by Lara Lacombe
A slow smile spread over Diego’s face. “I should have known your type-A tendencies would win in the end.”
Isabel gave her brother an indignant look that made Wyatt laugh. When she turned it on him, he held up his hands. “Face it,” he told her. “Your brother is right. You do like to be in charge.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” she grumbled.
“I didn’t say there was,” he agreed.
“Never apologize for your strength, mija,” Jose instructed with a paternal smile.
Maria appeared in the doorway. “Are you all hungry?” she asked hopefully.
“Starving.” Diego stood and grinned at her. “Are you offering to feed me?”
“Only at the table,” she replied. “Like civilized people.”
“A small price to pay,” Diego said. He moved to his grandfather’s side, ready to help the older man from his chair. But Jose waved away the silent offer of assistance.
“I’m not that old,” he said, pushing to his feet.
Wyatt smiled as he watched the two of them leave the study. Then he glanced down at Isabel, happy to see her smiling, as well.
“It’s strange,” she mused as they started to follow the lunch crowd. “Even though we still don’t know who’s trying to hurt us, I feel hopeful about our future.” She glanced up at him. “Am I just in denial?”
“Nope.” Wyatt took her hand as they walked. “I think it’s better to focus on the positive. There will be plenty of time later to start worrying again.”
She laughed. “I never thought I’d procrastinate when it comes to stress.”
Her description made him smile. “It’s always good to try something new.”
* * *
Isabel settled next to Wyatt on the sofa and opened her laptop. Diego sat in one of the large armchairs, and both Abuelo and Maria were sitting in the sofa nearest the fireplace. They’d all come here to talk more about her proposal to turn the Cruz ranch into a nonprofit organization.
Lunch had been a short affair, as both she and Diego had needed to check on the animals. She’d been pleased to discover the three cattle and their calves all looking well, with the babies nursing as their mothers grazed. None of the animals seemed injured by their experience in the fire, which was another reminder of just how lucky they’d been.
Diego had checked in with the ranch hands who were monitoring the herd in the fields. The reports had all been good, so they’d headed back to the house to continue planning the future of the ranch.
Isabel knew she shouldn’t be looking for trouble, but she couldn’t help but feel like the worst was yet to come.
Wyatt rubbed her shoulders. “It’s okay,” he murmured.
“How do you always seem to know what I’m thinking?” It wasn’t the first time he’d accurately picked up on her mood. It was a habit she found simultaneously endearing and annoying. It was nice feeling so connected to him, but couldn’t she have a few secrets?
He chuckled, the low sound wrapping around her like a warm blanket. “You have a glass face,” he said quietly.
“I didn’t think I was that bad.”
“You’re not,” he assured her. “But I pay attention.” He winked and a shiver of anticipation shot down her spine.
“All right,” Diego said loudly, interrupting their private moment. “Let’s talk about how we can make this work.”
Over the next hour, they discussed options, made plans and drew up a list of questions that required the input of an attorney. Isabel loved every minute of it. For the first time in what seemed like forever, they were all working toward a common goal instead of arguing with each other over competing visions of the future.
The doorbell chimed, interrupting their discussion.
Diego tilted his head to the side and shot a questioning look at Abuelo.
“I’m not sure,” her grandfather said. “The sheriff, perhaps?”
“I’ll go,” Wyatt volunteered.
He returned a moment later with their visitor.
“Gabriel,” Abuelo said. He rose and gestured for the other man to join them, then sat back down. “This is a surprise.”
Gabriel nodded and looked at everyone uncertainly. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you I was coming. I probably should have called first.”
“Have a seat.” Abuelo indicated the recliner next to Diego.
Gabriel lowered himself into the chair, but Isabel could tell by the tension in his body he wasn’t comfortable.
“What’s going on?” she asked, trying to break the ice.
He met her gaze, a flash of gratitude in his eyes. “I heard about what happened here. Is everyone okay?”
“We are,” Diego replied. “We got lucky.”
“I saw the ruins on the way in.” Gabriel shook his head. “I’m glad the fire didn’t spread.”
“So are we,” Abuelo said with a thin smile.
“Will you rebuild?” he asked.
Diego and Isabel exchanged a look. How much of their plan should they reveal right now? If Gabriel really was a Cruz, he was entitled to a say. But he was still too much of an unknown for Isabel to feel comfortable bringing him fully into the loop. Until she knew she could trust him, she preferred to keep things close to the vest.
“We hope to,” she said, keeping her answer deliberately vague.
He nodded, but his distracted expression made her wonder if he’d really heard what she’d said.
“I, uh. I have the results of the DNA test.” He stood and pulled an envelope from the back pocket of his pants and tapped it against his palm. “I thought maybe we should open it together.” He walked over to Abuelo and extended his arm. “Would you like to do the honors?”
Isabel’s breath caught in her throat as her grandfather reached up to take the envelope. Wyatt placed his hand on her shoulder, but she couldn’t look away as Abuelo slid his finger under the flap and broke the seal.
