chapter Eleven
“Hello!” Xav yelled as he reached the land known as Loco Diablo. He figured Wolf or his men had spied him the moment he left Rancho Diablo and crossed the canyon, so there was no point in being subtle. “Wolf Chacon!”
A shot rang out, kicking the snowy ground up next to him. Xav grunted. If whoever fired the shot had wanted to hit him, they would have, so this was a warning. He moved his horse forward. “Wolf! Running Bear has a message for you!”
There was no one around today. Generally this land was a beehive with federal agents and local law enforcement trying to figure out how to beat back the desperadoes. Today the bone-chilling cold appeared to have kept them away. “If I didn’t have a family feud to powwow, I’d be out Christmas shopping for my girl,” he muttered. “Let’s make this quick!” he barked at the top of his lungs. “We’re burning daylight and I have better things to do!”
Something hit his back, sending him off his horse into the snow with a thud. He rolled over, a big body on top of his, and they bashed at each other with blows that were barely felt through thick sheepskin jackets. “Damn it! Are you just a complete jackass?” Xav demanded, getting on top of his assailant’s chest, sitting on him hard, his boot heels dug into his arms. “Have you ever heard don’t shoot the messenger?”
“You’re here to kill me,” Wolf said, “you already tried. I owe you for that,” he snarled.
“Well, today isn’t the day you pay me back.” Xav pondered whether he should go ahead and exterminate Wolf right now. It would make life so much easier for everyone.
Blast Running Bear and his peace-loving ways.
“Look. You’re a mess,” Xav said. “You look terrible, like you’re on your last gasp. You’re an outcast among your family. Do you ever think about the fact that you’ve thrown away your life?”
“Do I look like I need a lecture from a privileged rich boy?” Wolf demanded, sitting up when Xav finally released him. “You’ve had a silver spoon all your life. You know nothing about struggling, about deprivation.”
Xav frowned. “Are you trying to tell me that this whole blood feud between you and your family is just about money?”
“You make it sound unimportant. But I’m like the coyote, far from the comforts, living on what I can.”
“You haven’t done anything to endear yourself to your family. You’d sell them out to the cartel in a heartbeat.”
“True. Because all of this would be mine.”
“I don’t see how,” Xav said, staring at Wolf. “I’m sure Rancho Diablo and all its properties are wrapped up in some kind of airtight, nonpierceable estate. You wouldn’t get a thing.”
“So I must steal what I can, take over what I can.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to kiss and make up with your father? Not that I really care.” Xav didn’t. He wanted to get home to Ash and the kids. It was time to dig out the Christmas carols and mugs of hot buttered rum. “I don’t care what you do.”
“So what’s the message? You came a long way for a man who doesn’t care.”
Xav shook his head. Ignoring Wolf’s glare, he glanced around at the cold, snow-crusted miles of ranch, cut off by the canyons from Rancho Diablo. He’d feel a bit sorry for the old fart except he’d tried to kidnap Ash. He reached out and socked Wolf a good one in the jaw, knocking him flat to the ground.
“That’s a message from me. Don’t ever think about bothering my wife or my kids again.” Xav rubbed his knuckles, watching Wolf hold his jaw as he lay sprawled in the snow. “The message from your old man is that you’re living wrong. All kinds of mess is coming your way if you don’t straighten up.”
Wolf wiped blood from his mouth, looked at the bright spots of crimson in the snow. “It’s too late. Nothing can be stopped, nor would I want to stop it.”
Xav felt cold steel pour through him. “You’re not in charge?”
“Haven’t been for a while.”
Xav glanced around. It was very still here, pressed in by the snowpack and the sky heavy with thick clouds. But even so, something was wrong. “Where’s your gang of thugs?”
Wolf sat up, slowly got to his feet. “You writing a book?”
“That’s a thigh-slapper.”
“You killed Rhein,” Wolf said, and Xav could see anger and hatred snapping in Wolf’s eyes.
“There were a couple of girls that made up your group, maybe a few others.” He looked around him, sighting the various mesas in the distance. Maybe they were all underground in the tunnels, hibernating like the weasels they were. But it was odd no one had taken a shot at him besides Wolf, and even that hadn’t been a very good one. He looked more closely at Wolf. “You’re on your own.”
“Yeah, I am.” Wolf shrugged. “What’s it to you?”
“I don’t understand. Did you go renegade, or did they abandon you? Has the cartel realized they’ll never win?”
Wolf laughed. “They’ll win.”
“But not with you on their team?” A lone wolf was a dangerous wolf.
