Armando Returns (Barboza Brothers)

by Reeni Austin

  Trying to soothe her sister, Chelsea held her close and said, “You’re not a terrible person. You’re human. People make mistakes.”

  Katie instantly sat up straight. “I’m not so sure it was a mistake. I don’t know how something can feel that good and be wrong.”

  Chelsea smirked. “I’m pretty sure cheating feels pretty darn good to the people who do it. It’s still wrong.”

  Sniffling, Katie said, “See? I’m a terrible person.” Tears ran down her face. “I told you.”

  “Oh no.” Chelsea sighed. She had never seen Katie quite like this before. “Why don’t you just start at the beginning? Has this been going on for a while?”

  “No.” Katie reached into her purse for a tissue, then wiped her nose. “Just today. I met his older brother, Victor. He came to the restaurant earlier this week to rent the upstairs patio to propose to his girlfriend.”

  “Victor? I don’t think I knew they had a brother named Victor.”

  “Yeah. He’s the oldest. He was away in college before I dated Armando and he just sorta stayed away. I remembered him from high school but he didn’t remember me. Didn’t even recognize my name.” Katie dabbed her eyes. “He’s lived in New York for years and barely ever comes here, from what I understand.” She gave Chelsea a pleading look. “Oh...but he looks and sounds so much like Armando.”

  Chelsea nodded, listening. “Okay. So, what happened?”

  Katie took a deep breath. “Well, after that, I couldn’t stop thinking about Armando. There was only one degree of separation between us, you know? Kinda freaked me out. I wondered if I should relay a message through Victor—”

  “Hold up. You could’ve contacted him through Ramon anytime you wanted.”

  Katie scowled. “Really? You think he would’ve helped me?”

  Chelsea sighed. “No, you’re right. He’s an asshole.”

  “He wouldn’t even talk to me tonight when I went to the ranch. He stood there and glared at me, just like he does when I see him around.”

  “Okay, back up a second. So, you went to the ranch tonight?”

  “Yeah. Armando asked me to come out there. He approached me after work last night. In the parking lot.”

  “Huh?”

  “Yeah. Totally surprised me. It was the first time I’d seen him since...you know...that summer…” Katie paused. “I was shocked. He said he came here to find me when Victor told him I was getting married.”

  “What?” Chelsea drew her hand to her chest. “Is he actively trying to break up you and Mitch?”

  Katie shrugged as her eyes darted anxiously around the room. “I guess so, yeah.”

  “All right. Let me think.” Chelsea studied her sister’s distraught face, desperate to find a solution. “What is it you want, exactly? Do you wanna break up with Mitch for a guy you haven’t seen since high school? That sounds like a bad idea to me.”

  “I know. Especially when you put it like that.” Katie frowned and took a moment to collect her thoughts. “I think I just wish I wasn’t engaged right now. I’d love to give it a shot with Armando and see what happens.”

  “It’s probably better you’re engaged. It’s protection. It’s the only thing keeping you from rushing in.”

  “I wouldn’t rush in. I just wish I had the freedom to think about rushing in.” Katie suddenly balled up her fists. “Damn it! Why couldn’t this have happened sooner? Like, even a month ago?”

  “A month ago?” Chelsea asked. “You mean, right before Mitch proposed? Are you saying you would’ve broken up with him that easily, for Armando? It sounds to me like you just don’t wanna marry Mitch.” Chelsea groaned and shook her head. “It doesn’t help that he’s working so much. Always going out of town, leaving you alone at night. On the weekends. Would you have gone to visit Armando tonight if Mitch had been in town?”

  “Probably not. But that doesn’t prove—”

  “Shh.” Chelsea put her hand on Katie’s arm. “You need to calm down before you make a crazy, impulsive decision. You’ve been with Mitch for over a year now. I remember when you were really excited about him, too. I think you just need to spend some quality time together. Remind yourself why you said yes.”

  Katie produced a long sigh. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “When’s he coming back from Dallas?”

  “Monday morning.”

  “Okay.” Chelsea nodded. “Have a date night on Monday evening.”

  “I think he has to work.”

