The Quality of Mercy

by Ari McKay

  “No, I am not,” Carlos said, lifting his chin proudly. “If Jules’s heart were mine again, I would treasure it. But you saw the way he reacted to me. Winning his trust will be difficult at best.”

  Matt shrugged. “Probably, and it sounds like he’s got good reason to doubt you. But I saw the way he looked at you. There was more than just hurt and anger there. I’m thinking he ain’t no more over you than you’re over him. You won his heart once—maybe you can do it again.”

  “It will be a challenge,” Carlos said, smiling wryly. “I cannot rely on my usual tactics of charm and good looks. Jules will not be so easily swayed by either this time. I must prove I have changed from the boy he knew into a man who is worthy of him. How I will do so, I am not yet certain.”

  Matt grinned. “I’m sure you can figure out a way. You helped me win Gil, didn’t you? And you got me and Gil to help you. I’m sure the three of us can come up with ways to show him you’re different now. You got responsibilities, and the owner of the biggest spread in the area trusts you. That’s gotta prove something, don’t it?”

  “Perhaps it will be a start,” Carlos said with a little nod.

  “There’s Jeanie, and Robert too. A few words dropped in his ear about the kind of man you are now should help,” Matt rubbed his hands together, obviously relishing the idea of helping Carlos prove himself. “We just gotta get him to where he’s willing to let himself be persuaded to give you another chance. Maybe even make him think it’s his own idea.”

  “And then you will truss me up with ribbon and leave me on his doorstep?” Carlos shook his head, amused by Matt’s matchmaking glee.

  For one moment Matt seemed to consider the idea. “Nah, wouldn’t want to cause talk,” he replied. “We’d leave you in his bed.”

  “Oh yes, much more convenient,” Carlos said dryly. “Now all I must do is make certain he will not kick me out of it.”

  The smile Matt slanted at him was wicked and knowing. “You can handle that part of it, I got no doubt. If it’d help, we could strip you naked beforehand.”

  “It would indeed help my cause if Jules remembers how well I handled that part,” Carlos said, mirroring Matt’s wicked grin.

  “Mr. Hernandez? Are you in here?”

  Carlos recognized Al’s voice, and he called back. “I am here! Come on back and join us.”

  Footsteps echoed in the stables, and then Al appeared, his blue eyes lighting up when he caught sight of Corazon. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, tearing his gaze away from the horse long enough to give Matt and Carlos an apologetic smile. “I had to wait for the livery stable to open.”

  Carlos beckoned Al inside, recognizing a fellow horse enthusiast when he saw one. “Come and meet Corazon, my steadfast companion these past four years.”

  “He’s gorgeous,” Al said, stepping closer to the big stallion with wonder in his eyes. “Corazon means ‘heart.’ I bet he has a big one too.”

  “I’ll leave you two to get better acquainted,” Matt said, not seeming to mind that Al had eyes only for the horse. He mouthed the word “later” to Carlos, then left the stall.

  Carlos watched indulgently as Al got acquainted with Corazon, who was as much of a friendly charmer as his rider. After a few minutes, however, he cleared his throat to get Al’s attention.

  “Let us begin by saddling up,” he said. “I will show you around the ranch so you may familiarize yourself with its size and layout. Then we will return here, and I will show you some of the tasks you would be expected to perform.”

  Al nodded enthusiastically, radiating energy and barely suppressed excitement. “I left my horse at the rail outside. Do you want me to saddle Corazon for you?”

  Carlos almost said no, but then he realized this would be a good opportunity to watch Al’s technique and make sure he knew how to saddle a working horse properly.

  “Very well.” He stepped out of the stall and stood back, prepared to watch.

  Al stroked Corazon’s neck, then moved up to examine the horse’s back, sides, and belly, looking them over carefully for burrs or wounds. Seeming satisfied that Corazon didn’t need anything tended, Al took a curry comb from the stall shelf and patiently worked it over the horse. Then he checked all four hooves, making certain there were no stones and that Corazon’s horseshoes were tightly fixed.

