by Lynde Lakes
“Keep your wrist straight,” Roberto called. “Make your upper arm muscles do the work. And follow through.”
She let the loop fly and circled a fence post. Alicia clapped and jumped up and down in delight.
“Muy Bueno,” Roberto said. “Tomorrow we’ll try a moving target.”
“Oh, I’d love that,” Amber said, “but we’ll be gone for a while. Not sure how long.”
“No problema. You—”
“We’re going on an adventure,” Alicia said proudly.
Roberto grinned down at the child. “Well, have fun niña.” Then, he told Amber, “Call me when you return, and we’ll start again.”
Amber hated to stop the lessons before she perfected the technique, but she sighed in relief when he didn’t ask questions.
After Roberto left, Amber gave Alicia her lunch, then a bath. Amber lifted the child into her arms, and drew her close, inhaling cherry shampoo. Alicia’s child-soft, warm arms encircled her neck. Amber smiled. Thank God Luke had stopped her from leaving. She’d fallen in love with this sassy little pixie and couldn’t easily leave her. Amber switched on the musical fan and put Alicia down for a nap, promising they would finish the Cinderella puzzle when she woke up.
At loose ends, Amber headed for Luke’s library to find a book for herself. An unlabeled video tape lay on his desk. Maybe it was a home video of Luke and Alicia. Pictures were worth a thousand words and she’d like to get to know her employer better. She hesitated, then thought of the two times he’d kissed her—of his body pressed hotly against hers—of her own wanton response. She chuckled. They’d gotten to know each other pretty well already. He wouldn’t mind her seeing his home videos. She smiled and shoved the cassette into the VCR and pressed play.
The TV screen brightened and the image cleared. It was her and Alicia! Frames and frames of them together. Her stomach knotted. Luke had been spying on her!
****
Sunlight swept through a window in the haymow, spilling onto a pile of golden hay. Horse snorts and hooves stomping restlessly echoed through the barn. Luke worked next to his brother, pitching fresh straw into the stalls, his fingers tight on the handle. Sweat trickled down his back, soaking his shirt, anxiety riding his raw nerves harder than a vaquero riding a bucking bronco. Now that he had made up his mind to leave, he couldn’t put off telling Matt any longer.
“Did you talk to Amber?” Matt asked, beating him to the draw.
Luke’s stomach knotted. This was his chance. “Yeah. Elmer didn’t tell her anything to help. Just talked about his family.”
Matt shot him a doubting glance. “You believe her?”
“Absolutely.”
“Why?”
The walls of the cavernous barn closed in on Luke. “I can’t explain it. Trust me on this, bro. I’m working everything out. And I have to do it my way.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I want to leave the ranch for a few months.”
“Does this have something to do with Amber?”
Luke swallowed. “Only indirectly.”
Matt leaned on the handle of his pitchfork and gave Luke his narrow-eyed, probing look. “I thought we were in this ranch business together, equal partners, equal responsibility.”
“Load on the guilt. I deserve it. I’ve fought the urge, but I’ve needed time away since I buried Connie Lou.”
“What about Alicia?”
“She goes with me. That’s why I hired Amber, to care for her.”
Matt laughed without humor and shook his head. “Where’re you going?”
Luke squared his shoulders. He felt like a ten-year-old asking permission. Except he wasn’t asking—he was telling. “Rodeo circuit—just for a few months. But you have to keep it under wraps.”
Matt swore under his breath. “Guess you know how irresponsible that sounds. Won’t be good for Alicia to be dragged all over the country, away from her home, surrounded by a bunch of roughnecks. And it won’t be good for either of you to be thrown in with strangers and away from your family.”
Luke suspected Matt was worried that he might start drinking again. For Alicia, for himself, he was staying dry one day at a time. “I think it’ll be good for both of us.” The pressure in Luke’s chest tightened. “You gonna hassle me over this?”
Matt sighed. “No. I just hope you come to your senses before you drag us all into a mess. When are you leaving?”
“Later today, or in the morning. Depends.”
“On what?”
