“This isn’t the same kind of distance, though. I don’t know what happened in Monterrey. But I’m not sure I can continue working for you, Dell.”
His quiet announcement stunned her. She’d decided that she would dismiss him soon — but not yet. This man’s easy betrayal and probable allegiance to Lionel De Cordova were inexcusable. Unforgivable. Even if he merely worked for her grandfather and had no particular loyalty to his employer, he had come here under false pretences. De Cordova thought they were lovers, clearly, but that error didn’t change the facts — he knew Jovi was on the ranch. Knew about the girls. Probably even that they’d gone to South Padre together. She thought back to the day he’d come about the job. He’d been intense, clearly wanted the position badly.
Jovi was here at Lionel De Corvoba’s bidding. And if his reasons for wanting Danny gone were what she suspected … Still, she forced herself to mask her surprise as well as she could. She could appear surprised, but not concerned. Not shocked. And certainly not hurt.
“Well,” she said, after a moment. Then she shook her head. “I have to admit this is unexpected.” Her fingers drummed the desk as she turned over a multitude of questions and discarded them. “I’m not sure I understand,” she finally said, honestly, and he shrugged.
“I don’t want to leave. And I’ll stay for the moment. But … ” Something in his eyes seemed dark and pained as he gazed at her. “Monterrey was a bad idea,” he said. She didn’t know exactly what he meant, but she knew with chilling certainty that he was right. Whatever could have been between them had ended with her visit to Lionel De Cordova’s house. The strangest part of it all, she admitted to herself, was that she understood exactly what Karla Gonzalez meant when she’d offered her unsolicited advice. The man sitting in front of her was at least a liar and a spy, and at worst a criminal. But she didn’t care. She loved him. Only she couldn’t. So she wouldn’t. She ignored the irritating voice that had come to dwell in her head since Jovani’s arrival at Nueva Brisa. The one whispering, “Yeah, right,” as she stood up with her customary detachment and nodded simply at him.
“Please let me know if you decide to go,” she said quietly, and walked out of her own office to escape him.
Chapter Eighteen
Her meeting with Becky’s caseworker, along with Patricia Ovalle-Martinez, was scheduled for Friday morning at eleven. Wednesday night, Dell stood pressed against her bedroom window, watching rain slash down and lightning blaze across the dark night sky again. Webb County with its dry summers usually escaped this kind of onslaught, and the violence of the storm surprised her. This storm, coming after other, recent rains, was sure to cause flooding, locally and downstream.
She turned and glanced at her bed. Becky had been terrified and had come to Dell for comfort. Now she slept peacefully in the middle of Dell’s bed, clutching a plaid pillow against her tummy, unmindful of the unending rain and wind. Smiling in spite of herself, Dell walked over and brushed a light kiss against the girl’s forehead, careful not to wake her. She felt her eyes sting with the ever-present fear of losing the child, and quickly went back to her vantage point by the window.
The yard was dark, and from her window, she couldn’t see very much. Still, she stiffened with surprise and flattened her face against the glass when she thought she saw a shape moving across the yard, heading in the general direction of the stables, but going furtively. A sudden bolt of lightning flared, turning the outside world an electric blue, and Dell gasped in stunned amazement. The light briefly illuminated the bent, running figure, and she realized in shock that it was Maribel.
Almost unable to believe her own eyes, she turned and hurried through the hall to the girl’s room, throwing open the door. The room was empty — her eyes had not deceived her. Incredulous, Dell stood for a minute, staring into the room. She went next door and looked in at Amy and Michelle. Amy mumbled a sleepy greeting, barely awake and clearly not worried by the weather, and Michelle was sound asleep.
“Go back to sleep,” Dell said gently, and went back to her own room. She rummaged in her closet for seldom-used galoshes and a slicker. While not particularly afraid of storms, she didn’t relish going out in one. The ranch country was flat and dry. Lightning strikes often claimed livestock out in the open and could kill anyone caught without shelter. Additionally, the hard-packed soil didn’t absorb water, and flooding occurred quickly. The land was so flat water didn’t run over most of it, just sat, creating danger as it covered holes, cactus, and other obstacles. To worsen the situation, arroyos and washes filled quickly with water that raced down toward the Rio Grande, already swollen by heavy rains up river in Del Rio.
