She had studied O’Keeffe in college and actually loved some of her desert pieces, but knew exactly which painting Lucas referred to. Hers were snapdragons, but painted in extreme close-up, he could have mistaken them for sweet peas, she supposed. She had tried to determine the secrets hidden within the petals of the flower.
She flushed as she remembered how erotic some of O’Keeffe’s paintings of flowers had been. Surely he hadn’t seen anything sexual in her own paintings because that would have been the furthest from what Cassie wanted to convey. Hoping to steer clear of continuing this discussion, she teased in an effort to divert her thoughts and his.
“What, López wasn’t famous enough to have a horse named after her?”
He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he faced her. “Did you just make a joke, baby girl?” She blushed. She supposed she had teased him a little. He grinned. “Well, I have no doubt Cassie López will one day be as famous as Georgia O’Keeffe, but I decided if I named any of them that I’d have Karla and Angel on full-alert matchmaking mode. I didn’t think you wanted that kind of pressure.”
Goddess, no.
She relaxed knowing Lucas was not planning to push her beyond friendship, despite the certificate and vows that said they were married. She liked him a lot—provided he did not ask for more than she could give. The thought of being friends with a man had not even occurred to her since the attack in the cantina, but Lucas was nothing like those men. He was gentle and kind, a deep thinker, and he provided a safe haven to broken spirits.
Spirits like hers.
She never wanted to admit to anyone she was broken. Wounded, yes, but being broken implied there would be no fixing her. Or that the bastardos had succeeded.
Being mended was not any goal she had, but remaining broken would hinder her spiritual growth in this lifetime. She had seen how difficult it was now to become the shaman her mother was because she continued to hold onto so much of the past’s negative energy.
O’Keeffe whinnied, and Cassie turned to watch as she used her front left hoof this time to kick the ball toward her. It bumped against the toe of her shoe, and she just stared at it.
“Go on. She wants to play with you. That’s a good sign. Kick it back.”
“I have never kicked this kind of football before.”
“Nothin’ to it.” Lucas knelt in front of her and propped the ball up on one end, with his index finger holding the other pointy end. “Just give it a soft kick. We’re not going for a field goal.” Whatever that entailed. “Just try to get it across the corral to her.”
Cassie stared at the ball, at Lucas, and then at O’Keeffe, judging the amount of pressure she might need to achieve that goal. When was the last time she had played anything? Her heart pounded, but she pulled her right leg back and brought it forward to give the ball a gentle kick. It only went a few feet before rolling to a stop. Embarrassed, she said, “Let me try that again. I did not put enough strength into it.”
Lucas grinned and set the ball for her again. This time, she pulled her leg back a little farther, and when her toe impacted the ball, it sailed through the air and bounced off a slat in the corral fence before landing in front of O’Keeffe. The horse spooked, and Cassie’s hand flew to her mouth. “I am so sorry!” She hadn’t thought it would go so far.
Lucas laughed. “That’s some leg you have there, Sweet Pea.”
“It is not funny. I frightened her!”
He opened his mouth, but before Lucas could respond the horse kicked the ball back to them. Apparently the horse had not been too traumatized, after all. Cassie took a step toward O’Keeffe, but the horse snorted and began backing away.
“You’ll have to give her time to become better acquainted before you get too close. I pushed too hard at first and, man, was she pissed. Nearly tore her stall apart trying to put distance between us, so I’ve learned to give her more space and time.”
Cassie nodded, tears stinging her eyes. She met the horse’s gaze and tried to project the message that she would do her no harm, but the spell had been broken. O’Keeffe retreated.
Lucas clasped her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “We’ll work with her some more later on.”
Suddenly realizing Lucas was holding her, she shrugged away. He may only want to comfort her, but she did not want to invite him to touch her so freely. Innocent touches could be misconstrued.
She tipped her head back to meet his gaze. “I think I will go inside and clean the dishes.”
He grinned. “Thanks, darlin’.”
