Someone Like You (Night Riders) (18 page)

“You have to help me take Luis,” Dolores insisted. “Rafe will let me stay if it means he can have Luis.”

Maria had heard enough. Dolores wasn’t going to listen to anything she didn’t want to hear. “I’m not going to try to convince Rafe to let you stay, nor am I going to help you kidnap Luis. One plan is stupid and the other is cruel. Now go to bed. You’re tired and upset. You’ll be able to think more rationally tomorrow.”

“I am rational. If I have to go to court to get custody of
Luis, I will. I’m his mother. No judge is going to give him to a half brother who’s a cowhand.”

“I’m his other guardian.”

“That won’t matter. I’ll get custody. You have to come with me, or you’ll never see Luis again.”

Maria didn’t think she could endure losing Luis. She’d acted as his mother since he was born. She’d changed him, had sat up with him when he was sick, had answered his questions, and had done everything she could to protect him from his parents’ lack of interest. “What makes you think a judge would give Luis to you?”

“I don’t just flirt when I go to Cíbola. I have the assurance of a judge that a child is always given to his natural mother. A man is considered unsuited by nature to raise a child.”

There was no way on earth Maria would let Dolores have Luis by herself. “I’ll go with you.”

Pleased with her victory, Dolores smiled and hugged her sister. “You’ll have to convince Rafe I’ll need a bigger allowance for the three of us.”

“He won’t increase yours, but I can ask him for an extra allowance for Luis. Now I’m exhausted so I’m going to bed.”

After Dolores left the room, Maria washed her face and dressed for bed, but her mind was too full of turbulent thoughts to allow her to sleep. She walked to the window, opened it, and looked out. The distant mountains showed like inky masses against the moonlit sky. An owl hooted and another answered. The
yip-yip-yip
of a coyote was barely audible. The night was alive with God’s creatures, but she didn’t feel like one of them. She stared at distant fields lush with fruits and vegetables that would soon be ready for market. Beyond them she could make out the darkened houses of farmworkers. The cool air, fresh with the scent of rain from somewhere in the foothills refreshed her body, but the night provided no answers for her questions, nor did it calm the upheaval inside her.

She closed the window and turned away.

How could she face Rafe in the morning? She didn’t know whether she was more embarrassed that she’d believed he had raped Dolores or that she’d yielded so willingly to his embrace. It would be impossible for him to believe she’d kissed him because she couldn’t help herself, because she’d wanted to kiss him and have him kiss her. When had her feelings changed so drastically? She hadn’t realized her heart had moved on until he’d put his arms around her. Her resistance had melted like winter snow in spring sunshine.

She was weighed down by what Dolores was forcing on her, but she would do anything she must to make sure Luis was never left to the sole guardianship of his mother. He would be better off with Rafe.

But Rafe was going back to Texas. She blushed at the memory of the kiss. Did he think that was part of her attempt to persuade him to change his mind? Did he think she might have been willing to go as far as her sister?

Rafe had made the first move, something he wouldn’t have done if he hadn’t felt some genuine emotion for her. He said he’d been prejudiced against her from the first, yet his feelings toward her had changed and grown into something quite unexpected. Much against her will, her feelings had undergone a similar transformation. But though the evening had given her ample reason to think better of him, it had provided him with plenty of reasons to believe his first opinion of her had been the right one. She didn’t know what she’d hoped could develop between them, but now there was no possibility of anything at all.

Rafe was surprised to see Broc, dressed and combed, enter his bedroom before he’d finished shaving. “What got you out of bed so early? I haven’t heard any explosions or felt an earthquake.”

“Curiosity.” Broc settled into a chair by the fireplace while Rafe washed the lather from his face. “I want to know why the fair Maria had to drag you away from the parlor last
evening. I might have been able to keep my curiosity to myself—”

“When have you ever done that?”

“—but then the beauteous Dolores came home and rushed past the parlor so she wouldn’t have to look at me. That in itself was intriguing, but the raised voices coming from Maria’s room confirmed my suspicion that I was missing all the fun. Luis is a good kid, but I much prefer adult drama.”

