“I’m not kicking Maria out. Just you.”
“She won’t stay here without me. You’ll see. We’ll take Luis, too. He’s my son, not yours.”
Rafe didn’t bother to argue with her. He wouldn’t allow Dolores to take Luis with her even if Maria went with her to take care of him.
“Don’t believe anything he tells you,” Dolores said to her sister. “He could talk the devil out of his horns.”
That was an odd thing to say when he hadn’t been able to talk her into marrying him or his father out of marrying her. He and Maria waited in silence until Dolores left the room.
“I don’t know why Dolores lied about you,” Maria said to Rafe when the door closed behind her sister. “I’m sorry I believed her, but her story fit too well with everything I’d been told.”
“It wouldn’t have if you’d listened to Rosana and Juan.”
Maria looked stricken. “Dolores wasn’t always like this. You should have seen her before my father lost his land, before her fiancé jilted her. She really loved him.”
“Lots of women suffer tragic losses without losing their sense of right and wrong.”
“Women don’t have the same opportunities men have to rebuild their lives. We have to wait for some man to offer to do it for us.”
Rafe didn’t want to talk about Dolores. “Is that all you wanted to say?”
“Just that I’m sorry. In the future, I’ll base my beliefs on what I see rather than what I’m told.”
“Don’t worry about it. Go rescue Broc from Luis. He’s still not completely recovered from his wound.”
Rafe could tell she wanted to say more, but his anger at Dolores was too strong for him to be able to deal with his conflicted feelings for Maria. He needed time to calm down, to work through his anger so he could regain his equilibrium. He had a lot to think about.
It had been hard for Maria to pretend nothing was wrong when she went down to send Luis off to bed, but it took every bit of her strength not to lose her temper when Dolores started raving about the unfairness of Rafe’s edict.
“How can you say it’s unfair when you made an accusation that sheds doubt on the very heart of his character, his fitness to be accepted by others, to be a part of any community?” She shuddered at the thought of what could have happened had Dolores been unwise enough to spread her lies when she’d been drinking in town.
“It didn’t matter because I didn’t think he was coming back.”
Maria had difficulty catching her breath. “Of course it mattered. What if I’d said something to someone who knew the truth?”
“I knew you wouldn’t say anything.”
Maria found it difficult to accept that while she was horrified she’d harbored such unfair thoughts about Rafe, Dolores could face her without a shred of remorse, not even mild chagrin, at having been caught in such an enormous lie. “I’m so embarrassed, I don’t know if I can face Rafe again. If it weren’t for Luis, I’d leave this house first thing tomorrow.”
Dolores came out of her sulk in a flash. “You can’t leave. You’ve got to help me convince Rafe to change his mind.”
Maria gaped at her sister. “You must be crazy! If it hadn’t been for Luis, I’m sure he’d have told me to leave along with you.”
Dolores jumped up, grabbed Maria’s hand to force her to listen. “He won’t throw you out because he likes you.”
“He may have before, but I imagine he can’t think of me now without cringing.”
“Rafe was kissing you. You can’t deny it because I saw it.”
Maria flushed hot to think of herself in Rafe’s arms, returning his kiss, wanting even more. “You can be sure he won’t kiss me again.”
“You haven’t done anything. He’ll let me stay if you tell him you won’t remain here without me.”
“I can’t do that.”
Dolores stiffened with anger. “Why not? Are you hoping he’ll marry you after I leave? What kind of sister are you?”
“A gullible one; one who felt so sorry for you, I refused to see what you had become.”
“You sorry for me!” Dolores looked as if someone had slapped her. “I’m more beautiful than you will ever be.”
“And what has it done but made you miserable?”
“I’m not miserable. I’m a rich widow, courted by lots of handsome men who can’t do enough for me.”
“You’re angry and selfish. You don’t seem to care who you hurt as long as you get what you want.”
Dolores assumed her poor-little-me pose, the one that never failed to bring strong men to their knees. “I just want someone to love me.”
“I believed that once, but I’m not sure anymore. I am sure you’re still trying to get back at Vicente for jilting you.”
“Don’t say that!” Dolores looked wild-eyed. “I don’t want to hear that man’s name ever again.”
“He turned his back on your lack of a dowry, not on you,” Maria told her sister with a softened voice. “He couldn’t have loved you as much as you loved him. You’re better off without him.”
Dolores’s face twisted in anger. “Better off to end up with an old man who locked himself away in his room for years? Better off a virtual prisoner in this house with nothing to do but embroidery? It’s like a living death. You’ve got to convince Rafe not to make me leave.”
“I don’t know Rafe as well as you, but I know he’s not a man to change his mind once it’s made up.”
“You don’t know Rafe at all if you think that,” Dolores snapped. “If he likes you well enough to kiss you, he’ll do anything you want.”
“Even if what you say is true, my conscience wouldn’t let me take advantage of him in such a way.”
“Don’t try to play the innocent with me. You like to give the impression of the sweet, kind sister, the one who stays in the background and does all the work.”
“I do stay in the background and do all the work.”