“It is only fair. You cooked.”
“I don’t mean about doing the dishes. I mean about taking on O’Keeffe for me.”
Oh. She hoped she could build trust with O’Keeffe one day.
Patience and time. That’s all the horse needed.
* * *
That evening, Luke looked back on one of the best days he’d had in a long time. He and Cassie hadn’t done anything spectacular. Hell, he couldn’t even say what all they’d done together throughout the day.
The key was that they’d spent much of the day together. Mucking stalls. Feeding and turning out the horses with the alpacas and watching them interact with each other. Discussing the artwork she had taken with her when she evacuated. She seemed frustrated she wasn’t able to finish it in time, but with the upheaval in her life, he told her to cut herself some slack. It would be finished when the time was right.
He’d started out trying to find ways to distract Cassie from thoughts about the loss of her home, but her first session with O’Keeffe had broken down some kind of barrier inside her. He had no clue what had done the trick, so he couldn’t exactly write it down in the playbook to make sure he repeated it again later.
She’d even let him squeeze her shoulder earlier without bolting from him right away. Progress.
He wondered where she’d run off to the last half hour, though. He supposed he’d have to wait to see her again at supper.
Luke came out of the barn with a flake of hay for O’Keeffe and stopped in his tracks. Cassie stood in the corral just a few feet from the horse. The two simply stared at one another, locked in silent communication. He had no doubt they were communicating. O’Keeffe’s mangled ear flicked forward then the other. When the mare bowed her head toward Cassie, Luke had to remind himself to breathe. Cassie reached up and stroked her neck, and O’Keeffe let her.
He’d worked for months to come that close to the horse. Cassie already had broken down barriers with O’Keeffe it might have taken him years to go beyond.
The girl literally took his breath away.
Time stood still as he continued to watch the two. Cassie’s lips moved, but he couldn’t make out her words. A horse whisperer was difficult to hear even when you stood right next to them, because they weren’t necessarily communicating on a hearing level. Mental telepathy was a big part of it. And touch. Now that Cassie had made that physical contact, she touched O’Keeffe often with her gentle hand, reassuring the horse she was safe.
O’Keeffe nodded her head, and Cassie patted her neck, broke contact, and turned. When she spotted Luke, she paused almost imperceptibly before continuing across the corral.
“That was beautiful to watch.” As she came closer, Luke saw tear streaks down her cheeks. “You okay, Sweet Pea?”
She nodded, but the quiver of her lips told a different story. He opened his arms, and she surprised the hell out of him by walking into his embrace. What the hell had happened out there? Maybe O’Keeffe wasn’t the only one who had barriers shattered today.
“How can people be so cruel?”
“Nietzsche nailed it. ‘Man’s the cruelest animal.’” He’d learned that saying back in college, and it had stuck with him as being true, even though he hadn’t been on the receiving end of any of man’s great cruelties, thank God. But his horses sure had seen their share. “If you don’t mind sharing, what did you learn from her?”
She shuddered, and he held her tighter before realizing
she might be reacting to his touch and not whatever O’Keeffe had conveyed to her. He started to release her when she spoke.
“Some say horses are not like people. That horses do not hold onto things and only live in the present.”
“But?”
“But when I asked about certain injuries, she opened up. She remembered it all.”
Luke stroked her back as she kept her face buried in his chest.
“They beat her with switches until she bled. Let her hooves grow without trimming them.”
“Yeah, I’m still working on trimming them back to normal, but it’ll take a while.” Cassie gasped for air and wrapped her arms around him. “Let it go, baby girl. What else did she tell you?”
She shook her head, and he wondered what O’Keeffe had shared that had her so shaken up. They held on to each other for what seemed like hours, but it had to have been only minutes. When she grew stiff in his arms, he knew their time was over.
She pulled away, but didn’t make eye contact with him. “I am going to turn in early. It has been a long day.”
