Page 96 of Deadly Evidence
She wanted to deny the possibility, but too many pieces fell into place with just those simple words. The new trucks. The expensive home and fences and the new barns. Gil had always appreciated luxury, but he’d never been particularly adept at ranching.
“Then why would someone shoot him if he was cooperating?”
“We’re guessing he might have gotten edgy about the whole deal and threatened to call the sheriff, so Nieto shot him and left him for dead.”
She felt Gil’s hand barely squeeze hers. Surprised, she turned and leaned closer. “Gil—it’s me. Anna. Can you hear me?”
“I...got...what I deserved.” His voice was rusty and faint, but he cracked his eyes open and met her gaze. “I—I’m so sorry...for everything...”
“You don’t deserve to be here like this,” she retorted. “That man nearly took your life.”
Gil winced and shut his eyes tight. He took several shaky breaths. “Your dad...was no accident. I n-never told—or they would...have killed me, too.”
All the years of anger, grief, and frustration coalesced into this one moment as she stared at Gil, willing him to continue. “What happened?Tell mewhat happened.”
A flicker of pain played across Gil’s features. “Such...a strong one, your father. He was a...fighter...like you. He tried to stop them, and he was shot. I knew then to...cooperate was the...only way to stay alive.”
Anna released his hand and sat back in her chair. In her heart, she’d known all along, no matter what the official reports said.
But hearing the words from the man who’d kept the truth from her all these years made her heart wrench in her chest.
Her father had chosen honor and had died for it...alone, in a distant part of the ranch, where he hadn’t been found for days.
Gil had chosen weakness and had enjoyed the last decade in financial security. The unfairness of it all tasted so bitter she could barely speak.
“I think I’d better be going,” she mumbled, rising from her chair. “It’s a long drive home.”
She brushed past Brady, her head bowed, but he caught her arm.
“Listen,” he said in a low voice. “He’s an old man now. He knows he’s made mistakes and probably wishes he’d never seen a penny of the money he’s gotten from these people.”
She nodded.
“He might not last long. If you ever want to make peace with him, this is the time.”
He was right, of course...again.
Even tomorrow could be too late to give him the blessing of forgiveness.
She took a deep breath and went back to Gil’s bedside, where she took his hand once again. “I understand, Gil. And I forgive you for what happened. We all do things we regret.”
He gave her hand a feeble squeeze.
“Thank you for being a good uncle all these years. My father would have appreciated that.”
Gil weakly rolled his head toward her. “I owed him—” he gave a wheezy cough “—that much.”
They were just past the nurses’ station when the alarms went off and nurses came running from every direction.
Anna didn’t have to go back inside to know that he was gone.
CHAPTER TWENTY
An hour later, Anna, Dante, and Brady stood out in the hospital parking lot, where Anna gave Dante a quick hug. “I’m glad you’re here. We’ve missed you.”
He ducked his head in obvious embarrassment. “If you don’t want me to work for you again, I’ll understand.”
“From what I hear, you did nothing wrong. Maybe your reasons for showing up at our ranch were shady, but you never betrayed my trust.”