  Finally, Al picked up the saddle blanket and checked it for bugs and burrs before placing it on Corazon’s wide back, starting forward of the withers and then sliding it back into place. He double-checked it was even on both sides before returning for Carlos’s saddle.

  “This is pretty,” Al said, giving the silver-chased leather an appreciative look. He lifted it from the stall gate and let out a half laugh, half gasp. “And heavy! Good thing I’m strong.”

  Al carried the saddle over to Corazon and managed to lift it high enough to get it over the horse’s back without dislodging the saddle blanket, but it was a near thing. Al was pretty strong, but no doubt he’d be even stronger when he got his full growth.

  After checking the saddle’s position and making a finicky adjustment—and in the meticulous gesture, Carlos saw Jules’s influence—Al fastened the front cinch, checking the tightness carefully before knotting it. When he was satisfied, he took Corazon by the reins and walked him around the large stall, keeping one hand on the saddle to check for it shifting. That done, he adjusted the front cinch minutely, then fastened the rear one. Once more, he led Corazon around the stall and checked over every inch of the blanket, saddle, and cinches before turning to Carlos.

  “I’m finished,” he said, his gaze showing anxiousness despite the confidence of his tone.

  “Well done.” Carlos gave Al a smile of approval and clapped him on the shoulder. “You understand how to take care of the horse and rider. That is a good foundation for the work you will do here if you are hired.”

  The smile Al gave him almost split the young man’s face. “Thank you!” he said. “I try to pay close attention when I’m taught things. Pa taught me to listen not only to what my instructors say, but how they say it and what they do. He said I could pick up more from watching someone do the work than I would from them telling me how to do it.”

  “Your pa is correct, and it is an excellent lesson to apply here, given how much manual labor we do,” Carlos replied. “Would you like to lead Corazon outside?”

  Al took Corazon’s reins. He patted the horse’s neck and led him out of the stall into the brilliant September sunshine.

  Carlos followed along behind, watching to see how Al handled the horse, but so far, Al appeared to have a good understanding of what to do. That, coupled with his innate love of horses, would probably make him an excellent addition to the ranch staff, but Carlos wasn’t going to rush to judgment.

  Once they were outside, Carlos took the reins. “Mount up,” he instructed. “Then we will begin our tour.”

  Al moved to his own mount, a gray gelding much smaller than Corazon. He swung up into the saddle, then walked the horse up beside Carlos. “All ready!” he said, his expression one of eager anticipation.

  Carlos couldn’t help but smile as he mounted Corazon, enjoying the sight of Al’s youthful enthusiasm. He glanced sidelong at Al as they set off to view the ranch, wondering how odd it would seem if he asked questions unrelated to Al’s experience with working with horses. But if they were going to work together, he supposed it was only natural that they should know something about each other. If cultivating a friendship with Al helped Carlos get closer to Jules as well, so much the better.

  “How did you and Jules find yourself in Mercy?” he asked.

  “It was Pa’s idea,” Al said. “Not that I minded. I was excited about moving to ranching country.” He hesitated, then shrugged, continuing with the disarming candor of the young. “The why is a little complicated. Pa isn’t the kind to say a bad word against anyone, but I heard the gossip. There was a woman in Stafford who was throwing herself at him, even though Pa didn’t have th
e slightest interest in her. He said my mother was the only woman who ever understood him, and there was no one who could ever replace her in his heart. But you know how gossip is, and I think this woman was making up a lot of it herself, hoping it would pressure Pa into proposing. So when the job advertisement came up for Mercy, he applied.”

  If he hadn’t heard tales of Boston society from Gil, Carlos might have thought moving out west just to get away from someone to be a little extreme, but he knew all about social pressure. No doubt Jules was indeed eager to escape the lady’s clutches, and Carlos knew why. But Jules’s marriage still puzzled him. He’d never gotten any inkling that Jules was interested in women as well as men.

  “It sounds as if Jules and your mother were quite happy,” he replied, hoping to draw more information out of Al that might fill in some of the pieces to the puzzle.