Luke hated to watch her walk away, but knew he’d made enough progress for one day. Like his horses, he’d have to give her the time and space to learn to trust him. But she’d shown him today that a firm, but gentle, hand at the right time might be able to help break through some of her walls.
Chapter Eighteen
Cassie ran toward the house, but stopped before she entered and looked up at the pass where smoke still billowed from the other side of her mountain. More sorrow washed over her as she imagined Abuela’s belongings that she had left behind in the rustic cabin and studio. Both gone forever.
Her cell phone vibrated, and she pulled it out of her pocket. Kitty. Could she carry on a conversation right now without breaking down into tears? But if she did not answer, she would only worry her friend who had enough on her mind right now.
She touched the screen. “Hello. How are you and the babies, Kitty?” She tried to make her voice sound more cheerful than she felt, but must have failed miserably.
“Cassie, are you okay? I saw on the news that the fire was near your cabin. Where are you now?”
In the chaos yesterday, she had completely forgotten to let Kitty know she was okay. With so many major wildfires burning, she doubted her mountain’s blaze would make Denver news channels.
Cassie drew another breath and walked inside the house and toward the bedroom. She did not want to have to face Lucas again when he came in after her meltdown at the corral. And he would be coming in soon to fix supper.
“I am fine. Staying at Lucas’s.”
“Luke Denton’s?”
She smiled as she pictured Kitty’s incredulous face. “Yes, one and the same. He rescued me.”
“Cassie! What happened?”
Cassie recounted the story for her friend, but the weariness that had begun to set into her body out in the corral became even more pronounced as the magnitude of what Lucas had done hit her. Her hand shook, and she kicked off her shoes and burrowed under the covers.
“Cassie? Are you there?”
“Y-y-yes. I am in bed.”
“At this hour? Are you okay?”
“It has been a long couple of days. Listen, Kitty, I am fine. Really. Let me call you tomorrow to talk more, but trust me. Everything is okay here.”
“Did…Did the alpacas make it out?”
“Oh, yes! We are all down here with Lucas. Luke.” Funny, but calling him Lucas after all they had been through seemed rather stilted. Yet she had grown used to calling him that. Using his nickname now might cause him to misinterpret her reasons.
“I love you, Cassie. And you can trust Luke. He’s a good man.”
Her chin shook, and her throat closed. “I know,” she whispered. Why did that scare her even more?
Because he posed a threat of a different kind. She had spent most of her adult life keeping men away from her, wanting to have nothing to do with them. The memory of Lucas’s arms around her caused her to shaking even more. Before she completely lost it, she said goodnight to Kitty and set the phone aside.
Goddess, she had not even found out how the babies were, but surely Kitty would have told her if there had been any problems.
Cassie curled onto her side, pulling the covers up to her chin and her knees up to her chest. She hugged herself but did not find the comfort from her own arms that she had found in Lucas’s hug.
Cassie fought the desire to go to him and ask him to hold her, to make her feel safe again. But no one had that power. No one except the Goddess, but even she seemed to have abandoned her lately.
Her shivering lessened and she soon found herself drifting off to sleep.
“Why don’t we go play pool? We can leave after I finish the beer I just ordered.”
“No, Cassie! Don’t go back there!”
Despite the warnings screaming in her ears, Cassie followed Luis to the back room, Pedro behind her. At least he was here and would protect her. She hoped they would leave soon, though. Tonight had not been fun at all. Nothing like when she and Kitty went out to the clubs to dance.
A body pressed against her back, hands pawing at her breasts. Certain it was Diego, Pedro shocked her when he whispered in her ears. “We’ll give you the advantage, Casandra.” He ordered the other men to remove their shirts.
“Take your hands off me.” Cassie pushed them away and turned to glare at him as Pedro took a long draw from the beer bottle. His gaze never left her face.
Luis reached out and pinched her nipple. “She’s turned on, Pedro.”
She smacked his hand away, too, and glared at him. “Do. Not. Touch. Me. Again.”
