It was a good thing Sierra wasn’t hooked up to one of those video cameras that allowed the caller a view of the person they were having a conversation with. Otherwise her mother would see that her daughter’s face was beet red.
“Uh, well, it wasn’t all that early. We wanted to get home to watch a certain program on television. Then Bowie had a bout of colic. But we had a nice evening. I’ve got to go now, Mom, or I’m going to be late.”
“Bowie had colic? Oh dear, how did Alex handle all that crying?”
Like a real father, Sierra thought. For a man who’d never had siblings or been around babies, he seemed to have a natural instinct for dealing with Bowie. He handled the baby with loving ease, as though he was meant to be a daddy, not just to Bowie, but to several children. Yet she sensed that he would laugh at the very idea.
“He handled it better than I did. Bye, Mom.”
She hung up before her mother could question her further. She didn’t want to slip up and give her mother any idea that Alex had spent the night with her. Not that she would be angry about it, Sierra thought. In fact, she figured her mother would be pleased to hear that her daughter and Alex had gotten “close.” But Maria would put far too much importance on the whole affair.
Affair. Sierra had always hated the word and she didn’t like it any better this morning. She didn’t want to label her relationship with Alex as something purely sexual and short-lived. But what else could it be? she wondered glumly.
A few minutes later, Sierra was driving south, toward the Double Crown Ranch. With Red Rock behind her, the landscape opened up to short, rolling hills and green pastures dotted with spreading live oak and pecan trees.
When Sierra reached a side entrance to the ranch, she pulled through a cattle guard flanked by tall clusters of blooming pampas grass and purple sage. Off to the left, surrounded by a sandstone wall, the Double Crown ranch house sat like a Western-style castle beneath towering cottonwoods and spreading live oaks.
The sight never failed to stir Sierra and she rested her foot on the brake as she paused to take a gander at the home of one of the most famous families in south Texas.
The adobe structure had a flat roof supported by heavy wooden beams and covered with terra-cotta-colored tiles. Wrought-iron gates opened onto a fabulous courtyard where the grounds were kept immaculate and always blooming with bougainvillea, roses and hibiscus. Sierra considered the inside of the house to be even more majestic than the grounds outside and she’d never forget as a child how intimidated she’d felt when she’d attended her first social function in the grand home.
Now that she’d grown up, she realized the Fortunes weren’t snobs. In fact, most of them were always helping some person or some worthy cause. Sadly, down through the years, there had been much tragedy in the family. Sierra could only hope the Fortune heartbreak didn’t spill onto her sister once Gloria married Jack.
Sierra lifted her foot from the brake and pressed on the gas. As the car moved forward, she said to the baby, who was strapped into the back seat and happily nursing on a pacifier, “Just think, Bowie, my sister is marrying into the Fortune family. They’re rich and famous. That’s nice. But it’s not my style. I’d rather just have you and me and Alex in the old two-story.”
Realizing how matrimonial that sounded, she shook the dreamy image from her mind. Alex might want to share her bed and her closet from time to time. But he wouldn’t be there forever. She was smart enough to prepare herself for reality.
Rosita and Ruben’s small ranch house was situated a short distance down the road from the ranch yard where cattle and horses were penned and cared for. The Perezes had worked for Ryan Fortune for many years and Rosita especially was very close to the whole family. It was obvious this would be the couple’s home for the rest of their lives.
Sierra passed several barns and corrals before she eventually turned onto a short graveled driveway that led to the Perez home. Before she could unbuckle Bowie from his safety seat, Rosita was out the front door and ambling out to the car to greet her.
If Rosita lived to be a hundred, Sierra doubted her appearance would change. For as long as she could remember, Rosita had worn her black hair pulled straight back into a bun. Even the gray streak at the temple had remained the same size and color over the years. Her thick middle was a result of her delicious cooking, just as the warm smile on her face was a product of her huge heart.
“Sierra, I was so happy when Maria called a few minutes ago. I’ve been wanting to see this baby of yours. Where is he?”
