “When we finish the paperwork, making the business arrangements and opening the account, we’d like to talk about a short-term loan for the rest of the start-up capital.”
“Another loan?” Gill gave a mocking frown. “Doesn’t our bank already own several loans on your ranch? The mortgage on your house, a business loan for your father,” he said, ticking them off on his fingers, “and, oh, yes, a second business loan to cover recent herd losses.”
“If you check your records, as you clearly do, since you’re so familiar with our family’s debts,” Josh said, his voice tight, “you’ll see those loans are in our parents’ names. Our new business is separate from the ranch holdings and balance sheets.”
“That’s smart, considering how far in the red your father has gotten himself.” Gill’s smarmy smile brightened, and he turned his attention to Brady. “Summers, are you sure going into business with the McCalls is in your best financial interests?”
Piper cast a side-glance to Brady, who stood in front of the closed office door with his arms crossed over his chest. His nostrils flared slightly in distaste, but the lethal stare he had fixed on Gill didn’t falter.
“Positive.”
Gill cocked his head to the side in a quick dismissive gesture. “Okay. I know you were never good at math in high school, but I thought I should give you the chance to back out before you cast your lot with a sinking ship.”
Piper could hear Brady’s teeth grinding, and she reached up to give his arm a squeeze—of support? To calm him? She wasn’t sure, except that she did it automatically, instinctively.
“Can we get on with it?” Zane asked.
“Certainly. I assume you brought the papers you need notarized?”
Zane jerked a nod, opened the folder he had brought and slid them across the desk to Gill. Gill gathered the papers and, without looking at them, lifted his phone receiver to page his secretary. “Fran, I need you to witness a notarizat
ion.” When he hung up the phone, he rocked his chair back and propped his feet on his desk as he scanned the pages and commented.
Piper rolled her eyes. She couldn’t imagine one of the senior executives in her office or one of the bankers her office worked with being as gauche as to prop his feet on his desk during a meeting with a client. Muddy shoes at that, she noted, spotting the dirt in the treads and crusted on the edge of Gill’s soles. Or was it mud? She looked closer and recognized the texture and color of the substance. Cow patty. Gill had stepped in a cow patty.
She curled her lips in to smother the grin that blossomed, and she quietly enjoyed the satisfaction the notion gave her. She hoped he tracked the mess into his car, his house—
“Equal partnership...investment of funds...rights of partners in business decisions...yada yada. What sort of business did you say this was?” Gill asked, peering over the top of the page to Zane.
“I didn’t say.”
Gill waved a hand, inviting one of them to answer. She noticed the flash of a gold wedding ring on his left hand and wondered briefly who Gill had married. A local girl?
Brady remained stoic, his jaw tight. Josh gave his twin a consultative glance before saying, “An adventure ranch.”
Gill lowered his eyebrows and tipped his head in query. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. We want to open the ranch to visitors and take them out on excursions that will include various high-adrenaline activities.”
The banker seemed to contemplate Josh’s answer for a moment before he asked, “Such as?”
“What difference does it make what activities they offer?” Brady asked, his tone not hiding his resentment.
“You all did want a loan to help finance this adventure ranch, am I right?”
Piper cringed at the mocking tone Gill used. She sat straighter in her seat, on the verge of a tart reply, when a soft knock preceded Fran’s entrance. Brady had to scoot sideways to allow the door to open and the secretary to squeeze into the increasingly crowded office.
They busied themselves with the business of signing the partnership papers, opening the business account for McCall Adventures and drawing up the papers for the loan. Piper and Zane carefully studied the documents laying out the terms of the loan before nodding their acceptance to Josh and Brady. Zane, as the CEO of the new business, signed the documents for the loan.
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