Now what are you going to do?
The nagging voice would not leave him alone. It was demanding an answer. An answer he was not certain he was ready to give.
He kissed Gaby lightly on the lips and left. He once again kept to the shadows of the night for cover, not wishing to hurt her by someone seeing him leave her quarters so late at night.
He was deep in thought as he entered his room, removed his clothes, and slipped into bed. His thoughts flourished as he lay with his arms pillowing his head. His eyes focused on the ceiling while an idea began to take seed in the recesses of his mind.
It would take time. It wouldn’t be easy. There would be many opposed to it, perhaps even Gaby herself. They had been raised in different worlds, with different ideals and expectations. Could those worlds merge?
The answer, he realized, could be found in only one place... his heart. And there was no denying what his heart told him. He loved Gaby and nothing—absolutely nothing—else mattered.
He would find a way to make Gaby his wife.
“You’re mine, Gaby. You will always be mine,” he whispered into the darkness. “No one shall have you but me. No one.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Is this yours, Gaby?” Lupe asked one evening as she and Gaby sat in the cookhouse. She held the end of the white ribbon between her chubby fingers and swung it back and forth.
Gaby’s hand grabbed at her long braid that lay draped over her left shoulder. It took a moment for her to realize when she had last worn it. It had been three weeks ago. The night of the holy festival; she had left it in Rafael’s room.
She stared across the table at Lupe, then lowered her head to look down into her glass of lemonade. She tried to find the courage to raise her head and face the plump woman of whom she had grown so fond, but it was difficult. What she had done was wrong.
Gaby took a deep breath and said the only thing that would make any sense. “I love him, Lupe.”
Tears filled the older woman’s eyes and a concerned ache touched her heart. She lowered the ribbon to the table. “Oh, nina, no good can come of this.”
Gaby lifted her head. “I know. I’ve told myself the same thing repeatedly. But it doesn’t do any good. He looks at me and my heart melts. I try to stay out of his way, but lately he always seems to be around. I can’t say no to him. My mind tells me I am foolish, but my heart tells me it is right.
“It isn’t right,” Lupe said, reaching out her hand to hers and squeezing it. “You are a good girl.”
Gaby shook her head in disagreement.
Lupe squeezed her hand harder. “You are a good girl. And you deserve more than being a ranchero’s mistress.”
Gaby winced at the word.
“I do not understand Don Rafael. He has only been involved with the willing women of the hacienda. The ones that make it obvious they are interested in him, but it never lasts long and they, as well as he, are aware of this.
“He did not force me. I was willing.”
“You are young, inexperienced. He should have known better.”
“But I wanted him. I still do. I love him.”
“Nonsense,” Lupe scolded, “you think you love him. He is handsome, strong, and powerful. These are the things you see and mistake for love.”
“No, Lupe” Gaby said softly. “Those aren’t the things I see when I look at him. I see a man who has locked away his pain and refuses to release it. I see the deep love and loyalty he holds under lock and key, afraid to give it away for fear of being hurt again. I see a strong, yet sensitive man. I see the man I will love... forever.”
Lupe crossed herself. “Dios Mio, you really do love him.”
Gaby nodded while the tears ran down her cheeks.
Lupe slipped out of her chair and around to Gaby, hugging her to her ample bosom. “We must do something. This cannot go on.”
Gaby pulled back. “I don’t know what to do. I must serve my punishment. I just can’t leave.”
Lupe wiped Gaby’s tears away with the end of her bright yellow apron. “You cannot stay. You will be the one to suffer, not him.
Gaby wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly to what Lupe was referring. She could get pregnant and then what?
“You must speak with Padre Jose. He will help you.”
“I can’t,” Gaby insisted, unable to even give thought to the idea of confessing such a thing to the padre.
“But he can speak to Don Rafael, make him see how wrong this is, and how he should release you from your punishment.”
“I don’t think I can do that, Lupe. I would be too embarrassed to discuss such a thing with the padre.”
Lupe placed her hand on Gaby’s shoulder. “If you continue this way, you know what the results will be.”
“And what if they are already?”
Lupe was about to speak when Gaby stopped her, holding up her hand. “Don’t, Lupe. Don’t tell me he’d marry me off to one of his vaqueros. I couldn’t stand to hear that right now.”
“Then you better think about what I suggested,” —she warned— “before it’s too late.”
“I will give it thought.”
“Good,” Lupe said, satisfied that at least she would consider it. She returned to her chair, refilling their glasses with more lemonade.
“Lupe,” Gaby said with a bit of hesitancy. “Does anyone else know of this?”
“Elena found your ribbon in Don Rafael’s room. She remembered it from the Holy Day festivities,” Lupe answered and seemed reluctant to continue.
“There is more?”
“Elena also saw Don Rafael leaving your room the other night and... she’s noticed Don Rafael’s room remains locked in the morning.”
Gaby blushed and buried her face in her hands. She had not meant for those times to happen. He always seemed to be around in the late evening. He’d look at her with such passion, run a faint caress over her as he passed her, tempt her with suggestive whispers or steal quick kisses when no one was about, and she’d be lost, and soon after she would find herself sharing his bed or hers.
