Armando Returns (Barboza Brothers) (14 page)

Thirty minutes passed and there was still no sign of Katie. Armando sat on the couch and looked at the clock above the fireplace. Then he glanced at his watch.

Ramon, sitting beside him, snorted and said,
“You’re pathetic.”

They had all just eaten dinner and were now resting in the living room. Isaac was on the floor, playing with some toy cars. Victor and Cara sat
on a loveseat, watching him.

It was Armando
’s idea to eat before Katie arrived, since he wasn’t sure if she would even show up. And he was doubly sure of his decision after hearing Ramon’s attitude about her.

Armando rolled his eyes.
“For the last time, leave me alone. This has nothing to do with you.”

Again, Ramon snorted. He put his hands behind his neck and his heels up on the coffee table.
“Yes it does. Someone hurts my brother, I take it personally. End of story.”

Victor gave Armando a sympathetic look and said,
“When’s she supposed to be here?”

Armando shrugged.
“Don’t know. She should’ve been here already.”

Isaac put his cars down and looked at Victor.
“Who?”

Victor said,
“Armando’s friend, Katie.”

His lips bunched in confusion, Isaac asked,
“A guhl?”

Ramon nodded.
“Yep. A girl.” He put his hands in his lap and his feet on the floor, then leaned forward for emphasis. “Let me tell you something, Isaac. Girls are trouble. You’re better off to leave ‘em all alone. Trust me.”

At the same time, Victor and Cara shot Ramon an angry look. Armando just smirked.

Isaac
’s eyes lit up at Ramon. He pointed his thumb at himself. “I know. That’s why
I’m
getting a baby bwothow.” He shook his head. “I don’t wike guhls.”

Victor said,
“Hold on a second. Your mommy’s a girl.”

“
No,” Isaac said. “She’s a mommy. I wike Mommy.”

Cara sat up straight and reached out for her son.
“Come here. You like girls. You play with girls at the playground all the time.”

Isaac frowned as he walked to his mom for a hug.
“I wike boys bettow.”

Victor laughed and stretched his arm around Cara
’s back. “That’ll change, buddy. I promise.”

Peeking at Ramon,
Isaac shook his head as he hugged his mom.

Armando chuckled as they shared a look of agreement. He slapped Ramon
’s leg with the back of his hand. “You’re a bad influence.”

And then all heads turned in the direction of the car they heard driving up the gravel driveway.

Armando immediately stood, his heart racing as he went to the front door. “You guys just stay here. Don’t scare her.”

Victor laughed and followed him.
“Geez, man. Stop being so nervous. She really has you worked up, huh?”

“
It’s not that.” Armando glanced over his shoulder at Ramon in the living room, then lowered his voice. “I don’t want anyone giving her a rough time. What happened back then wasn’t her fault.”

Victor sighed and gave his brother
’s shoulder a compassionate smack. “I know. And you have nothing to worry about from me. I’ll be nice to her. But in a way, I have to agree with Ramon. Someone hurts my brother, they hurt me. Until this week I hadn’t thought about what happened to you in a long, long time. Really pisses me off. Makes me wonder if we should do something about it, now that we got the means.” He widened his eyes.

Armando scoffed.
“Yeah, like what? How would we ever prove it after all this time? Henry sure as hell won’t speak up for me.”

Victor shrugged then quickly glanced behind him to make sure no one was listening. His voice was quiet.
“I guarantee we have more money than Dwayne McCormack’s ever seen in his entire lifetime. We could think of something. It’d be worth it after what he did to you.”

“
I don’t know.” Immediately, Armando thought of Mama, and her admonition to forget about it and resist the urge for revenge. For that reason alone—to appease their dying mother—Armando had spent years trying to forget. “Let me see what happens with Katie first. I don’t wanna do something to make her hate me.”

Victor nodded.

Armando turned away from his brother to the sound of footsteps on the front porch. As soon as he heard a knock, he opened the door.

And there she was. Katie. The sweet, innocent girl he had fallen for so long ago. Damn. She was even more beautiful now, wearing a nice blue dress, looking shyly down at the floor as the gentle breeze rustled her long, red hair. Then she let out a nervous giggle.

“
Oh, sorry. Hi.” Armando extended his hand, then changed his mind and stepped outside the door to put his arms around her. Near her ear, in a gentle voice, he said, “I have no manners today. I’m so sorry.”

She buried her face against his cotton T-shirt and held him tight, inhaling his scent. Her voice was a soft purr.
“It’s okay.”

After a little while, Armando heard Victor
’s throat clear behind him from inside the house. Slowly, Armando peeled himself away, keeping one hand on her back as he motioned toward the front door. He took a deep breath. “Katie. You remember Victor?”

Katie nodded and took Victor
’s hand as she stepped through the door. “Yes. Hello again.”

“
Hello.” Victor put both of his hands around hers. “Please forgive me for not realizing who you were when we met this week. I had a lot on my mind and I didn’t remember your name. I thought about bringing it up yesterday but—”

Quickly, Katie shook her head.
“It wasn’t the right time, I know. There’s no reason to apologize. It’s a strange...uh…” she gulped, “
situation
, I guess you could say.”

Victor nodded.
“Yes. That it is. But anyway,” he let go of her hand and stepped back, gesturing toward Cara, “this is Cara, my fiancee as of last night.”

“
Oh!” Katie smiled and shook Cara’s hand. “Congratulations!”

“
Thank you.” Cara beamed. “Seriously, I mean it, thank you. I heard you were responsible for our lovely evening last night. Everything was wonderful.”

“
No big deal,” Katie said. “Just doing my job. But I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She peered down at Cara’s ring, trying not to gape at the enormous, glistening cluster of diamonds. Victor obviously spared no expense. “Wow. This ring is amazing.”

