Giving his head another shake, Parker tapped his heels to Magnum’s sides and hurried the horse back to the corral. Having Nesrin around was a thoroughly unsettling experience.
Maybe Parker’s general edginess accounted for his anxiety when he spotted Kevin poised in the open loft doors of the barn. It didn’t take a genius to know the kid was about to play either Superman or the Lone Ranger. Given the poor old mare Amy held by the reins beneath the doors, Parker guessed the latter.
Dismounting, he shouted a warning. “Kevin!” But it was already too late.
The boy launched himself from his perch above the hapless horse. He missed his target by inches, frightening the animal as he bounced against the saddle then tumbled to the ground. Screaming, the mare reared and yanked herself free from Amy’s grasp, hooves clawing the air.
“Kevin!” Amy cried out in alarm as she retreated from the horse.
Adrenaline drove Parker forward like a sprinter. Leaping over the corral fence as if it were half the height, he snatched Amy from the path of flying hooves at the same time he shouldered the mare out of the way, protecting Kevin’s fallen form in the process. God, Marge would never forgive him if he let anything happen to her kids.
In the excitement, Lucifer found his own surge of power and bolted over the top of the fence, forgetting his mares as he escaped toward the hills.
Parker’s gut told him with a wrench that if the mares had followed the stallion, it would have meant the whole future of the ranch.
In the resulting chaos, kids cried, horses bellowed, the hired hands tried to calm the agitated mares, and Parker swore like a graduate of the streets, not the military academy. Only the soft hand that closed over his shoulder brought him back to reality.
“Are the children all right?” Nesrin asked.
Parker checked both youngsters. Outside of looking pale, they appeared to be whole. No blood. No obvious broken bones. “Yeah, I think so,” he said. His breathing was coming hard and his heart beat like a sledgehammer against his ribs. He was mad at Kevin, and furious with himself. That damn stallion had been his best guarantee to keep the bank off his back.
“Then there is no great harm done.” Nesrin’s calm influence prevented Parker from throttling Kevin. Or hugging him because he’d been so scared for the boy’s safety.
“No great harm? It was a stupid stunt,” Parker insisted. “You could have gotten yourself killed, Kevin. Or Amy hurt. You put her in danger, too, you know.”
“I’m sorry,” Kevin muttered. Dirt streaked the boy’s sweaty face and the kid’s chin quivered.
“He almost made it,” Amy said in sisterly defense. “The horse moved. It wasn’t Kevin’s fault.”
Yeah, right. Parker figured he needed to put a leash on Kevin. The kid was nothing but trouble.
Just like he’d been, a silent voice of conscience reminded him, sounding a whole lot like his sister speaking.
In a velvet whisper of caring, Nesrin said, “Your nephew is a very brave young man. He has been practicing his riding all week and hoped to show you how much he had learned, but you have been away so much he has not had the chance. Perhaps tomorrow we can all go on a picnic together so he can show off his new skills.”
“Picnic?” Parker echoed. If Parker’s father had been in charge, the kid would have been rewarded for his reckless behavior with a verbal thrashing—not a picnic. At the very least he would have been ordered to march off about ten thousand demerits, West Point style—rain or shine.
“The boy seeks the special attention of a good man,” she said. Her innocent doe eyes accused him of dereliction of duty.
He cursed under his breath. She was probably right. He’d been so set on avoiding Nesrin, and trying to get the mares saddle-broken, he’d ignored the fact that Kevin and Amy still needed his attention. It was damn tough for them to lose their parents and then to be thrown into a totally unfamiliar situation with an uncle they hardly knew.
Guilt lashed his conscience and he vowed to do better.
“Okay, you’ve got it. A picnic. Tomorrow.” As his gaze shifted from Nesrin back to the kids, he wondered if he’d just made a poor decision. Kevin didn’t look like the kind of youngster who would be satisfied with creating anything less than total bedlam. And hanging around with Nesrin was going to put a serious strain on Parker’s already overworked libido.