Dolores barreled ahead without pausing. “Do you remember what your life was like before I brought you here?”
“I remember it very well. I’ve always been grateful to you.”
“Then show it by helping me with Rafe.”
“Dolores, he’s not going to change his mind. He gave up a fortune to stay away for ten years. He abandoned an easy life to work as a cowhand. He plans to go back to Texas. He won’t be here to know or care if you’re miserable or in debt.”
Dolores pierced Maria with a flinty look. “Then you’ve got to help me kidnap Luis.”
Chapter Thirteen
Anger such as Maria had never known swept over her with the speed of a wildfire. Before she knew what she was doing, she slapped Dolores. Shocked, she drew back her hand, stared at it in stunned disbelief.
Dolores was so furious she turned white. “How dare you strike me?”
Maria was too angry to feel remorse. “I was trying to bring you to your senses. I thought I knew you, but now I realize you’ve always been putting on an act. You’re selfish, conniving, and manipulative.”
“It’s not me; it’s Rafe. He has never liked me because I fell in love with his father.”
“You don’t know what love is.” Maria had spent years defending Dolores because she believed her sister had loved Vicente so deeply she still hadn’t gotten over the pain. Now it looked as if it had been a matter of wounded pride and greed. When had Dolores changed so completely? Had focusing on her loss, an injustice she couldn’t forgive, robbed her of all ability to see the truth?
“You have to help me take Luis,” Dolores insisted. “Rafe will let me stay if it means he can have Luis.”
Maria had heard enough. Dolores wasn’t going to listen to anything she didn’t want to hear. “I’m not going to try to convince Rafe to let you stay, nor am I going to help you kidnap Luis. One plan is stupid and the other is cruel. Now go to bed. You’re tired and upset. You’ll be able to think more rationally tomorrow.”
“I am rational. If I have to go to cour
t to get custody of Luis, I will. I’m his mother. No judge is going to give him to a half brother who’s a cowhand.”
“I’m his other guardian.”
“That won’t matter. I’ll get custody. You have to come with me, or you’ll never see Luis again.”
Maria didn’t think she could endure losing Luis. She’d acted as his mother since he was born. She’d changed him, had sat up with him when he was sick, had answered his questions, and had done everything she could to protect him from his parents’ lack of interest. “What makes you think a judge would give Luis to you?”
“I don’t just flirt when I go to Cíbola. I have the assurance of a judge that a child is always given to his natural mother. A man is considered unsuited by nature to raise a child.”
There was no way on earth Maria would let Dolores have Luis by herself. “I’ll go with you.”
Pleased with her victory, Dolores smiled and hugged her sister. “You’ll have to convince Rafe I’ll need a bigger allowance for the three of us.”
“He won’t increase yours, but I can ask him for an extra allowance for Luis. Now I’m exhausted so I’m going to bed.”
After Dolores left the room, Maria washed her face and dressed for bed, but her mind was too full of turbulent thoughts to allow her to sleep. She walked to the window, opened it, and looked out. The distant mountains showed like inky masses against the moonlit sky. An owl hooted and another answered. The yip-yip-yip of a coyote was barely audible. The night was alive with God’s creatures, but she didn’t feel like one of them. She stared at distant fields lush with fruits and vegetables that would soon be ready for market. Beyond them she could make out the darkened houses of farmworkers. The cool air, fresh with the scent of rain from somewhere in the foothills refreshed her body, but the night provided no answers for her questions, nor did it calm the upheaval inside her.
She closed the window and turned away.
How could she face Rafe in the morning? She didn’t know whether she was more embarrassed that she’d believed he had raped Dolores or that she’d yielded so willingly to his embrace. It would be impossible for him to believe she’d kissed him because she couldn’t help herself, because she’d wanted to kiss him and have him kiss her. When had her feelings changed so drastically? She hadn’t realized her heart had moved on until he’d put his arms around her. Her resistance had melted like winter snow in spring sunshine.
She was weighed down by what Dolores was forcing on her, but she would do anything she must to make sure Luis was never left to the sole guardianship of his mother. He would be better off with Rafe.
But Rafe was going back to Texas. She blushed at the memory of the kiss. Did he think that was part of her attempt to persuade him to change his mind? Did he think she might have been willing to go as far as her sister?
Rafe had made the first move, something he wouldn’t have done if he hadn’t felt some genuine emotion for her. He said he’d been prejudiced against her from the first, yet his feelings toward her had changed and grown into something quite unexpected. Much against her will, her feelings had undergone a similar transformation. But though the evening had given her ample reason to think better of him, it had provided him with plenty of reasons to believe his first opinion of her had been the right one. She didn’t know what she’d hoped could develop between them, but now there was no possibility of anything at all.
Rafe was surprised to see Broc, dressed and combed, enter his bedroom before he’d finished shaving. “What got you out of bed so early? I haven’t heard any explosions or felt an earthquake.”
“Curiosity.” Broc settled into a chair by the fireplace while Rafe washed the lather from his face. “I want to know why the fair Maria had to drag you away from the parlor last evening. I might have been able to keep my curiosity to myself—”
“When have you ever done that?”
