A Callahan Christmas Miracle

“Expediency,” Galen said. “We’re nothing if not expedient. Dark Shadows?”

She closed her door. “Seemed appropriate. You do go to the movies on occasion, don’t you?”

“No, he doesn’t go to the movies. He barely leaves this ranch. Galen is our resident nerd. Brother, it was also a black-and-white TV show many, many moons ago.” Jace waved them down the stairs. She followed, and Galen brought up the rear.

“I’m not a nerd,” he said, his deep voice husky. “I’m busy. And we didn’t have televisions in the tribe. Not back then. I missed the good days of black-and-white TV.”

“Don’t mind him,” Jace said, leading them through the kitchen. He slid all the cookies off the plate Fiona had put out and into a bag, and left the empty dish on the counter. “He’s harmless. Some of us had the opportunity to watch television shows, but Galen was always studying.”

They went out the kitchen door and headed to a truck. Rose was thrilled to be in on a Callahan caper. Their adventures were legendary; people spoke of their stories in reverent tones. Despite her father’s warnings, she wouldn’t have missed this for the world.

The brothers sandwiched her between them in the front seat, and she enjoyed the feeling of having a strong man seated on either side of her. “So what am I supposed to do?”

“We’re going to lower you into a cave,” Galen said. “We want you to tell us what’s down there.”

Bats and snakes, no doubt. “A cave?”

“Yeah. We’ve both tried, but we’re too big to get inside, with only one of us to pull the other out.” Galen winked. “We can lower you in and pull you out so fast it’ll feel like you’re on a carnival ride.”

“Pretty sure she’ll feel more like she’s a puppet,” Jace said. “With you being the puppeteer. Hope you’re a better puppeteer than you are a TV trivia expert.”

“I...” She wasn’t about to refuse, not when Galen’s blue eyes were smiling at her as if they shared a secret. He really was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

“We looked for our sister,” Jace groused, “but Ash can never be found when she’s needed.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to be put in a cave,” Rose said.

“When Ash can’t be found, it’s because she’s tracking Xav down.” Galen sighed. “Anyway, you’re thinner.”

“More petite,” Jace said, “like a boy.”

Rose gasped. “I’m nothing like a boy, thank you!”

“I didn’t mean that, exactly,” Jace said hurriedly, and Galen laughed.

“You’re beautiful,” he said. “And my brother’s a dunce. Don’t listen to a word he says. He has zero idea how to talk to a woman. Anyone on the ranch will tell you so.”

Rose felt a bit better, and her spirits lifted. Galen thought she was beautiful! That had to be a good sign—even if he did want to lower her into a dark cave on her first night at Rancho Diablo.

* * *

GALEN COULDN’T BELIEVE he’d talked the tiny blonde into a midnight adventure. His good fortune kept improving. And she felt so soft and dainty next to him. When he’d seen her in those silly happy face pajamas, his body had been hit with a lightning strike of sexual attraction. Desire, fierce and strong, had poured over him, stopping his breath.

The truck hit a rut and they all bounced. Rose flew into his side, and a breast brushed his arm, which he gallantly tried to ignore. “Whoa,” he said, “you all right?”

“I’m fine.” She smiled at him before quickly looking back out the window.

“Jace isn’t our best driver. He gets behind a steering wheel and thinks he’s at Daytona.” Galen didn’t want Rose to feel awkward about the accidental closeness they’d just shared—but his mind went right back to the tempting touch he’d just received courtesy of his brother’s terrible driving.

He was so glad Jace was driving.

“Not true,” Jace said. “In defense of myself, I’m such a good driver, I could teach driver’s education.”

Rose smiled. “I’m sure you could, Jace.”

A fire smoldered inside Galen, lit when he’d felt Rose’s breast against his arm. What he wouldn’t give to make that accidental touch the real thing. “Here’s the turn, Jace.”

He eyed the canyons, which were steeped in darkness. Somewhere out there, no doubt, their uncle Wolf’s henchmen lurked. No one knew yet how the fire had started, but according to the sheriff, the quaint, solitary farmhouse on the neighboring land had burned to the ground. Fortunately, the foreman hadn’t been home. Hadn’t lived on the property, except for weekends, after he’d sold out to Storm Cash.

“This isn’t Rancho Diablo, is it?” Rose asked.

“No,” Galen said. “This is Rancho Not.”

“Rancho Not?”

“What my ham-headed brother means,” Jace said, “is that we’re trespassing.”

Rose glanced at Galen. “Why?”

“Because we’re spying,” he said simply. “Actually, we’re not even spying. We’re gathering intel.”

“Spying,” Rose said. “You think your uncle Wolf has planted something in the cave we’re going to.”

“Not just another pretty face,” Jace said. “You see, Galen, I told you she had brains as well as beauty. You said Rose was a looker, and I said she was also a brain.”

“You were focused on my superficialities and not my intelligence?” Rose asked Galen.

“That’s about the size of it,” Jace said, happy to have him land in hot water with a huge splash. “This is the spot. Let me help you out, dollface.”

Galen glowered at his brother, who ignored his obvious discomfort with his flirting. “Dollface” took Jace’s hand, and he helped her from the truck, leaving Galen with no option except to get out and tag along behind them with a Maglite and a case of unexpected jealousy.

He had no reason to feel jealous. He barely knew Rose, and Jace was a boob of epic proportion. Rose would never be interested in his wild-eyed brother. And anyway, I have no place in my life for a girlfriend. Even one as sexy as Rose.

“Galen, tie the rope around Rose. I’ll check for snakes and bats, one last time.”

She let out an involuntary squeal. Galen grinned as he wrapped the rope around her tiny waist. “Don’t listen to him. He just likes to hear you squeak.”

“Well, I will, and loudly if there’s anything down there with two eyes!” Rose watched with trepidation as Jace shone his own Maglite into the crevice. “How did you ever find this cave?”

“Our intel revealed that there’s a lot of activity around this location. Then we found this cave. We want to know what’s down there.” Galen pulled the rope taut, tugging her a little closer to him. She smelled good, a flowery scent that tantalized him. “I’ll be at the other end of this rope, and nothing will happen to you. If you want to come out, you just jerk it, and we’ll get you out faster than a genie out of a bottle.”

“You’d better,” Rose warned. “Or I’ll commandeer the bag of cookies and not give you a single one.”

“That’s my girl,” Jace said, “hit him where it hurts. Now down you go.”

Galen handed her a flashlight, then stepped close to the edge of the cave opening, shining his own light so they could see as she was lowered down.

“What exactly am I looking for?” she asked, glancing up.