The truth was, he shouldn’t allow himself a single day off until the bank loan was paid. Making an effort to recapture Lucifer would make more sense than a picnic. Money in the bank meant a lot right now. But he’d already agreed....
* * *
“COME IN,” Parker responded to the knock on his office door.
Nesrin juggled a tray with mugs and a teapot as she entered. Hands full, she had to levitate the tray for an instant. It was really a simple little spell, but things got out of hand. As usual, she thought grimly. The mugs and pot drifted toward the ceiling. She scrambled to snatch them back, placing them carefully on the tray again.
Head bent, Parker was sitting behind a large desk stacked high with papers. A single desk lamp illuminated the room and an open window brought in the warm evening scent of the mountains.
Parker glanced up from his work. “Is something wrong?”
“No, no. You seemed so troubled at dinner,” she said, catching her breath. “I thought you might wish a cup of tea to soothe you.”
He leaned back in his leather chair and the springs protested. “I’m not sure tea will do the trick, but thanks for the thought.”
“I am sorry Lucifer escaped.” She set the mug on a spot he cleared of papers. “Perhaps he will return to visit his mares and we can capture him again.”
“Maybe.” He nodded his thanks for the tea, though that wasn’t usually his beverage of choice. “Things are a little tight financially right now. The stallion would have made life easier but I think we’ll get by. Just.”
“You are a wise man and will find a way.”
He hoped she was right. The stakes were higher than he liked. “I’ve got a contract to deliver twenty saddle-broken horses by the end of the month. If that happens, I’m home free. I’ll pay off a loan I’ve got on the ranch and—”
“You are in debt to a moneylender?” She looked shocked.
With a shrug, he picked up an envelope from his desk and fingered it thoughtfully. The return address carried a familiar military emblem. “Assuming I can pay off the loan there’ll be no way my father can get his hands on Kevin and Amy.”
Nesrin sank slowly into the chair opposite Parker, her dark eyes filled with questions. “Your father wishes to take the children away from you?”
“That’s what he says.” He flicked the envelope with his fingernail. “He’s about to retire from the army. Claims it’s a perfect time for him to take over raising the kids.”
“And you do not wish him to do that?”
A muscle rippled at his jaw. “I’ll do anything short of murder to prevent it.”
“But how could he do that? Surely, if your sister wished—”
“Marge didn’t leave any last wishes. At least not in writing. But we’d talked about it once, after Kevin was born. She made me promise I’d take care of her kids if anything happened to her and Jack.”
“Then you must keep your promise.”
“I plan to.” He shifted the envelope in his hands, knowing he’d have to fight his father in court, if it came to that. “My dad has this idea that he’s a great parent. Unfortunately, he’s got a fair number of connections in the private sector and wouldn’t be beneath using them to get his way. The right way, he’d say. If I lose the ranch, and it looked like I couldn’t provide a decent home for the kids, then a judge might believe him.”
“We will simply tell the judge the truth. The children love you.” Nesrin lifted her chin at a stubborn angle.
Parker smiled tiredly. He hoped it would be as easy as Nesrin suggested. Better yet, he hoped he could convince his father not to challenge the existing guardianship arra
ngement. And that meant he couldn’t risk losing the ranch.
As Nesrin sipped her tea, she imagined in her mind’s eye Parker as the powerful leader she knew he should be. A sultan, she thought, ruler of a desert tribe, his turban decorated with a huge ruby, his fingers weighted with precious jewels. He would hold court in his lavish throne room, his subjects bowing to his will.
Yes, she could even see his father humbling himself on his knees before the mighty Parker.
“Your wish is my command,” the old man would say, his voice trembling with fear as the wind blew warm through the doorway.
“You will leave the children in my care,” Parker would insist.
“Yes. Oh mighty sultan. It shall be as you desire.”
Nesrin smiled. If only she had the power to make such a scene come true.
“Does it seem awfully hot in here?” Parker asked. He wiped his hand across his forehead.
Blinking herself back from images of her homeland, she said, “No, I do not think so.”
“It’s just that I thought...there for a minute...” He shrugged. “It was like there was a hot desert wind blowing through the window. I must really be worried about the kids and my father. I’m half losing my mind.”
