by Ward Maia
“Let me go,” Ellis hissed through gritted teeth.
“No,” Rudá said, his dark eyes flashing with anger and exasperation. “Not until you understand what I’m trying to tell you.”
“Oh, I understand,” Ellis bit out.
“No, you don’t,” Rudá said, his voice softening. “Because you’re not listening.”
Ellis opened his mouth to argue with him some more, but Rudá cut him off.
“Listen,” he hissed. “It’s your farm, but it’s not your home. Because you don’t want it to be. Your aunt left you this farm for a reason. Out of all the people, she chose you. Because she knows what you’re looking for. It was the same thing she was looking for when she found this place. That’s why she left it for you. She’s reaching for you, Ellis.” Rudá’s soft whispered words made Ellis shiver. “All you have to do is reach back.”
They stared at each other, dark brown eyes clashing with steel gray ones. Ellis swallowed thickly, unable to look away.
Rudá’s words rang true, as much as Ellis wanted to deny them.
“I need some air,” Ellis said after a long moment, tearing his eyes away from the other man.
Rudá tightened his grip on Ellis’s arm momentarily, before letting him go. Ellis walked as quickly as he could to the door without breaking into a run.
“Are you going to sell to them?” Rudá asked, his voice low and raspy.
The question stopped Ellis on his way to the door. Instead of turning around and answering Rudá, he kept on walking until his feet carried him from his aunt’s office, out of the house, and into the fields.
He ignored some of the workers who called greetings to him and the sun beating down on him and making him sweat through his shirt.
With shaking hands he fumbled for his phone and pulled it out. If Rudá wouldn’t give him answers, he’d get them from someone else.
He dialed Francisco’s number. It rang and rang, but no one picked up. He tried three more times with the same result.
Ellis ran a hand through his hair as he walked, phone still clutched in the other. He really needed a new haircut. That would be the first order of business when he got back home.
He stopped in his tracks and squeezed his eyes shut. The thought, along with Rudá’s words, bounced around his skull. Around and around they went until he wanted to bury his head in the dirt and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.
Because when he thought about going back home, he didn’t think about Rio. He thought about the farm.
Despite the secrets, mysteries, and being jerked around as if he were an idiot, somehow, as the days progressed, the idea of simply hiding away on the farm became more and more appealing. Basking underneath the light of the sun instead of the harsh fluorescent lights of his office.
Sleeping in a bed that somehow still managed to smell like coffee even after the sheets had been washed. The clean sweat of someone else clinging to his skin in the morning, after having mind-blowing sex the night before.
His phone rang in his hand, startling him. Ellis answered without checking to see who was calling, expecting it to be Francisco returning his call. It wasn’t.
“Ellis, dear, how are you?” His mother’s sweet and polite voice made his stomach drop and him wish he’d checked the caller ID before answering.
“Hi, Mom,” Ellis said, his dry throat making his voice sound raspy and uncertain.
“Are you all right, dear? You haven’t caught anything in that place, have you?” The way his mother said “that place,” like the coffee farm or even the city wasn’t good enough or even “civilized” enough. It made Ellis embarrassed when he realized he’d thought the same when first seeing the farm.
“Well, regardless,” his mother said without waiting for a response, “when will you be coming back? Carmen, you remember her, right? Well, Carmen and her son have RSVP’d to the gala on the twenty-fifth. I think you’d like to meet him. He’s a very respectable young man…,” she said. Ellis made a small sound of agreement but tuned her out.
Every couple of months she went through the motions of trying to set him up with whatever “respectable young man” happened to catch her attention. By respectable, she meant from an affluent family with a hefty bank account.
Ellis usually attended the galas his mother told him to. It was one of those pesky contingency clauses in his trust fund. Ellis had agreed to be used as a picture prop when his sister convinced him to go back home with his tail tucked between his legs. That was the only reason she was calling him.
“Ellis? Are you still there?” she said, and Ellis realized he’d drifted off and missed almost everything she’d said.
“Yeah, I’m here.” Ellis scuffed the ground with his shoe.
“Well, will you be here?” she asked.
“Would you honestly care if I never went back?” Ellis blurted out before he could think better of it.
He didn’t know why he even wanted to ask or why he held his breath, waiting for her answer. She hadn’t cared when he was a teenager; why would she care now?
“Don’t be silly, dear. So, shall I confirm your table to the gala?” she asked, completely ignoring his question.
“Yeah, sure,” Ellis said, his stomach dropping. Because that’s what was expected, what was required of him.
“Lovely. See you soon, dear.” She ended the call.
Ellis lowered the phone, his hands shaking. He let out a stuttering breath. It shouldn’t have affected him so much. Really, he should be used to it by now. In all his thirty-one years of life, she hadn’t changed.
But he had. Ellis had never been a model member of the Campos family. He always wanted something different. Something more. He couldn’t quite name it, but somehow, against all odds, he thought maybe he’d found a fraction of that sweet elusive something here, on the farm.
And even though he didn’t want to admit it, it was in no small reason because of Rudá, who was probably cursing his name this very second.