“I’m in a regrouping phase.”
Xav got on his horse. “I’ve delivered my message. So unless you have a reply, I’m heading on.”
“How do you know I won’t shoot you dead and dump you in a canyon for Running Bear to find?”
“I don’t worry about things like that too much.” He looked into Wolf’s dark, barely human eyes. “I’m not family. I stand to gain nothing from Rancho Diablo. I’m no threat to you.”
“Killing you would upset my wild niece. Leave her children with no father. Put the game totally in my favor.”
“Not really.” Xav turned his horse to face the canyon—and home. “Sounds to me like you’ve got enough trouble on your hands without making more.”
He rode away.
* * *
“BABE, IT’S ALL RIGHT,” Xav said when Ash flew into his arms after he’d reported to Running Bear. The conversation with Wolf bothered him, but he couldn’t quite figure out exactly what was wrong.
Ash hugged him like she’d never hugged him before.
“I like this,” Xav said. “I’m going out for the afternoon more often.”
“No, you’re not. And I’m going to tell Grandfather you’re not to go over there anymore.” Ash scowled. “First of all, if it’s too dangerous for me, it’s too dangerous for you.”
“Ah, my fierce lady.” He hugged her to him, enjoying her warmth after the cold outside. “You missed me. It’s okay. You can tell me you missed me.”
“I’m in no mood to joke around. The chief shouldn’t have sent you.”
He kissed her. “Your grandfather knows I’m the safest one to send.”
“Not to me. Not to my children.” She took a deep breath. “Xav, something very weird happened while you were gone.”
“Weird sounds like fun.” He looked at Ash. “Are you going to tell me, or is this one of those secret Callahan things?”
“I went into the attic.”
He grinned. “Couldn’t resist, could you? That magic wedding dress really has you thinking about walking down the aisle.”
“This is important, and no laughing matter.”
“Sorry.” He arranged his face into something more serious. “Tell me.”
“I was going to take a peek, just a small one.”
“Which is the definition of a peek instead of a look, but go ahead.”
She glared. “It burned up.”
“What burned up, babe?”
“The magic wedding dress caught on fire, burned to a crisp and disappeared.”
That would indeed be serious. But impossible. He studied Ash’s frantic face, thinking that if the gown had caught on fire, wouldn’t the house have burned down? The attic was wood-floored, wood-framed, so there was more to the story. He pulled her to him. “It’s okay. I think.” All he knew was that he needed to comfort Ash. He was out of his depth when it came to wedding gowns, and if they were of the disappearing variety, he was even more lost. “I just know that you’ll be beautiful when I get you down the aisle.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think I’m meant to get married.”
“That’s quite a leap, gorgeous. Just because a dress goes up in flames doesn’t mean I’m not marrying you.”
“I’m the hunted one.”
“Yeah, by me.” Xav kissed her. “I’ve hunted you for years. So you can reassure yourself about that.”
“You didn’t hunt me. I hunted you.”
He laughed. “We just had different ways of going about it. But I have an offer for you that will put all your fears at rest.”
“I’m listening.”
“We drive tonight to Las Vegas and get married, like other members of your family did. You don’t need a magic wedding dress, because as far as I’m concerned, you’ll be magic no matter what you wear. And if whatever you happen to be wearing bursts into flame and disappears, I’ll be the happiest man on the planet.”
“With a nude bride.”
“I don’t have a problem with that.”
She shook her head. “That’s so typical of a man.”
“What have we got to lose? Sounds like a heck of an adventure to me.”
It was good to see her smile. He knew she was upset about Fiona’s enchanted gown, but things happened around Rancho Diablo. One couldn’t get too knotted up about it. “So, what do you say we drive up there? Pretty short drive, if you think about it. We can be back in the morning.” He kissed the top of her nose. “I’m pretty sure that’s all you’re missing to be perfect.”
“A Mrs. in front of my name?”
“That, and a wedding ring. I can tell by the sparkle in your eyes that you’re tempted. And I have a pretty decent sapphire ring I bought you, if you remember.”
“It’s a beautiful ring.”
“So I have you right where I want you?” Xav asked, grinning. “I can tell I do. You might as well fall graciously.”
She leaned up to kiss him, which he really appreciated. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her up against his chest, knowing that here was happiness. Here was home.
“If my dress disappears, I expect you naked, too.”
“Shared commiseration,” Xav said. “I can go with that. Nude is good. And I will always support you, babe, nude or not, but hopefully nude as often as possible.”