Grimly, she pulled on the boots and slicker. She couldn’t leave Becky alone, though, and on her way out, she stopped in the kitchen. Rosa, humming some old tune under her breath, looked up, startled and then shocked by Dell’s rain gear.
“You can’t possibly be going out — ”
“There’s a problem, Rosa,” Dell said. “I don’t know what she’s up to, but Maribel’s out there. Even if she’s alone, it’s dangerous. She’s certainly not prepared to be caught out in this.”
“But — ”
“I’ll be fine,” Dell assured her. “Listen, the thing is, Becky’s asleep in my room. I don’t want her to wake up alone.”
Rosa nodded and tossed a cloth over the cookies she’d been rolling out. “I’m on my way up,” she said without hesitation. “But I still wish you wouldn’t go.”
“I don’t have a choice.” Dell forced a brief smile. “I can guarantee, though, Maribel is going to wish she’d have to face another storm, and not me, when I find her! Take good care of the girls, Rosa. I saw her heading toward the barn. If she’s inside there, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes, or I’ll call if we decide to wait the storm out there.”
“Okay.” Rosa came over and gave her a brief, hard hug. “Be careful, though. I bet the yard and path are knee-deep in water already.”
“Well, ankle deep. Go on up with Becky, okay?” She waited until Rosa disappeared up the stairs before resolutely going to the door and jerking it open. Rain slashed at her, hard and relentless, and the lightning sputtered too near for comfort. Trusting herself not to step into some unseen depression or hit her toe on a rock, she sprinted for the barn, hoping Maribel had the good sense to have headed there.
The barn was silent and dark, although at the far end, light glowed from the office. At her entrance, heads appeared over the stall doors. One of the Arabians, already edgy from the storm, reared in her stall and flailed the air, then dropped back and kicked the wooden walls in a frenzy.
“Calm down, Night,” Dell whispered, but stayed back, aware her flapping clothes were likely to cause more panic. She thought about turning on the main lights, but decided against it. The less disturbed the horses were, the better. Trying not to rush, she continued to the end of the hall and pushed the office door open. No one was in the small room, and the dim light seemed to have been left on only for security reasons. Stymied, she paused just outside the office, collecting her thoughts and wondering what to do next.
Could anyone be stupid enough to be out in this? she asked herself once again. But if Maribel hadn’t taken shelter here, then where had she gone? She walked back toward the partially open barn door and stood, squinting out into the downpour that all but blinded her.
Suddenly she thought of her father’s workshop, used now by Pete to store cleaning tools and extra feed. The old shed was likely unlocked, since nothing in it was of special value. The building was probably thirty yards away, and she braced herself for another sprint across flooded ground. Lightning struck nearby, exploding into fire followed immediately by deafening thunder. She gasped and ran faster, lunging under the awning and stumbling to a stop. She hadn’t bothered coming quietly, but the storm’s fury effectively drowned out the sounds of her labored breathing and sloshing
strides. She paused a moment, a hand on the door of the shed. Then Maribel’s loud, angry voice made her draw her hand away and flatten herself against the wall, listening.
“You promised!” the girl raged. “You promised to get me out of here. I did everything you wanted. You can’t just walk away from me — ”
A low, masculine voice said something in Spanish that she couldn’t hear. She couldn’t even recognize the voice, muffled as it was by the storm’s noise, but fear pounded through her. Who could it be except Jovi? She didn’t believe for a moment that it could be the loyal, elderly Pete. He would never betray her. But there was no one else on the ranch … except Jovani. She slumped miserably against the wet wood, trying to hear.