The older woman grabbed Sierra and gave her a tight hug. Sierra hugged her back and kissed the housekeeper’s smooth brown cheek. “He’s in the back. I’ll get him out.”
After Sierra unbuckled the baby from the car seat, she placed him over in the smaller carrier before she finally lifted him out of the car.
With a pleased smile on her face, Sierra presented the baby to Rosita. The older woman quickly inspected him, then waved an admonishing hand at her.
“No. No, Sierra. You shouldn’t be carrying the baby like this. Let me have the precious one and I’ll show you how to hold him like a baby should be held.”
Before Sierra could react, Rosita dug the baby out of the plastic carrier and cradled him against her soft, ample bosom. “Now see,” she said to Sierra. “He feels strong arms around him, a warm breast next to his cheek. Those are the things a baby longs for when he comes into the world. That will never change—no matter how many plastic contraptions there are in the stores.”
“Yes, I’m sure you’re right, Rosita,” Sierra agreed. “But the carrier supports his back and neck.”
Rosita rolled her brown eyes as if to say the younger generation was so misguided. “A piece of cold plastic is not what he needs. How would you like to be laid out on a board? You use your arms and your hands to support him. He needs to learn the smell and the feel of his mother. It will make him feel safe and loved.”
Since Rosita had raised several children of her own and was now helping care for her grandchildren, Sierra couldn’t doubt her experience in caring for babies.
“Okay, Rosita, I won’t use the carrier unless I’m going to set him somewhere.”
Grinning with approval, Rosita looked down at the baby. “He’s a handsome guy, Sierra,” she said, then immediately shook her head in disbelief. “What sort of woman could turn away from something so precious?”
“Not a woman, Rosita. A young teenager, who wasn’t even capable of caring for herself.”
Rosita smoothed a finger across the baby’s cheek. “Well, at least she had sense enough to give the child to you.” Turning toward the house, she motioned for Sierra to follow. “Bring his things.”
Once inside the small, neat house, Rosita sat down on the couch. Sierra needed to be back on the road, but she’d not spoken to Rosita in a while, and she didn’t want to be rude. Not when the woman was so generously helping her out with Bowie.
Easing down onto the seat of an easy chair, she said, “You’re so sweet to watch him for me like this, Rosita. Mom said you were going to be busy cooking today. I hope this isn’t going to interrupt your work.”
Rosita laughed. “You think I don’t know how to take care of a baby and cook at the same time?”
Sierra laughed along with the other woman. “I guess that was silly of me, wasn’t it.”
The Fortunes longtime housekeeper passed a keen gaze over Sierra’s appearance. “We haven’t talked in a long time. Not since your two sisters came home. Are you glad they’re back?”
“Rosita!” Sierra exclaimed with a shocked laugh. “How could you ask me such a question? Gloria and Christina are my sisters. Of course I’m glad they’re back home. And you know how my parents feel about having them near again. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so happy. Especially with Gloria planning her wedding and Christina getting engaged.”
The older woman’s lips pursed with disapproval as she continued to study Sierra. “Gloria and Christina aren’t the only
ones in the family. Maria and Jose have another daughter, too, you know. Their world doesn’t just revolve around two of their five children.”
Dropping her head, Sierra stared blankly at her linked fingers. “I understand that, Rosita. I just meant that—well, Gloria and Christina have had all sorts of problems and heartaches whereas I’ve just been little ol’ me. Nothing my parents need to worry about.”
The tsking of Rosita’s tongue told Sierra that the other woman was a little disgusted with her, although she didn’t understand why. Sierra was the one who’d come straight home from college to be with her parents, to help them with the restaurant, illnesses, family matters, anything that they needed help with. Sierra was the one who’d worn herself to a frazzle trying to patch the rift between her sisters and keep peace in the family. Most of the time during that period her private life had suffered greatly.
“But they do worry about you, Sierra. They want you to be happy, too. You have proved your love and dedication to them over and over. Don’t think they ever forget that.”