“It’s a deal,” Ash said. “I’m falling as graciously as I know how.”
“That’s all I can ask for.” Xav smiled, glad Ash wasn’t worrying anymore about carrying the Callahan curse. The notion was silly.
And there was no such thing as disappearing magic wedding gowns—whatever had happened in Fiona’s attic no one would ever truly know.
There were also no such things as family curses. If anybody’s family had reason to have a curse, it would have been the Gil Phillips clan.
He had too much of his old man in him to worry about things that went bump in the night and half-baked fairy tales.
* * *
DANTE GLARED AT XAV when he found him in the kitchen swiping some cookies. “What’s going on?”
“I’m grabbing some gingerbread and cookies. About to romance my lady.”
Dante eyed the small piece of luggage by the kitchen door. “What’s that?”
“Ash and I are heading off for the night.”
“So I hear. I hear a lot,” Dante said. “I heard you went to see Wolf and laid him out.”
“Hardly a tap. He didn’t take it too personally.” Xav loaded a few more cookies into the bag just for safekeeping. A full bride was a happy bride—he hoped.
Dante sighed. “You can’t leave.”
“I have to go. Ash and I have to go.” Xav glanced up. “Fiona and Burke are watching the babies.” He grinned, proud of himself. “Have to strike while the bride’s hot.”
“We can’t afford to be shorthanded tonight,” Dante said. “We’re calling a meeting. Join us in the library.”
Xav hesitated, caught by the unusual invitation to a family meeting. “What’s going on?”
“A small fire was set in one of the empty barns. It’s just a warning shot, but we’re playing it cautious.”
Ash would never leave if something was going down at Rancho Diablo. Xav began to feel the romantic getaway disappearing like the magic wedding gown. “I understand.”
“Come up and help us set a game plan.”
Xav slowly nodded. “Let me tell Ash. I’ll be right there.” He couldn’t let her continue to pack and get ready for a wedding when there wasn’t going to be one tonight.
“She already knows. She’s upstairs. She said to tell you to hurry up.”
“Blast,” Xav muttered.
“Bring those cookies with you. Put them on a tray,” Dante said, grabbing one and helping Xav shovel the cookies from the bag onto a plate. “No paws in bags, Fiona says. Everything has to be served properly.”
Xav didn’t say anything.
“It’s okay, bro. You’ll get to marry my sister eventually.”
“Thanks.”
Dante laughed. “They say the best things in life are worth waiting for.”
“Again, thanks.”
Dante thought that was uproarious and went upstairs, Xav following behind with the cookies.
All the Callahans were in the library. Ash came to kiss him and take the tray from him. “Sorry. I just heard what happened, too.”
“I think you’re relieved not to be marrying me tonight,” Xav grumbled.
“Handsome, I’ve waited for you long enough that I figure one more night isn’t going to make much of a difference.”
“It makes a helluva difference to me,” he said, not caring who heard him grouse.
“Does my heart good to hear how crazy you are about our sister,” Tighe said.
“Yes,” Sloan said. “Now can we get down to business, or are we going to focus on roasting Xav?”
“I can go either way,” Falcon said, “but I vote we get down to business.”
“The fire in the barn was started in some hay boxes,” Galen said. “It happened about two hours ago. One of the hands happened to walk in there and saw it, shouted for help. They used horse-stall hoses and buckets to put it out. It’s pretty gutted, but it could have been worse.”
“Wolf,” Jace said.
“I don’t think it could have been.” Xav glanced at Ash. “I was just over there having a chat with him. He’d have to have practically been on my heels to get here and start it.” He considered the situation. “Wolf seems to have been cut loose from the pack. I’m pretty much guessing and going on a hunch, but I believe he’s on his own.”
“A lone wolf is a dangerous animal,” Tighe said, echoing Xav’s earlier thought.
“We don’t know anything,” Ash pointed out. “If a fire was set by a mercenary who’s not working with Wolf, we could be in a more difficult situation than ever. We don’t have the resources to fight off several attacks.”
They pondered that.
“Oh, hell,” Galen said. “Let’s just kidnap Uncle Wolf, tie him to a rock and leave him in one of his caves to rot.”
They all stared at Galen.
“You’re a doctor,” Ash said. “This is contrary to your calling. You’re tired. We’re all tired. Let’s give up on this for now and plan our strategy tomorrow.”
“Seconded,” Sloan said. “Which means we can concentrate on the fact that Xav is trying to slink out of town with our sister.”