“Don’t be ashamed, Gaby,” Lupe consoled, “Elena and I are the only ones who know and we will say nothing.”
Gaby tried to smile, but this time her usual brightness didn’t make it to her lips. “I am lucky to have friends such as you and Elena.”
“Yes, we are lucky to have each other, and that is why you must think seriously about what I told you. We are different from the rancheros. You must remember that.”
“I will give it thought,” Gaby said softly and stood. She bid Lupe good night and went to her quarters slipping into bed alone for the first time in many days.
~~~
The sun was bright and the day hot. Gaby balanced the light basket of flowers on her hip as she walked toward the courtyard. Dona Maria had the hacienda in an uproar over the impending arrival of the Galvezes. They were due any day and everyone was busy making certain everything was prepared.
Gaby must have changed the flowers ten times, and still the matron insisted they weren’t right, so she was sent out for more. She didn’t mind though. The chore kept her busy and away from the hacienda and Rafael. Since her talk with Lupe a few days before, she was doing well keeping her distance from him. She had even managed to stay out of his way in the late evenings, sneaking out after she had attended to Dona Maria.
She knew her luck wouldn’t last, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak to Padre Jose. She just couldn’t confess her love for Rafael to him. It was private, personal, and a problem which she alone must deal with.
Her step was light and cheerful for the first time in several days as she neared the courtyard. She heard the soft steady whimper as she walked through the opening in the brick adobe wall. She stopped a moment and listened. It was a pathetic cry and it broke Gaby’s heart.
She looked about and saw no one. She placed her basket on the wooden bench near the wall and followed the woeful sound. It led her to the corner of the wall where it m
et with the archway. There huddled in the corner was a small boy.
He jumped up when he caught sight of her and braced his small frame against the wall.
Gaby recognized him. He was Carlos’s son Nieto. He was only four years old. His chubby cheeks were flushed from too much crying and his big dark eyes were wet with tears.
“What’s wrong, Nieto?” she asked in a soothing voice.
He sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “My straw hat is gone.”
Gaby bent down to his height. She reached out her hand to him and he took it. “Can I help you find it?”
“No,” he said, walking into the circle of her arms.
She hugged him and smiled. “Why can’t I help you?”
He sniffed and sighed several times. “I know where it is.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
He tugged at her hand and she stood, following him. He walked to the opposite side of the courtyard, turned, and pointed his plump little finger toward the tile roof.
Gaby’s eyes followed his finger and there up on the tile roof sat his straw hat.
“Don Raphael gonna yell at me,” he cried, and the tears started again.
Gaby bent down and hugged him. “No, Nieto, he won’t yell.”
“Yes. Yes, he will. This is my number two hat. He says for me not to lose it this time.”
“You lost one before?”
He shook his head. “No, the big boys took it.”
“And you didn’t tell Don Rafael?”
“No, they told me they’d hurt me if I did.”
Gaby was angry, but guarded her tone when she spoke. “Did the big boys do this?”
He nodded.
Gaby wondered if it was the same big boys who had played pranks on her, although she had never seen them about whenever something happened. Still, the thought that they could even pick on such a small defenseless child angered her.
“I’ll get your hat, Nieto.”
Her voice was so full of strength and promise that Nieto smiled and threw his small arms around her, hugging her.
Gaby hugged him back. “Will you help me?” she asked, standing.
“Yes,” he said, rapidly.
“Good. I need to move this bench over to the end of the roof.”
The next few minutes were spent moving things around, and by the time the unlikely pair finished their task a small mountain of benches and tables sat beneath the roof’s edge.
Gaby eyed it doubtfully. It didn’t look too balanced or safe, but at the moment it didn’t really matter. She had no intentions of disappointing Nieto. She was going to get that hat, and that’s all there was to it.
“You stand back and watch,” she ordered the boy, not wanting him to get hurt.
“Okay.”
She couldn’t help but grin at his jubilant expression. It gave her that bit of extra encouragement she needed.
Gaby’s bare feet tested the first bench. Sturdy and sound. She made her climb to the next one and found it sturdy too. She went on climbing, the structure swaying more precariously as she neared the top.
She reached up, grabbing hold of one of the red tiles that lined the roof. She tried pulling herself up, but found it difficult. A good boost was what she needed, and without giving thought to her actions, she gave a hard shove with her feet against the small bench she was perched on.
It did the trick. She was up on the roof in a flash. And she turned just in time to see her make-shift ladder crumble to the ground below.
Nieto had run to safety, hiding behind the brick adobe wall. When all the pieces had finally landed, he popped up and waved to Gaby.
She waved back, calling, “Go get one of the vaqueros to help me.”
He nodded and was running to do as he was told when she called to him once more.
Nieto stopped and turned. There on the roof sat Gaby waving his straw hat.
He gave her a big smile and took off.
In minutes Sanchez and Carlos were trailing close behind a running Nieto. Both men stood looking up at her.
“How—” Sanchez began and then stopped. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”
Carlos laughed and slapped the young vaquero on the back. “No one ever knows what Gaby will do next.”