Regret saddened Sierra’s features as she looked at the other woman. “Sometimes I feel awful, Rosita. Sometimes I resent how my sisters ran off from home and responsibilities and left everything to me. And now—it looks like they’ve been rewarded for their past bad behavior. Gloria is pregnant and marrying into the Fortune family. Christina will marry a Rockwell. And me—well, why does life happen this way, Rosita? Is it fair?”
The older woman smiled gently at Sierra. “You know the old saying, Sierra. The only fair is one with cows and pigs. But you’re not to worry. I had a dream about you the other night.”
Like Sierra had told Alex at dinner the other night, Rosita had been having dreams and intuitions for years. The ones that came true always left an eerie chill down Sierra’s back. She honestly didn’t want to know what Rosita had dreamed about her for fear that it really would come to pass. “Really?”
Glancing down at Bowie, Rosita shifted the baby to a more comfortable position in her arms and then she looked up to pin her dark, serious gaze on Sierra.
“Yes. I dreamed that you would become a wife before your two sisters married.”
Sierra sucked in a shocked breath and then, the longer she thought about it, a laugh erupted from deep in her throat.
“Rosita! Have you been getting into Ryan Fortune’s wine collection? I believe you’re nipping the sauce. Or you must have had indigestion the night you had that dream. I’m not even engaged.”
“You have a fella, don’t you?” Rosita countered, clearly irritated that Sierra was fluffing off her important dream.
Sierra started to say no, Chad had left her in the dust. But Chad had never been her fella in the real sense of the word. Making love with Alex had shown her just how shallow her feelings had been toward the man.
“Uh, yes. Sort of.” After last night Alex felt like her man. At least she had to believe he’d be her man for a while. Knowing Alex’s fleeting relationships, that was the best she could hope for.
“Then you mark my word. You’ll be kneeling before the priest, saying your vows very soon.”
Unsettled by Rosita’s strange prediction, Sierra quickly rose to her feet and grabbed the diaper bag holding all the baby’s necessities. “I’m—I’m running late for work, Rosita. Let me show you about mixing Bowie’s formula and then I’ve got to be going.”
More than an hour later, Sierra was sitting at her desk, going over a family visitation report, when a co-worker paused beside her chair.
She looked up to see Vivian, a divorced, middle-aged redhead, who Sierra could always count on as a friend. The woman had worked for social services for many years and had been a veteran when Sierra had started out as a green field officer. The stressful toll showed in Vivian’s faded blue eyes and the cynical droop of her mouth, and oftentimes when Sierra looked at her friend, she wondered if that’s what trying to help people did to a person. Drained the very life from them. While her sisters had been gone from the family it had certainly taken a toll on Sierra’s outlook.
“Hi, Viv. What’s up?”
The other woman’s smile was a bit hesitant. “I’m glad you came in today. I tried to call you yesterday, but you must have been out of the house.”
Sierra turned the swivel chair so that she was facing Vivian. The woman placed a short envelope on the corner of the desk.
“What’s that?”
“A letter from Ginger’s mother. At least that’s what the return says. I didn’t open it. It came here to the department, but it’s addressed to you.”
An uneasy feeling hit Sierra’s stomach as she reached for the envelope and slowly slipped the top open with a fingernail file.
“Do you think she wants Bowie back?” Vivian asked, as she worriedly chewed on her bottom lip. “Or maybe Ginger wants him back and she’s too afraid to approach you about him.”
Just the idea of having her baby taken away made Sierra quake with fear. He was beginning to feel more and more like a child that she’d actually given birth to. Especially now that Alex was sharing the baby with her.
“I don’t know—just let me read,” Sierra answered in a strained voice.
The letter was short and to the point, the grammar and spelling not even close to being correct. But the words were full of emotion and after a moment Sierra was forced to close her eyes and blink back tears.
Placing a supportive hand on Sierra’s shoulder, Vivian asked in a hurried rush, “What’s the matter?”
Shaking her head, Sierra dabbed at her eyes and sniffed. “It’s just so sad, Viv. To think of any woman living like Mrs. Rollins is forced to live.”
