She grimaced. “Yes. No. I mean—that wasn’t the reason we parted. It was something far deeper than that.” Her gaze slipped to the middle of his chest. “He…uh…he wanted me to forget that I was Apache.”
Ross stared at her, certain he’d heard her wrong. “What?”
Dusky pink color filled her cheeks as her eyes darted up to his. “It sounds so—well, I’ve never told anyone this. Not my friends back in Dona Ana County or my mother or godmother. It was just too humiliating. They wouldn’t understand—or maybe they would,” she added sadly.
“I don’t get it, Bella. Surely this man realized you were part Apache from the very beginning.”
Her head jerked up and down. “Yes, he knew. And he acted as though it didn’t matter. But later, as I began to share my dreams for the future with him, he…well, everything changed. It made him angry that I wanted to return to the Jicarilla. He said I was stupid for wanting to live where there were nothing but goats and—” she paused and swallowed at the ball of anger and embarrassment clogging her throat “—and dirty Indians. He said that if I ever expected to be his wife I would have to stay in Las Cruces and live the white man’s way.”
Ross’s eyes narrowed with anger. “Why, the ignorant bastard! What did he think you were going to do? Grind corn and weave baskets? Didn’t he understand you were going to practice law there?”
Shrugging, she glanced away from him and out to the mesa where the morning sun was streaking the desert mountains with pinks and purples.
“He argued that I was already practicing law in Las Cruces. There wasn’t any need for me to set up an office on the Jicarilla—that the tribal police never arrested anybody anyway and that all Indians who lived on the reservation could basically get away with murder.”
“Sounds like a real nice guy,” he drawled in a voice full of contempt. “What did you tell him?”
Realizing she’d been holding her breath, Isabella released the stale air in her lungs and pushed a shaky hand through her tangled hair. “I told him that my Apache godmother was clairvoyant, and she had told me I would someday marry a brave man. So I knew he wasn’t that man.”
Behind her, Ross smiled, glad she’d put the lowlife in his place and glad, too, that she’d not promised to marry him and compromise her heritage and her dreams. She deserved better. No, he corrected himself, she deserved the very best. A husband who would adore her…the way he adored her.
The thought brought him up short. He couldn’t think about marriage! Not after the lesson he’d learned with Linda. And it would be the very same way with Isabella. She was hell-bent on practicing law on the Jicarilla. It was her dream. She wouldn’t give that up for him. He’d be crazy to think she would.
Suddenly she turned and, laying her hands upon the middle of his chest, looked beseechingly up at him.
“What are you thinking, Ross? That I was wrong? That I was selfish?”
His hand came up to stroke the side of her head. “Of course I don’t think that,” he murmured gently.
“I suppose…I can’t expect a white man to understand this drive I have…this need to help my people.” The corners of her mouth turned downward. “How could I expect it when my own brother has deserted his Apache heritage and chosen money as the main priority in his life?”
She didn’t want money. Nor did she want fame. In those two ways she was very unlike Linda. But there was still the fact that she would eventually be on her way to the Jicarilla and Ross would be left in the dust.
“I understand it, Bella. You feel the same thing I feel for this ranch.” And for you, he wanted to add. But he couldn’t say that much to her. He couldn’t be like that selfish jerk back in Las Cruces and ask her to give up her dreams.
Her eyes scanned his face for long moments. “I almost believe that you do.”
An empty ache suddenly filled his chest, but he smiled at her anyway.
“You’re still going to the dance with me, aren’t you?”
The dance? In all that had just happened between them, she’d almost forgotten about the evening ahead.
Impulsively, she rose up on tiptoes and softly kissed his cheek. “I’ll be ready.”
A puzzled frown on his face, he rubbed the spot her lips had touched. “What was that for?”
She smiled helplessly up at him. “I don’t know. For listening to me, I guess. And for understanding.”
His lips twisted. “And do you understand I’d still like to toss you onto that bed over there and make love to you?”
