Shephard (Mountain Men of Danger Falls #1)

Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

S hephard

I glanced at the diver’s watch I always wore, grimacing at the time. It was late, but I couldn’t blame the drive as the rain had stopped sometime in the middle of the night.

Idling at the end of the rocky driveway wasn’t my style like everything else that had occurred over the last twenty-four hours. I’d fucked a stranger. Well, that had been my style, but not for a long time. I’d climbed into bed with her, but had left maybe thirty minutes later. We weren’t involved in some wayward love affair. We’d just had sex.

Damn good sex. I could give it that, but I hadn’t learned her name and she hadn’t asked mine. That was the way I liked it.

But sitting at the base of the long driveway irked the piss out of me. I needed and wanted to get this mandatory family meeting over with so I could return to my life.

Such as it was.

With no idea of the next turn in the imaginary road I was taking, I’d been sitting in my tiny apartment fuming at the way my entire life had gone. Odd jobs here and there. I had enough in my bank accounts I didn’t need to work for the rest of my life. I’d debated purchasing a boat and sailing the world. That way I could be very much alone. I was such a sad sack of shit. Sighing, I let go of the brake, heading up the driveway.

The Fox family was a strange bunch. I’d come to admit I blamed my father for our lack of closeness. He’d been a tough man to grow up with, his expectations often harsh and unobtainable. The three kids had turned out exactly the way he’d wanted.

Walking, talking carbon copies of himself. His military career had been stellar, accolades coming out of the ass. But he’d never accepted civilian life meant letting your guard down. He’d also parlayed his weaponry skills into taking security jobs, protecting various celebrities and politicians.

That’s all I’d been allowed to know. Now he never talked about his past. When I’d been little, he’d been absent for weeks, even months at a time. Our mother was a freaking saint. Somehow, we’d ended our city folk life, my parents moving us across the country to the mountains. I’d hated every minute of it, at least at first.

Years later, my parents had sold their ranch for a pittance after the bank had almost foreclosed. Somehow, and my brothers and I had never been allowed to ask questions, they’d managed not only to purchase a very nice large A-frame mountain cabin, but also the resort almost eight years before. I hadn’t been interested in hearing the stories about the needed renovations and I certainly hadn’t asked how they’d managed to get the money.

I could only assume with my father’s suave personality that he’d managed to convince investors to go in with him. From what I’d heard from Jagger on the terse phone call we’d had in that length of time, they’d done damn well turning the resort into a destination spot.

It had supposedly boosted the town’s revenue, spirits, and the number of tourists who came every year. That was the extent of my knowledge. Today, I didn’t care more than I had then. And I certainly wasn’t in the mood to see my two brothers. We simply didn’t get along. There was no fancy way of putting it.

Jagger’s call the night before had reminded me of that.

However, my father and mother had both been insistent. I’d finally listened to the voicemail from Pops after Jagger had left a message now almost a week before. Whatever was going on didn’t matter in my life. I could take an hour and leave.

The others had already arrived as was to be expected, likely grousing that I was late. As usual. That’s what my father would say. I could bank on it.

What I hadn’t really thought about was that my two brothers had taken similar jobs to the one I had after leaving their military positions. We hadn’t commiserated on the similarities. I’d had their positions, while also shrouded in secrecy, tossed in my face by my handler when I’d tried to refuse a single job. He’d offered to use one of them, paying them more than they were getting paid.

Maybe that’s why I had such animosity toward my brothers. I honestly didn’t know and hadn’t cared enough to think about it.

The other aspect of this meeting was that Dad thought his sons, once highly respected and decorated military men had turned into bums. Because of my past and the choices I’d made, I could never talk about my experiences. I suspected the same for my two brothers. We’d made up shit, lives that mostly didn’t exist.

Even the ugly truth that not one of us had found any kind of happily ever after was also similar. Our required deception wouldn’t make for a festive family gathering.

I took a deep breath and climbed out of my truck, running my fingers through my unruly beard. I hadn’t bothered shaving in the last… few months. Why start now? My rugged appearance certainly hadn’t bothered the sexy woman in the least. I didn’t bother knocking, although I almost did. My mother had insisted this was our home too any time we wanted to visit. We’d been out of any house they owned and their care for almost fifteen years. Why would we go back?

How could we ever learn to become a family?

As I walked inside, I was struck by how beautiful the interior was. It was a typical A-frame with large windows allowing for maximum light. With high ceilings and wooden beams, and the Shenandoah Mountains in the background, the place could be considered picture perfect. Although I’d always wondered why Pops hadn’t fought harder to keep the place in Montana.

He’d had his reasons.

Not that I’d asked that either.

I heard voices and sucked in my breath. Might as well get this over with.

The family-style room took up a good portion of the back of the house. With the floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, two sets of couches and chairs, and a bar on one end, the room could be used for large parties. I was in the room by two feet before my father noticed me first.