  Chelsea gasped. “Again? Seems like every time I talk to you lately, Mitch has to work.”

  Katie shrugged. “I know. It’s because he just made partner at the law firm. They expect a lot more out of him. He has to prove himself.”

  Chelsea’s eyes rolled. “Whatever. It’s not a great way to start an engagement. Have you thought about traveling with him? Why can’t you just get up early and drive to Dallas in the morning?”

  “We talked about it. Four hours there, and four hours back. Doesn’t give us much time together, and I’d just get in the way of his work.”

  “Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you need to see him soon. You have to tell him what happened with Armando.”

  Katie’s posture crumpled. “Yeah. You’re right.” Then her eyes perked up a little. “Do you think he’ll break up with me over it?”

  “Oh my God!” Chelsea’s mouth dropped open and she smacked her sister’s arm. “It sounds like you want him to break up with you.”

  “You don’t know what I’m going through, Chelsea.” Katie’s sank back against the couch, her hand over her eyes. “I’d be with Armando right now if we hadn’t been torn apart. Everything would be different. I feel like I need to see what would’ve happened.”

  “There’s no way to know what would’ve happened. Your marriage might have already ended by now. You could’ve both been miserable.”

  Katie brought her hand down to her lap and faced her sister. “Or maybe not.”

  Chapter 11

  After Katie left, Armando took a cold shower. As much as he wanted her physically, he knew damn well it was more than that. It had always been more than that. She was the only woman who sparked that kind of desire in him. Made it difficult for him to restrain the sexual impulses that accompanied his love for her.

  All these years, he convinced himself the reason no woman could live up to Katie was because she was his first. He smiled, thinking about that night. Their senior year of high school, just before Christmas. It was the one time Mr. and Mrs. McCormack let Katie date Armando. Obviously, they thought the relationship was nothing serious and Katie would quickly move on. What they didn’t know was that Katie and Armando showed up at the dance just long enough to have some pictures taken, then they sneaked off to Katie’s aunt’s empty house fifteen minutes away.

  And there, in a spare bedroom, Armando learned how it felt to make love to a woman.

  He chuckled, remembering how bad his technique was, but they were both virgins with nothing to compare it to. Making love to her for the first time was still the greatest moment of his life. And now, after all the women he’d been with over the years, that night still played through his mind in exquisite detail.

  And it was because he still loved Katie.

  A few hours later, after Isaac was sound asleep and Cara was reading in bed, Armando told his brothers they needed to have a talk. They went to Ramon’s office and shut the door.

  Armando and Victor sat in chairs in front of the desk, while Ramon sat behind the desk, leaning on his forearms and smirking at Armando.

  Armando glared at Ramon. “What?”

  Ramon shrugged. “Nothing. Just waiting for you to start, that’s all.”

  Sighing, Armando said, “You know, you’d think since we haven’t seen each other in a while, you’d at least be civil toward me?”

  Ramon scoffed. “I am being civil. I told you, I’m waiting for you to start.”

  Victor shook his head. “No, you’re waiting for
a chance to argue. You’ve been an ass ever since Armando showed up this morning. I thought we were all grown men here, but apparently not. Maybe it wasn’t right for me to bring Isaac. You’re rubbing off on each other.”

  Armando snickered.

  Seething, Ramon narrowed his eyes at Victor, cleared his throat, then calmly said, “It pisses me off that he came here without telling anyone and it was only to see that bitch who could’ve gotten him killed.”

  Before Armando could respond to Ramon’s comment about Katie, Victor interjected. “Well, you need to get over it. I, for one, am just glad to see my brother.” He glanced at Armando, then turned again to Ramon. “I’m glad to see both of you, in fact. So, instead of being an asshole, how ‘bout you just be grateful that we’re all under the same roof. It’s been a while.”

  Ramon pursed his lips and looked up at the ceiling, angrily mulling over what Victor said.

  Armando took a deep breath and quietly said, “Listen guys, I know my actions don’t make a lot of sense right now. Not even to me.” He folded his hands together and stared down at the floor. No way was he telling his brothers about his feelings for Katie. But it was time for a serious talk. “But that’s not the issue here. I found out tonight that the reason I was kept from marrying Katie had something to do with Henry.”

