Rough Road Home (The Circle D series) (25 page)

“Rachel,” Maddie answered in a low voice. “Where are you?”

“I’m in Hawk Ridge, Colorado.” Rachel glanced out the window. Snow swirled around the panes of glass creating beautiful etchings in the corner panes. “Snowed in at the moment.”

“You said you were going to be in the office Friday morning.” Impatience rang through the hushed voice. “Here. . .in Denver, Rachel. Here, in the office.”

“I know I did, but something came up.” Mesmerized by the snow, Rachel answered mechanically. “Look, I’m only five hours away. As soon as the storm lifts, I’ll drive back.”

“Rachel, you should’ve called Tom Everitt or somebody to let them know you were going to be late. Again.”

“I did.” Rachel snapped out of her peaceful fog. Exasperation elevated her blood pressure. “I left messages with Tom all weekend long. He never returned my calls.”

“He expected you in the office by noon on Friday, Rachel.” Maddie lowered her voice even more. “I’m not supposed to be talking to you. I’m suppose to transfer you to HR for position reassignment.”

This wasn’t like Maddie. Her assistant didn’t play games well. “Why?”

A stilted silence marred by phone connection static stretched into moments. “You’re no longer a senior broker with the firm. Your clients have been transferred to Jim Allen. Permanently.”

Permanently? She couldn’t have heard right. Years of building her client base gone, just like that. No way, it couldn’t be true. Rachel groped for reason. “It’s not permanent, Maddie. Tom’s just mad that I didn’t get back on time. I’ll explain it all and apologize. We’ll work it out.”

“Rachel.” Maddie no longer clung to the illusion of a covert conversation. “The memo came out ten minutes after noon on Friday. Tom gave you the morning, just like you asked, and when you didn’t show. . ..”

“We’re talking a few hours here, Maddie!”

“I know, I’m sorry.” A deep breath carried over the connection. “I’m now Jim Allen’s assistant.”

“Look, let me talk to Tom.” Rachel didn’t know what she’d say to her CEO, but she had to say something. “We’ll get this worked out right now.”

“Good luck, Rachel,” defeat evident in her voice. “I’ll transfer you.”

Rachel chewed on her thumbnail, a habit she’d overcome years earlier. Corporate scenarios raced through her frazzled mind. In each one, she imagined herself apologizing to Tom Everitt, only to have Tom congratulating Jim Allen on his wonderful accomplishments. The line clicked as the transfer went through.

“Hi, Tom. It’s me Rach--”

“Hello, this is Thomas Everitt. I’m sorry I missed your call. . ..”

Rachel glared at her phone and pressed END to cut off the recording. There had to be some mistake. Her stomach knotted into a big ice ball. Gone. Lost. Over. Years of work gone in a heartbeat? How could this have happened? Rachel reached for her headset, then remembered she’d left it in the truck.

Lord, how could this happen?

Rachel looked around the room, finding no solace in the quaint decor. Sheets of ice flakes rained against the window reminding her that the hostility gauge at the moment had nothing to do with the weather. She rubbed her arms, more to regain a sensation of reality than warmth. She’d kept Tom Everitt informed of her every move since Monday. She’d been delayed. Delays happen all the time. Nothing so heinous to warrant wiping a person’s career out from under them. Especially, Rachel rationalized, since Tom had insisted she take this time off to repair her flaws and come back a better person.

Her humorless laugh in the quiet room startled her. No, someone had their facts mixed up. She looked around the room at her meager belongings, thankful she didn’t have much to pack. Surely she could borrow a truck --

Footsteps pounded down the hallway stopping at her door as a fist pounded on her door.

“Rachel?” Zac’s voice boomed through the closed door. “Melanie’s in labor. We’ve got to go.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Rachel followed Zac through the house. As they crossed the living room, voices sounded from every direction. The cheery kitchen she’d come to enjoy now rang with tension.

Jennifer stood beside the refrigerator, tangling the phone cord around her fingers as she argued with someone on the other end. Zac stepped up beside her, absorbing the conversation, appearing ready to spring into action.