“The uppity chica has forgotten her place while off studying in America.” Diego had joined them.
She spat at Diego, who backhanded her across her mouth, sending her flying into Pedro’s arms. There had been a time when she would have expected to find safety here, but no longer. He grabbed her hair, yanked her head back, and wrapped his arm around her waist like a vise.
“Fine. If you wish to forget about the game, we will move on to collecting our prize.”
Cassie kicked behind her at his shins and elbowed him, but the other two soon overpowered her and the back of her head smashed into the beer-soaked felt on the pool table. Hands pulled at her skirt and blouse. The sound of a knife cutting through the material made her stop fighting for fear she would be cut as well.
“Don’t stop fighting, puta,” Diego ground out. “We like it better when our girls give us a challenge.”
“I am not one of your girls. Let me go now or my brother will make you regret the day you were born.”
Pedro laughed nervously, but the other two did not seem to know her brother or what a formidable foe he could be.
He soon recovered his bravado. “I have waited the longest for this bitch. I go first.”
Hearing Pedro claim her body as if she was some trophy he deserved made her even sicker than the putrid smell of the table and the two other men holding her down. She tried to kick him, but he was already between her legs loosening his belt.
A scream tore from her body as she tried to alert someone from the cantina to come to her rescue, but a filthy rag was stuffed into her mouth, robbing her of the ability to make much noise. She tasted something salty, musky on the cloth and gagged as she realized what it had been used for.
“Please do not let them do this to me, Papá Dios.” Prayer was her only hope now. Father God would send her an angel.
* * *
Luke thought he heard a noise from the bedroom, but when there was no further sound, he went back to making some popcorn to take out to the studio. He wasn’t hungry for a full meal, and neither was Cassie apparently. But he’d be hungry later on. He retrieved a bowl from the cabinet when a howl of anguish intruded on the quiet of the night.
Cassie!
He dropped the bowl on the counter and reached onto the upper shelf of the same cabinet to grab his loaded
revolver before running for the bedroom. The door wasn’t locked, so he threw it open wide, sweeping the room with his weapon, ready to defend her against whoever was attacking her.
In Spanish, she screamed, “Do not touch me!”
He quickly realized she was in bed. Alone. Face down, her legs struggled to untangle herself from the bedspread.
“Papá Dios!”
A nightmare.
Setting the handgun on the dresser, he crossed the room in three steps and called out to her. “Cassie, it’s Luke. Turn over.” He didn’t want to add to her night terror by touching her—yet.
“Do not touch me!”
Luke needed for her to wake up so she could escape the nightmare. He reached out and cupped her head gently but firmly. “Wake up, Cassie.”
He could make out some of the words.
“Noooooo! Stop! Why…?” A sob tore from her throat followed by a keening before she darted across the bed and turned around until she faced him. She pulled the chenille bedspread up to her chest like armor plating.
“Cassie, you’re safe. It’s me, Luke. You’re having a bad dream.”
She shook her head. Now she spoke in English. “You lied to me!”
About what? He realized her eyes were glazed. She wasn’t seeing him but still locked in the night terror. “I’d never lie to you, Sweet Pea. And no one is going to hurt you.” Never again, not as long as he had anything to say or do about it.
“Too late.” Tears streaked down her cheeks breaking his heart.
“It’s never too late, darlin’.”
Cassie blinked a few times and searched the corners of the room before meeting his gaze. “You do not understand, Lucas.”
She knew who he was. Thank God.
She whimpered, and he walked around the bed to the other side. When she didn’t crawl away, he sat on the side of the bed.
“Why don’t you tell me about it?”
She shook her head. No, her entire body shook.
“Then why not let me hold you? Just hold you.”
Her eyes widened and the terror in her gaze tore at his gut. She didn’t trust him. “Have I ever hurt you, Cassie?”
Nobody's Dream (Rescue Me Saga #6) Page 38