by Linda Conrad
"Quit running," Cinco pleaded. "Now's a good time. You can't walk or drive, and your baby daughter needs a dad more than ever. Let your family help you help her … and yourself."
"Ah…hem…" The throat-clearing noise came from the doorway, and both men turned to the sound.
Bella stood in the doorway to the kitchen, patting her face and damp hair with a towel. Cal had been so wrapped up with trying to stay quiet while Cinco lectured him that he'd almost forgotten she was still in the cabin. He wondered how much she'd heard.
Now dressed in the gray sweatpants and navy T-shirt he'd lent her, she'd tied her still-wet hair into a long ponytail that reached below the middle of her back. The clothes swam on her, of course, but she'd belted the sweats and rolled them up to keep from tripping.
Cal's attention returned to the hair… The sight of all that black, sensual satin as she dried the ends and fluffed it through her fingers was enough to make him squirm.
Cinco jumped to his feet, nearly sending his chair to the floor. Although he'd been startled, it apparently didn't take him long to decide that Bella posed no threat. Cal watched his brother's muscles relax as he lifted his hat in greeting.
"Well, howdy, ma'am," Cinco nearly purred.
Cal began the long process of making his legs push him to a standing position. "Bella Fernandez meet my brother, Theodore Aloysius Gentry, the Fifth … Cinco … to most of us."
"Señor Gentry," she said softly as she walked toward Cinco. "I am very happy to meet the brother of my host."
Cal was stunned at how sexy she looked, even with no makeup, and clothes that swam on her. The picture she made, standing there smiling quietly at Cinco with her hand extended in greeting, was both erotic and feminine—despite the circumstances.
Cal had to pull himself together and drag his eyes away from her pure beauty in order to give his brother an explanation. "Bella showed up on our doorstep yesterday afternoon." He paused and watched Cinco's expression. "Just when Kaydie and I needed her most, by the way. I should say she saved Kaydie's life. And you need to hear how she came to be on Gentry Ranch, too."
Cinco was such an open book. Easy to read. The expressions of first surprise and then wariness flashed across his face as he shook Bella's hand and stepped back to study her.
"I think I need to hear the whole story, Señorita Fernandez." Cinco motioned for her to have a seat and then crossed his arms over his chest to wait until she sat down at the table.
"Please call me Bella. And I will be happy to tell you what I can. But first I must check on the baby." She opened the door to the baby's bedroom and slipped inside.
"Whoa, little brother," Cinco whispered after she'd disappeared. "Who is she really? And how did she get way out here? I didn't see any cars in the yard."
"I think I'll let Bella tell you her own story," Cal replied. "It's almost unbelievable. But you need to hear the whole thing. You'll get answers to some of your questions. And I bet you'll also think of a bunch of questions you didn't even know you had."
Cinco nodded. "Put on some coffee, then. I'll go round up another chair so the three of us can gab awhile."
By the time Bella returned to the kitchen, a new pot of coffee had been made and poured, and the two men were sitting with their knees touching under the tiny kitchen table. They'd found another chair and it waited for her, squeezed in next to theirs.
"I guess Kaydie's okay?" Cal asked, then didn't wait for her reply. "Have a seat, Bella."
Cinco gingerly pushed his chair back into the small space, stood and motioned for her to take the empty chair. "Yes, please sit down and tell me how you arrived at my brother's door, little lady."
She scooted around them both and slid into the waiting seat. Nearly the entire kitchen was taken up by their presence. She'd thought Cal had an imposing figure, tall and lean. But his brother, who was just as tall seemed twice as broad. Between the two of them, she felt dwarfed and barely able to breathe.
Bella mentally shook herself out of the claustrophobic impulses by remembering that she knew Cal well enough now to trust him with her physical safety. He would not let anything bad happen here. These men were the good guys, after all.
