Of course, Calvin was not nearly as wary as I needed him to be. “What can I do for you, Tex?”
“I have a young woman who needs harboring.” Tex started as if we had all the time in the world. “No priors or red flags. Hard worker, keeps her head down. She’s in trouble and needs a safe place.”
Calvin’s brows knitted together. “If there are no red flags. Why does she need to be harbored?”
“She ran into a little family trouble and we need to hide her from her brother.” Tex’s voice had taken on a business-like tone. Or maybe it was his military-no-nonsense demeanor. “I will let her share what she’s comfortable sharing with you. But you need to know she is in danger and I am hiding her from her family. She arrived at Monterey Airfield by private jet along with your future brother-in-law, Abe, and another colleague. It took me this long to erase all traces of her from social media and make sure she has documents to live and work. It's not permanent, but I cannot tell you how temporary it is. If the danger follows her, I’ll let you know.”
Calvin’s future brother-in-law was an active-duty Navy SEAL. If they were involved, then the woman had to really be in trouble. The kind I wanted nothing to do with. I shook my head at Calvin. He didn’t have a place to keep her. The small cabin onhis property was barely enough for him and Alicia. There was no way he could take in the woman.
But my friend, being the Mother-Fucking-Theresa that he was, blatantly didn’t meet my eye. He was going to ignore me and do what he thought was right.
“We’ve got a place for her.” Calvin stared at the phone as if it was a video call. “I’m sure we can find work for her.”
“She’s an accountant.” Tex was quick to remind us the woman was not used to hard labor. “Pretty good at it, too. Don’t underestimate her. And Mr. Vierra?”
My scowl deepened as I shifted my gaze from Calvin to the phone. “Yes?”
“You can trust her.” Tex’s voice softened and I paid even more attention to him. “She may be able to help you with your little situation. More than that, you may find you have a common enemy.”
My spine went rigid, no one knew about the issues I was having. How did this Tex person know? And who else knew?
I grunted but didn’t agree to let her help. No one knew about the trouble I had. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sure.” Was all he said on the subject before changing the subject. “Sterling. They’ll be at the bridge turnout in a little over an hour. I advised them not to drive that road at night since they are unfamiliar with it.”
Calvin nodded at the phone. “Good call. We’re currently stuck at the switchbacks so it will take us some time to get there. It will be good to see Abe.”
After a quick goodbye, Tex hung up and my friend glared at me. “What situation is Tex referring to?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I opened the door of the truck and stepped back into the rain. “Let’s get this done so you can pick up your new house guest.”
Calvin had stepped out as well and continued to watch me over the roof of the truck. “Rafe, please. Having a favor in the bag with Tex is worth its weight in gold. Trust me, you won’t regret this.”
There was no pressure for me to talk about the things Tex had referred to. Instead, he needed my help. He needed me to harbor the young city girl. “Fine. She can stay in the Ridge Cabin.”
The little cabin was on the border between our properties, on my side of the property line but closer to his home. It was perfect. She would be far enough away she couldn’t bother me, and close to Calvin if she needed help.
“You know you’re going to need to employ her. I can barely afford my current staff, I can’t take on another one.”
As if I could. I hadn’t said anything to Calvin about what was happening on the ranch, not yet anyway. I would at least be liquid until the taxes were due.
With the rain letting up, it didn’t take us long to get the truck moving again, and soon we were on the road headed for the bridge turnout.
A silver grey SUV, that seemed bigger than it should have, waited on the side of the road. By the time we stopped behind it, the rain was nothing more than a fine spray.
Both Calvin and I stepped out of the truck, as two men climbed out of the SUV. One was clearly Alicia’s brother. Their features were so similar. It was confirmed as Calvin and the man hugged. Introductions were made and the other man, Wolf, opened the back door of the SUV and a woman stepped out.
Not just a woman. Trouble in a black silk shirt tucked into designer denim jeans. Pale flawless skin shone in the beams of light from both vehicles added to the fancy-pants vibe she exuded. The only thing that showed she had a less than perfectday was the messy bun slanting a little to the left at the top of her head. Yip, the woman was trouble.
Abe, the man who would be Calvin’s brother-in-law in a few short weeks, broke the silence. “Cal, Rafe, meet Rory. She’ll be staying here for a while.”
I took her outstretched hand, surprisingly warm and soft against the mud and callouses on my own. A jolt went straight up my arm, detouring away from my brain and hitting me a little lower. Much lower. Fuck, I was in trouble.
CHAPTER 2
Rory
The Cabin