  “They were, but unfortunately they didn’t have long together,” Al replied, his voice soft. “My father died when I was little, and my mother had to work hard as a housekeeper to support the two of us. She and Pa became friends soon after he moved to town, but then we found out she was really sick. She and Pa married anyway, and they barely had a year together before she passed away. That was eight years ago. In a lot of ways, he’s been the only parent I’ve known, and he couldn’t have been a better father to me if I was his own flesh and blood.”

  Although Al’s explanation didn’t answer all his questions, Carlos’s suspicions that it was a marriage of convenience rather than a love match grew stronger.

  “I am not surprised,” he replied. “Jules is a good man with a generous heart.”

  He just hoped Jules’s heart was generous enough to offer forgiveness to the one who had wounded it so deeply.

  “He is.” Al’s smile was affectionate. “I’m lucky to have him for a stepfather. All his students adore him too. I don’t know how he manages to pry himself loose at the end of every year. He always has a few students who don’t want to leave him.”

  Carlos wasn’t surprised by that either. He had been one of Jules’s infatuated students once upon a time, after all. “I do not doubt it. I know what an excellent teacher Jules is myself.”

  “That must have been a really long time ago,” Al said, giving Carlos a frank look. Then a hint of color crept into his cheeks. “Sorry, I just meant you’ve obviously been out of school for a good while.”

  “I did not attend school in this country,” Carlos replied, amused by Al’s response. At thirty, he wasn’t so far removed from his youth that he’d forgotten how ancient anyone over twenty-five seemed to be. “Jules taught me about ten years ago, when I was twenty.”

  “Oh! That must have been just before he moved to Stafford,” Al said. “I didn’t know he’d once had adult students too.”

  “Not often.” Carlos inclined his head and smiled slightly, thinking of the attraction that had drawn him and Jules together at first sight. Carlos had pursued Jules, but he’d found Jules rather easy to catch. “I believe I was an exception rather than the rule.”

  Al nodded as his gaze moved from Carlos to the panorama of the ranch. “This is such a big spread! How many acres is it?”

  The rest of the tour went quickly with Al asking questions that showed he was bright and eager to learn. When they returned to the stables, Carlos offered to ride with Al back to town. The sun was setting, and Al wasn’t familiar with the terrain, so Carlos wanted to make sure Al returned home safely. That he longed to see Jules again and find out how Jules behaved toward him now that shock had worn off might have been in the back of his mind as well.

  As he and Al rode up to the new schoolhouse, Carlos felt flutters of apprehension in his belly. He had no idea how Jules would respond to seeing him again, and he hadn’t figured out how to begin wooing Jules anew. But there was no turning back now, and other than turning tail and returning to the ranch before Jules opened the door, he couldn’t avoid the meeting. Bracing himself, he dismounted, tied Corazon to the hitching post out front, and walked with Al to the door. Jules might not be happy to see him, but he doubted Jules would cause a scene in front of Al.

  “Hey, Pa! I’m home!” Al opened the door and beckoned Carlos to come inside.

  The sitting room was small, and even though the furniture seemed mismatched, it was neat and tidy. There were three doorways off the room, and it was through one of them that Jules stepped, a wide smile on his face.

  “Welcome home,” he said, the last word trailing off and the smile fading when he caught sight of Carlos.

  “Thanks! It was a great day.” Al approached Jules and gave him an enthusiastic hug. “Carlos rode back with me since it was getting dark and he didn’t want me to lose my way.”

  Jules returned the hug, but his gaze never left Carlos. His blue eyes seemed dark and troubled. “That was kind,” he replied slowly, then stepped forward after Al released him, offering his hand to Carlos with obvious reluctance. “Thank you, Mr. Hernandez.”

  “My pleasure, Mr. Wingate.” Carlos clasped Jules’s hand, his skin tingling at the warm touch. No one had ever been able to ignite his passions the way Jules had, and their chemistry had not faded. “Al did very well today. I intend to speak with Gil and offer my recommendation that he be hired.”

  Al’s smile was one of uncontained delight. “Thank you!”

  Jules pulled his hand back quickly. “Yes, thank you,” he said.