Satisfied that his face was dry and clear of lather, Rafe reached for a clean shirt. “You missed a scene that would fit perfectly in one of your melodramas.”

“Don’t leave me hanging. I’m waiting with bated breath.”

“I’m reluctant only because I’m not proud of my own behavior. I took advantage of Maria’s devotion to Luis and kissed her.”

Broc crowed with laughter. “I’m never wrong when it comes to knowing when people are interested in each other.”

“Dolores came charging into the room just as Maria kissed me back.”

Broc slapped his knee with glee. “I’ll stay for the wedding, but Pilar will never forgive you if you get married without telling her.”

“Hold your enthusiasm until you hear the rest.” Rafe finished buttoning his shirt and looked around for a collar. “Dolores accused me of violating her sister and declared that I had to marry her to save her reputation.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that.” There was a mischievous sparkle in Broc’s eye.

“You will.” Rafe struggled with affixing the collar to his shirt. “At first I thought the sisters had set this up between them. Why did Maria suggest using my bedroom and how did Dolores know when and where to find us?”

“You fascinate me. How?”

“Because it had been planned.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“After a bit, I didn’t either, but there was more to come.
It seems that Dolores had told Maria that I raped her, that Luis is my son, and that my father married Dolores to give Luis a name.”

“I hope you don’t plan to make a practice of falling in love with such women.”

Rafe grimaced and straightened his collar. “Once was enough. But just as I was starting to feel better, I realized Maria had kissed me when she still thought I’d raped her sister. What does that say about her character?”

“Did she tell you why?”

“I didn’t ask, but something she said earlier might explain it.” Rafe picked up several ties, unable to decide which one to choose.

“Put down the damned ties and tell me what she said.”

“She said she thought I was an overwrought youth who’d been so upset by the betrayal of the two people I loved most that I had done something out of character. She believed I wished I could have changed what I did.”

“That sounds like a good explanation to me. What’s wrong with it?”

“I still haven’t forgotten what happened to me. How can she overlook something even worse?”

“She’s a smarter, more forgiving person than you?”

Rafe chose a tie and tossed the others aside. “Whose friend are you?”

“Yours, which is why I’m trying to keep you from cutting off your nose to spite your face.”

“Just how do you figure you’re doing that?”

“By keeping you from saying something stupid until you can get some perspective on last night.”

“But she thought I’d done something truly reprehensible.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Why not?”

“Maria loves Luis and is loyal to her sister despite her many flaws, but she must know what Dolores is like. After meeting you and finding you weren’t anything like what her
sister led her to believe, I imagine she started to have doubts about Dolores’s version of events. I expect she believed you did
something
but couldn’t make herself believe it was anything as awful as rape.”

Rafe wasn’t sure that was the truth, but he hoped it was. He’d spent a large part of the night trying to explain his continuing interest in Maria. “You like Maria a lot, don’t you?”

Broc eyed him speculatively. “Is that a trick question?”

Leave it to Broc to be sure of his ground before he committed himself. “No. I was going to ask how you think I ought to act toward her.”

A slow grin spread over Broc’s face. “You’re asking me for advice on how to handle a woman?”

Rafe returned Broc’s grin. “It was touch and go there for a bit, but I managed to get the words out without choking. Now stop being obnoxious. You know I don’t have much experience with women.”

“If Dolores is an example of your past attempts, I’d say you’re in desperate need of guidance.”

“Dolores is my
only
attempt.”

“So you’re beginning again with her sister. An interesting approach.”

“It wasn’t planned.” Nothing about this trip was planned. Maybe that was the problem with his life as a whole. He had drifted along in one direction, then drifted in another. He was thirty years old. It was about time he stopped letting circumstance decide what he did.

In order to change, make a plan, he had to have an objective. He had to
want
something. For years all he’d wanted was to avoid
wanting
. He’d used drinking, fighting a war, and working for Cade to keep his emotions at bay. His father’s will had forced him to deal with all the conflicts he’d been avoiding. Dolores. His father. Luis. The ranch. Now Maria.