Grace sat on the leather ottoman in front of Melanie, her fingers rubbing Melanie’s swollen feet. Jason slid on the cushion beside her. “Mom,” his voice trailed as his young hand hung in the air, uncertain over touching her.

Melanie gave him a tight smile as she ruffled his blond hair. “The last time I felt like this, the nurse told me to relax and the next thing I knew, I was holding you in my arms.”

His brows shot up. “We have Jen. She’s a nurse.”

“Jen should probably wait until we get to the hospital before she tells me to relax.” Deep lines bracketed her mouth. Melanie pointed across the room. “See? She’s telling the hospital to get ready. Now, do you suppose you can get a glass of water for me?”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the boy shot off for the kitchen. Melanie scrunched up her face and let out a hiss sounding like the rocker atop a pressure cooker. After taking a couple of quick breaths, she swallowed and glanced toward the kitchen. “Good thing Jason took off,” she said, her hand inching up to rub her belly. “I didn’t know if I could hold back that contraction any longer. I don’t think a ten-year-old boy needs all the details of labor.”

“Men need as few details as possible unless it’s their prize cow delivering breech.” Grace moved her thumbs into the ball of Melanie’s foot earning her a grateful moan.

As Grace’s capable hands worked distracting the anxious mom, Rachel groped for something useful to do. Helplessness engulfed her on so many levels, she didn’t know which way to turn. Nothing about today had gone right.

She stepped past Grace and took the spot recently vacated by Jason as Melanie hissed through another contraction. She grabbed Melanie’s hand and began to rub. “Everything will be fine.”

Melanie seemed to deflate after the contraction. She peeked at Rachel, her hand flexing against the soothing rub. “That feels good. Thanks, Rachel. Glad Nick brought you home with him. You’re good for him, but right now, you’re way better for me.”

Rachel wanted to laugh but worried she’d melt into tears. She’d been so good for Nick that he’d just given her the brush off. “Just tell me what muscles need a good kneading.”

“The hospital is on alert for you, Mel,” Jennifer called from the kitchen as she hung up the phone. She crossed the room with Zac at her side. “Emergency is ready for you; we just have to get you to town. The helicopter is grounded.”

Jason came running up with a glass of water. “Here, Mom.”

Melanie pushed herself up until she sat straight on the couch. “Thanks, honey.” She took a drink, her eyes on Jennifer. “No biggie. I never liked flying anyway.”

Booted feet stomped into the kitchen as Martin, Gabe and Nick blew in with a gust. Not bothering to brush off his jacket, Gabe crossed over to Melanie in long strides. “Sorry, we took so long. Had a problem moving the blade and getting the chains on, but Dad gave it a good kick and there you go. We’ve got transportation.”

“Is the truck warmed up?”

Gabe grinned. “The truck is warming up and so is the Deere. Nick’s going to plow ahead of us in the tractor and we’ll follow.”

“Tractor? It doesn’t go fast enough.”

“It’ll move snow, that’s all that matters.” Gabe reached down and scooped up his wife. “We’ll be going nowhere fast if we get stuck in a drift. Hopefully, the county has the highway plowed.”

“The roads are clear and the hospital is expecting us.” Jen focused on Melanie. “My dad’s on duty. You’ll have the best care.”

“Fine.” She extended her hand to Gabe. “Let’s go before the girls get tired of waiting.”

Rachel counted nine people. Even in the Suburban, seven people including a pregnant Melanie was cutting it cozy. She didn’t want to, but would offer to stay home if needed. “Will there be enough room?”

Standing, Melanie rubbed her lower back. Gabe had his arm wrapped around her as he indicated Jason go get his mother’s bag. He offered Rachel a hand up. “You and Nick in the tractor and the rest of us will follow. Plenty of room.”

