Chapter 1
Rafe
The Mud
Dark. Wet. Cold. Always an awesome combination. And after the day I’d had, it was like the cherry on top.
Calvin’s boots sloshed through the greasy mud as I pulled on the winch once more. “I think it moved a little, what do you think?”
“I think you’re filled with wishful thinking.” In the hour we’d been at it, the truck moved maybe three feet. Maybe. “At this rate we’re never going to get out of here.”
My best friend wanted me to check out the vines earlier in the evening.
Since his return from the Army almost two years ago, he’d been lost in the idea of Cold-Climate Pinot.
He’d tested the soil and run countless surveys before purchasing the land just north of my own ranch.
He’d suffered through all the bureaucracy in a town that believed he was doing nothing more than indulging a hobby.
He smiled over at me from behind his truck. “Wishful thinking is all I have to go on. The first installment of my VA loan is due soon.”
That was true. My friend had leveraged everything he had on his winery making bank this season. Maybe it was a little wishful. But he needed enough to cover all his expenses and the loan installment.
“Old man Henderson wanted to know if the dirt sniffer was ready to give up and go back to the Army.” The moniker was used with more mockery than affection. “That was before he bet me you would be in San Diego by the end of the year.”
Calvin and his fiancée, Alicia, had met at the VA centre in San Diego. She’d been visiting her brother and he had been meeting about the loan and his future. Everyone assumed she was from there, but she’d been from a little suburb a little further east.
“Did you take the bet?” His voice was loud over the rain and squeal of the winch.
I raised my brow and shook my head. “I doubled it. Told him your instincts had never let me down. Don’t make me look like an idiot, Cal.”
He burst out laughing since my statement couldn’t be further from the truth.
It was true the man had good instincts and I would follow him into hell if he thought it was a good idea.
But the reality was, Calvin’s instincts had got us grounded and in detention more times than I could count in high school.
Back then, he had promised fun not safety, though.
As the rain pelted down we continued to shoot the shit and drag the truck through the soft adobe clay. We made little headway, yet neither of us complained. It was part of life living in Cypress Cliffs. The steep hills and the wet clay.
I ducked my head around the truck. “This clay is grease. We’re not getting out of here anytime soon.”
“It’s not grease, it’s terroir.” I could hear the smile in his voice despite the miserable conditions. “The struggle is what makes the vines stronger.”
I shook my head, knowing he would not be able to see me rolling my eyes. “The struggle is making my back hurt.”
He let out a chuckle, before grunting and pushing the truck harder moving it nearly two feet.
Calvin had been my best friend since freshman year in high school.
We knew everything there was to know about one another, including some shit guys never really shared.
His dad had taught us both to drive and how to fish.
Mine had taught us how to winch a truck out of the mud and cook that very same fish.
Now they were both gone, and here we were moving the vehicle at the rate of a foot every thirty minutes. What a fucking metaphor.
One more push on the lever, and winch squealed as the car moved another 3 feet.
We were almost free. Calvin popped his head around the back of the truck once more.
He lifted his hand to shelter his eyes from the rain.
“As soon as I have a vintage pulling a hundred bucks a bottle, I am buying you a new winch.”
“Forget the winch, there’s nothing wrong with it. I’d settle for you paying off the loan so I don’t need to hire you as a ranch hand. I don’t think you’re cut out for ranch work.”
That was a lie and we both knew it. There were few people I knew who worked harder than me.
My best friend was one of them. The fact that he would be ready to harvest in a few weeks was a testament to all his hard work.
He didn’t have much help, and had done pretty much everything himself.
Still, giving each other shit helped pass the time under otherwise miserable circumstances.
Not that it was the first time we’d been in this situation.
The first time we’d done it by ourselves was when we were eighteen.
Most recently, it had been a few weeks back and I had to admit my body was getting tired of this shit. We needed better tires or newer trucks.
“You remember that one Christmas break when we both were home from college and we tried going on a double date and got stuck on this exact spot?” The rain had let up a little and I didn’t need to shout quite as loud. “Both girls sat in the front while we tried to move your truck.”
Calvin let out a chuckle and stood to the side. “As I recall, neither of us got lucky that night.”
“No, we did not.” The two women were tourists. We wanted to take them to our spot. Well, it was a make-out spot at the top of one of the cliffs, but we never got there and instead took the girls back to their hotel.
I gave another pull on the lever as Calvin pushed the car from behind. A light flashed inside the car, closely followed by Calvin’s phone’s ringtone.
“Who the fuck is calling you at this time of the night?” I frowned at him as he pulled a hand free from his glove.
He opened the car door and pulled out his phone. His head tilted, and he frowned at me. He lifted a hand to me. “This is a… Navy colleague. Alicia’s brother gave me his number in case I ever needed help. Never said anything about him calling me, though.”
The phone continued to ring. I gestured toward the phone. We both got into the cab. Calvin, so he could hear what the man on the other end had to say over the noise of the rain, and me because… well, I was inquisitive.
“Hello.” Calvin’s voice was skeptical.
“Lieutenant Calvin Sterling?” The other man’s voice was confident as it filled the cab.
Both Calvin and I frowned. No one addressed him by his rank. Calvin didn’t miss a beat, though. “Lieutenant John Keegan. A call from you at eight-thirty on Tuesday night can never be good.”
“Please call me Tex.” The other man let out a small chuckle as he spoke. “I believe you are in a unique position to help me. Are you alone?”
Calvin eyed me, but continued. “No. I am with my friend. Rafe Vierra. But you can trust him.”
“Aah yes.” Tex sounded as if he was smiling. “The rancher who could definitely benefit from this situation.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that. Not the fact that the man seemed to think he knew my business. Or how he seemed to think he had a solution for me.
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 on his 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 perfect day 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.