“I think you ought to act like nothing has happened.”

“She’s got to know things have changed.”

“Then let her be the one to say what those changes will be.”

“She wants me to stay here long enough to teach Luis how to take over when he’s older.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Go back to Texas.”

“Will you take Luis with you?”

Luis couldn’t live in the bunk house with him, and it wouldn’t be fair to expect Pilar to take care of him. “It makes more sense to leave him here with Maria. This is his home. Besides, he can’t learn how to run the ranch from Texas.”

“Have you thought about staying here for a year or so?”

Rafe laughed. “You think if I stay that long, I won’t ever go back to Texas?”

“I think you’d end up marrying Maria and running the ranch. It’s your home and your inheritance.”

“I don’t want to get married, I don’t want the inheritance, and it ceased to be my home a long time ago.” He wasn’t as sure of those statements as he had been a few days ago.

Broc got to his feet. “I think you’re making a mistake, but it’s your life. I’m hungry. Are you going down to breakfast, or would you rather stay and wrestle with that tie?”

Rafe had almost forgotten the tie in his hand. “I can handle the tie. It’s everything else that I can’t.”

Maria could have eaten in her room, but she was so tense that just the thought of food made her stomach heave. She had told herself she would have to face Rafe sometime, but she was relieved when she found only Luis in the breakfast room.

“Where are Rafe and Broc?” the boy asked.

“Maybe they slept late.”

“Rafe never sleeps late,” Luis stated emphatically, “but Broc does. Broc says in Texas he has to get up early because his cows get up early. Do our cows get up early?”

Maria had no knowledge of the nocturnal habits of livestock. “I don’t know, but the chickens do.”

Rosana entered from the kitchen bearing a pot of coffee. “What can I get you to eat?”

“Nothing. My stomach isn’t feeling right.”

Rafe entered in time to hear Maria’s response. “Are you getting sick?”

The concern in Rafe’s voice made her feel even worse.

Broc, who had followed Rafe into the room, subjected her to close scrutiny. “She doesn’t
seem
sick. Why don’t you take a look and tell me what you think?” he said to Rafe.

Rafe took Maria’s chin in his hand, turned her head from one side to the other, while he peered into her eyes. She felt so much like a criminal caught in the glare of a spotlight, she had to force herself to sit still. Why hadn’t she stayed in her room?

Rafe released her chin. “I don’t think she’s suffering from anything more serious than a poor night’s sleep brought on by her inability to find a satisfactory solution to a problem that’s bothering her.”

“Mama didn’t sleep, either,” Luis informed everyone. “She woke me up. Did she wake you when she went to your room?” he asked Maria.

Maria had lain awake most of the night listening for any unusual sounds from Luis’s room. “I was already awake.” She was relieved when Rosana deflected Rafe’s attention from her to ask what he would like for breakfast.

“Bring me the same,” Broc said when Rafe said he liked the looks of Luis’s breakfast and would have some of that.

Luis beamed. “Mama says I should have only fruit for breakfast, but I like sausage and potatoes, too.” He also had stewed tomatoes and corn muffins.

By the time the men had poured their coffee and taken places at the table, Maria had herself under control. Rafe didn’t mention anything about last night or ask about Dolores. Instead he and Luis planned what they wanted to do for the day. Maria decided she would stay in the house to give Luis as much time as possible with his brother.

Watching Rosana bustle in and out of the room, fussing over the men, making sure they had everything they wanted
and that it was
what
they wanted, Maria realized she would miss Rosana, Juan, and all the others who worked in the house. They had become her family. They had formed a partnership, each respecting the others’ strengths and areas of responsibility, all working for the benefit of the whole. And now Dolores’s foolish lie was threatening to bring that happy alliance to an end.

Luis pushed back his chair. “I’ve finished my breakfast,” he said to Maria. “May I go?”

“Go where?” Knowing Dolores had threatened to kidnap the boy, she couldn’t be entirely at ease with his being alone.

“I have to change my clothes. Rafe is going to teach me how to saddle my pony.”

Rafe, barely half through his breakfast, smiled at her unspoken question.