Grapes of Wrath (Billionaires' Secrets Book 2) (14 page)

She sucked in a shaky breath. Amado lifted the blanket and slid underneath it. She couldn’t help welcoming his warm body next to hers. Wrapping her arms around him and holding him close.

If only they could stay like this forever and—

A breathy, snorting sound made her jump.

“Relax, it’s one of the horses.”

Susannah blinked. “We’re in the barn.”

Amado shot her a perplexed look. “Of course.”

A flush spread over her face. “Did the horses hear...you know?”

“Perhaps you should ask them.” His mouth curved into a smile.

He didn’t seem at all freaked out by the fact that they’d just made love in a
stable.
What kind of madwoman was he turning her into?

Then again, maybe he did this all the time. The blankets were conveniently here. He had a condom with him, for crying out loud.

Maybe he left a stash of them handy for such rustic trysts? No doubt the romantic cliché of love in a hayloft was a big hit with the tourists.

Her heart stung with pain at the thought of him making love to another woman.

Amado ran his thumb over the spot between her eyebrows, smoothing that pesky wrinkle.

She couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes and look at him. To see that admiring and sensual gaze he no doubt bestowed on many lucky women each year.

“What are we going to do with you? I’ll have to punish you for thinking too much.”

“I bet there are some whips handy in the tack room.” She kept her voice light. And her eyes shut tight.

Amado laughed. “I’m just a country boy. I don’t know about that kinky stuff.”

“How do you know if you’ve never tried?” She cracked her eyes open a tiny bit.

Amado’s serious expression made her laugh. He looked downright worried.

“I’m kidding. Relax. Now you’re thinking too much. I’m probably the least kinky person on the planet.” She looked at him. “Or at least I thought I was until I met you.”

“You’re a very passionate woman.” He squeezed her. Pulled her even closer until her chest rested against his. “Affectionate, too. I like that.” He pressed a warm kiss to her cheek.

Her dress was still unbuttoned and crumpled around her, but she couldn’t summon the energy to care.

She was affectionate. And passionate. She let the pleasant thoughts rest in her tired brain. And she liked Amado Alvarez very much.

She couldn’t
love
him. That would be a foolish mistake.

She heard her breathing catch.

Amado leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her famous wrinkle.

But I like him very much.

In the morning, Susannah woke up alone on the hay, still wrapped in blankets. No sign of Amado.

Light poured through a crack in the door, and she realized she’d been awakened by the sound of voices.

Male voices. Neither of them Amado’s.

“Here, stirring up trouble again.” She froze. Listened to a snort of disgust. “You’d think she’d be ashamed to show her face. It’s not enough for her to destroy our family. Now she has to come back and meddle in our business affairs?”

The angry one was Ignacio. Susannah shrank into the hay, trying not to breathe lest she give away her hiding place.

She glanced around. The sliding door to the hay storage room was closed. Amado must have done that on his way out. She wondered if he intended to preserve her modesty or keep her his prisoner.

The second voice was less expressive. “Yes...of course...it’s true.” The platitudes of an employee who doesn’t want to ruffle the boss’s already prickly feathers.

Susannah glanced down at the hay-covered blanket, then put a hand in her own hair. She so did not want to know what she looked like right now. It was clearly broad daylight and people were up and about.

How could Amado leave her here like this? Did he want her to be discovered so she could be a subject of gossip and derision?

Her blood chilled.

Maybe he did. He’d obviously summoned her here for some purpose of his own, and he might have an agenda broader than simple sex.

A baser motive, like
revenge.

The voices had receded to the far end of the large barn. She wriggled out of the blanket and hastily buttoned the front of her dress. One of the blue buttons was missing and the collar was hopelessly crumpled, as was the full skirt. If anyone saw her...

She had to make sure no one did.

She eased off the pile of hay bales and rolled up the blankets. Stuck them in a corner.

A nervous grope proved that her hair was a tangled mess. She tried to shake out any loose grass stems, then she picked up her fallen shoes and tiptoed toward the door.

She held her breath as she lifted the metal ring that served as a handle and gave a tug. The door didn’t budge.

Her blood pressure shot up. Could he really mean to trap her here? To make her call for help?

Or simply to cool her heels until such time as he had need of her again.

Her breathing grew audible. Maybe she could pick the lock? If she could figure out what kind of lock it was. Most likely a simple latch...

Footsteps headed back down the aisle. She shrank away from the door and pressed herself against the wall.

“The boss is going crazy. This New York chick is the final straw.” It sounded like the previously taciturn employee, turned garrulous.

And another voice. “Clara is even more nuts. She hasn’t spoken to him for days. I tried to find out why from Rosa but she threatened to whack me with her frying pan if I talked about her beloved master and mistress.”

The other clucked his tongue. “I saw Amado galloping off like a madman this morning. Heading for the mountains like the devil was chasing him. The whole place is going to go to hell.”

“My mom said they had it coming.” She heard the sound of a bucket being filled with water. “You can’t live with a lie. Sooner or later it will sneak out and bite you.”

“Your mom talks too much.”

“You’d better eat those words before I—” The conversation devolved into a good-natured and shockingly crude exchange that made Susannah blush.

She glanced back at the hay and her face heated further.

How on earth could she get out of here now? No window. The door locked.

She could barely recall any of the tender feelings she’d had for Amado last night. Right now, she’d like to wrap her fingers around his neck and—

The door slid open and slammed into its cradle with a crash. A man strode into the room, picked up a bale of hay by the strings, turned to exit and...

Stared right at her.