  Ramon nodded. “I’m not surprised.”

  “What, exactly?” Victor asked.

  Armando shrugged. “I don’t know. At the time, Henry just told me to shrug it off and move on. He said Dwayne McCormack didn’t think I was good enough for his daughter. He was just trying to send me a message. All that bullshit.”

  In a sad voice, Victor said, “Yeah, I remember.”

  Ramon’s eyes were fixed on Armando, quietly waiting for him to continue.

  “But according to Katie,” Armando said, “there’s some kind of history with Henry and the McCormack family. She didn’t know what it was, but she heard her parents arguing. Her mom said something about how her dad shouldn’t have made a deal with Henry years ago. She said it was like making a deal with the devil. They wouldn’t talk about it in front of Katie, either. It was all really secretive. In fact, that whole thing is a big family secret for the McCormacks. They never talk about it. They just pretend it never happened.”

  Victor’s brows knitted together. “Huh. All this time I just figured he was prejudiced. Didn’t want her marrying a Hispanic guy.”

  Ramon let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Nah. Last year her sister married a guy named Eric Gomez. I think he’s lived in Texas his whole life but he’s Hispanic, for sure.” He rolled his eyes. “You woulda thought it was the Royal Wedding or some shit. Had the roads blocked off. Signs everywhere. Henry went to it. Said it was really something. Hundreds of guests.”

  Armando and Victor looked at each other in disbelief.

  “Wait a minute,” Victor said. “Why are you just now mentioning this? The other night we had a little chat and you didn’t say anything about Katie’s sister marrying a Hispanic guy, or Henry going to the wedding…”

  Ramon shrugged. “So? Didn’t figure it mattered. Since when do you care about what happens around here, anyway?”

  Gritting his teeth, Armando grunted, then said, “Okay, now I’m pissed. Ten years ago, I got hauled off to jail and left for dead in the desert because I wanted to marry Dwayne McCormack’s daughter. And now I find out Henry, who lied to me all along, was off at the wedding of Dwayne McCormack’s other daughter, having a great time like nothing ever happened. That really doesn’t sit well with me.”

  Ramon nodded. “Yep. Henry and Dwayne always acted like nothing ever happened. Hell, I see Dwayne a couple times a year and we just shake hands and keep on goin’.”

  Armando’s jaw dropped. “What the hell, Ramon? You were a real prick to Katie today but you’re friends with her dad?”

  “No.” Ramon scowled. “We’re not friends. It’s just business. The Cattleman’s Association quarterly breakfast. Dwayne knows a bunch of those guys and he’s there keeping up appearances, I guess.” His eyes darted between his brothers’ indignant faces. “What? I got a business to run! I can’t afford to be mean to people. I gotta maintain those relationships.” He crossed his arms over his chest and gave them each a critical stare. “I know for a fact you both do it, too.” He stopped at Victor. “You told me you met Cara at one of those snooty dinners. Same kinda thing.”

  Victor nodded and said, “Except nobody at that dinner ever left my brother for dead in the middle of the desert.”

  Armando shook his head at Ramon. “Is there something you’re not telling us?”

  Ramon snorted. “No.”

  Armando said, “What’s the real reason Henry left eight months ago?”

  Leaning forward in his chair, Victor waited for Ramon’s response.

  “You already know,” Ramon said. “I bought him out of the ranch. He retired.”

  Armando quietly studied Ramon’s face for any twitches of anxiety. A sign that he was lying. But Ramon was perfectly calm and collected.

  Still, something didn’t add up to Armando, and he knew Victor was thinking it too. Ramon always had a bit of a temper, but there was a bitterness inside him that was strange and unfamiliar. Out of the three brothers, Ramon was the only one who had lived at the ranch with Henry all these years. Turnbrook was a small town, and in addition to the quarterly breakfast, Armando knew Ramon must see the McCormacks occasionally. Given Ramon’s temper, and his cold reaction to Katie today, it made no sense that Ramon would have the self-control to be nice to Katie’s family all these years without blowing up at some point.