Her nostrils flared as heat rushed to the most intimate parts of her body. Quickly, she dropped her hands from his chest and turned away from him. “Yes. But I won’t let you.”
He wished he felt as strong-willed as she sounded, Ross thought wryly. Then, heading toward the door, he tossed over his shoulder.
“You’d better go make yourself some more breakfast before I try to change your mind.”
Chapter Ten
Soft and frilly. Ross’s description for what she should wear to the Cattlemen’s Ball was hardly enough information to tell her if the event was dressy or casual.
By that afternoon, Isabella had searched through all her clothing and decided she’d better give Victoria a call just to make sure she didn’t embarrass herself or Ross tonight.
“Very dressy, Bella,” Victoria told her. “Mostly long gowns. You’ll see a few short cocktail dresses. But for the most part it’s a glamour scene.” She laughed softly. “If you can think of glamour around here. We’re not exactly Hollywood or New York. But the women do like the chance to dress up, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, dear. I don’t have those types of dresses with me. Is there someplace in Aztec I could find a dress at this late hour?”
“Why would you want to do that when there’s no need? I have several dresses there at the ranch that would work,” Victoria quickly assured her. “You’re welcome to wear any of them you’d like.”
Victoria’s generosity took her by surprise. She’d known Ross’s sister was a nice person, but she’d not expected the woman to treat her like family. The notion left her feeling both warm and sad at the same time.
“I couldn’t.”
“Why not? I won’t be wearing them,” Victoria replied.
Isabella frowned at this information. “Aren’t you and Jess going tonight?”
“Yes. But I purchased another dress to wear. Those on the T Bar K have gotten…uh…a little snug.”
“Oh. But what if I tear something or stain it?”
Victoria laughed. “I’ve done that myself a time or two. It’s just a dress, Isabella. And I’d gladly give you a dozen dresses for what you’re doing for my brother.”
It wasn’t exactly what Isabella was doing for Ross, she thought, it was what she wanted to do to him that had her worried. Her face pink even though Victoria couldn’t see her, she said, “Well, if you’re sure. Where do I find them?”
“Look in the closet in the bedroom next to the one you’re staying in. I think Marina hung everything in there. And there are heels to match them somewhere. They might be stowed under the bed. I’m not sure. But the heels are all size seven, if that will work. And the dresses are eights.”
Relief poured through Isabella. “That’s perfect! I’ll go look now. And thank you, Victoria.”
“My pleasure, Bella. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yes. Goodbye.”
“Uh, Bella, just one more thing before you hang up.”
“Yes?”
“I’m very glad you’re going to be with Ross tonight. You’re exactly what he needs.”
Victoria’s warm words touched her deeply. Yet she knew the woman was wrong. Ross needed a woman without inhibitions or fears. He needed a woman willing to share his bed without asking for a piece of his heart.
Emotion suddenly thickened her throat, making her voice husky. “I’ll—I’ll see you tonight, Victoria. And thank you.”
Isabella hung up the phone before Ross’
s sister could say more and hurried into the bedroom adjoining hers. She found a closet full of clothes—very expensive clothes—and spent the next half hour trying to choose the most flattering dress from the dozen or so hanging on the rack.
Finally, she carried a red tulle done in a princess style and a full skirted organza in antique ivory down to the kitchen to get Marina’s opinion.
The older woman was patting out tortilla dough, which she made fresh every day. Flour splotched her apron and a spot on her brown cheek. She smiled as she spotted Isabella coming into the room.
“What do you have there, chica?”
“Dresses for the Cattlemen’s Ball tonight. Which do you think I should wear?”
Wiping her hands on her apron, Marina came over for a closer inspection of the evening gowns.
“Stand out and hold each one to you so I can see how you would look.”
Isabella did as she instructed. First she held the red dress to the front of her body, then the ivory. Marina studied both garments thoughtfully, then finally pointed to the red tulle.
“That one. It makes your eyes sparkle.”
