Beth Cornelison - Rancher's Covert Christmas

Erin pulled up short when she saw the sawhorse, and her face must have expressed her surprise because, again, Zane foresaw her question and offered, “I’ll be working on it later, oiling the leather and fixing a broken buckle. I try to keep something in here that I can work on during downtime with the paperwork. Saves time trekking back and forth to the stable or barn, and I don’t feel like I’m ignoring my ranching responsibilities this way.”

“Very efficient.”

“Well, it’s not much. And I do still pull my weight with the herd and tending the horses. This just keeps me busy in stolen minutes throughout the day and at night.”

“No rest for the weary?” She sent him a half grin as she settled in a chair in front of the desk.

“No rest for the shorthanded and trying to stay financially afloat,” he replied as he tapped his phone screen without looking at her. He laid the phone on the desk next to neat piles of paperwork. “You get settled in all right?”

“I did. Thanks.”

“Good.” His phone buzzed, and he lifted it again to check the screen. “Josh will be here in a minute. But before my brother and sister join us, I want to apologize if I sounded... curt earlier.” He dragged a hand down his clean-shaven cheek and sighed. “I was upset about Dave, trying to deal with the uneasiness between the sheriff’s department and my father, run point on the situation with the EMS and...” He exhaled through pursed lips, making an exasperated sputtering noise, then shrugged. “Losing another hand was the last thing we needed. And with us in the middle of roundup, about to head to market.”

The last thing they needed... Erin’s thoughts spun. Losing Dave just as the family was about to realize their profits for the season...

Certainly the hand’s injury put a crimp in the family’s ability to get the work done on schedule. Could this explain the why of the damaged ladder? Assuming it was purposely damaged and not simply an accident as the majority of the ranch seemed to believe. In light of the upcoming auction, would they hire a new hand? Even a temporary worker to help get the cattle to market would be better than nothing.

She furrowed her brow and picked at the seam along the knee of her jeans as she ruminated on that possibility. When she raised her gaze, she found Zane watching her with a peculiar look on his face. Quickly she schooled her face and backtracked mentally to where she’d allowed their conversation to drop.

“Oh, uh, apology accepted,” she said with an awkward smile.

His hands rested on the desk, and he tapped his thumb restlessly. “Where did you go just then? You were frowning.”

“Just remembering the accident. Dave’s leg...” Her stomach recoiled at the memory.

Piper entered the office and took the second chair that sat at an angle facing Zane’s desk. “Okay, the kiddo is squared away.”

“How old is your son?” Erin asked.

“Eight going on thirty-eight. He doesn’t see the need for learning addition and subtraction in order to help run the ranch someday.” Piper rolled her eyes.

Zane snorted, and one of his cheeks twitched with humor.

“You rang?” Josh said as he sauntered in and swept his gaze around the room. “Wow. Is this an official parley? Something up?”

Erin smiled at the third sibling of the McCall triplets. “Nothing formal. I just wanted to get to know you all and begin planning my research for my...article.” She swallowed and squeezed the arm of her chair. She’d almost said investigation . Her near slip was an unpleasant reminder of the ruse she was operating under.

“So I suppose, since I have the owners of McCall Adventures here—” she made a vague gesture to the three siblings with her hand “—this would be a good time to talk about the company, where it stands and...what happened a few months ago to stall the opening?”

Both Piper and Zane cast looks to Josh, whose chipper expression darkened at her mention of the zip line sabotage. Though she had an encapsulated version of the story from the triplets’ father, she was interested to see how the siblings viewed the incident.

“Well,” Piper started, “first, let me say that my husband, Brady, is actually an equal partner in McCall Adventures.”

“Oh, right. Of course,” She jotted a note on her notepad. “Should we invite him to join us?”

“He’s not really available. He’s helping Connor with his homework. Have you met Brady?” Piper asked.

Erin nodded. “I think so. This morning, right before...well...” She let her words tail off when Piper’s face fell, clearly distressed by the reminder of the morning’s accident.

“I can tell Brady you want to talk with him later, if you want.” Piper tucked a wisp of her dark brown hair behind her ear.

“Thanks,” Erin said, nodding. “I’d like to talk to everyone on the ranch at some point.” She tapped her pad with her pen and shifted her gaze to Josh. “So the zip line?”

Zane cleared his throat. “Is it really necessary to bring that up? We’ve moved on from the trouble this spring and are ensuring every possible safety precaution is in place as we go forward.”

She made a mental note of Zane’s reaction to reviewing the zip line sabotage. Defensive? Protective of the business or of some other secret he wants to hide?

“That’s good,” she said. “And I do plan to focus on the future of the business primarily, but...I think it’s important for me to have a full picture of what happened, how it impacted the people involved and the business itself—such as the finances of the company—in order to put the journey forward in perspective.”

“I’ll tell you how it impacted me,” Josh volunteered, shifting his weight and poking his thumbs in his pockets. “And I was the one closest to the incident.”

Zane pulled a face as he shot his brother a look that said he wasn’t happy with Josh’s willingness to discuss the recent trouble.

But why? What was it about the past vandalism the family experienced that had Zane’s guard up? Was he just wary in the same way Michael was being cautious by asking her not to reveal her true purpose to anyone?

For his part, Josh returned an even look and said, “Chill, man. It’s all good.” Facing Erin, he flashed a cocky smile. “The woman on the zip line when it fell is not only safe and sound, she is preparing for our wedding in three weeks.”

Josh’s happiness glowed from his eyes as brightly as his smile.

“Mazel tov! Congrats!” Erin already heard about the upcoming nuptials for Josh and his intended from Michael, but seeing the groom’s joy warmed her inside. Her heart also gave a slow drub of envy. Would she ever find someone who filled her with that from-the-soul glow of happiness?

“Yeah, as much as I like Kate, I have to wonder about her sanity, hooking her wagon to this doofus,” Piper said with a teasing smile and pure affection for her brother in the wink she gave Josh.

“I still say it’s Stockholm syndrome. Josh had to have brainwashed her while they were alone those two days,” Zane added, lacing his fingers behind his head and leaning back in his deck chair.

“Hardy har har,” Josh returned wryly as he moved to the saddle Zane had set up on the sawhorse. While his siblings chuckled under their breaths, he swung his leg over the saddle and sat astride it, arms crossed over his chest, his expression as content and smug as a cat with a canary and a bowl of milk.

“I just oiled that,” Zane said.

“You did?” Josh asked, frowning as he stood and checked his clothes for stains.

Zane snorted dryly. “Made you look.”

Josh gave his brother’s shoulder a shove before he resettled on the saddle.