  Victor gave Ramon a thoughtful look. “Next time Henry calls, keep him on the phone. Tell him we’d all like to speak with him.”

  Armando’s jaw tightened. “Yeah. I’d just love to ask him a few questions.”

  Hesitantly, Ramon nodded. “All right. Next time he calls, I’ll let him know. But it could be weeks.”

  “That’s fine,” Victor said. “We were already thinking of extending our stay for a while. Isaac really likes it here.”

  Armando felt happy for the first time in several minutes as he thought of his own reason for sticking around: Katie. “I was thinking about that too. I could use a long break. Might have to fly out for the day—”

  Ramon shot him a wry grin. “You mean, you wanna stay here in my house? You just drop in out of the blue and expect me to give you a place to stay?”

  “Yep.” Armando sat back in his chair, hands folded over his lap.

  Ramon flashed a subtle smile, then produced a deliberate, labored sigh. “I’m gonna have to put you guys to work, then. You earn your keep in this house. Hmm.” He rubbed his chin. “There’s a lotta shit to fix around here. We can start with the potholes out front…”

  Victor groaned. “I’d rather just pay rent if you don’t mind.”

  Armando laughed. “Me too.”

  Shrugging, Ramon grinned and said, “I guess we’ll work something out.” Then his face took on a serious look. “So, what are we gonna do about Dwayne? Henry? Are we all just waiting around for Henry to call? Or are we gonna take action of our own?”

  Exasperated at the very mention of their names, Armando inhaled deeply and blew out a heavy breath. “I don’t know. I don’t wanna waste my energy on revenge.”

  They continued for another hour, discussing whether or not they should track down Henry or approach Dwayne. Armando struggled to hide the fact that his thoughts were elsewhere. All he cared about was convincing Katie to choose him over Mitch. Maybe later he’d care about why they were ripped apart. They could never change the past, and Armando simply wanted Katie in his future.

  * * * * *

  Yawning, Victor crawled into bed beside Cara, who had already turned out the lights.

  A few seconds later, in a sleepy whisper, she asked, “How’d it go downstairs?”

  “Thought you were asleep.” Victor put his arm around Cara’s back as she curled up against him. He k
issed her forehead and said, “So much family drama. Too heavy for bedtime conversation. I’ll fill you in tomorrow.”

  “Mmm.” Cara nuzzled his chest. “Good. So tired. Mom called when you were down there. That’s enough family drama for me. She’s upset we’re staying for so long. She really misses Isaac.”

  “She and Tom could come down to visit. Stay here at the house.”

  “It’s pretty crowded now, don’t you think?”

  Victor yawned. “Nah. It’s just the three of us, plus Armando. There’s another bedroom downstairs nobody’s using.”

  “Yeah, but the house has probably gotten too crowded for Ramon. I’m afraid we’re overstaying our welcome.”

  Victor kissed her forehead again, then said, “Don’t worry about that. I can tell he’s happy to have company.” Victor knew Ramon would never admit it, but he saw Ramon’s eyes light up when Armando said he wanted to stay. “Also, I was thinking it’d be nice for Ramon to have someone like Patty around. Not that I wanna just bring her down here just so she can work or something—”

  Cara inhaled a quiet gasp. “No, you’re right! I hadn’t thought about it. She’d love that! Having you guys to cook for every night. I’m pretty sure she’ll wanna overhaul the kitchen though. New pots and pans, appliances.” She sat up a little, barely able to see Victor’s eyes in the dark. “Have you seen what he’s using to cook?”

  Victor had a moment of laughter. When he calmed down he said, “It’s settled then. I hope she can get down here, soon. Tell her I’ll pay her. She just can’t tell Ramon about it. When he’s finished working at the end of the day, a good dinner’ll be waiting for him. Patty insisted.” He shrugged. “He gives her grief? I’ll take care of it.”

  “What about when we all leave? He’ll just be alone again.”

  “We’ll worry about that when it happens. For now, I just need to make sure he’s doing better without being obvious about it.”

  Cara settled against him with a yawn. “Sounds good to me. I’ll call her first thing in the morning.”