“—but then the beauteous Dolores came home and rushed past the parlor so she wouldn’t have to look at me. That in itself was intriguing, but the raised voices coming from Maria’s room confirmed my suspicion that I was missing all the fun. Luis is a good kid, but I much prefer adult drama.”
Satisfied that his face was dry and clear of lather, Rafe reached for a clean shirt. “You missed a scene that would fit perfectly in one of your melodramas.”
“Don’t leave me hanging. I’m waiting with bated breath.”
“I’m reluctant only because I’m not proud of my own behavior. I took advantage of Maria’s devotion to Luis and kissed her.”
Broc crowed with laughter. “I’m never wrong when it comes to knowing when people are interested in each other.”
“Dolores came charging into the room just as Maria kissed me back.”
Broc slapped his knee with glee. “I’ll stay for the wedding, but Pilar will never forgive you if you get married without telling her.”
“Hold your enthusiasm until you hear the rest.” Rafe finished buttoning his shirt and looked around for a collar. “Dolores accused me of violating her sister and declared that I had to marry her to save her reputation.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with that.” There was a mischievous sparkle in Broc’s eye.
“You will.” Rafe struggled with affixing the collar to his shirt. “At first I thought the sisters had set this up between them. Why did Maria suggest using my bedroom and how did Dolores know when and where to find us?”
“You fascinate me. How?”
“Because it had been planned.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“After a bit, I didn’t either, but there was more to come. It seems that Dolores had told Maria that I raped her, that Luis is my son, and that my father married Dolores to give Luis a name.”
“I hope you don’t plan to make a practice of falling in love with such women.”
Rafe grimaced and straightened his collar. “Once was enough. But just as I was starting to feel better, I realized Maria had kissed me when she still thought I’d raped her sister. What does that say about her character?”
“Did she tell you why?”
“I didn’t ask, but something she said earlier might explain it.” Rafe picked up several ties, unable to decide which one to choose.
“Put down the damned ties and tell me what she said.”
“She said she thought I was an overwrought youth who’d been so upset by the betrayal of the two people I loved most that I had done something out of character. She believed I wished I could have changed what I did.”
“That sounds like a good explanation to me. What’s wrong with it?”
“I still haven’t forgotten what happened to me. How can she overlook something even worse?”
“She’s a smarter, more forgiving person than you?”
Rafe chose a tie and tossed the others aside. “Whose friend are you?”
“Yours, which is why I’m trying to keep you from cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
“Just how do you figure you’re doing that?”
“By keeping you from saying something stupid until you can get some perspective on last night.”
“But she thought I’d done something truly reprehensible.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Why not?”
“Maria loves Luis and is loyal to her sister despite her many flaws, but she must know what Dolores is like. After meeting you and finding you weren’t anything like what her sister led her to believe, I imagine she started to have doubts about Dolores’s version of events. I expect she believed you did something but couldn’t make herself believe it was anything as awful as rape.”
Rafe wasn’t sure that was the truth, but he hoped it was. He’d spent a large part of the night trying to explain his continuing interest in Maria. “You like Maria a lot, don’t you?”
Broc eyed him speculatively. “Is that a trick question?”
Leave it to Broc to be sure of his ground before he committed himself. “No. I was going to
ask how you think I ought to act toward her.”
A slow grin spread over Broc’s face. “You’re asking me for advice on how to handle a woman?”
Rafe returned Broc’s grin. “It was touch and go there for a bit, but I managed to get the words out without choking. Now stop being obnoxious. You know I don’t have much experience with women.”
“If Dolores is an example of your past attempts, I’d say you’re in desperate need of guidance.”
“Dolores is my only attempt.”
“So you’re beginning again with her sister. An interesting approach.”
“It wasn’t planned.” Nothing about this trip was planned. Maybe that was the problem with his life as a whole. He had drifted along in one direction, then drifted in another. He was thirty years old. It was about time he stopped letting circumstance decide what he did.
In order to change, make a plan, he had to have an objective. He had to want something. For years all he’d wanted was to avoid wanting. He’d used drinking, fighting a war, and working for Cade to keep his emotions at bay. His father’s will had forced him to deal with all the conflicts he’d been avoiding. Dolores. His father. Luis. The ranch. Now Maria.
“I think you ought to act like nothing has happened.”
“She’s got to know things have changed.”
“Then let her be the one to say what those changes will be.”
“She wants me to stay here long enough to teach Luis how to take over when he’s older.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Go back to Texas.”
“Will you take Luis with you?”
Luis couldn’t live in the bunk house with him, and it wouldn’t be fair to expect Pilar to take care of him. “It makes more sense to leave him here with Maria. This is his home. Besides, he can’t learn how to run the ranch from Texas.”
“Have you thought about staying here for a year or so?”
Rafe laughed. “You think if I stay that long, I won’t ever go back to Texas?”
“I think you’d end up marrying Maria and running the ranch. It’s your home and your inheritance.”
Someone Like You (Night Riders) Page 14