Luke looked at his boots. “Confirming some things. Just let it go at that.”
“Amber’s rubbing off on you. You’re getting as evasive as she is. What about the charity rodeo?”
Luke forced himself to meet his brother’s gaze. “I’ll be there. I gave my word.”
Matt laughed humorlessly again. “Yeah. Like you did when I made you partner.”
Just as Mr. King-of-Control intended, guilt gathered in Luke like black clouds during a summer storm. But he had to do this. “Live with it, Matt. I’ve worked by your side for the last two years without a break. A couple of months’ change of scenery isn’t too much to ask.”
Matt removed his Stetson and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “Not much notice.”
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“Yeah. Well, keep in touch. You’ve been my right arm.”
Luke blinked. “Did I hear you right?” It was the first time Matt had ever admitted he was important to the ranch—that he needed him.
“Don’t let it go to your head,” Matt drawled.
Luke laughed. He would miss his brother. If it hadn’t been for Amber’s trouble, he might’ve scrapped his plan to leave for a while, but he wanted to get her to a doctor and away from here. He looked at his watch. “I gotta go. We can hash this out again at Buck’s place in a few days.”
Outside the barn, away from prying ears, Luke stood in the long shadow of a fence post, flipped his cellular phone open, and got Dr. De La Fuente’s nurse on the line. She had managed to juggle the doctor’s schedule, and the appointment was set for tomorrow morning at the doctor’s home office. De La Fuente had a spread near the border where he raised grapes. The three of them would stay in a two-bedroom patient cottage on the grounds. With everything settled, Luke showered in the bunk house, then humming, headed home. Amber would be relieved that he had arranged things so quickly.
When he entered the house, Alicia raced into his arms. “Daddy, Daddy,” she called, sounding out of breath. He picked her up, inhaling her powdery, just bathed scent. Her little jaw jutted defiantly and she narrowed her eyes. “Why did you make Amber mad?”
The hair on the back of Luke’s neck prickled. He removed his Stetson and hooked it on the hat rack. “Where is she?”
“Right here.” Amber stepped from the shadow of the kitchen doorway. Her green eyes sparked fire and she nailed him with a look that seared him clear through his body to the soles of his boots. She wore Levi’s and a man’s white shirt—traveling clothes. A suitcase was by the door. “Now that you’re home, I can leave,” she snapped.
“Leave?” He thought of their hot kisses. “I thought we settled all that last night.”
A swift, hot flush rose in her cheeks. “Well, you were wrong.”
Luke stood his daughter on her feet, and gave her a gentle shove. “Alicia, wait in your room, honey. Daddy needs to talk to Amber.”
Alicia stomped her tiny booted foot. “I like Amber, Daddy. And you ruined everything!”
Luke swallowed. “Daddy will fix it. Now go.”
She glared at him with little girl impudence.
Luke lowered his voice. “Go!”
When Alicia was out of hearing distance, he said, “Let’s talk in the library.” He reached for Amber’s arm.
She stepped back. “There’s nothing to talk about. I’m leaving. Period.”
“What happened?” In spite of his tight control, his voice came out husky and chok
ed with dread.
“You made me trust you, rely on you!”
His attempt at a grin failed. “I’d say that’s a good thing.”
“You didn’t trust me, yet you ask me to trust you.”
“I trust you. I hired you, brought you into my home—”
Moisture glistened in her eyes. “And then you spied on me! Invaded my privacy, for God’s sake.”
The video! The cord in the back of Luke’s neck tightened. He clenched his hands. Dammit, he had trusted her, but he had to admit that the tape had reassured him. Damn, he shouldn’t have let Matt talk him into spying. “I can explain.”
She folded her arms across her breasts. “Although it might be a kick to hear you try to wheedle your way out of this—”
“Wait a minute,” Luke said, narrowing his eyes. “Why were you snooping around in my library, playing my personal videos?”
“I thought we were friends,” she said, “and that the video might be of Alicia.” She paused and frowned. “Hey, don’t try to reverse the blame here.”
“I see no difference between snooping and spying,” he said.