“ — could get me sent away, damn it. Don’t you care about that?” Maribel’s furious hiss apparently had no effect at all on her companion, whose short bark of laughter was masculine and filled with derision. It didn’t sound like Jovi, Dell told herself. His laughter was … warm. And human. Not this beastly bark in the storm-filled darkness. Still, there was only one sure way to know. Confront Maribel and find out what was going on.
Gritting her teeth, she straightened up slowly and pushed off the wall. Moving to the door, she took a deep breath, then shoved the door back and stepped into the room. Maribel screamed. There was a blur of movement and an explosion of sharp, sudden pain in her head. Then Maribel’s screams faded into the blackness that washed over Dell, easing her away into darkness.
• • •
When light returned gradually, she blinked it away and tried to turn away from it. The light was insistent though, and gradually the sounds around her penetrated, too, making her wince but calling her back. Maribel’s sobs. Rosa’s angry mutterings about ungrateful, stupid delinquents. And Jovi’s strong, skilled fingers, pressing a cold, damp cloth against her forehead. Her eyes snapped open, and she tried to sit up, but he held her down with one gentle hand. Anyway, her head hurt. Frowning at him, she let herself be restrained. Then she closed her eyes again. Someone had hit her on the head — whoever had been there with Maribel. And now Jovi was standing here, dripping wet, trying to ease the violent pain throbbing in every part of her head. She tried to bite back a small moan as the throbbing intensified, but a muffled sound escaped her thick, dry lips.
“Stay still,” he ordered, his voice both firm and gentle. “We tried to get a doctor out, but there’s no way in this storm. It isn’t safe to try to drive you in to Laredo right now, either — they’ve actually closed part of I35 from the flooding.”
“I’m fine anyway,” Dell forced herself to say. Her eyes snapped open, and again she tried to sit up. “Becky — ”
“Becky’s sound asleep with Michelle and Amy,” Rosa said reassuringly. “You just stay where you are, miss. You had us all worried sick.” She cast a venomous glare at Maribel, huddled in a corner, still sobbing. Dell looked around her and realized she’d been carried into the house and was on the couch.
“What in the world happened to me?” she asked. “Maribel — ”
“You got hit in the head,” Jovani said grimly. “Hard. You can deal with Maribel later.” There was no sympathy in the glance he cast in the girl’s direction. “She almost got you killed. I hope she’s aware of what she’s done.”
Dell sighed and closed her eyes again. Nothing made sense. Forcing her head to turn, she looked at Rosa. “Could you bring me something to drink?” she asked, and the housekeeper immediately hurried toward the kitchen. With difficulty, she focused her gaze on Jovi’s face.
“Who hit me, Jovani? And why? Was it you?”
He looked startled, then angered, by her question, as he saw her eyes take in his sopping clothes before returning to meet his eyes levelly.
“Maybe you should ask Maribel,” he suggested grimly, and waved at the girl, indifferent to her obvious agitation. “Tell Dell who hit you,” he ordered tersely. “And tell her why.”
Tears still flowed from the teenager’s eyes, and she ducked her head, not meeting Dell’s eyes. But after a moment, and after a brief, apprehensive look at Jovi, she answered.
“It was Danny,” she said in a monotone. “He didn’t want you to see him. He knew he’d be in trouble for coming back on the ranch.”
“Danny?” Dell repeated in disbelief. She tried to lift her head, but again Jovi’s hand pressed her back gently. “Why were you there with Danny, Maribel?” A snatch of their conversation came back, and she pushed Jovi’s hand away and sat up, swaying and closing her eyes until the spinning stars dissolved and her vision cleared. Oblivious to his wet clothes, Jovi sat down beside her, steadying her with an arm around her shoulders. “What did Danny promise you? And what did you give him … for whatever you thought he owed you?”
Maribel’s old rebelliousness didn’t surface as she refused to look up, her face still contorted with fear and shame. “He … would bring me cigarettes. I couldn’t just quit smoking, you know.” She ventured a glance at Dell, trying not to look at Jovi at the same time. She sniffed and wiped a hand across her face. “He called a … friend of mine. I was going to run away. Leave here … leave Laredo. Until I got things together.”