“Well. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming. Late as usual,” he said gruffly.

“Dexter!” my mother hissed. “You will not do this today. We are a family. You will remember that. Or else.”

My mother did have a way of shutting all four of us down. I walked closer, eyeing my two brothers. They didn’t have a pleasant look on their faces either. While I might not know about what was happening in either Jagger’s or Hunter’s lives, I knew enough to realize they hated the family meetings as much as I did.

Was it too early in the day to start drinking?

Even I wasn’t that addicted to getting away from my life. I had to drive home.

“Hello, Mom. Good to see you. Yep. Late as always, Pops. Big construction project that needed my attention.” I might as well perpetuate the lie. “Why don’t we just get this meeting started?” I wasn’t a big talker and I also didn’t mince words. Not in this family.

“There goes our brother again,” Jagger said through clenched teeth. Hunter was just staring at me and I never knew whether it was out of jealousy or hatred. “Mr. Know-it-All.”

Jagger had a boulder on his shoulder much like I did. We were far too similar in appearances and how we handled difficulties. I could tell he was as hollow inside as I was.

I almost wished we could be close. But we’d never been a Hallmark kind of family. Yeah, the frontal lobe of my brain said it was because our father had been tough on us. Not normal tough either. Not take away privileges if we fucked up, but brutal. I just didn’t know.

My father laughed bitterly. He and I definitely didn’t get along and never had. There wasn’t a singular underlying reason that I could think of, but it had been going on for so long that maybe I’d just blanked out the memories.

“Stop it,” my mother begged and her voice was different than the last time I’d heard it. Did she have tears in her eyes? “This is important. I know you all don’t want to be here and that saddens me as I miss you. All of you. You have busy lives, but so do we. You never call. You never asked if you could help with the resort. You have no idea how many hours we spent on this place and on the hotel itself. We worked hours. Nights. Weekends. You didn’t give a shit. Well, you will listen now. Damn it. I don’t ask anything of the four of you because you act as if anything I request isn’t important. This is.”

Her words and sadness echoed even with the high ceiling. Our mother had endured our tantrums and hatred through the years, doing everything she could to pull the family together. Every holiday. Every birthday.

We’d ignored it.

“She’s right,” I said. I wasn’t trying to make peace for him, but our mother was an angel. “We owe it to both of them.”

At least that seemed to appease her, but she was still wringing her hands.

“They don’t give a shit, Sally,” Pops said gruffly.

“Don’t you do this. No. I will not allow you to ruin this. Just talk. They are your sons. Goddamn it.” She turned away, obviously even more upset.

More so than I’d seen her.

I glanced at my brothers, both with concerned looks on their faces.

“Go on, Pops,” Hunter said. At least he didn’t have contention in his voice. He was the happier one, the kid who had always smiled. Today was the first time I realized how much he’d changed. What surprised me the most was the darkness in his eyes. I’d never seen it before.

My father appeared more uncomfortable than I’d seen him in a long time. Like me, he’d never been a big talker, but he was having a rough time.

“Dexter,” my mother encouraged.

“Here’s the bottom line, boys. I’m offering the three of you the resort or I’m going to sell. If I sell, you won’t get a dime of the proceeds. It’s as simple as that. If you accept my offer, your obligation will be for one year. One year from signing the contract I had my attorney prepare on the off chance you’d care about accepting your legacy.”

My mother sighed.

The three of us didn’t catch on to the severity of what he was saying for a few seconds. Jagger laughed first.

One year. That was more like a prison term.

“How could there be any profit anyway, Dad?” he asked. “Going bankrupt again from your bad business handlings?”

I gave him a harsh look, shaking my head. There was more to this. I felt it. “Why don’t you allow our father to explain his rather interesting demand.” And that’s what it sounded like. Why would I want to leave my life to come run a resort with two men I couldn’t tolerate?

“We are making money. Your father doesn’t want to brag, which is why I brought the full set of financials and before one of you dare says the books have been doctored, we’ve had an audit every single year. Every year. We are worth millions and our business is only growing. We want you kids to have something in your lives, something tangible.”

She was holding out the folder and Hunter was the one to take it.

I felt our combined shock in the air. Was she serious?

“She’s right. You can do something honorable for a fucking change in your lives. All three of you left respected jobs to become what?” Father was on a roll. “A construction worker,” he snarled, glaring at me. “A fucking shoddy business in commercial contracting,” he told Jagger. “And you,” he hissed at Hunter. “You’ve had more sales jobs than anyone I’ve ever known. Cars. Campers. Insurance. What’s next, Avon?”

“Stop it,” Mother begged.

“That’s it,” Jagger hissed. “I’m leaving.”

“Stop,” Hunter hissed while handing him the folder. When Jagger’s eyes opened wide, my curiosity was piqued. “Just stop. All of you. We finish this damn discussion. Period.”