She lifted her chin. “Well, I do.”
They were both shouting now, and their heated words were bound to upset Alicia. Luke grabbed Amber’s arm to usher her out of his daughter’s earshot. Amber tried to shake free. He couldn’t let her go. He had everything planned. He didn’t have time to analyze why he felt he was bargaining for his life.
“Take your hands off of me, Luke.”
He refused to let the loathing in her voice stop him. With a firm grip, he hustled her to the library and kicked the door closed. He took a deep breath to calm down, and gently eased her into the upholstered swivel chair behind his desk. Without releasing his hold, he leaned over her.
She glared up at him. “Your roughshod tactics won’t work with me.”
He bent down before her on one knee and took her hands in his. When she tried to pull away, he tightened his grip. They had both invaded each other’s space, but he couldn’t let this argument escalate any further. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to video you—I shouldn’t have.” Damn Matt and his brilliant ideas. “But I had to be sure Alicia was in good hands. You have to admit, your application was sketchy, and you avoided questions like the plague.”
****
Amber’s heart quickened at the truth of his words. He’d only been protecting his daughter. She had to admire him for that. Luke’s nearness closed in on her—his smoldering gaze caressed her like enveloping flames. “It’s hard to get past knowing you were watching my every move,” she said softly.
“Not every move.” His voice lowered and hummed through her. “There weren’t any cameras in your bedroom or the bathrooms.” Before she could respond, Luke added, “It won’t happen again.” His face was a sculpture of strong angles and planes—fiercely and totally male. Luke’s intensity burned her like a hot branding iron. He drew her to her feet, bringing her even closer.
A hot flush rose in her cheeks. She stepped back from his heat, his maleness, and hated that she was still irreversibly attracted to him. “We have to set some ground rules, Luke.” Even as she said it, she didn’t believe that either of them could ignore the fire between them for long.
He sighed. “I know.” Magnetism radiated from the hard planes of his face and the lean lines of his body, charging the air around him. After several heartbeats, he added, “There’s too much at stake.” He was silent again as though reining in his own desires. Then, he studied her face with a masked expression. “Everything’s set. We need to leave right away.”
He was right. There was too much at stake for her to back out now. She would do whatever was necessary to get her memory back. A tiny voice deep within told her there was more at risk than her memory, and even her life. Luke was trouble, but she was falling for him and couldn’t stop herself. And she couldn’t love Alicia more if she were her own child. The longer she stayed, the harder it would be to go, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave them, not yet. “All right,” she said. “Rev up your plane.”
****
Luke piloted the six-passenger Cessna while Amber and Alicia huddled together playing games in the seats behind the cockpit. For a while they pointed out clouds that resembled zoo animals, and then they crayoned in Alicia’s coloring book.
It was a relief to be away from Luke for a while. Amber hoped the distance between the cockpit and her seat in the cabin would defuse their sexual attraction and make it easier for her to think. Unfortunately, her bewildered mind was like butterfly wings, fluttering about aimlessly, unable to form a concrete thought.
She glanced toward the cockpit. The back of Luke’s head was well shaped, and the powerful expanse of his shoulders looked capable of shouldering all of their problems. Something deep within rebelled at the thought of letting him have that much control. But you need help, a small internal voice argued. Then, flashes of the sneaky video played repeatedly in her head, tormenting her.
When they landed at the private airstrip near Dr. De La Fuente’s villa, a classic, eight-window, white limousine met their little group. Inside the vehicle, Alicia wedged herself between her daddy and Amber. She talked a blue streak, seemingly unaware of the tension raging between the adults.
The dusty road curved through acres of grape vineyards. The setting sun and smudges of rust-colored clouds streaked low in the sky, giving the world a surreal glow. The painted sky and flat beauty of the vine-strewn landscape should have made Amber’s trouble seem a thousand miles away, but the closer they got to their destination the more her stomach knotted. A quick glance at Luke’s stony face only made the knots tighter.