“And for that, you did what?” Dell demanded, remembering the pallet of blankets in the cabaña sickly.
“I … I’d really rather not talk about it,” she said brokenly, looking down again. Then she looked back up at Dell. “But he knew all this stuff … about you. About your mother … He made me think it would be okay … doing things.”
Dell sighed and leaned back against the tweedy fabric of the sofa, letting her eyes drift shut. Rosa came bustling back, carrying a cup of steaming tea. Dell glanced at her and wrinkled her nose. “I can’t drink that,” she protested. “I need something cold!”
Rosa clucked. “No, señorita. You’re gonna die from your death of pneumonia, anyway. You’re drinking this tea, like it or not. And I’ve got water on for the next cup.”
“But tea … ” Dell protested, hunching against new pain. She blinked, turned her head. “Maribel — and it’s late, we need to get things straightened out and get some sleep — ”
Jovi and Rosa exchanged glances.
“You’re not going to sleep,” Jovi said, after a moment. “Not for a few hours, at least.”
Dell tried to turn her head around enough to see him, but her head, neck, and shoulders had stiffened as if set in cement. Annoyed at the petulance in her voice but unable to disguise it, she looked instead at Rosa, who was still within sight. “Why?”
“Concussion,” Jovi said, his voice gentle and reassuring. “We have to be sure you don’t slip into unconsciousness.”
Dell tried to sniff in disdain, but managed only a shaky moan as the world wobbled around her again. Sighing, she refocused her attention on Maribel. “So … what things did you do?” she asked, her lips pursing as she took in the tear-ravaged face.
Maribel fidgeted. She didn’t look up as she mumbled, “I … made some calls. I didn’t tell my name. I told the welfare people Becky wasn’t being taken care of. That there were drugs here.” Her voice trailed off.
Dell leaned into the cushions silently, motionlessly, unable to digest the girl’s words. She was hardly aware Jovi leaned over, picked up the cup of tea, and raised it to her lips.
“Take a sip,” he ordered, and held the cup until she managed to follow his instructions. He put the cup back on its saucer and sat silently. Maribel sat, head down, fingers interlocked. Dell lifted a hand carefully and wiped away a tear that trickled down her cheek.
“Go to bed, Maribel,” she said quietly. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
The girl stood without comment and started toward the door. She stopped there and turned back, as if to speak.
“Don’t,” Dell said flatly. “If you’re going to say you’re sorry, just don’t. Not tonight. Just go.” The girl burst int
o new sobs and fled from the room.
“Good riddance to bad rubbish!” Rosa muttered. “Little — ”
“Rosa, never mind,” Dell interrupted. “Go to bed. It’s late, and I may need extra help with the girls tomorrow, especially Becky. Get some sleep.”
Rosa glowered at Jovi and shifted uncomfortably. “I really should stay up with you two,” she protested. “You might need me.”
Jovi shook his head. “No. I’ll watch her.” He shifted, moving his arm, but being careful not to jolt Dell, then added, with humor lightening his tone, “Don’t worry, though. I’ve kept many a woman up nights. We’ll have a great time!”
Rosa snorted, her displeasure and distrust clear. “Mira, Jovi — ”
“Really, go,” Dell insisted. She managed a small smile. “I don’t need a chaperone, Rosa. Neither does Jovi.” Her grin widened in spite of the night’s events. “If he tries anything, I’ll just tell him I have a headache.” There was a moment of startled silence, broken by Jovi’s low laugh. Rosa’s frown deepened, and she shrugged as she turned away.
“Stubborn woman,” she muttered, and stalked out of the room, leaving them alone.
Jovi drew his supporting arm away and propped up the throw pillows that had been dropped from the sofa to the floor, making a mound in a corner. “Let me sit you up here,” he suggested, lifting her and settling her against the pillows before she could protest. “It’ll be easier to stay awake if you’re not lying down.” He stood up, stretching. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go change.” He stood looking down at her with concern. “Should I call Rosa back meanwhile?”
Unattainable Page 21