Nesrin swallowed a giggle. She had not known she could conjure images others could feel. “I am sure all will be well.” Though with her erratic powers, she must use great care in the spells she cast. It would not do to accidentally transport Parker to some unknown land.
Chapter Four
“You are it, Kevin,” Nesrin sang out.
She played tag with the children, darting between boulders and through a stand of aspen, dodging this way and that to elude them. She dashed around the tethered horses they’d ridden up into the hills—Parker’s powerful stallion Magnum and the two mares she and Kevin had ridden, Amy safely tucked in front of her on the saddle. Fortunately, they had convinced Amy to leave her beloved calico cat Sushan at the ranch.
Lighthearted, Nesrin’s laughter carried her song of joy above the murmuring water flowing swiftly over granite rocks in a nearby creek. Above her, silver green leaves shimmered in an unseen breeze. She cherished the freedom to run, to feel the sun on her face and the uneven surface of the earth beneath her sandaled feet.
So many years had been wasted; too many moments spent in lonely darkness.
This land contrasted sharply with the place of her birth, the desert that stretched to the unending horizon, or was broken with the stark red boulders that led to snowcapped mountains beyond her seeing. But this was a glorious place.
She burst into the clearing where Parker waited for them with a tolerant half smile on his lips. Sitting beside a boulder, he rested one hand on a raised knee. His boots were scuffed, his muscular legs confined by tight-fitting material. He had tipped his hat to the back of his head at a jaunty angle.
At the sight of him, she was swept by a heated dream wind.
Turning, for fear her expression might reveal her most secret thoughts, she gathered the youngsters into her arms.
“Oh, you have caught me!” she lied on a breathless laugh, all the more joyous because of Parker’s presence.
“I knew I’d catch you,” Kevin bragged. “I was one of the fastest kids in my class.”
“Me, too,” echoed Amy.
“You are both as fleet as the sheikh’s messenger,” she agreed, ruffling Kevin’s hair and hugging Amy. “But now you must let me rest. I am too old for so much exertion.”
Kevin looked at her critically. “You don’t look so old to me.”
“Ah, but I am. Hundreds of years old.”
“Naw. Nobody’s that old.”
“Careful, son,” Parker warned from his spot at the edge of the picnic blanket. “Women are a sensitive breed when it comes to their age.”
Nesrin laughed again. “Come, let us have some lunch.”
While she set the picnic basket in the middle of the blanket, Amy plunked herself down right next to Parker. He smiled and gave her a wink.
“We used to go on picnics with Mommy and Daddy,” she said, her blue eyes turning into sad little saucers. “To an o-sis out in the desert.”
“Oasis,” Kevin corrected, selecting a piece of fried chicken and a canned soda from the basket. He found a place to sit with his back against a tree trunk.
“You miss your folks, don’t you?” Parker said to Amy.
Chin quivering, she nodded. “But I like you, too, Uncle Parker.”
He felt awkward as hell, and totally inadequate, but he wrapped his arm around her tiny little shoulders and gave her a hug. “Truth is, I miss your mother, too. She was a pretty special lady.”
“She’s in heaven now.”
“Yep. But I figure she’s still able to give me a swift kick in the butt if I mess up with you and your brother.”
“You won’t,” Amy announced with considerable confidence. She squirmed away and dug through the picnic basket until she found her very own, favorite peanut butter sandwich. “You’re the best uncle in the whole entire world. Mommy said so lots of times.”
Parker glanced up at the sky—toward heaven, he supposed—and prayed he could live up to one small child’s lofty expectations.
* * *
“DON’T GO WANDERING too far away,” Parker ordered after the children had eaten their lunch and gotten bored with quiet conversation. “And watch yourselves around the creek. That current is a lot faster than it looks.”
Agreeing to use caution, the children went off to explore along the creek bed, and Nesrin settled down next to Parker, gracefully folding her legs beneath herself. She was like a butterfly coming to rest, Parker mused. He envied her whimsical spirit even while he disapproved of her fanciful ways.