Amber bit her lip. While she had struggled with her doubts throughout the flight, Alicia’s infectious excitement and delight had been a welcome distraction. Now Amber had to face her fear. Was she afraid the doctor couldn’t help her? Or that he’d uncover something horrible?
When they arrived at their cottage, Luke took their bags inside, then left to attend to the plane. Amber got herself and Alicia ready for bed. Afterward, they curled up in a big wicker chair in their robes to read a while. Amber’s hand trembled as she turned the pages of Jack and The Bean Stalk.
“What’s the matter, Amber?” Alicia asked, looking up at her with huge, blue eyes.
“It’s been a long day, Rosebud, and I’m exhausted.” Calling Alicia Rosebud reminded Amber of Luke’s invasion of her privacy. Her face warmed, wondering what had gone through his mind as he watched her.
Alicia patted Amber’s cheek with baby soft fingers. “Are you ’fraid of the doctor?”
Amber forced a smile. “A little.” Would the doctor be able to help her? Or was this just a wasted trip? At least coming here had whisked her far from the reach of the killer.
****
The next morning, Amber clutched Luke’s and Alicia’s hands. They assured her she’d be fine. Maybe so, but she would have been more comfortable meeting the doctor at a real hospital than at his home. Outside, the sun baked the earth unmercifully, but inside the doctor’s mission style villa the air blasting from AC vents had turned the rooms as cool as a tomb. The rooms were silent, as though the walls held mysterious secrets. In a home this large, there had to be servants, but if they were moving about, they came and went like ghosts.
A shapely nurse with eyes and hair as black as ebony showed them to a garden. She had skin like mocha cream and her tight, thigh-length uniform made her look more like a centerfold for Esperanza Compañero De Juego, Mexico’s equivalent of Playmate Magazine, than a medical assistant.
Before Amber could take a seat in one of the padded wrought iron chairs, the nurse said, “Por favor, follow me, Señorita.”
Amber took a deep breath and followed the nurse to a small room at the back of the rambling house. It was equipped like a regular hospital examining room. So far, so good.
“Undress and put this on,” the nurse said, handing Amber a tissue-thin paper gown.
The room grew colder. By the time the dark, hawk-nosed doctor entered the room, Amber’s teeth were chattering. In a thick Spanish accent, De La Fuente introduced himself curtly, then issued commands as he examined her. She felt like a frozen piece of meat as he checked her back and head. He flashed a small pencil light into her eyes and asked her follow the beam.
“Squeeze your eyes shut as tightly as you can,” De La Fuente said as he pressed hard all over her face.
He asked her a series of questions. When he learned it had been over a week since the root incident without her symptoms growing more severe, he felt confident that the blow to the back of her head hadn’t caused the amnesia. However, to rule out any serious injury, he decided to send her to the nearest hospital for a skull CT scan and an EEG.
De La Fuente immediately sent her by helicopter to have the tests, attended by his nurse. Luke insisted upon going, too. And he brought Alicia along. During the flight, he read Little Critters and The Fussy Princess to Alicia. Father and daughter seemed relaxed, as though on vacation. Amber sat ramrod stiff next to the nurse, thinking of the horror stories she had heard about Mexican hospitals and unapproved drugs. To get her mind off the whole foreign hospital bit, she decided to engage the nurse in conversation. “You’re related to the doctor?” she asked in a questioning tone over the propeller and engine noise. Amber had seen affectionate glances between doctor and nurse.
The nurse smiled proudly. “Si. He is mi padre.”
Amber’s face grew warm. Her father. She’d thought perhaps he might be the young woman’s lover. “Does he see patients at home often?”
“When he is on vacation, he does so. For special friends.”
Amber felt another surge of guilt. She was intruding on his time at home. And here she was thinking ungracious thoughts. Although she hated going to the hospital, the tests the doctor ordered suggested he might actually know what he was doing.
When they landed on the hospital roof, Amber was surprised how quickly and efficiently everything moved along. You would have thought her care was urgent. The tests were painless, and knowing Luke and Alicia were waiting nearby gave her a sense of belonging somewhere. Even for a little while.