Her mouth went dry as her gaze shot to Nick in time to see his jaw clench as he shrugged out of his wet jacket. Alone? With him? The mile drive from the house to the highway loomed before her like a slow-motion free-fall. She’d made a fool of herself to him, and probably just lost her job. Now was not the time for close contact in a tractor cab. “I really don’t think—”

She didn’t have time to finish her protest before Grace ushered her toward the kitchen where Martin stood by the door, his arms loaded with dry jackets.

“This snow is so heavy, it doesn’t take long for everything to get soaked. We want the Suburban good and warm before we move Melanie, so go ahead and start plowing.” Grace held open a down jacket for Rachel to slip into. “Not to worry. Nick’s been driving the old Deere since he was big enough to reach the pedals. You’re in good hands.”

His ability to drive the tractor no matter the weather was not the issue. Rachel grabbed her purse just as Nick grabbed her hand and pulled her through the door and into the blizzard once again.

* * *

The rumble of the diesel engine filled the cab as Nick shift gear into low and plowed along the drifted road. The trees served as markers, but even then, he clipped a rock from time to time. Rachel sat beside him, her lips pressed together creating a tight seam. He hadn’t wanted to leave things the way they had in the barn. He did have feelings for her and for once in his life, he wanted an adult conversation about them.

“Are you okay?”

“Sure.”

That didn’t get him anywhere. He wished they were back at the house sitting in front of the fire and hashing things out instead of plowing a path so his very pregnant sister-in-law could get to the hospital. He shook his head. Melanie wasn’t his problem; Rachel was. “Rachel,” he coaxed. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

She sat silent a moment longer. “Just a misunderstanding at work.”

“A misunderstanding?”

He heard the slightest sniff before she drew a ragged breath. “To some people, I guess.”

“And to you?”

Cheek propped on her knuckles, she turned toward the window, her breath causing a cloud of fog on the glass as the tractor rumbled along. “Stop being so nice. I don’t like you this way.”

“What way? Rachel, we’ve traveled lots of miles together. We’re at least friends by now, aren’t we? Wouldn’t you tell a friend and let them commiserate with you?”

The blade scraped snow to the side of the road as flakes blew all around them creating an intimate bubble in the middle of a storm. Coupled with the chug of the diesel engine, the sway of the cab lulled an odd sense of calm. . .until Rachel swung around, the slight tremor he’d detected earlier now morphed into ragged sobs.

“I’ve lost it all. . .hours of work. . .years of my life. . .gone.” She hiccupped and ground the heels of her palms into her eyes. “I’m just a little late getting back. . .and Jim Allen gets it all!”

The thought of this Jim-guy getting anything that belonged to Rachel kindled anger in Nick’s heart. No one took anything from someone Nick cared about. Just as soon as the thought crossed his mind, his anger stalled out with understanding. He cared. He shook his head, but the truth remained. He cared about Rachel Hill no matter how she felt about him.

He gripped the steering wheel to keep the tractor on the path. “What did Jim get, Rachel?”

She sat back as she gripped her hands together and rubbed her thumb over her knuckles. Just when he thought she wouldn’t answer, she turned revealing tear smudges down her cheeks. “He got my client base, Nick. Everything I’ve worked for has been handed to Jim Allen in the form of a set of keys to my office.” The flat of her palm slapped her armrest. “He even got my assistant.”

Emotions swarmed through his mind not the least being guilt for his role in this tragedy. He’d given her guff over her job and the stress it caused her practically the entire trip. He’d jumped at the chance to ridicule her every step of their journey, never once considering the sacrifice she’d made for him, a total stranger. Never once telling her how much he appreciated her efforts.

“Forget it, Nick. It’s no one fault but my own.” Rachel turned back to the window.

She could have - no, change that - she should have dumped him off days ago. He hated to admit it, but if she hadn’t run roughshod through his life over the past week no telling where he would have wound up. “That may have been how it started, but you went above and beyond what you needed to do.”

She shrugged.

It was time he said what needed to be said, no matter the cost. “Rachel, thank you for all you’ve done for me. You stood up to me, you bullied me, you even kidnaped me, all for my own good.”

She stopped twisting her fingers.