Susan Sleeman - Holiday Secrets

Didn’t matter now, though. She’d had enough of her pity party and it was time to shake it off. To go on. For Adam. Her brother needed her.

Gavin continued toward her, his strides long and powerful, his gaze focused.

Why was he in town, anyway? If it was solely to talk to her, why wouldn’t he just tell her what he wanted to discuss? Why the big mystery?

Gavin stopped before her and squatted down.

How many times had she gazed into Gavin’s rich brown eyes and known he was the man she’d wanted to marry? He’d dashed that dream when he’d moved away and left her behind without a second thought.

“Dad will take your statement,” he finally said. “I was hoping to put it off till tomorrow, but he refused. So I wanted to see if you needed anything, and I’ll take care of it while he’s talking to you.”

For a moment, he worked the muscles in his jaw then forced a smile. The left side tipped up just a fraction higher, a quirk that never failed to make Lexie’s heart skip a beat.

“I could get some water for you,” he offered. “A blanket. Or maybe I could call your aunt Ruth.”

“Ruth? No. She’s on a much-needed vacation, and I don’t want to burden her with this until she gets back in a few days. But I do need to tell Adam about Dad.” Lexie saw Walt approaching. “I’ll give my statement to your dad and get going.”

Gavin crossed his arms and gave her a steely look. “You’re not going anywhere alone until this killer is caught.”

“So you really do think he’ll be coming after me,” she said, letting her fear usurp her unease over his sudden bossiness.

“Yes,” he said, but his narrowed gaze told her that he didn’t like admitting it. “I’ll drive you home, and make sure you have a protective detail. I can help you tell Adam, too.”

No way she wanted Gavin to talk to Adam. The two of them had formed a strong bond and Gavin had destroyed the kid when he’d moved away. She’d have to tell Adam he’d lost his father. Why add the unease of talking to Gavin?

“I’m glad for the protection,” she said. “But I’ll deal with Adam on my own.”

Walt arrived before them and slapped his hat on his head as he peered at Gavin. “Our first priority is to keep little Lexie safe. Since Ruth is in Florida, I planned to bring Lexie back to the ranch when I finish up here. I’ll send a deputy to get Adam, too.”

Lexie disliked it when he called her “little Lexie” and when he talked about her as if she was a child. It came across as demeaning, even though she knew he didn’t mean it that way. He was just referring to her barely over five-foot height compared to his children, most of them six feet or more.

“I’m not letting Lexie out of my sight until I’m sure she has a strong detail assigned to her care,” Gavin said. “Not with the threat the shooter made—and we have no way of knowing if he saw her. If he did, well...”

His worried tone sent her heart beating faster. “Do you think Adam could be in danger, too?”

“I suppose it’s possible,” Gavin said. “But I wouldn’t expect your father to confide obviously valuable information to a kid. There’d be no point. If I was the killer, I’d focus on you, and then if I struck out, I’d move on to Adam.”

“I concur,” Walt added. “Especially since your dad has never even lived with Adam and isn’t much involved in his life.”

They both made valid points. Her father had blamed Adam for the loss of the love of his life. Not a legitimate blame, but her dad had associated Adam with the pain and never bonded with him. He’d also claimed Lexie resembled her mother and had hardly been able to look at her. He’d promptly moved her and Adam into Aunt Ruth’s house, where they’d both lived for the last fourteen years. So when Lexie’s heart was shattered by the loss of her mother, she’d lost her father, too. Now she’d lost him for good. Tears threatened again, but she firmed her resolve to keep it together until she was alone.

“Still, we’ll take no chances, and we’ll watch over Adam, too.” Gavin lifted his chin as if daring his father to disagree.

“That we will.” The sheriff kept his gaze leveled on Lexie. “So what’ll it be, sweetheart? Gavin drives you home or you come to the ranch?”

Even with the simmering tension between her and Gavin, being at Trails End Ranch with this strong law-enforcement family was a safe place while she thought through the implications of all that had happened tonight. Besides, she missed his mother, Winnie, and his grandparents, Jed and Betty. Jed would offer to protect her and both of the women would fuss over her, and right now, she could use a little comfort along with the added protection.

“I rode Misty over here, and I need to get her home and brushed down.”

“You can do that at the ranch. ’Sides, Tessa and Kendall would let me have an earful if I didn’t bring you home. I won’t even put voice to what Winnie would do to me.” At the mention of his daughters and wife, a slow smile slid across Walt’s lips.

“Tessa and Kendall are both at the ranch?” Gavin asked.

“Not just yet. But seein’s how you’re in town for once, I figured we should get the whole family together, so I called them.”

“I don’t think Lexie wants to get into the middle of all of that.” Gavin puffed out his chest, his white dress shirt straining at the buttons.

Irritation shot through her. He’d not only gotten bossy, but he also seemed to think he could make her decisions for her when he had no right.

“I’ll be glad to come to the ranch,” she said, ignoring Gavin’s disappointed look. “But I want to be sure no one tells Adam about Dad. I want to do it.”

“Matt’s on duty,” Walt said, mentioning Gavin’s younger brother. “I’ll assign him to pick Adam up. Matt’ll keep it on the down low if I tell him to.”

Gavin took a sharp intake of air through his nose, his nostrils flaring. He couldn’t have missed his dad’s less-than-subtle message that at least one son listened to him.

Gavin turned to Lexie. “I’ll round up our horses and we can ride over together.”

“Little late to be riding, isn’t it?” Walt asked.

“We both got here just fine on horseback. We can get home the same way.” Gavin eyed his father for a moment as if challenging him to argue.

Instead, Walt faced Lexie.

Gavin strode off into the dark.

“Stubborn boy,” Walt muttered.

“Gavin’s thirty-five. Not much of a boy anymore.”

Walt scowled at her and pulled a small notebook from his uniform pocket. “I’m guessing you have a horse trailer nearby as you sure as shootin’ didn’t ride cross-county on your horse.”

“My truck and trailer are down by the cutoff at Wheeler’s old gas station.”

“Then I’ll make sure someone escorts you back there at the end of the night and helps you load your horse.”

One of the things she liked about Walt McKade was that, behind all his bluster and bravado, he had a compassionate side. Despite being ornery at times and tough on his kids, he was a gentleman through and through, and he’d raised his sons to be fine, responsible men.

“I’m sorry about your father, Lexie,” he said, his words filled with earnest compassion.

The soft tone coming from such a tough lawman made it even harder to keep tears in check, but Lexie managed it.

“Thank you,” she said.

He stroked his salt-and-pepper mustache for a moment as if trying to decide how to move forward. “S’posin you give me the details of what happened tonight.”

She replayed the night, making sure to include every point she could remember, and he recorded them in his notebook.

“Did you know before today that your daddy was back in town?” His pen hovered over the page.