situation was reversed.
"I have to say it again, Rafe. I'm sorry. I was an asshole."
Rafe actually chuckled. "I'm sorry you were an asshole, too. Now that we've got that out of the way, what prompted this call after ten years?"
"I need a favor," Gus began, choosing his words very carefully. Would Rafe hang up on him, saying if he couldn't come around when there wasn't trouble, why should he listen to him now?
But Rafe surprised him. "Tell me what a poor rancher can do for a hotshot FBI agent?"
Gus would have ended the call if Rafe's voice had been hostile, but instead, even after this call out of the blue, it held the same hint of humor he remembered as an integral part of his brother's personality.
54
Escape the Night
"I need to come out to the ranch and stay for a few days. I need a place that's off the radar."
"Are you in trouble?"
Rafe always seemed to know what kind of spin to put on things.
"Yes and no." How much to tell him? "Not me, really. A...very good friend."
Gus realized how ballsy this was. He'd been estranged from his brother for ten years, now he wanted him to let Gus bring danger to the secure life he'd built.
"Listen, never mind." He couldn't do it. What the hell has he been thinking, anyway. Anya. He'd been thinking about her. "I'll find another solution."
"How far away are you?"
"About an hour and a half."
Rafe paused again, Gus could almost hear him thinking.
"Come on down. I'll tell Linda. Then I can take her and the kids to her parents'."
Kids. Shit, he hadn't thought about that.
"Rafe--"
"See you then."
Gus found himself holding a dead phone. Well, this was what he'd hoped for, right? He just hoped he didn't get his brother killed now that they'd finally exchanged words again.
* * * * *
Gus drove straight to the ranch as if he'd never left it, his car homing in like a dog tracking a scent. He'd told Anya where they were going and she'd looked at him startled, but whatever she'd seen on his face had been enough to kill the questions he knew were forming in her brain.
He turned off onto the narrow two-lane road leading to the ranch and the first thing he saw was the heavy forest of trees that grew from the fence line back to the house. 55
Desiree Holt
The oak and mountain cedar and mesquite had been there forever. His dad always said he liked the privacy it gave them, and Rafe and Gabe had used the privacy of the trees for games as children and other, less playful, things as they grew older. He followed the gravel driveway through the trees until they reached the clearing where the actual ranchland began. And there it sat, the place he'd avoided for so long. Rafe had painted the ranch house and done a lot of hard work getting the place in shape. It was very evident. Gus took a moment to drink in the scene--ranch house surrounded by oak trees that provided a canopy of shade. Endless pastures stretching away to the north, two of them filled with cattle, men on horseback checking on them. Herding them.
Gus remembered all the growing up years when his father had taught both the boys the intricacies of successful ranching but Rafe was the only one who'd lapped it up. And speak of the devil, he must have heard them coming and was waiting on the front porch for them, his body as tall and lean as ever but now more muscular. His dark hair cut short and his skin bronzed from working outdoors. Next to him was a slender blonde, pressed against his side.
Linda!
He hadn't seen her since the god-awful night when he'd left the ranch. Now he waited for the sharp pain of betrayal to sting him, but she might as well have been a stranger. His mind and heart only had room for Anya.
Gus parked the car in the graveled area to the side of the house and came around to open the door for Anya. She hesitated but he took her hand firmly in his and tugged.
"It'll be all right," he told her. "I promise." He'd given her a sketchy explanation of his family situation on the drive from Austin, not
"I have to say it again, Rafe. I'm sorry. I was an asshole."
Rafe actually chuckled. "I'm sorry you were an asshole, too. Now that we've got that out of the way, what prompted this call after ten years?"
"I need a favor," Gus began, choosing his words very carefully. Would Rafe hang up on him, saying if he couldn't come around when there wasn't trouble, why should he listen to him now?
But Rafe surprised him. "Tell me what a poor rancher can do for a hotshot FBI agent?"
Gus would have ended the call if Rafe's voice had been hostile, but instead, even after this call out of the blue, it held the same hint of humor he remembered as an integral part of his brother's personality.
54
Escape the Night
"I need to come out to the ranch and stay for a few days. I need a place that's off the radar."
"Are you in trouble?"
Rafe always seemed to know what kind of spin to put on things.
"Yes and no." How much to tell him? "Not me, really. A...very good friend."
Gus realized how ballsy this was. He'd been estranged from his brother for ten years, now he wanted him to let Gus bring danger to the secure life he'd built.
"Listen, never mind." He couldn't do it. What the hell has he been thinking, anyway. Anya. He'd been thinking about her. "I'll find another solution."
"How far away are you?"
"About an hour and a half."
Rafe paused again, Gus could almost hear him thinking.
"Come on down. I'll tell Linda. Then I can take her and the kids to her parents'."
Kids. Shit, he hadn't thought about that.
"Rafe--"
"See you then."
Gus found himself holding a dead phone. Well, this was what he'd hoped for, right? He just hoped he didn't get his brother killed now that they'd finally exchanged words again.
* * * * *
Gus drove straight to the ranch as if he'd never left it, his car homing in like a dog tracking a scent. He'd told Anya where they were going and she'd looked at him startled, but whatever she'd seen on his face had been enough to kill the questions he knew were forming in her brain.
He turned off onto the narrow two-lane road leading to the ranch and the first thing he saw was the heavy forest of trees that grew from the fence line back to the house. 55
Desiree Holt
The oak and mountain cedar and mesquite had been there forever. His dad always said he liked the privacy it gave them, and Rafe and Gabe had used the privacy of the trees for games as children and other, less playful, things as they grew older. He followed the gravel driveway through the trees until they reached the clearing where the actual ranchland began. And there it sat, the place he'd avoided for so long. Rafe had painted the ranch house and done a lot of hard work getting the place in shape. It was very evident. Gus took a moment to drink in the scene--ranch house surrounded by oak trees that provided a canopy of shade. Endless pastures stretching away to the north, two of them filled with cattle, men on horseback checking on them. Herding them.
Gus remembered all the growing up years when his father had taught both the boys the intricacies of successful ranching but Rafe was the only one who'd lapped it up. And speak of the devil, he must have heard them coming and was waiting on the front porch for them, his body as tall and lean as ever but now more muscular. His dark hair cut short and his skin bronzed from working outdoors. Next to him was a slender blonde, pressed against his side.
Linda!
He hadn't seen her since the god-awful night when he'd left the ranch. Now he waited for the sharp pain of betrayal to sting him, but she might as well have been a stranger. His mind and heart only had room for Anya.
Gus parked the car in the graveled area to the side of the house and came around to open the door for Anya. She hesitated but he took her hand firmly in his and tugged.
"It'll be all right," he told her. "I promise." He'd given her a sketchy explanation of his family situation on the drive from Austin, not
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