“No way could I have come to Dad or you. How could I let you know how bad I got suckered, or that I had let someone use our property to conduct illegal business? I was already a failure as far as Dad was concerned; you were the responsible one, Sis.”
“We were a family, Keith,” she moaned. “We could have helped you—”
“What about the horses? The ones from the Lazy W?” Trask cut in, knowing that he had to get this inquisition over fast before Keith could think twice about it. And Tory. God, he wished there was a way to protect and comfort her.
“I switched the horses,” Keith admitted. “I figured that I was in too far to back out. If I didn’t agree, Benton promised to tell Dad.”
Trask’s fingers rubbed together and a muscle in the back of his jaw clenched and unclenched in his barely concealed rage. “So what about my brother?” he asked, his voice low and cold.
“I had no idea that Jason was on to us,” Keith said, his gray eyes filled with honesty. “I knew that Benton and Henderson were worried about being discovered but I didn’t know anything about the insurance company investigation or your brother’s role as an investigator.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Rex admitted, wearily sliding into a chair and running his hands through his thinning hair.
“But what about the conversation that Tory overheard?”
Tory’s disbelieving eyes focused on Rex.
“It was part of the ruse. Staged for your benefit,” Rex said, returning Tory’s discouraged stare. “Once Linn Benton approached your father and told him about Keith, Calvin was determined as hell to sacrifice himself instead of his boy. He had to make everyone, including you, Tory, believe that he had been a part of the swindle. He didn’t know anything about the plot to kill Jason McFadden. That was Linn Benton’s idea.”
Tears had begun to stream down Tory’s face. She swiped at them with the back of her hand, but couldn’t stem the uneven flow from her eyes. She shuddered from an inner cold. “So Dad wouldn’t testify on the stand because he wanted to protect Keith?”
“That’s right,” Keith said, tears clouding his vision. Angrily he sniffed them back.
“Your dad knew he was dying of cancer; it was an easy decision to sacrifice himself in order that his son go free,” Rex explained.
“And you went along with it,” Tory accused, feeling betrayed by every person she had ever loved.
“I owed your dad a favor—a big one.”
Tory took in a shuddering breath. “I don’t want to hear any more of this,” she said with finality. “And I don’t want to believe a word of it.”
“We can’t hide behind lies any longer,” Keith said, squaring his shoulders. “I’ll call Sheriff Barnett tonight.”
“Wait!” Tory held up her hand. “Think about what you’re doing, Keith. At least consider calling a lawyer before you do anything else!”
Keith came over to her and touched her shoulders. “I’ve thought about this too long as it is. It’s time to do something—”
“Please…” she begged, clinging to her brother as if by holding on to him she could convince him of the folly of his actions.
Keith smiled sadly and patted her back. “If it makes you feel any better I’ll call a lawyer, just as soon as I talk Barnett into coming out here and taking my statement.”
“I wish you wouldn’t—” Rex said.
“You’re off the hook,” Keith said, releasing his sister and walking from the kitchen and into the den. Tory sat in a chair near the doorway and refused to meet Trask’s concerned gaze.
“So you were the one who shot the calves, right?” Trask asked the foreman once Keith had left the room.
Rex frowned and lifted his shoulders. He couldn’t meet Tory’s incredulous gaze. “I thought you would stop the damned investigation if you discovered any threats to Tory.”
“So you sent the note?” Tory asked.
“I’m not proud of it,” Rex admitted, “but it was all I could think of doing.” His chin quivered before he raised his eyes to meet Tory’s wretched stare. “I promised your old man, Tory. You have to believe I never meant to hurt you or the ranch…I…I just wanted to do right by your dad.” His voice cracked and he had to clear his throat. “Your father hired me when no one else in this town would talk to me.” He turned back to Trask. “I just wish it would’ve worked and you would’ve gone back to Washington where you belong instead of stirring up the lives of good decent people and making trouble.”
Tory’s head was swimming in confusion. So Keith had been involved in the Quarter Horse swindle and her father had only tried to protect his young son. And Rex, feeling some misguided loyalty to a dying man, had kept the secret of Keith’s involvement. Even the foreman’s fumbling attempts to deter Trask were in response to a debt that had been paid long ago.
“I reckon I’d better talk to the sheriff as well,” Rex said, forcing his hat back on his head and walking down the hall to the den where the soft sound of Keith’s voice could be heard.
Trask got out of the chair and walked over to Tory. He reached for her but she recoiled from him. Not only had Trask put her father in jail five years earlier, but now he was about to do the same to her brother.