He withdrew a folded piece of paper and studied it. A frown spread across his face and she could tell he was trying to make sense of the information on the page.
“But this says...” He looked up with a confused expression.
Gabriel reached for the paper.
Abuelo passed it to him and then met Isabel’s gaze. He shook his head slightly, as though he couldn’t believe what he’d just read.
A sense of trepidation filled her. Something unexpected was happening here. But, based on her grandfather’s reaction, she couldn’t tell if it was a positive or negative development.
“But this doesn’t make sense.” Gabriel looked up, his expression a mix of frustration and pleading. “It says our Y chromosomes don’t match. That means...” His voice faded as he shook his head.
“It means you’re not a Cruz,” Diego finished quietly. Isabel glanced at her brother, expecting to find a gleam of triumph in his eyes. But she saw only pity as he watched Gabriel.
“I don’t understand,” Gabriel said. His voice was tight with distress, his muscles tense. “Mom left me a letter telling me about her affair with Ricardo. The check was inside. She told me to bring the check to you, and it would prove my identity.”
“I’m so sorry,” Abuelo said softly. “I thought you were my grandson.”
“But...” Gabriel frowned, clearly confused. “If Ricardo Cruz is not my father, then who is?”
“That would be me, I expect.”
Everyone turned at the sound of the new voice. A shock zinged through Isabel as she recognized Ruben standing in the doorway.
What on earth?
Just as the question formed in her mind, Ruben stepped into the room. But Isabel recognized in an instant he wasn’t the same calm, dependable man she’d always known.
This was a side of Ruben she’d never seen before. He was a stranger.
And he was carry
ing a gun.
Chapter 15
Wyatt caught sight of the gun and moved without thinking. He was too far away to try to disarm Ruben, but he could do his best to protect Isabel.
He positioned himself in front of her, blocking her from Ruben’s view. The other man flicked a glance in his direction, but otherwise didn’t acknowledge him.
Ruben advanced into the room, his eyes darting from Gabriel to Jose. “Your mother was my girlfriend,” he said. He kept his arm down, gun pointed at the floor. But Wyatt felt the agitation coming off of him in waves and knew it was only a matter of time before he did something rash.
“What?” Gabriel appeared even more confused. He looked from Jose to Ruben, seeking clarification. “Who are you?”
“What’s the meaning of this, Ruben?” Jose pushed to his feet and stepped to the side, drawing Ruben’s attention away from Maria. She shrank back into the corner of the sofa, terror etched on her face.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.” Ruben didn’t raise his voice, but venom dripped from every word he spoke. “Christine was a good girl. We loved each other. Your son—” he turned and spat onto the wood floor “—seduced her. He poured lies into her ear, promising to leave his wife and marry her, to make her the queen of the Cruz ranching empire. She believed him.” He shook his head in disgust.
“Then she realized she was pregnant. I begged her to come back to me. Told her I’d raise the baby with her no matter who its father was. But she refused. Said Ricardo was going to take care of her.” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “As if Ricardo had ever taken care of anyone in his life.”
Wyatt saw Diego open his mouth. He shook his head, warning his friend to keep his thoughts to himself. Now was not the time to defend his father’s honor.
If Ruben had noticed their silent communication, he didn’t acknowledge it. “Ricardo broke her heart,” he continued. “Once again, I pleaded with her to let me help. I was too late, though. She said she’d already made up her mind. That she couldn’t stay here because she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life reminded of her broken heart. So she came to you.”
“Yes,” Jose confirmed, swallowing hard. “She asked me for money. I gave it to her. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”
With Ruben’s attention focused on Jose, Wyatt made a small gesture to try to get Isabel to stand. If he could get her on her feet, he could distract Ruben so she and Maria would have a chance to escape.
He couldn’t risk turning around to look at her, but after a few seconds, he felt her fingers brush his own and then her hand lightly touched the center of his back.
Relief washed over him, but he wasn’t about to celebrate just yet.
“She left after you gave her the check,” Ruben continued. “I was devastated.”
“Why did you stay?” Diego spoke for the first time, voicing the question they were all thinking. “Why not quit, get away from this place?”
Ruben’s smile was full of malice. “Revenge. I wanted to hurt your father, but after he died, I had to reconsider.”
“Ricardo has been dead for years,” Jose said. “Why act now?”
Ruben looked at Gabriel, a flash of longing showing on his face. “I got a letter about three months ago from your mother. She told me she’d changed her mind and kept the baby. She also told me she still didn’t know if you were mine, but that she was going to make sure you came back here so we could find out.”
Gabriel went pale as the words sank in, and Wyatt felt bad for the guy. Not only had he lost his mother a few months ago, now he was discovering she was a liar who had played on his desire for a family in the worst way.
“You set the traps.”
Wyatt tensed as Isabel spoke from behind him. What are you doing? He wanted to shake her for drawing attention to herself rather than sneaking out of the room.
Ruben turned, moved until he could see her. “I did.”
“Why?” Diego asked. He looked genuinely baffled.