Xav’s jaw dropped. “Slink! She’s the mother of my children! I think I can do a little more than slink with her.”
“Think you already did,” Jace said, “and we consider that sufficient. Heaven knows we’ve all had our little surprises, but this is our sister.” He shot Xav a meaningful look. “We feel you can do better by her than an Elvis wedding.”
“Some of the people in this room were married in Vegas, I feel it’s only fair to point out, and durn happy they were to get married anywhere at all,” Xav said in his defense. “We could do it better later. But I feel it’s important now to get her to an altar.” He looked around at the men who would be his brothers-in-law. “You should be grateful to me, after all. In the olden days, you’d be getting me to the altar with a shotgun.”
Ash said, “Excuse me?”
Xav quickly said, “Speaking strictly in a historical sense.”
“The thing is, Fiona will be disappointed. This is her only niece,” Falcon said. “You understand that Ash’s wedding will be the only Callahan female wedding Fiona will ever get to preside over.”
“Yes, I see,” Xav said, “but we’ve already got four children. It’s time for me to get your sister married.”
“We understand you’re eager,” Dante said, slinging an arm around his shoulders in a brotherly fashion, “but we’re just not ready yet. We want things done right.”
“Once again, excuse me?” Ash said. “Am I really standing right here listening to all of you try to run my life?”
“Yes, you are,” Tighe said, “and it’s important that you listen to us. We’re your brothers. We know what’s best.”
“No, no,” Ash said. “I’ve been taking care of all of you for years. I don’t need anybody taking care of me.”
“That’s the thing,” Galen said. “There’s no reason to get married in a quickie, half-assed wedding if you’re sure this is your prince.” He came over to hug his sister. “If you love Xav, and he loves you, there’s no reason to rush. We have time to allow Fiona to plan a beautiful wedding for you. Get out the magic wedding dress and have your special day. You deserve it, Ash.”
“I don’t want to wear the magic wedding dress,” Ash said, and everyone gasped, including Xav.
What Callahan bride didn’t want to wear the auspicious, enchanted gown? He knew for a fact Ash had been up there at least twice to check it out. And she’d told him that wild tale of it going up in smoke, but that was utterly impossible. Just like the barn, if the dress had caught fire, the whole attic would have gone up.
Maybe she didn’t want to marry him. Hell, it hadn’t even been that good of a story she’d concocted.
He pushed the doubt away.
“Fiona’s heart will break if you don’t wear her charmed dress,” Jace said. “You know how she dotes on her own legend. And she’s kind of getting up there in years, had a small cardiac event when I was trying to drag Sawyer into hiding. Of course, it all worked out for the best, but you don’t want to deprive the aunt of her only niece walking down the aisle in serious Callahan magic.”
“Ash, you always wanted to wear it. Has he told you that you shouldn’t?” Sloan demanded, staring at Xav. “This quickie wedding business is for the birds. You stay right here and do the whole thing right.”
“I’m not wearing the dress,” Ash said.
Xav replied, “If she doesn’t want to, it’s her decision.”
That earned him a grateful glance from Ash. Xav felt better. It was hard standing in the face of disapproval from her family, but if she didn’t want to wear the gown, it made no difference to him. He had her back.
But of course she should wear it because it would be beautiful on her, and she was the most beautiful woman in the world, so she deserved beautiful things.
He looked at Ash, saw the unhappiness in her big blue eyes and realized her ham-headed brothers were right about one thing: they were moving too fast, needed to slow down.
“It wouldn’t hurt to let Fiona do some wedding planning,” he said slowly. “You’ve been through a lot, Ash. I want you to look back on your wedding day as a special day, the day all your dreams came true.”
“That’s a pretty tall order, isn’t it?” Dante said, and the Callahan brothers roared with laughter at his expense.
Xav sighed. “What do you not get? I am marrying your sister. It can be here, or it can be in Vegas. It can be in Timbuktu, I don’t care. But I’m marrying her as soon as she’ll have me.”
“There you go,” Sloan said cheerfully. “All roped and tied, sister, ready for you to put out of his misery.”
Ash looked at him, and Xav met her gaze with a grin.
He felt very confident that he was wooing Ash the way a woman should be wooed, was stocking up all kinds of points by putting her brothers in their places.
Ash walked to the door. Xav straightened, waiting for her pronouncement that they were leaving for Vegas.
“I’m going to bed,” Ash said. “I leave all the conjuring of baddies and staking out of Uncle Wolf to all of you with full confidence that nothing will get done up here at all except the release of lots and lots of hot air.”