Conall's Legacy (14 page)

“She’s working out her fear. It’s strenuous to ride without your irons.”

“What?”

“Stirrups. She’s riding the hard way, trying to work out the anger she feels about my ... news. But don’t change the subject.”

“All right. You’re being honest, so will I. I am very attracted to Luisa, but there is another woman.”

“You’re married?”

“No. But I thought I loved another woman. I owe her a great deal, and I have a ... powerful ... commitment to her. I don’t know how that might work out or if I’ll ever be able to tell Luisa how much I like her.” Just the thought of doing so allowed warmth to grow in his chest and spread fingers that closed around his heart like a comfortable shadow.

“And just how is that, Mr. Forrester?”

“It’s Drake, and I don’t know for sure. We’ve only known each other a short time.”

“Short time means nothing. Her father and I fell in love at first sight.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but you ended up divorced.”

A sad smile lifted her lips. “That’s true enough. Well, actually we separated but never divorced. But there were other reasons for that. I couldn’t bear to live way out here after Luisa’s accident, and he wouldn’t leave. So I took my daughter and left.”

A ripple of regret flashed through him. “Can you tell me what happened to her face?”

Marie shuddered and wrapped her arms around her body, protectively, as though to keep out the pain. “She was riding.” The curve of her lips softened the tired lines etched in her face. “I think she was born on a horse.” She shook her head apparently clearing the memory. “Anyway, a rattlesnake spooked the animal and he reared. She pitched off and went face first into a barbed wire fence.”

Drake swallowed the nausea that threatened. “Surely a good surgeon could take care of that.”

“A good plastic surgeon could fix it now, but then ...” Marie shook her head. “There was blood everywhere. The fence was rusty and the cut jagged. It took us two hours to get to any kind of help. Back in those days the county had only a very small hospital and one helicopter to fly patients to Tucson.”

“I’m sorry. It must have been terrifying for you.” He could see a mother cradling a severely wounded child against her breast for a long drive to help. Wondering about the scars that child would carry. Perhaps wondering if the child would even survive.

“It was worse for her.” A look of pride replaced the old memories that clouded her face, as Luisa rode past close to the fence.

Silence captured the moment, pulsed, and settled.

“Mrs. Montoya, I can’t promise what will grow between us. I am already bound by one promise that can’t be undone. All I can tell you is I’d never hurt her intentionally.”

“There’s not much more I can ask than that.” She held her hand out so Drake could grasp it. He was shocked at how cold it felt. “Good night, Drake.”

She turned and walked slowly away. He watched her enter the house, her heavy steps reflecting the weight of destiny wrapped around her ankles.

The thumping hooves of a galloping horse turned him toward Luisa. Royal Knight charged down the long side of the arena. With her seat and thighs imbedded in the saddle, she matched the horse move for move. Her upper body remained quiet, but her lower body moved with the horse from the waist down. It reminded Drake of the age-old rhythm of a woman riding a man. Desire curled from his heart to the soles of his feet. Blood pooled between his thighs and his body throbbed.

Drake prayed that one day she’d match his moves in such an intimate way, that they would have that right. The image worsened his already overloaded senses. With a groan, he forced his gaze away and went to pack. It was time to leave
La Puerta de Paraíso
. Time to return to Rebecca.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Marie drizzled gravy over a small mound of mashed potatoes and chicken fried steak. Luisa shook her head in disapproval.

“Mother, you really should eat more.”

“This is fine, dear. I don’t eat much these days.”

“I know it’s not heart healthy food, but I thought it might help if you could gain some weight.”

Fear knotted Luisa’s stomach, and she set her fork aside. Marie put minute bites of food into her mouth. Lifting the fork seemed to take too much effort. Luisa decided if Marie were alone, she probably wouldn’t bother to eat at all.

Ask her
, Luisa’s inner voice nagged.
I can’t
, she argued silently.

Marie’s hand trembled as she took another bite. Guilt, anger, and compassion tangled in Luisa’s mind. Like the vivid colors in a kaleidoscope, they swirled and mixed, making patterns in her thoughts. Thoughts she couldn’t ignore.

Ask her
.
You wouldn’t hesitate to help if she were a wounded animal
.

Luisa sucked air into her lungs as she acknowledged the truth of that thought.

“Mother ...”

Marie looked up and met her gaze. Marie arched one eyebrow and waited.

Luisa plunged in before she changed her mind. “Don’t go back.” She reached across the table and gently picked up Marie’s free hand. “Stay with me.”

A warm smile lit her mother’s features, and she set her fork down. She squeezed Luisa’s fingers in a cold grasp. “That is a lovely offer, dear. I understand what it cost you to make it.” She shook her head. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me, but it’s not possible.” She pulled her hand free. “I have to go back. There are still arrangements to make with my company. Besides, my doctors are there.”

“We can get new ones, maybe better ones in Tucson. There’s a fine medical center and research facility at the university.”

“That we could, but I have to get the business ready to turn over to you.”

Luisa jumped to her feet so fast her chair toppled and crashed to the floor. “I don’t care about that. I want you to stay.”

Marie calmly folded her napkin and set it beside her plate. Her eyes never left Luisa’s face as she rose. “I’d give anything on God’s earth to stay, but I can’t. I want to provide for you the best way I can. That means leaving my company to you.”

Guilt washed over Luisa. How could she accept money from her mother when she’d shut her out for so many years? When she’d blamed her for every bad thing that ever happened in her life? Even her father’s death?