“The offer,” Isabel said before Ruben could reply.
Wyatt heard a dawning understanding in her voice and knew she had put the pieces together.
“That’s right.” Ruben nodded in her direction. “You always were the smart one.”
“You were trying to run us into the ground, to force us to sell the rights.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Diego’s confusion mirrored his own, but Wyatt was more interested in getting Isabel to safety than in solving this particular mystery.
He took a step to block Isabel from view once more, but Ruben saw him and shook his head. “You stay there.” He raised his arm, aiming the gun at Wyatt’s chest.
Wyatt froze, wanting to make sure he didn’t give Ruben an excuse to shoot.
“Why did you want us to take the deal?” Jose said, drawing Ruben’s attention away from Wyatt once more. “The money would have saved the ranch. You can’t possibly want that.”
“I’m playing the long game, friend,” Ruben said. “Can you imagine how much damage a fracking well accident causes? I’ve done some research, and let me tell you, it’s not pretty.”
“You’re crazy.” Isabel whispered the words but Ruben heard her nonetheless.
He turned to look at her. “No, not crazy,” he said. “Just patient.”
“Not patient enough,” Isabel said. “You set the barn on fire, didn’t you?”
Her question triggered a snippet of memory; the orange glow of the flames reflecting in Ruben’s belt buckle. Wyatt hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, but now he recognized that Ruben had been fully clothed, while everyone else there had been in various stages of undress thanks to the late hour.
Ruben shrugged. “You weren’t making a decision quickly enough.”
“And now?” Jose asked. “What’s your next move?”
“I’m not sure,” Ruben replied. “Your family has taken so much from me. At first, I thought perhaps I should just kill you and be done with it. But that wouldn’t really cause you pain, would it, Jose?”
Fear flickered across the old man’s face and Wyatt’s stomach twisted as he heard what Ruben hadn’t yet said.
“You took my child from me,” Ruben said. “I think I’ll return the favor.”
Time seemed to slow as Ruben began to turn toward Isabel. Acting on instinct, Wyatt twisted and grabbed the laptop from its spot on the cushion. He hurled it like an oversize Frisbee at Ruben.
The computer struck Ruben’s leg with a satisfying thump and he let out a startled cry. Wyatt charged, tackling Ruben just as he fired. The gun went off with an explosive bang and a split second later, they landed with a bone-jarring impact. The next thing he knew, Diego was there, kneeling next to him and holding Ruben’s arm down.
“Isabel!” He yelled her name, unwilling to take his eyes off Ruben until he was sure the man no longer posed a threat. “Talk to me!”
When she didn’t respond right away, he began to panic. He pushed off the floor and whirled around, only to collide with her. “Why didn’t you answer me?” He held her at arm’s length and ran his gaze over her body, searching for signs of injury.
She tapped him urgently on the arm. He looked up and frowned when he saw her lips were moving. She was trying to talk to him—he just couldn’t hear her.
Wyatt shook his head and pointed to his ear. She nodded and reached out to wipe her fingers along the side of his neck. When she held them up, he saw a smear of bright red blood on her fingertips.
He sank onto the sofa, gingerly touching the shell of his ear. The gunshot must have ruptured his eardrum. And now that his adrenaline was starting to fade, the pain was becoming more noticeable.
“Is everyone okay?” He could tell by the look on Isabel’s face that he was yelling, but he needed to make sure no one else had been hurt. She nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.
/>
Maria came over and took his hand, pulling him up from the sofa. She gestured for him to follow her, clearly wanting to lead him out of the room. Wyatt resisted—he didn’t want to leave Isabel.
Maria said something and Isabel nodded. She touched his arm, urging him forward.
Before he left, he turned to look at Diego, trying to gauge if his friend needed his help. He might not be able to hear, but his arms and legs still worked and he could lend a hand to keep Ruben under control until the sheriff arrived.
Diego shook his head and waved him away. Thank you, he mouthed from across the room.
Wyatt gave his friend a small salute then turned around. His head was pounding, his knees ached from the impact with the floor, and he’d somehow managed to bite his tongue during the scuffle. But the pain receded to insignificance when he caught sight of Isabel waiting for him.
The woman he loved held out her hand with a small smile. Wyatt moved to join her and, together, they took a step into their future.
Two weeks later...
They sat in the living room again. Isabel would have preferred to talk elsewhere, but Abuelo had insisted they reclaim the space.
“We cannot let one bad incident ruin all the good memories we’ve made there,” he’d said firmly.
He was right and Isabel recognized that the sooner they stopped treating the room like a haunted space, the faster the lingering psychic effects of Ruben’s attack would disappear.
Still, she’d felt a shiver of unease as she’d walked into the room. Would she ever be able to sit in here without the memories of Ruben’s hateful words and violent act running through her mind?
Recognizing her discomfort, Wyatt placed his arm around her shoulder and drew her in close. She leaned into his embrace, drawing comfort from his touch.
“Thanks for letting me in.” Gabriel glanced around the room, his manner subdued.