Ellis sighed and looked around. He’d walked deep into the fields and was surrounded by unpicked coffee stalks. The workers hadn’t gotten this far yet. The distant sound of the electric rake-type thing—he still didn’t know what it was called—was comforting. He could see the outline of the big house in the distance. At least he wouldn’t get lost again.
Ellis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The scent of earth and green and all things coffee farm filled his lungs.
Over the last few days he was forced to stay on the farm, it had become so familiar to him, the thought of going back to Rio and not seeing or feeling all of this again made his heart heavy.
Even if he had to. He did, didn’t he? His life wasn’t here; it was back in Rio. In the law firm he’d worked so hard to get ahead in. With his clients and his crazy assistant who kept giving him too big gifts. It was even with the ridiculous and over-the-top galas his mother demanded Ellis attend.
It wasn’t here. No matter how much he wished it was.
He dialed Francisco again, and this time, he picked up.
“Mr. Campos,” the lawyer said with fake enthusiasm. “I was just about to call you.”
Ellis doubted that very much but decided maybe calling him on it wasn’t the best idea.
“Any news?” Ellis asked.
“Yes,” Francisco said, surprising Ellis, who fully expected to be lied to some more. “The documents I requested arrived earlier today, and I’ll have them ready for you tomorrow.”
“Today,” Ellis said, voice harsher than he intended. “I need them ready today.”
Francisco hesitated, and silence stretched between them.
“Is there, um, any reason for that?” the other man asked.
“Yes, I need you to set up a meeting for me.”
A loud sigh from the other side of the line reached Ellis’s ears. It carried the sound of sorrow and disappointment, both of which Ellis found he had to steel himself against.
“I can get the documents ready toda
y. Who would you like me to set a meeting with?” Francisco asked.
“The Madeiras. Carlos and Diego.”
Chapter 17
WHEN ELLIS got back to the house, Rudá was sitting on the steps, hat in hand. He was hopeless to stop his heart from fluttering.
In Ellis’s opinion, Rudá was one of the most striking men he’d ever come across. His face was harsh and had too many laugh lines to be considered beautiful. But he was handsome. Scar, crooked teeth, rough hands, and all. Too bad Ellis couldn’t keep him.
Ellis came to a stop in front of Rudá and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Come on.” Rudá got to his feet and gestured to the car.
“Where to?” Ellis asked, even though he had so many more important questions he wanted to ask. That he should ask. “Never mind that, we need to talk. Really talk.”
“Okay, come on,” Rudá said, sidestepping Ellis and walking toward the black pickup truck.
“We need to talk,” Ellis insisted, not moving.
“We will. But first, I want to show you something.” Rudá didn’t stop on his way to the truck.
“What? What do you want to show me?” Ellis gave in and followed Rudá.
“You wanted to know why Carlos wants that piece of land to the east. I’ll show you why.”
Ellis just nodded, even if Rudá, with his back to him, couldn’t see it. Ellis climbed in the truck and waited. The usual cloud of dust and insect wings accosted him when Rudá turned on the air conditioner. Ellis waved his hand, dispelling it, and couldn’t help the longing in his chest.
Physically, he hadn’t left the farm yet, but he wasn’t really here. Not anymore.
The drive was silent as Ellis watched the rows of coffee pass them by. Rudá gripped the steering wheel but offered no information.
When the car stopped, Ellis looked around but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“Is this the east portion of the farm?” Ellis got out of the car and scanned the land around him.
“It’s just up ahead.” Rudá put his hat on and started walking.
Ellis looked around once more, still not seeing anything extraordinary, but he followed the other man.
As promised, they stopped a little ahead of the car.
“This is it.” Rudá tilted his chin to the coffee stalks in front of them.
Ellis looked but still couldn’t see anything unusual. The rows of coffee stalks were similar to the others on the rest of the property. There was a central elevation with a few smaller ones to the side. But it looked just the same as the rest of the farm.
“I don’t see anything interesting,” Ellis admitted after a minute of silent observation.
“The mounds the coffee stalks are planted over?” Rudá said, and Ellis nodded to show he understood. Rudá hesitated and, after taking a deep breath, resumed talking. “They’re kimberlite mounds.”
He looked at Ellis, as if the word was supposed to mean something to him. It didn’t. Ellis had never heard it until Rudá said it two seconds ago.
Rudá searched the ground, picked something up, and extended it to Ellis. It was a rock. Just a dark and nondescript rock. Ellis turned it around in his hand, but other than some parts with different colors, there was nothing special about it.
“It’s an igneous rock. The mounds are just the upper portion of a larger vertical kimberlite pipe.” Rudá ran his fingers through his hair as he stared intently at Ellis, as if willing him to understand.
“And these, um, igneous rocks, they’re important because…?” Ellis said uncertainly, shifting the nondescript rock from hand to hand. He was trying to understand, but nothing Rudá said made sense or clued Ellis as to what made this particular piece of the farm so important.
“A bunch of things, really. But these… um….” Rudá stuttered and sighed. “Kimberlites are best known for… for being deposits. Diamond deposits.”
It took a minute for Rudá’s words to sink in. Ellis’s gaze snapped away from those intense dark eyes and down to the rock in his hand. Then to the land around him. It still looked the same, but something unpleasant curled in his stomach.
