Page 35 of Cruise

“Stopping the truck,” he warned her. He didn’t want to screw up a shot because she was calculating the momentum and he changed it.

The man holding her mom underneath her arms dragged her closer to the truck. Lexi opened the truck door and sighted in. While she was doing that, Booker pulled his gun and sighted in on her brother’s head. He wasn’t going to risk injuring him to where he could still hurt Maureen. He shot at the same time he heard the report of Lexi’s gun. Lexi’s bullet hit his arm and he dropped Maureen to grab it. Booker could tell his shot had missed. Lexi fired again, and so did he. Her brother had moved, and both missed.

The other two vehicles pulled in and slid to a stop twenty feet from the truck. Her brother jumped in the vehicle and backed up to leave.

“Go. We’ve got Compass and Maureen,” Cowboy yelled.

Booker and Lexi jumped in the truck to follow her brother, with Dodge and Chance jumping in to follow. Booker sped up but then slowed down as they started over the bridge over the property. Her brother in front of them drove through the open gate. He’d worry later about how it had stayed open and not locked correctly.

Lexi was holding onto the door as they bounced over the road. He could see her brother speeding up as he got to the highway. As he pulled out onto the road, his pickup slid on the ice-covered road from his side of the road into oncoming traffic. A semi came over the small hill by the ranch entrance and tried to slow down. But with the ice and his speed, he hit the truck head-on. The pickup flipped over and over, then rolled into the ditch. Booker had slowed down when they saw the accident.

Now he sped up enough to stop in the driveway. He and Lexi got out to run toward the upside-down pickup in the ditch. He grabbed Lexi’s hand when they hit the highway because the ice was slick. He and Lexi made their way across the road, with the truck driver joining them to check the pickup. Booker didn’t even walk down into the ditch once he saw the wreck. Her brother must not have had time to put on a seatbelt because, at some point, he’d been thrown through the windshield. His neck looked broken from the accident. There was no way he’d survived.

Booker slid his arm around Lexi, “I’m sorry.”

“He came from nowhere. Suddenly he was there. I swear I didn’t see him,” the truck driver said.

Lexi turned toward him. “He was running because he shot someone and tried to abduct my mom. You couldn’t have doneanything. It’s not your fault, and we’ll make sure the highway patrol knows that.”

Booker heard sirens in the distance. It wasn’t how he’d wanted this to end. But as long as Maureen and Compass were okay, he was good with this. He only hoped Lexi didn’t have nightmares from seeing her brother like this. If so, he’d help her get through them.

Chapter Seventeen

Lexi had walked out to her RV on the pretense of checking the stock she had stored there, but really, it was to just take a breath after everything that had happened. She had closed the door behind her and left the blinds in the RV down. She sat in her favorite recliner, grabbed her favorite blanket, and wrapped it around herself.

The last three days had been a whirlwind. Her mom had only been knocked out due to a high dose of Valium. The hospital had administered the drug that mitigated the symptoms. She’d stayed overnight to be monitored. Compass had sustained a concussion from the hit he took to the back of his head. Head wounds are notorious bleeders, so the scene had looked worse than it was. He had come around as soon as Twist checked on him. He’d stayed overnight in the hospital to be monitored too. Buckles had been the inside man. Her brother had offered him a part of the profits once they were all gone. Her brother had wanted to sell the ranch. Buckles had gone on and on about how her grandfather and dad owed him for working the ranch over the years.

The only good part was when Buckles’ prints were run, ten different reports of burglaries matched with his prints. They were all in towns where Buckles had competed in rodeos. Chance hadn’t been involved and had been mortified with Buckles. Her mom had mentioned having Chance live in the house with her until they hired new ranch hands.

Everyone had come home yesterday. Lexi was happy everyone was well, and she didn’t really have any guilt over her brother’s death. He’d brought it on himself. Booker had worried that since they were chasing him that she would blame herself. She almost felt a little heartless that she didn’t feel bad. Cliff had made the decisions that led to his death. She didn’t fault anyone but him.

She had a signing coming up. She’d spent most of the last two days trying to catch up on all the social media items she’d neglected while they had searched for her brother. But now, she and Booker had to figure out how to do this. They’d talked vaguely about home being together, but she was a planner. Lexi needed the plan laid out exactly how they were both going to complete their work, what it all entailed, and when they were going to make it official.

A knock at the door had her debating if she should answer. She loved people, but she needed quiet when she had to think things through. Maybe if she ignored it, whoever it was would go away.

“Lexi, would you please open the door?” Booker said, though it was a little muffled through the door.

She stood up and walked to the door. She unlocked the door and opened it, grinning when she saw Booker. He’d sprinkled rose petals in the shape of a heart on the barn floor. He was wearing jeans, the hat from his pose on the cover, and his gauges in his ears. His chest was bare and oh, so delicious. He had a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and he was down on one knee.

She walked down the stairs of the RV and stopped in front of him.

“What is this?” she asked.

“This is me telling you that I can’t live without you. You are the air I breathe and the light in my life. I know you need the plan, so along with the flowers and the ring, I have a spreadsheet in my back pocket which details how I think we can work our jobs, our home, and our lives. Now, please tell me that you love me as much as I love you and say yes to being my wife. I’ve ordered your property cut, and if you agree, we can get married and make you my Ol’ Lady at Bluff Creek the weekend of the showers,” he said.

His earnest face and those dark gray eyes would have convinced her even if she wasn’t already so in love with the man. She knelt down, slid her hands across his chest, and whispered, “I love you and, yes, I’ll marry you,” before kissing him. His arms wrapped around her as he took over the kiss. She was vaguely aware of clapping and yelling but she didn’t care. Her family was safe, and she was going to marry the man she’d loved since high school.

He pulled away a little and chuckled. “I’m deeply regretting inviting everyone to witness the proposal because I want you alone now.”

Lexi chuckled darkly. “I have an RV. Shall we celebrate our impending wedding with a little pre-wedding lovemaking?”

He nodded, standing up with Lexi. Then he pulled the ring out of his pocket and slid it on her finger. She didn’t know diamonds well, but it was sparkly and gorgeous. He handed her the flowers and then grasped her and tossed her over his shoulder.

“Thanks for coming to the proposal. This next part is just Lexi and me. We’ll see you later!” Booker said and then carried her into the RV, walking back to the bed. He laid her down on it, a wolfish grin on his face.

“Are you going to lock the door?”

He shook his head. “Nope. They won’t bother us. If they do, who cares?”

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