“Unpredictable and willing to do almost anything, I like that in a woman,” Sanchez said with a wicked smile.
“Are you two going to talk all day, or are you going to get me down?” Gaby called to them.
“We’re trying to decide the best way to go about it,” Carlos called back.
“Catch,” Gaby yelled to Nieto and flung the straw hat at him. He ran after the floating hat, laughing until he caught it.
Gaby pulled her knees up and her skirt down over them, locking her arms around them while she waited for the two men to decide her fate. After a few minutes she grew impatient.
“You know, it took only a short time for Nieto and me to figure out a way to get me up here.”
“And you made the wrong choice,” Carlos called out.
Sanchez walked to the edge of the roof and looked up at her. “I think I have found the perfect solution.”
“And what’s that?” Gaby asked, wondering why he wore a devilish grin.
“I am tall.”
“This is true,” Gaby agreed.
“If you turn around and slip to the edge, I will stand beneath you and you can place your feet on my shoulders. When I feel them there, I can reach up and lower you to the ground.”
Gaby thought a moment. It sounded logical, and Sanchez was rather tall, but there was something about the idea that made her doubt the wisdom of the plan.
“Well, do you try it, or do you wait an hour or more for one of the vaqueros to retrieve a tall ladder from the fields?”
Gaby looked up at the burning sun, shading her eyes from its hot glare. She’d be baked if she stayed up there much longer.
“We’ll try it your way,” she called down.
Sanchez removed his hat, handing it to Carlos. The older man winked at him as he stepped back. Sanchez moved into position beneath the roof’s edge and called up when he was ready.
Gaby murmured a small prayer and turned, lowering herself down slowly. Her feet dangled, touching nothing.
“Where are you?”
“Just hold still a minute and let me get underneath you.”
“All right, but hurry, I can’t hold myself up here like this much longer.”
In seconds Gaby felt his shoulders beneath her, and she placed one foot firmly on his one shoulder, the other one quickly followed.
Sanchez’s hands reached up and grabbed hold of her ankles. “Now, let go easy.”
“Are you certain you have me?”
“Very certain. Don’t worry, I won’t let fall.”
“All right, but hold tight,” she said and pushed herself away from the edge... a bit too hard.
~~~
Rafael heard the commotion, had been hearing it for some time. First there was the loud thud, then silence, and now this yelling. Didn’t the workers have any sense? He was tired of being disturbed. He had work to finish, and Gaby to find. She had successfully eluded him for the last few days, but no more. Tonight she was his.
He slammed the ledger closed and walked out of the room, determined to put an end to this nonsense.
~~~
“Sanchez!” Gaby screamed as she felt herself slipping, his hands sliding along her legs, her skirt billowing in the air, and landing with a thud on his shoulders. She grabbed hold of his head which was hidden beneath her skirt. Her legs lay dangling around his neck and the flesh of her thighs hugged his ears.
Sanchez stumbled from left to right. He couldn’t see anything with her skirt covering his face, and he couldn’t remove it because her hands were locked over it, not to mention he was fighting to maintain his balance. He also couldn’t hear much either. He grinned. He was having a hell of an enjoyable time.
“Sanchez!” Gaby screamed ag
ain as he stumbled about.
“Sit still,” Sanchez yelled back, but no one heard, since her skirt muffled his words.
Carlos and Nieto were laughing too hard to be of any help.
Lupe had run out from the cookhouse, Elena following, as well as Anita. They stood there shocked, their mouths open wide.
Sanchez stumbled. Gaby tilted. And everyone around them laughed.
“Gaby!”
The voice was like a roar of thunder. Everyone stilled including Gaby, which gave Sanchez enough time to gain control of the situation.
Rafael’s face was livid with fury. “Who’s beneath your skirt? And what the hell is he doing there?”
That familiar smile of hers lit her face, the smile that was a prelude to trouble. “It’s Sanchez, and we’re playing.”
The others had to bite back their laughter as they saw Sanchez’s covered head shake rapidly back and forth.
“He doesn’t seem to agree with you,” Rafael said, his nostrils flaring as they usually did when he grew angry.
This time Sanchez nodded and Gaby patted his head. “Of course he does. This was all his idea.”
Sanchez moaned.
Rafael walked toward them, looking up at Gaby. “Sanchez wanted you on his shoulders?”
“Yes, he insisted,” she said with a slap to the vaquero’s shaking head.
Rafael kept his eyes on Gaby while his hands lifted her skirt, placing it behind Sanchez’s neck. The vaquero’s face was bright red.
“You told her to get on your shoulders?” Rafael asked. His voice was dangerously calm.
“I only meant to help her.”
“Help her want?” he roared.
“Carriages! Wagons!” A voice shouted. “The Galvezes are here.”
Rafael walked behind Sanchez and roughly pulled Gaby off him. “I will speak to you later. Go!”
Sanchez hurried away, the others following him.
Gaby tried to move, but Rafael’s hand was firm and strong around her wrist. He pulled her to him, twisting her arm behind her back to press her chest against his.
“If you wish someone to play beneath your skirts, I will oblige you.”
Gaby’s free hand swung up to slap his face, but he caught it.
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