“W-what does that mean, exactly?” Ellis asked, his voice rough. His mouth was dry, and his throat made a clicking sound as he swallowed.
“Most kimberlite pipes are barren—they don’t have diamonds. But about two hundred miles from here is the Canastra Cluster, which does have diamonds. A lot of diamonds,” Rudá recited, completely ignoring Ellis’s question. “Back when your great-great-grandfather bought the farm, this piece made part of it. He sold some of the land after running into financial trouble. Your aunt did her best to buy most of it back, but this was the most difficult piece.”
Rudá turned back toward the coffee stalks around them. Ellis’s mind was still reeling, his head going back to that word diamond.
“I’m sure all of this explanation serves a purpose,” Ellis said, doing his best to keep his frustration from bubbling to the surface. “But I still have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”
Rudá smiled, but it was sad and strained. He stuck one hand in his pocket and pulled something out. He held out his closed fist over Ellis’s open palm.
“Most kimberlite cones are barren.” He opened his fist, and something cool fell into the palm of Ellis’s hand. “These ones aren’t.”
Ellis stared at the object resting in the center of his palm. All he did for a long time was just stare and blink. And then blink some more. It was small, maybe the size of the nail on his pinkie finger. Almost completely translucent, it looked like two pyramids stacked one on top of the other, with their bases pressed together.
The broken pieces of information fell into place, and Ellis’s eyes widened at the implication the clear crystal in his palm brought into focus.
“So.” Ellis cleared his throat when his voice came out rougher than intended. “What you’re saying is there’s a diamond deposit, underneath those… mounds?”
“Potential diamond deposit,” Rudá said, shrugging as if he hadn’t just delivered earth-shattering news.
“Potential? What the hell does that mean? Actually, what the hell does any of this mean?” Ellis gestured wildly, the diamond slipping from his hand.
He squeaked as it went soaring through the air. It fell somewhere on the grass, and Ellis momentarily panicked, hoping he hadn’t been careless enough to lose a diamond.
But Rudá quickly found the gem and pocketed it. Ellis let out a loud breath and lowered his head.
Diamonds! Never, not in a million years, would he have guessed there was a literal diamond field in his aunt’s, well… fields! The idea was too farfetched for him to have ever considered it.
And yet here they were. Standing not five feet from what, according to Rudá, was a mound filled with diamonds. At least that’s what Ellis pictured it as being.
“Your aunt wanted to do geological studies in this area. But things kept coming up, and by the time she managed to get enough money and line up someone she trusted to do it, her heart started to fail. We recently found this one by chance,” Rudá said, patting the pocket he’d just put the diamond in.
“That’s why the Madeiras want to buy this piece of land so badly? Because of all the….” Ellis gestured toward Rudá’s pocket and then the mounds.
“Yeah, they’ve had their eyes set on this piece of land for years. Your aunt outbidding them even while buried in debt did not sit well with them. Especially Carlos.” Rudá chuckled darkly and shook his head. “He had some choice words for your aunt after the auction.”
“But… why does it matter that this is here?” Ellis asked, trying to understand all the pieces.
“Your aunt tried to keep it quiet, but there are public records back from your great-great-grandfather’s time. Carlo’s isn’t 100 percent sure what’s out here, but he knows enough to offer you more money than this land is worth.” Rudá ran a hand through his hair, eyes scanning the horizon. “He’d strip the land
and sell the rights to mine it faster than you can blink.”
“Mining?” Ellis asked stupidly, mind still reeling.
“Strip mine, to be more precise. It would destroy this place and everything in it.” Rudá’s voice softened on the last words, and his eyes turned to scan the coffee stalks.
“That’s why you kept it from me,” Ellis said, more to himself than to anyone else, but Rudá turned to look at him anyway.
Ellis understood. Really, he did. He too might keep a diamond mine a secret from a total stranger who had simply waltzed into the farm with every intention to sell it.
Ellis didn’t really hold it against him or blame him now that he knew. Because it made sense.
“You mentioned records,” Ellis said.
“Yeah, back at the main house. If you want to see—”
“I do.” Ellis cut Rudá off.
Ellis couldn’t really say why he was so keen on having to see the records or documents. Maybe if he saw physical evidence of everything Rudá was saying, then… what? Then what?
Besides, Ellis had held the evidence in the shape of a clear diamond in the palm of his hand. Hadn’t he? Even if Rudá had kept things from him since the start, Ellis had no reason to doubt it now. Lying about a potential diamond deposit in hopes of discouraging him from selling the land made no sense.
“Okay,” Rudá said, and after one last glance at the mounds, walked back toward the car.
Ellis followed but didn’t look back.
THIRTY MINUTES later, Ellis sat at his aunt’s desk, the evidence of everything Rudá had told him staring back at him.
The ledgers and documents detailing the so-called kimberlite pipes, the purchase of the land, and even the documents detailing the loan the bank had given his aunt to purchase the land had all been hidden in Rudá’s room.
Ellis had to tamp down the flare of irritation at finding that out. But he took deep measured breaths and managed to keep his temper in check. Fighting would only delay Ellis’s plans. And he was on a schedule.