Isabella smiled. “Okay. I’ll go with your choice. Red is a lucky color for an Apache. And I need all the luck I can get.”
Marina frowned at Isabella’s logic. “Now why do you need luck, chica? You’ll be at the dance with the best looking man in San Juan County.”
Isabella’s gaze dropped to her feet. “Yes. Because I’m his lawyer and I just happen to be here. But that’s okay. I need the luck for—well, everyone could use a little extra luck.”
Clearly disappointed at Isabella’s attitude, Marina’s head began to swing back and forth. “Chica, don’t you know by now that Ross loves you?”
Isabella gasped as she looked at the cook. “Marina! Where did you get such a ridiculous idea?”
Waving a hand in the air, the older woman went back to making her tortillas. “I have eyes. I can see for myself what’s been going on around here. Ross is different since you came to the ranch.”
Of course he was different, Isabella concluded. His brother-in-law had been shot, almost fatally. He’d initially been accused of the crime, and then he’d learned an old acquaintance had been murdered on his own land.
That was more than enough to make a man behave differently. Love didn’t enter into the picture. And as far as Ross was concerned, it never would.
“You’d better get those eyes of yours checked, Marina. You’re seeing things that aren’t really there.”
The dance was held in a large building on the outskirts of town that was used for civic affairs throughout the year.
Folding tables and chairs had been positioned at one end of the huge room, while the opposite end had been cleared for dancing on tile that had been sprinkled with cornmeal to make cowboy boots slide a little better. More metal chairs lined the walls and in one corner near the tables, a small buffet had been set up with snacks and drinks.
By the time Isabella and Ross arrived, the band was already playing a mix of old and new country tunes intermingled with popular classics. A few couples were already dancing, but Ross made no indication he was ready to join them. Instead, he took her around and introduced her to several cattlemen and their wives, who also owned ranches in the area. None of theirs would compare to the T Bar K, but Ross, she noticed, treated them all with equal respect.
She also noted that he didn’t mention anything about her being his lawyer, and she wondered if he’d done that purposely because he didn’t want his friends and acquaintances to think he was in need of legal defense. No. She didn’t believe that was the case. Ross wasn’t the sort of man to hide from anything, including gossip. The fact that they were here, mingling among the members of the local Cattlemen’s association, instead of back at the T Bar K only proved that much.
“Well, here’s a man who needs no introduction,” Ross said with a grin that was reserved for his closest friends.
Isabella turned to see Neal Rankin walking up to them and she smiled at the handsome lawyer. “Hello, Neal.”
He smiled back at her, then made a point of eyeing her from head to toe. “My, my, my,” he drawled. “You look just like a piece of candy in that red dress with your hair all piled up on your head. You’re just too beautiful for this little ole shindig, Bella.”
She couldn’t stop a thrill of pleasure from rushing through her as she felt Ross’s arm slip possessively around the back of her waist.
“You’re being kind, Neal,” she said. “Especially when Ross didn’t tell me about this dance until this morning.”
Grinning slyly, Neal clicked his tongue. “Ross has never understood women. He doesn’t have a clue that you need time for preparation.”
Ross glared at him. “Why are you here without a date?” he asked crossly.
Neal shrugged. “I’m just not as lucky as you, buddy. I couldn’t find a date.”
“Well, if you keep flirting with mine, you’re not going to be able to go to work tomorrow.”
The amused look on Neal’s face said the last thing he felt was threatened. “Speaking of work. I’ve noticed most of your hands have shown up tonight.”
Ross nodded. “I encouraged them all to attend tonight. And I think everybody is here, except Linc. Another mare was showing signs of foaling and he wouldn’t leave her.”
“Somebody needs to tell that guy that most mares have their babies just fine without any help,” Neal remarked.
“Yeah. Linc handles each one of them like a queen.”
Neal inclined his head toward three young men standing near the entrance of the building. Isabella followed the direction of his gaze to see Steve, Tim and Jamie, the three T Bar K hands she’d mentally labeled as shiftless.