“Give it to charity.” Her voice hitched, caught in her throat. Her breath shuddered out. “We’ve missed so much. I want time with you--not money.”

“This is the only thing I can give you now. You’re all I have left. Please don’t refuse it.”

“But--”

Marie shook her head, turned, and walked out, head high. The screened door swung shut behind her, leaving Luisa behind her in mid-sentence. Luisa blinked back tears and picked up the toppled kitchen chair in a daze.

#

Marie heard the door slap behind her and strode blindly to the cattle pen. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks when she placed her hands on the top rail and rested her forehead on her whitened knuckles.

“Mrs. Montoya?”

She jumped and swung toward the voice, a small gasp slipping from her lips.

A handkerchief appeared from the shadow of the cottonwood. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. And I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but sounds carry a long way out here. I couldn’t help hearing just now.” Drake smiled as he glanced at the animals, apparently wanting to change the subject. “Sometimes I stand out here at night trying to understand what holds her here.” He looked around again. “I’m beginning to get it.”

Marie accepted the cloth, mopped her face, and smiled at the picture of Luisa that popped to mind. More often than not, she’d been found in the barn or the chicken coop. Anywhere animals or birds were. She’d slip scraps from the kitchen table, sure that the javelina would starve without them.

“I’ve seen her call in the creatures. There’s a deer that lets her touch it.” He chuckled. “At first I wondered if she was a witch.”

Marie sniffed and nodded. “She does have a way with them. That must be the one she rescued when hunters killed the mother. Cindy told me Luisa kept her until she was old enough to care for herself.” Memories tugged at her heart, brought fresh tears to her eyes. A sob caught in her throat and struggled to get past her pride.

Drake rested his palm on her shoulder, and then pulled her into a compassionate embrace. Marie laid her head on his chest and gave in to her fear for the first time: The fear of dying, the fear of leaving her daughter more alone than she’d ever been, the finality of it all.

Spent at last, she pushed back from Drake and gave him a watery smile. “I’m sorry. I ....”

“It’s all right. I needed to wash this shirt anyway.” His gentle voice nearly undid her again, but she lifted her chin and stepped away so she could look into his face in the dim light.

“She thinks I don’t love her, that my business is more important than having time with her.” Marie sighed heavily. “She wants me to stay.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I can’t. I have to get the business set up so she’ll have the income. It’s all I can leave her. That and some investments.”

“Maybe time with you is more important to her than the money. She seems to be doing okay.”

“The money could pay for a plastic surgeon and a psychiatrist.”

“Why a shrink?”

Marie looked him up and down, assessed, and measured the man. “Have you seen her leave here since you came?”

“No, but I thought she might have during the day.” He sounded apologetic. “I work most of the night and sleep during the day.” Drake shrugged. “Why do you ask?”

“She can’t leave--at least not easily.”

“Why not?”

“She’s agoraphobic. It takes everything she has in her to go off the property, and she only does that in emergencies, usually for her animals.”

“I thought you’d seen her in horse shows.”

Marie nodded. “Yes, she used to leave for the occasional horse show. Not lately.”

“Why hasn’t she seen a counselor before now?”

“Money. I offered that and the money to pay for a plastic surgeon. She wouldn’t accept either.”

“She doesn’t need to fix her face.” His voice dropped to a whisper, almost introspective. “She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

Warmth spread over Marie. Here stood a man worthy of her Luisa. If only there wasn’t another woman in the picture. He cleared his throat and drew her attention.

“What caused her to be so afraid to leave here?” Drake asked.

Marie frowned, chewed on her lip, and then shook her head. “It’s her place to share that with you if she will. It’s enough to understand she was severely traumatized as a child. The children teased her unmercifully. For an nine-year-old, that’s very damaging.”

#

He read her thoughts. “And?”

“I took her to LA away from here, hoping to have her face repaired, so they’d leave her alone.” She hesitated, looked back in time, and saw her daughter’s anguish at leaving her father and the ranch. The remembered pain made her tremble.

“What happened?”

“She ran away.”

Drake whistled a breath between his teeth. “I ran once.”

“Oh, no. What happened to you?” She touched Drake’s forearm gently.

“Not so different from lots of kids,” Drake said. “My parents died when I was young, and even though I was taken in by a great family, I was still lost. I rebelled against them trying to make me fit into their family as though mine never existed, and I bolted.”

“Surely, they only meant to make you feel at home.”

“I found that out, but in the meantime, I hit the Los Angeles streets thinking I was tough enough to take care of myself.”

“How old were you?”

“Ten.”

She sucked in her breath. “Well, it seems the streets beckoned more than my Luisa.”

“Too many, that’s for sure. Many never make it out. So why did Luisa run?”

“Luisa was determined to get back here. It was the only haven she had.” Terror still choked Marie when she pictured her child stumbling through filthy alleys, stepping over drunken bodies lying along dark curbs, and dodging grabbing hands. The thoughts threatened to stop her heart then and there.

“How long was she on her own?” he asked quietly.

Marie cleared her throat of the metallic taste of fear and wished she could as easily clear the engraved image from her mind.

“Six weeks,” she whispered. “It took an eternity to find her.” She half smiled. “She’s very resourceful.”

He frowned, creases furrowing deep into his forehead. “Was all that enough to cause her phobia of leaving here?”

“No, no it wasn’t. You’ll have to ask her about the rest if you care enough about her to carry the answer in your mind and heart. It isn’t something you will forget soon.”

“But ...”

She shook her head, clamping her lips together.

“Okay, done. So why can’t you get things in order and come back? Or have your lawyers do it for you?”