“Hundreds of years old?” he asked, remembering how she had claimed to be so ancient. “You really shouldn’t fill the kids’ heads with that kind of nonsense.”
“And if it is true?”
“It’s not, Nesrin. And you don’t have to worry about getting deported. I’ve got a friend working on a green card for you.”
A frown pleated her forehead. “Green card?”
“It’ll make working for me legal.”
She nodded, though Parker wasn’t entirely sure she understood what he was talking about.
Wearing Marge’s oversize jeans, she fiddled with the shimmering length of silk tied around her waist, shifting the tips uneasily between her fingers. “You are a most serious man, Parker, even when you seek a day of rest. Have you found no room for play in your life?”
“Not much,” he conceded. Though he could easily imagine a few amusements he’d enjoy sharing with Nesrin. And, to his surprise, he was also beginning to enjoy hanging around with the kids. “My father didn’t exactly believe in fun and games.”
She raised her gaze to meet his. “He beat you?”
She looked so horrified, Parker took her hand. A foolish action, he immediately realized, but he didn’t let go. Her slender fingers vanished within his much larger palm, soft flesh pressing against his calluses. It was no trick to imagine how her hands would feel touching him in intimate ways, and his body instantly responded to the tactile image.
He tried to ignore the feeling.
“Dad had the reputation of being the best damn general in the army—he still is—but he didn’t believe in corporal punishment.” Unable to stop himself, Parker toyed with her delicate fingers. Her bones felt fragile, almost ethereal. “On the other hand, he wasn’t averse to making a raw recruit—or me—stand at attention for six or eight hours straight. In my case, right in front of the house where all the other kids could see me. He thought that built character.”
“But that is terrible, to embarrass a small boy.”
“That wasn’t as bad as when he had me parade around the housing area with a sign on my back that said Punishment Detail.”
“Ah, so these are the reasons you do not wish the children to live with their grandfather.”
Those an
d a thousand more bitter memories. “You got it. I wouldn’t want Kevin and Amy to go through that kind of hell.”
Her dark eyes filled with unshed tears. “Where was your mother? Why didn’t she put a stop to such cruelty?”
“She did what the general told her to do until a couple of years ago when she died. I always suspected unquestioned obedience had been part of the agreement when they got married.” He shrugged, wondering why he was telling Nesrin all this. Normally he kept his past to himself. He didn’t like dredging up painful memories. “There were a lot of strong men who didn’t have the courage to cross my father. Mother didn’t have a chance.”
“But surely your father loved you, his son.”
“He thought of me in the same way he thought of his troops. They were going to be the best damn soldiers in the world. I was his star pupil.” The reality of those words, and Parker’s subsequent failure, left a bitter taste on his tongue. “He accomplished one thing. When I finally got to the academy, it seemed like a girls’ club.”
“And now?”
“Since I messed up my ankle and had to take a disability retirement, I’m of no more use to my father. He’s into perfection—and I don’t qualify.”
“Others might disagree.”
He chuckled a low, disbelieving sound. “Truth is, I was almost relieved when I broke my ankle. The Dunlaps have been career army for generations. I was never sure when I got a promotion if it was because I’d earned it, or because someone thought it only right I follow in my old man’s footsteps. Besides...” He looked around proudly. “This is my land. I’ve dreamed about owning a horse ranch since I was a kid. Now I’ve got to hang on to it.”
She shook her head in sympathy. “Was your father as stern with your sister?”
“Mostly Dad ignored her when we were kids. It was Mother’s job to teach her the important things he thought a woman needed to know—like how to pour tea for the officers’ wives, and curtsy when she met foreign dignitaries. Marge didn’t like it any better than I liked doing forty push-ups when I was two minutes late for dinner because my bike chain had busted.”
“I’m sorry,” Nesrin whispered, the words thickening in her throat. Even if her father had been weak, he had always been kind to her. She had been confident of his love. Surely he had not intended her any pain when he placed that desperate wager with Rasheyd.
The Cowboy & The Belly Dancer (Heartbeat) Page 5