  Carlos turned to Al, smiling warmly. “You have a natural affinity for horses. It will be my pleasure to pass on the knowledge I received from my own father to a worthy apprentice.”

  Jules’s gaze returned to Carlos’s face, seeming to note the way Carlos was looking at Al. There was a flash of something dark and pained in his eyes that might have been jealousy. Or perhaps it was a warning, because Jules straightened to his full height—which was still a bit short of Carlos’s—and frowned.

  “Al will be a very attentive student,” he said, an edge to his voice.

  “I am certain he will be,” Carlos replied calmly. He could hazard a guess what that frown was about, based on what Jules remembered about him. But even if he thought Al might harbor the same proclivities as he and Jules, he had no interest in Al as anything other than an apprentice. “I intend to begin by teaching him the basics of taming and training a horse. If he does well, I will teach him about bloodlines and best breeding practices.”

  “I’ve read a bit about bloodlines,” Al said. Then he sniffed the air. “Pa, is that dinner? I’m starving! Can Carlos stay, please? I’d like to hear more about what he’s going to teach me.”

  A mask slammed down over Jules’s face, and he turned to his stepson. “Dinner is almost ready, yes, but I’m sure Mr. Hernandez has things to do, Al. We mustn’t monopolize his time.”

  Carlos turned a guileless smile on Jules. “There is nothing I would like better than to stay and discuss Al’s future curriculum. Then perhaps after dinner, you and I could take a walk and discuss a few matters as well.”

  He was taking a risk, and there was a good chance Jules would send him packing, but at the very least, he wanted to talk to Jules privately and offer assurances that he had no intention of making advances to Al.

  Jules stiffened and the mask slipped for a moment, before he mustered a slight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Well then, it appears we have a guest for dinner,” he said. “Al, would you please set another place at the table, then get washed up?”

  Al seemed confused about the tightness in Jules’s tone, but he nodded. “Of course,” he replied, then turned and left the room.

  Once Al had disappeared, Jules turned to Carlos, not bothering to hide his anger. “What are you playing at, Carlos?” he asked, his voice pitched low, his normally smooth, cultured tone rough. “I’m not your toy to be used and discarded any longer.”

  Before Carlos could say anything, Al poked his head back into the room. “Sorry, Pa, but I can’t find where you put the extra cups.”

  Jules turned and his should
ers slumped. “Sorry, I moved things around while you were out today,” he replied. “If you’d like to wash up, Mr. Hernandez, the bathroom is the last door on the left.” He shot Carlos a warning glance over his shoulder, then walked toward the kitchen.

  A few minutes later, Carlos was summoned to the table. Jules had prepared a roasted chicken and vegetables, and there was a pitcher of cold lemonade to drink. Jules said grace, then served up pieces of the juicy chicken for all of them.

  Any need for conversation was minimal, since Al was practically bursting to tell Jules all the events of the day, from a description of how large the ranch was to a detailed recollection of everything else Carlos had shown him.

  “The horses are incredible, Pa,” Al said, his eyes shining. “You need to take a close look at Carlos’s mount. He’s gorgeous.”

  Jules gave a slight nod, keeping his gaze focused on his plate. But throughout the meal, his gaze was drawn to Carlos, although if he noticed Carlos looking back, Jules quickly turned his attention somewhere else.

  “His name is Corazon,” Carlos said, keeping his gaze fixed on Jules. He’d barely paid any attention to the food, far more interested in watching the play of emotion on Jules’s face.

  At forty, Jules still cut as fine a figure as he had at thirty. His hair was still a riotous mop of golden curls, although Carlos could see a hint of silver at his temples, and there were laugh lines at the corners of his eyes. But he was still beautiful and still as graceful as ever. Carlos found himself entranced anew by the fluid dance of Jules’s hands, and he felt an overwhelming longing to feel their touch on his skin again.

  “We will provide a horse for Al if he is hired, of course,” he added. “You will not have to rely on the livery any longer.”

  “That would be great!” Al grinned, then looked at Jules almost guiltily. “Would I be expected to live at the bunkhouse with the other hands? I’d hate to leave Pa alone.”