“It’s too bad those three aren’t as ambitious as Linc or Skinny. They’d be worth keeping.”
Ross frowned at his friend. “I plan on keeping all three of them. They’re just young, and each one of them came from a troubled family. They haven’t really learned about work ethics yet. But I want to give them a chance. I believe they’ll come around and eventually do things without having to be prodded.”
“Maybe one of them already has,” Neal remarked.
Ross cut a sharp look at the lawyer. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Neal glanced at Isabella as though to gauge her reaction to his comment. She raised her brows in helpless fashion.
His expression suddenly serious, Neal turned his gaze back to Ross, “Look, buddy, I know you don’t want to think that any of your men tried to kill Jess and frame you. But let’s face it, there were no visitors around that day on the ranch. You said so yourself.”
“Angela Bowers was there for about fifteen or twenty minutes. She’d stopped by to talk to me about the fundraising for this ball.”
Isabella looked at him in surprise. “You never mentioned her being at the ranch before.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important. She’s harmless.”
Neal snorted at Ross’s understatement. “Hell, I doubt Angela Bowers can ride a horse, much less shoot a rifle. She’d be afraid of breaking a fingernail. Besides, the woman thinks you walk on water. She’d hardly want to frame you for murder. No, I believe one of your men is out to harm you. And in my opinion, I wouldn’t turn my back on any one of that trio standing over there by the door.”
A cool shiver passed over Isabella’s skin. She’d not thought of the three men in those terms. In fact, all of Ross’s cowboys seemed incapable of such a heinous crime. So who did that leave as suspects? Someone who’d entered the ranch unseen? But that didn’t make sense, either. The shooter had to have been at the ranch house in order to steal Ross’s rifle.
“What do you think, Bella?” Ross asked her. “You believe Neal’s on the right track?”
She glanced up at him and for a moment her heart was frozen with fear. If anything were to happen to him, her world would go black. It was that simple.
“I—well�
�” She pressed her hand to her throat as she tried to push the dark thought away. “I’ve noticed the young men are a tad lazy and a bit cocky. And they tend to run in their own little pack. But that’s probably because they’re younger than the other men you have working for you and they feel more comfortable with friends of their own age. As far as I’m concerned, none of those traits makes any of them a killer.”
Ross smiled at the same time Neal’s lips pressed to a grim line.
“I hope you’re right, Bella,” Neal said. “But if one of them isn’t the shooter, then who is? One of Ross’s long-time, devoted cowhands? That’s even harder for me to swallow.”
Ross scowled at him. “I didn’t come here tonight for this. Could you change the subject?”
The other man seemed to understand that Ross wasn’t bantering now and immediately he turned a brilliant smile on Isabella.
“Well, Bella, since Ross is tired of hearing me talk, would you like to dance?”
Neal had hardly gotten the words from his mouth when Ross barked. “Hell, no, she wouldn’t. She’s here to dance with me. Go find your own partner.”
Isabella understood the exchange between the two men was nothing more than jousting between old friends. Yet to think Ross might feel even the tiniest bit possessive of her, made her feel more special than she could ever remember. Especially when there was a bevy of young beauties here tonight, the majority of which had their eyes on the most eligible bachelor in the county.
“Ross! You’re going to hurt his feelings,” Isabella scolded as he led her out onto the dance floor.
Ross chuckled under his breath. “Hurt Neal’s feelings? The man doesn’t have any.”
“You’re joking, I hope.”
His hand tightened around her back as he drew the front of her up against him. “Yeah,” he said, grinning down at her. “I’m joking. Neal has been my best friend since we were in kindergarten. He’s more like a brother than anything.”
“He’s a good man,” Isabella said, “But then, so are you.”
His green eyes glittered down at her. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I was feeling right now.” The hand holding hers released her fingers and moved to the tiny diamond nestling between the faint cleavage exposed above the neckline of her dress. With his forefinger tracing a faint trail over her soft skin, he said, “You look so beautiful all I can think about is making love to you.”
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