The shock was instant. While I’d need to go through the financials for longer than a few seconds, if what I was reading was correct, what they’d done with the resort was nothing short of miraculous. I glanced from Pops to my mother, trying to weed through his bullshit. What wasn’t he telling us?

“I don’t understand. Are you retiring? Is that it?”

My question seemed to fall onto deaf ears at first, but I noticed the look my mother and father gave to each other. I was right. There was more to this.

“We do want to take some time. Traveling. You know?” The forlorn look in my mother’s eyes was concerning.

“Okay, why do you think any one of us let alone all three would want to run this resort?” Hunter was calmer, which was good at this point.

My father’s face was red, but not necessarily from anger.

“We thought Shephard could run the resort, Jagger could handle the accounting and office management. And Hunter, since you’re good with sales, you could handle the winery and the restaurant. Perfectly matched to your skills.” My mother was now practically beaming.

And hopeful.

It was obvious all three of us were shocked. We even glanced at each other, not one of us certain how to respond. It would never work, but giving away our share of millions of dollars was… What the hell was I thinking? I couldn’t give a shit about money.

“You see, Sally. They’re worthless just like I told you they were,” Pops huffed.

“Goddamn it,” Jagger snarled. “Same old shit. I am leaving this time. Have a nice sale.”

“Goddamn it,” Hunter called after him. “Don’t run out like this.”

“Let him go,” I told him. “We can’t do this anyway. Pops is right. We are worthless.” Now I was laughing.

“No!” My mother never yelled. Not really. She was kind and gentle, caring and nurturing. But right now, she was furious with all of us. But she was also terrified. “You don’t understand. Your father has terminal cancer and was given less than six months to live.”

The news wasn’t anything that I’d expected. At all.

I honestly wasn’t certain how to react either. I’d never been considered a warm person under any circumstances.

The three of us were all military trained, each in different branches. All three of us had followed a mercenary path after leaving our operations. And all three of us were damaged souls. I wasn’t entirely certain we would be good with people at this point. We’d spent so much of our lives behind enemy lines or entirely on our own to complete our missions.

That was the likeness we shared.

I walked closer, pulling our sobbing mother into my arms. “I’m sorry, Mom. I wish I’d known.” I was staring at Jagger who at least had stopped and turned around.

As both of my brothers finally returned, all I could do was sigh.

“Are you certain?” Hunter asked.

“Yes,” Pops finally said while gritting his teeth. “I’ve been nothing but a pincushion for weeks. There’s nothing they can do. I bet you’re glad.” He laughed and walked to his bar.

I noticed he was making four drinks. Not five.

As usual.

I had no right being angry, but it was impossible after all the history not to feel that way. “When do we need to decide?”

“Today. Before you leave.” Pops was very clear in his demands. He wasn’t the kind of man to give anyone an edge.

Or time for that matter.

What I gathered from the conversation was more about reading between the lines. Pops had never been emotional while we were growing up. He rarely showed any feelings other than anger or disappointment. But I noticed the haunted look in his eyes. Perhaps for the first time that I could remember, he was afraid.

I wouldn’t normally give a shit, our last meeting was one of the worst I’d had in my entire adult life, but I felt more than a twinge of compassion. I hadn’t even known I had any left. When you killed as many people as I had, you were forced to lose any feeling at all, or you couldn’t survive.

The big brother. The one the other two were supposed to be able to look up to. I hadn’t been that man for a long time. I’d never believed I owed anything to my family, even though I adored my mother, but at least I could start a conversation amongst men. What we decided was something else. I couldn’t control my brothers, nor did I want to.

And the thought of living in close proximity wasn’t palatable by any means.

“So we talk. That doesn’t mean shit,” I told the entire group.

How sad. My mother looked at me in an eternally grateful way when a huge percentage of the man inside was still ready to walk away.

What a fucked-up family we were.

“First, I need that goddamn drink.”

Jagger had always been the most dramatic of the three of us, even if Hunter was considered a showman. I was the asshole. I liked it that way.

“Yeah, me too,” Hunter told him.

I eyed my father who glared at me with the same mixture of hatred and some emotion I’d never determined as the last time we’d been in the same room. Only then did I head outside. Maybe I’d been placing my thick line in the sand.

Pops left them on the bar, taking his and moving to the opposite side of the room.

The deck was as breathtaking as everything else in and on the house, the wraparound effect seeming as if it was floating in air. The mountains were right there, in your face, majestic masterpieces of Mother Nature. All snowcapped and ready for an adventure. It was strange to see that in Virginia, but it was late October and there’d been an odd blast of cold weather hitting the western part of the state. Another effect of global warming, no doubt.

But I bet it was good for the tourist trade.