She spent the better part of the next hour telling Cinco the story of how she came to the cabin. He listened quietly and only stopped her to ask a question when he realized she'd gotten out of the coyotes truck on Gentry property. She told him the same thing she'd told his brother, that she had no idea of how they'd arrived at that place.
Cinco sat quietly staring down into his coffee mug for a few seconds after she'd finished. He finally glanced up, first at Cal, then turned his gaze to her.
"I suspect you're in considerably more trouble than you realize, ma'am," Cinco softly told her. "If the INS gets any inkling that you're here illegally, they'll deport you faster than you can turn around."
"Oh, but that is not trouble. I wish to return home. I was trying to find my way back when I stumbled in here."
She'd said the words quickly and without thought, but after a second she realized it wasn't completely the truth. She flicked a peek at Cal, whose expression looked as if he'd been hit in the gut. The truth was she'd really rather stay right here and help the baby—and the man who'd befriended her in her time of need.
"Yes, well," Cinco began. "Even if that's true, I'm afraid that as soon as you step across the border, the coyotes will find you and kill you. You are the one person who wouldn't hesitate to identify them to the Mexican authorities. You not only witnessed the illegal smuggling of human beings, you saw them commit a murder."
"I…" Bella was speechless.
Cinco's words brought the fear back to the forefront of her mind. She'd been worried about the coyotes finding her ever since she'd escaped from their truck. Cinco was right. They wouldn't stop looking for her on either side of the border. She'd been lulled into feeling safe here in the cabin, but she had to remind herself she wasn't truly safe anywhere.
With no real friends in Mexico to turn to, there would be no one there to offer protection. Bella knew her homeland was rife with corruption. Mexico has many good-intentioned people as well as the few bad ones, but she had no way of knowing which was which and whom to trust.
She couldn't go back. She wouldn't last one day. The fear froze her tongue. Was she doomed?
"She's staying with us," Cal suddenly announced. "The INS can just go jump in the Rio Grande. Bella's on Gentry Ranch land now and under our protection." He slammed a fist down on the small table. "Fix it for her, bubba. I've just hired her to be Kaydie's nanny. She's not leaving."
Cal had been so panicked by Cinco's words that he'd blurted out the first thing that came to mind. In the silence that followed his loud demands, he snuck a peek at the faces of the other two people sitting at the table.
Cinco's expression could only be called bemused. Apparently not annoyed by his brother's words, Cinco seemed to be studying Cal with a new and rather curious gaze.
On the other hand, Bella's face held a myriad of expressions—none of them particularly friendly.
She was the first to break the silent aftermath, though she still seemed at a loss for words. "I…" Bella squirmed in her seat, but her eyes shot fiery arrows in his direction.
Finally she straightened and addressed Cinco. "Yes. That is right, señor. I wish to stay on the Gentry Ranch and be Kaydie's caretaker."
Cinco turned his inquisitive perusal on her. "You're sure about this, Bella? I'll contact our attorney. I imagine Ray'll be able to think of some way to get the INS off your back for a while. But…" He turned a very pointed stare toward Cal. "You're positive you want to care for Kaydie … my brother hasn't coerced you into this?"
Bella shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm positive."
"Well, in that case, you should be safe enough here with Cal. We'll find out how the coyotes got past the fences, but they won't get another chance. Meredith and the crew will keep a sharp lookout from above." Cinco rose f
rom the table and inched his way across the small expanse of kitchen toward the door. "Meanwhile, I'll see what I can do with Ray."
He stopped at the doorway and turned back. "By the way, do you drive?"
She looked a little surprised. "Automobiles? Why, yes, certainly."
Cinco nodded. "Good. I'll have the Suburban that Kaydie's first nanny abandoned at the bus station delivered out here for your use." He reached for his Stetson. "Anything else you might need?"
Bella set her jaw and flicked a glance toward Cal before she answered. "Physical therapy equipment might be nice."