“What do you mean, Sierra? The woman isn’t forced,” Vivian said mockingly. “She chose the loser husband who enjoys slapping her around. She could definitely get rid of him if she wanted to.”
Sierra glared at her co-worker’s pessimistic attitude. “Viv! Since when did you become so heartless? The woman is trying to get rid of him without getting herself killed. And that’s what she says in this letter. She and Ginger don’t want the baby to be in the Rollinses’ home. She says they love him too much to see his life ruined and they know he’ll get a good life with me.”
The last part of Mrs. Rollins’s message had left Sierra feeling very humble and weepy. She didn’t understand why the two women had considered her to be the right person to raise Bowie, but they had, and she couldn’t help feeling proud and immensely relieved.
Vivian suddenly looked deflated. “Oh. Well, I’m glad about the baby.” She cast a guilty glance at Sierra. “And that part about Mrs. Rollins doing better, I know that she’s trying. And I realize it’s hard for her. I guess—I’m just getting hard-nosed.” She sighed with weary regret. “When you see so much abuse and poverty over and over for years, you tend to get hard, Sierra. You’ll learn that after you’ve been here several more years.”
Sierra didn’t think so. If she ever stopped really caring for the people she was trying to help, then she would know it was time to get out of the job.
Patting Vivian’s hand, she said, “Maybe you should take a little time off, Viv. You could go on a nice long vacation. Heaven knows you’ve paid your dues here. I can’t remember the last time you took even a day away from work.”
Vivian batted a hand through the air and smiled. “Oh, don’t worry about me, Sierra. I haven’t burned out yet. What I’d like to know, though, is what you’re going to do about Bowie?”
Ignoring the ringing telephones and the workers bustling through the aisles of cubicles that served as offices, Sierra put the letter away and looked at her friend. “What sort of question is that?”
“A normal one, I’d think. You’re a young, beautiful woman and you’re single. Do you really think you want to be saddled with a child? And when you meet the right man, he might not want to raise someone else’s child, he might only want his own flesh and blood. Then what sort of problems are you going to have on your hands?”
Her
lips pressed together, Sierra turned the chair back to her desk and picked up the file she’d been reading. “Viv, I wouldn’t allow a man like that to live in my doghouse, much less close to me.”
“Oh, come on, Sierra. You know what I’m trying to say.”
Sierra sighed. She loved Vivian, but sometimes the woman was like sandpaper scratching a blackboard.
“I know that any man who wouldn’t accept a child of mine would be crossed off my list,” Sierra said flatly.
“Well, I suppose a woman who looks like you can afford to be choosey when it comes to men. The rest of us have to kowtow.”
Groaning, Sierra said, “Not hardly. Besides, I—well, I already have someone in my life. And he loves Bowie.”
Vivian’s eyes popped wide, but before she could fire any questions at Sierra, the office manager stuck her head around Sierra’s cubicle and ordered the other woman to her office.
Once Vivian was gone, Sierra tried her best to get back into the file she’d been going over, but some of what Vivian had been saying kept popping up in her thoughts. Sierra realized that there were men in the world who refused to raise another man’s child. But she couldn’t imagine Alex having such a selfish attitude. After all, he was adopted himself. He knew how important it was for a baby to be given a good home and family. And he seemed so attached to Bowie. If she did decide to adopt Bowie, would Alex stand beside her? she wondered. Oh God, she hoped so. Because she was beginning to realize that she couldn’t give up either one of them.
Chapter Nine
A week later, Alex was sitting in his office contemplating a lunch of tuna sandwich and a bag of potato chips when Pauline sounded off from the room next door.
“Alex, your mother is on the line.”
Since the office was empty, Pauline preferred to use the strength of her lungs rather than the intercoms on their desks. Like a blow horn, her voice nearly rattled the windows.
“I’ve got it,” he called back to his secretary and with a heavy sigh he punched in line two and picked up the receiver.
Fortune's Heirs: Reunion Page 45