Hunter flanked my side even though he kept his distance. We remained quiet, just breathing in the clean air.

I could tell he was the most troubled of the three of us, which fit his personality. “Do you think Dad is really dying?”

The fact I laughed after the question was asked showed how crass I’d become. “I don’t know what to tell you other than Mom is devastated. My guess is he did his best to keep his condition a secret.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Pops always pretended he was Superman.” He laughed bitterly.

“More like pick a villain in a movie.”

“You always hated him.”

“Yeah?” I hissed. “I had my reasons.” And I did. The worst punishments and strict guidelines were placed on the oldest son. Maybe that’s why I was such a jerk and unemotional about everything. I’d learned whining or crying only resulted in a belt being used. Fuck that.

“Jagger and I know you did. We never talked about it, but we knew.”

It was strange to hear him admit that. I didn’t bother looking at him. I could hear the guilt in his voice.

“What kind of shit did Pops drop us into?” Jagger’s voice still had the usual edge. He shoved drinks in our hands then moved to the furthest section of the deck possible without going around the corner.

“The real deal,” I managed.

“Or a big hoax,” Jagger said, laughing good naturedly.

“The two of you are real assholes,” Hunter barked. “Dad is dying and asked for our help. And in case you don’t remember, asking for anyone’s help to do anything isn’t his forte.”

“Nor ours.” My grumble was just as harsh as Jagger’s banter.

All three of us sighed, being reflective to whatever degree our personalities demanded.

“What if we took his offer?” Hunter’s voice was sheepish.

Jagger’s laugh was almost maniacal. “And live in this rathole?”

I was certain Hunter was going to punch him out. He took four long strides toward Jagger, pulling back his non-dominant arm. Although the guy could be ambidextrous if he wanted to be. He’d also been a boxer.

Jagger bristled.

Now I laughed. “Cut the crap, both of you. This has to be discussed like adults and like potential business partners. If we decide it’s a no-go, then we don’t have a single right to complain about the sale or not getting a dime.”

“Old bastard. That’s what he’d prefer. Then he could go to his grave with every miserable penny.”

Maybe I’d never realized how bitter Jagger was.

Hunter was shaking his head. “You’re right. The thought of living near either one of you makes my skin crawl. You’re losers.”

“Oh, and what? You’ve been doing so well since you botched that last assignment, allowing all those innocent people to be killed?” Jagger threw at him. It was obvious they’d compared notes, breaking protocol.

Now I’d had enough with Jagger. I was the one in his face, fisting his shirt and dragging him onto the toes of his boots. “Listen to me. Hunter was following orders just like both of us have done. He didn’t fuck it up. His superiors did. So shut up unless you want my fist down your throat. Got it?”

Jagger wasn’t used to my outburst. I hadn’t been this emotional in a long time. What did that say about me and the situation? I wasn’t certain I wanted to find out.

“Okay,” Jagger conceded. “Have it your fucking way.”

Always the hard-ass.

Hunter paced the deck. “How did the resort become so successful?”

“Because a whole bunch of years passed when we weren’t looking.” I glanced from one to the other. It was the truth.

“So what are you suggesting, oh, big brother?” Jagger was just as angry and defiant as always.

I had no clue what I was suggesting. I couldn’t stomach the thought of being forced to work in a situation where I’d need to interact with people. However, I also didn’t savor the concept of the place going to some unknown purchaser, maybe dismantled. “Jobs were saved. Others were created.”

“You care?” Hunter seemed surprised.

“Shit, I don’t know. What I do know is the resort is doing well. Lots of money to be made.”

Jagger shook his head. “So we take it for a year and run with the money.”

“Something like that.”

Callous and cold, but at least it would get us off the hook.

Hunter stopped pacing and moved closer. “Look. Pops is an asshole, but he’s right. I have my third dead-end job of the year and I’m not proud of selling used cars to people who couldn’t care less. I just… I’ve wanted to find passion again, but I just… can’t.”

“You wanted to free yourself of guilt,” Jagger challenged.

“Enough. Both of you. This is important to our mother. I couldn’t care less about what Pops wants, but I do care about her. She’s suffering like she has her entire life.”

“True.” Hunter was half whispering. “I can handle a year. After that, who the fuck knows.”

“Or cares.” Jagger took a huge gulp of his drink.

“We do this together or it’s not going to work,” I told them. “Decide.”

The quiet between us was just as tense as always. “Fine,” Hunter said with more conviction.

I nodded, turning my attention to Jagger. The wild card. I wanted to hate him, but I’d always admired the man. He never seemed to let the kills, the high numbers of lives lost bother him. I envied that. It had become tough to close my eyes without seeing their faces.

What did that say about a tough Marine with a penchant for killing?

“I’ll do it, but I won’t be happy about it.” With that, Jagger stormed toward the house.

Maybe this was the wrong decision, but what did we really have to lose?