Cinco chuckled and flipped the hat onto his head. "Uh-huh. As a matter of fact, we have a whole room set up for therapy back at the main house. I'll get someone to bring a few of the most useful pieces of equipment out tomorrow."
Cal was startled out of his silence by the realization that they were discussing him. "Hey. Wait just a minute. That stuff wouldn't be for me, would it? Don't I get a say in this?"
Cinco went right on talking to Bella as if Cal wasn't even there. "I have an idea that you could make good use of a couple of laying hens, some fresh vegetables and a clothesline to dry the baby's things. Would you like me to have them delivered with the equipment?"
Bella's eyes lit up, and she nodded enthusiastically.
"And how about a horse? Do you ride?"
"Oh, yes, please. That would be wonderful," she said.
Cal was amazed and temporarily couldn't think of a thing to say. She hadn't asked for new clothes or the things he would've imagined a woman might need. In fact, it seemed to him that she'd never considered herself, asking only for practical things for him and the baby.
Cinco grinned. "You know, lady, I'm really going to like you." He tipped his hat to her and nodded to Cal. "You're in good hands, brother. See you soon." With that, Cinco backed out of the kitchen, and a second later the front door could be heard slamming behind him.
Cal used the tabletop to lever himself up on his feet. He leaned over and glared at Bella.
"Just what was that all about?" he growled. "Therapy equipment and horses? What big ideas do you have going round in that pretty head of yours?"
Bella stood and picked up the coffee cups but didn't answer his question. She wasn't exactly sure what she'd been thinking when she agreed to be Kaydie's nanny. But when Cinco had asked about the truck, pictures of transforming this cabin into a home for the baby—and her daddy—had danced right into Bella's head. If she was going to take the Gentrys' hospitality and hide out here, by heaven she would make herself useful.
"Bella?" Cal straightened and moved toward her.
With her hands full of coffee mugs, she couldn't fend off his touch. She tried to shake him by scooting around to the sink, but he used his whole body to block her way and hold her in place.
"Are you mad at me for telling Cinco you'd agreed to be Kaydie's nanny?" Cal gently laid his hand on her arm. "I guess I should've talked to you before I told him that, but…"
She shook her head and tried to ease her arm back to her side. But her hands were still full, and she didn't want to make a big fuss. "No. It's okay. This solution seems like the best answer for everyone."
Her skin sizzled where he touched her. The two of them certainly seemed to have a special chemistry together. She looked up into the gray depths of his eyes and felt an electric tingle all the way to her toes.
Cal must've noticed it, too, because his eyes began to blaze. The heat between them flamed—and tendrils of fire licked at all her pulse points.
He leaned closer still. Her body urged her to slide right into his arms. As hot as the kitchen had become, Bella still craved the heat of Cal's body. Somehow desperately needing to experience the comfort of his strong arms, she melted into his chest and the warmth she knew she would find in his embrace.
Before she reached her goal, however, Bella caught a whiff of baby powder. She couldn't tell whether it came from Cal or if perhaps she imagined it. But either way, the clean fragrance, reminding her that he was a single dad and a recent widower, stopped her cold.
Bella backed up a small step and broke the erotic spell that had captured Cal and held him suspended in place. "Whoa." He let go of her arm and reached for the tabletop to steady himself. He'd come back to reality so fast that it had left him a little slow-witted.
"Are you all right?" She quickly placed the mugs in the sink, then spun back to help him get his bearings.
"Dang," he muttered.
"Are you in pain, Cal?"
He reached for his one crutch and straightened his back. "I'm fine. It's just that sometimes I feel like … like I've driven right out of the fast lane and landed in some bewitched place where everything goes in slow motion."
"I'm sure that must be very disorienting."
Pity. He could hear it in her voice. That was absolutely the last thing he wanted from Bella.
He set his jaw and scowled at her. "Look. I don't need your help—or your sympathy."