“
Yes. He did very well.” Cara glanced at Katie’s hand and almost made a comment about the lovely ring she saw, but stopped as she sneaked an uncomfortable look at Armando. To change the subject, she looked around for Isaac and saw him lingering in the living room with Ramon. “Come here,” she said as she waved him into the foyer.

Isaac hesitated, looking up at Ramon for approval.

Cara groaned, and in a stern voice, said, “Come here, Isaac. We have a guest. Don’t be rude.” Her eyes narrowed briefly at Ramon.

Isaac ran to the door and wedged himself in between Cara and Victor, giving Katie a shy grin. When Victor prompted Isaac by patting his shoulder, he extended his hand.
“Hi. I’m Isaac.”

Katie smiled down at him and took his hand.
“I’m Katie. It’s very nice to meet you, Isaac.”

When Isaac let go, he skulked backward to stand next to Ramon—who hovered behind them, shooting Katie an icy glare. Cara shared a knowing look with Victor, then said to Katie,
“I’m sorry. My son’s usually a bit more talkative but he’s had an unusual week.”

Victor cleared his throat.
“Yes. He’s spent the whole week helping out here at the ranch. I’m sure he misses his friends at home.”

Katie acted like she didn
’t notice Ramon’s angry eyes. “I don’t know if you’re interested, but if you’re staying for a while, my sister, Chelsea, works at a daycare just outside San Antonio.” Ramon grunted at Katie’s mention of Chelsea, but she ignored him and continued. “They have a great pre-school program and you could probably get him right in without a wait. It has a stellar reputation and kids love it there. He’d probably fit right in.”

Cara
’s eyes perked up. “Hmm. I may have to take a look. We’re not sure how long we’re staying just yet.”

Determined to break the uncomfortable tension in the room—courtesy of Ramon—Armando touched Katie
’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go outside. It’s a nice day.”

Relief passed across Katie
’s face, and she nodded.

Cara and Victor quietly went to the living room with Ramon and Isaac as Armando opened the front door. On the porch, he stopped and asked,
“Are you hungry? I’m so sorry, I didn’t even offer you dinner. We ordered pizza and there’s plenty left over.”

She shook her head and fidgeted mindlessly with her engagement ring.
“No. I couldn’t possibly eat right now. Maybe I shouldn’t have come.”

“
Why? Because of Ramon?” Armando rolled his eyes, then slowly started down the porch steps, making sure Katie was following beside him. “Please, don’t let him get to you. He’s been acting like a jerk to everyone since I got here today. Has nothing to do with you.”

Katie sighed, anxious.
“No, I’m sure it does. He’s always acted that way toward me and my family ever since…” she paused, her voice trailing off for a moment. “I don’t blame him, I guess. If someone did all that to my sister I’d probably never forgive ‘em.”

Armando shrugged as they headed toward a flat, empty field.
“Well, I can’t speak to that. I can only tell you Ramon’s too young to turn into a crotchety old man so soon. I think he’s just working himself too hard and he’s too proud to ask for help. He’s got this place,” he gestured toward the back area of the vast property where the barns and stables were located, “and he’s somehow managing two other ranches he acquired last year. I think today’s the first day he’s taken off in a long time. Victor said the only way he’s been able to spend any time with him all week is if he helped him work.”

Katie chuckled as she stepped over a large rock.
“That’s funny to me. Don’t you and Victor have these big careers of your own? He’s in New York. You’re in Los Angeles. And now, here you are, walking along in your jeans and a T-shirt, staying here at Ramon’s house in Turnbrook.”

“
What’s so funny about that?” Armando gave her a playful smirk. “I spent my best years in that house. And now, I’m just a regular guy, visiting my brothers on the weekend—”

Katie laughed, hard.
“You’re
not
just a regular guy, Armando. I know
that
much. I’ve seen that big, fancy bio you have online.”

Armando squinted as he thought about it.
“You mean, at the Hightower Investments website?” He huffed. “That’s all for show. Don’t believe everything you read.”

“
Yeah, sure. So you don’t have a collection of sports cars, or a private jet, or a controlling interest in the largest hotel franchise in North America? And you’re never seen eating dinner with beautiful women. TV stars and models, and—”

“
Okay, okay.” Armando stopped walking and turned to face her. “The sports cars, yes. The private jet, not exactly. I have
access
to a private jet anytime I need it, but I figured there was no reason to buy my own unless I just wanted to look like a rich, wasteful jackass.”

Katie burst into laughter.

Armando continued. “The hotel franchise.” He shook his head. “Too much headache. I sold most of my equity and now I’m just a shareholder. A silent partner, really. And as for the T.V. stars and models,” he let out a defeated sigh and shook his head, “yeah, that might’ve happened a few times. When you have money in L.A. you tend to run in the same circles as some of the more recognizable people in our society. But it never takes me long to see through a phony, bullshit exterior to the woman inside.”

Her eyes narrowed.
“Is that why you’re still single?”

“
I guess so.” His eyes narrowed, matching her expression. “Wait a minute. How’d you know about the women I’ve been seen with? I’m not usually named in those pictures because I’m not a,” he used air quotes for his next word, “
celebrity
.” Even when Armando had a serious relationship with a famous model several years earlier, he prided himself on staying in the background and keeping a low profile.

Katie shrugged.
“You have to know where to look, I guess. But I’ve always kept tabs on you.” She briefly looked in his eyes, then gazed off in the distance. “Well, if you wanna call searching the internet, ‘keeping tabs,’ that is. Sorry if that seems creepy. I know you’ve been successful and I think you deserve it.”

“
Thank you. And for the record, that’s probably no creepier than me scaring you in the parking lot last night. Or finding your little wedding website.”