“Dios mio.”
A kid of about nineteen, eyes on stalks.

“Hi.”

“I didn’t hear you.” He hitched the hay bale higher. Looked ready to make a dash for the door.

“I came to get some hay.” She cleared her throat. “And I got locked in.”

He glanced at the shoes in her hand. “The door wasn’t locked.”

Susannah swallowed hard. “Oh. I guess it got stuck.” She forced out a foolish cackle. “Then, I’ll be on my way.”

He glanced at the blankets in the corner and a smirk crept across his face. She wished she could crawl right under a hay bale and die, but instead she held her head high and marched right past him.

She made it back to her bedroom. More accurately, Marisa’s room, which still had ruffled chiffon curtains from another era. The sight of herself in the mirror, hair wild, clothes rumpled and eyes glazed with passion, only made her cringe more.

Now they
really
had something to talk about around here.

She glanced at a framed portrait of Marisa, which stood on a delicate white dressing table. Dark and striking with long, wavy hair and a striped T-shirt, she was a finer- boned, feminine version of Amado. Easy to see how he’d assumed she was his sister.

Laughing in the photo, she waved at the camera.

Susannah’s heart clenched as her own petty concerns shrank into perspective. This lovely young woman faced up to the challenges of motherhood, but never got a chance to taste its joys.

What would you do, Marisa ?
She felt a sudden sense of responsibility to the woman whose old room she stood in and whose son she had such strange and strong feelings for.

In that instant, she made up her mind about one thing. She’d had enough of people blaming her for breaking up this family and she was going to do something about putting it back together.

Showered and changed, wearing sensible flats and a conservative pantsuit, Susannah grabbed one of the pastries left on the dining room table.

Still no sign whatsoever of Amado, which was not surprising given what she’d overheard. She faked a cheerful smile for Rosa—who might or might not have seen her creeping into the house like a thief—and marched out the front door. Even the dogs were nowhere around.

Since she wasn’t sure exactly where Clara and Ignacio’s new house was, she drove to the winery building and asked. Worried stares followed her as she climbed back in the rental car and drove along a landscaped driveway to a striking modern house with a view of the mountains.

She knocked on the polished door and her heart battered against her ribs as she waited until footsteps on the other side grew closer. Finally, Clara pulled the door open, inhaled sharply at the sight of her—and slammed it.

“Please, I just want to talk to you.” She tapped on the door with her knuckles. “Woman to woman.”

She waited. No movement on the other side of the door. Which meant that Clara was still standing there.

After a painful wait, she heard the chrome handle turn. “Come in.” The older woman ushered her into a bright, clean space. Comfortable, solid furniture gathered around a central fireplace, and bright rugs decorated the tiled floor.

Susannah didn’t waste words in idle compliments. “I haven’t come to apologize, because I only did what I was asked to do, and it’s no crime.”

Clara frowned.

“But I have come to implore you to heal the rift in your household.” She stepped toward Clara. “You’re the center of the family, and nothing that has happened changes that. You’re the wife and mother of the men in your life, regardless of how you came to that role. It’s your duty to keep the family together.”

She paused for breath, blinking. She hadn’t rehearsed, but simply spoke her mind. As Clara stared at her, blue eyes wide, Susannah reflected that her words must sound pretty arrogant coming from a single woman living a thousand miles from her own family.

That didn’t seem to stop her though. “I know you’re a woman of great strength. You’ve raised two children and helped care for this estate for over forty years. It doesn’t make sense to me that you’d give up now and let everything you’ve built and nurtured crumble to dust.”

Tears sparkled in Clara’s eyes. “I never liked the pretense. It pained me. But Ignacio was so devastated by the death of his only child, especially after losing his wife.” A tear rolled down her weathered cheek. “And I…I loved him so much.”

Clara pulled a much-used handkerchief out of her pocket and dabbed at her eyes. “I’d already loved that man for years. Adored him like a fool. I was no beauty. I had no education or family. I never dared to dream that a man like Ignacio Alvarez would ask his housekeeper to marry him. And when he did—” She drew in a ragged breath. “I couldn’t say no.”

Susannah hesitated for a moment, frozen by the emotion pulsing in the quiet room. Then she stepped forward and placed her hand on Clara’s solid shoulder. “You did the right thing. You created a family for Amado, welcomed him into your heart. He is your son, you both know that.”

“I have no son. And my husband only married me to prevent a scandal.” A painful laugh ripped from her mouth. “And now the gossips are braying louder than ever. My whole life is a fraud.”

“That’s not true. You raised Amado. You’re his mother. Nothing can
ever
change that.” She drew in a shaky breath. “And your husband needs you.”

“I’m a foolish old woman. No one needs me.”

“You’re Ignacio’s wife. Regardless of the circumstance of your marriage, you promised to support and comfort him. You rose to the challenge of doing that after Amado was born, and you must do it again.”

Clara peered at her, tears glittering in her eyes. “I’ve tried my best to be a good wife to him. And he’s been a good husband to me.”

“And what makes you think you can stop now? Just because the ‘secret’ is out? Maybe your life got harder, but that doesn’t mean you get to give up on it. Your husband and son need you more than ever.”

Clara drew in a deep breath. “You show a lot of wisdom for someone so young.”

“I’m not that young.” Susannah squeezed her arm. She felt strangely calm. “And I learned from my parents who counseled a lot of people over the years. Everyone needs advice sometimes, including me.”

“And I’d be a foolish old woman not to listen.” Clara reached into her pocket for a fresh handkerchief, and wiped her cheeks. “Come have some coffee.”