"Oh … I didn't mean…"
"Forget it." He swung his crutch, coming dangerously close to hitting Bella on the leg, and planted it a few feet in front of himself. "All I want from you is to be my child's nanny."
Cal couldn't stop a snarl as it replaced his usual clever grin. "I pay caretakers extremely well. Play your cards right, sugar, and you'll go back to Mexico a very rich woman."
Bella's face paled and she backed up a step. She looked stung. But it didn't take her long to recover.
Within a few seconds her face turned to crimson and she narrowed her eyes. She grabbed a dish towel and began wringing the life out of it.
Whew. Cal had a funny feeling she'd prefer it if that towel was his neck.
"This is the second time you've been rude," she finally ground out between her gritted teeth. "There is no need to continue to insult or test me. I'm not the kind of woman that you can push into doing what you want. I'll take care of your daughter and I will assist you in your efforts to recover—because I want to help. Period."
She slammed the towel on the counter and moved past him toward the front door. "I'm going out for a walk." The front door crashed behind her with such force that the entire cabin shook on its foundations.
Kaydie's startled scream shook Cal from his second stupor of the last half hour. He went to her crib and lifted her out and into his arms.
"Yeah, I know, kid. That one was all my fault." He patted the baby on the back. "I just don't know what's wrong with me. I can usually charm my way around any woman.
"But I can't seem to help myself around either one of you." He grimaced when Kaydie burst into tears and stuck a fist in her mouth. "I don't know what you need … and she brings out the worst in me.
"What I really want is to get closer to her and have her start liking me. Instead something always makes me act like a complete idiot."
Kaydie quieted and looked up at him as if to say, "Maybe you are a complete idiot, Dad."
He limped them both toward the love seat in the front room. "I've never felt this way before in my life, baby girl. And I've certainly never acted like such a jerk before, either. Something inside me must be missing."
His daughter whimpered as he plopped them both down on the cushions of the love seat. "Maybe you're right." He leaned back and softly laid her across his chest. "I've got a feeling whole chunks of me have been missing for a long time, and I'm only just now noticing it."
Bella tried to slip back into the cabin without making any noise. Fresh, crisp autumn air had cleared her head. The rush of anger she'd experienced as she'd walked out of the cabin was long gone.
If she was going to help Cal recover from his wounds, the two of them would have to find a way to build a relationship that was not quite so volatile. Surprisingly, she did still want to help him.
Bella wasn't totally positive that she should help the arrogant and self-centered gringo. Except … he had certainly jumped in to help her in her time of need and she wanted to show him how gratef
ul she was.
And then there was the love he had for his child. Every time she saw the look in his eyes as he beheld his daughter, Bella's heart did flips. No man who cared so much for his family could be all bad.
She crept into the cabin and headed toward the kitchen, determined to set things right between herself and Cal. A muffled noise coming from the direction of the small sofa caught her attention before she'd gone two steps. When she investigated, she discovered Cal was sound asleep.
He couldn't possibly be comfortable there. The sofa was tiny compared to his large frame. And he'd stretched across it so that his legs were still on the floor and his head leaned back against the far edge.
Bella moved toward him, thinking she'd gently shake him awake just long enough to move him into his own bed. But when she neared the little sofa, she realized that a second person was asleep there, as well.
Kaydie was curled up on her father's chest. His big, wide hand splayed out across her back while she rested peacefully on her tummy. Even as they both slept, Cal held his child securely in his protective grip.
The sight of the father and child was so compelling—so heart-wrenching—that it stopped her where she stood.
Oh, what she would've given to have felt that same kind of love from the man who had been her own father. But that dashing caballero, who had stopped the hearts of thousands of young señoritas and made even the most elderly women swoon by simply glancing their way, never paid a moment's attention to his own daughter.
Bella felt a tingle on her cheek. She reached up and found wetness there. It had been a long time since she'd had any tears to shed about self-centered concerns. There was so much real pain and sorrow in this world that crying over never having been loved seemed childish and absurd.
