Her dark hair was cut in a sleek bob that framed her face, its streaks of silver looking intentional. Her shirt was a bright yellow, and the tight jeans she wore had rips at the knees. She was smaller than Belle, almost a foot shorter and fragile-looking, with none of Belle’s strong, bold stance.
She didn’t look like someone who’d abandoned her children. He wasn’t sure what a horrible mother should look like, but Celia De La Rosa wasn’t it.
A younger-looking man was sitting next to her, scrolling through his phone.
Celia stood and rushed Belle, arms extended. “Izabella! Randy, this is my little ding-dong.” She laughed. “Everyone called her Belle, so I thought ‘ding-dong’ was so cute.” She wrinkled her nose as if something smelled bad.
Belle stiffened. She didn’t look happy about the insulting nickname. She still hadn’t said a word. Her back bumped his chest when she stepped away from the woman’s hug. His hands went to her shoulders.
Celia dropped her arms and pretended she hadn’t been snubbed by her daughter. “You’ve made several changes. I like it. It’s brighter.”
“What are you doing here?” The low guttural sound didn’t sound like the Belle he knew.
“Oh, baby girl. I heard Frank died. I thought you needed me.” Her gaze roamed around the room.
He wanted to ask her why she’d waited so many years, because he was sure her daughter had probably needed her for years. The minute her uncle started treating her like an unwanted stray, perhaps. Then again when her husband walked out on her and his children.
Now, not so much.
“There is nothing I need from you.” Stronger now, Belle took a step away from Quinn.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Her mother moved to the table. “Come on in and sit with us. There’s so much to catch up on. This is Randy Anderson. My husband.”
The man looked up and nodded at them. He finally set his phone aside. “It’s a pleasure to meet Celia’s family.”
“You’re married?”
“Yes. A year in May,” he said.
“And you?” Celia gave Quinn a curious glance. He didn’t like her calculating smile.
Belle walked to the table but didn’t sit. Instead, she gripped the back of one of the red farm chairs. “Why are you at the ranch?”
“Randy thought it was a good time for me to check on my property. You know Frank and I didn’t get along. He disapproved of me. He made my life so difficult that I couldn’t come home.”
Quinn had planned to stay silent, but there was too much that needed to be said. “But it was okay for your children to be left here?” Heat started at his core. How could this woman sit there like she’d done nothing wrong? Acting as if she were the victim?
Belle reached for his hand.
“Sorry.” He looked directly at her, making it clear that he was apologizing to her, not the woman at the table. “I overstepped. This is your conversation.”
“Yes, you did,” the man, Randy, said. “This is between mother and daughter. Who are you?”
“Dr. Sinclair.” He never tossed his title around to impress people, but this pair brought out a darker side of him. He was going to have a serious talk with Elijah about throwing his sister to hungry sharks.
“You’re married to a doctor? That’s won—”
“No. He’s on the ranch doing research.” Belle lifted her chin. “What do you want?”
With a pout that was out of place on a grown woman, Celia leaned back in her chair. “I wanted to visit a bit. Where’s Xavier and Damian? Are they interested in selling the ranch?”
Belle’s whole body stiffened. “The ranch is our family home and, thanks to you leaving us here, it’s the only home we know. You don’t have any business here.”
“That’s not true. Come on and sit with me and we can talk.” Celia patted the chair next to her. “If it’s money you’re worried about, I’m more than willing to give you some after the sale.”
“No.” Each breath sounded more labored. Celia stood and took Belle’s fisted hand, trying to pull her away from Quinn.
His fingers tightened around hers. The desire to wrap his arms around her was ridiculous. He dropped his hand.
Belle sat across from Randy as Celia slid in next to her. Wanting to stay close, Quinn took the chair on the other side of Belle. He wasn’t sure why he was so worried about her; she’d made it clear to her mother that he was just here for research.
With the earlier information, he had been removed from the friend list, just one step below this woman who had no right to use the title of mother.
Randy leaned forward, crossing his arms. “You do realize it’s worth millions? Seven million, to be exact. The strip along the coast hasn’t been touched. It’s got so much potential for development.”
Belle glanced at Randy. A smoldering heat Quinn had never seen should have burned the man to a crisp.
“Oh, don’t look at him that way.” Celia swatted at Belle’s arm. “He’s just looking out for us. This land has always been more of a burden. It’s holding you back. It tried to do the same to me, but I wouldn’t let it. Think of what we could do with that kind of money. Frank wouldn’t let me sell, but he’s gone now. Don’t let him hold you back, too.”
Stiffly, Belle stayed on the edge of the seat. “I realize it doesn’t mean anything to you. We don’t mean anything to you, but this is everything for me. It’s my home. My girls’ home. We won’t let you sell.”
“Girls? You have daughters? Oh, sweetheart.” Celia had tears in her eyes as she laid her hand over Randy’s. “Did you hear that? I’m a grandmother. Randy has three grandsons, and I love spending time with them, but you have girls. How fun.”
“No. You’re not a grandmother, because you’re not my mother. You left us with Frank and Mari. Mari raised us. She was the only mom I’ve ever known.” Belle had her hand on the edge of the table, ready to push away. Quinn eased his hand under hers so that their fingers were intertwined.
He didn’t care what these strangers thought. Belle needed a hand to hold, and he was the only one here standing by her side.
Those steady hands of hers shook. But one glance at her face and all anyone would see was a woman in control of her world. Strong and determined, she hid the fear that was running through her veins. She was a warrior protecting her family. He squeezed her hand.
“Oh, don’t be like that. I did the best I could. I’m here now.”
“You want me to believe that dropping us off with Frank was the best you could do? That was one step above dumping us on the side of the road and driving off.”
“That’s not true. Frank could be... Well, Frank could be difficult, but he loved this ranch. I knew that, if nothing else, he’d give you a home. You’d have a place to stay and a school to attend. This was a good place for you to grow up.”
The gray overtook the green in Belle’s eyes. Her glare was cold, hard steel. “Most of the time, once Mari died, he wouldn’t even let us in the house. There was a shed between here and the barn, with a dirt floor.” Her voice cracked, and her fingers tightened around Quinn’s. “I can’t count all the times he locked us in there with nothing to eat.”
A sound of distress came from Celia. A hand covered in silver jewelry went to her red lips.
Belle’s chin went higher. “I waited for you. I cried and prayed to God for you to get us. I didn’t understand why you had left us with him.”
Her mother’s eyes went wide. “No. What did you do that made him do that? Was it Elijah? He was always causing problems.”
There was no way this woman had just tried to justify a man locking children in a shed. Quinn glanced at Belle. Her face was pale, and she blinked rapidly.
He moved closer to her so she knew she wasn’t alone. There was no way he would remain silent. “Would you seriously blame a child for a horrific act done by an adul
t? There is no excuse for doing that to innocent children. None. Ever.”
Belle placed a warm hand on his chest. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. That is never okay.”
“You’re right. I didn’t mean what he did was okay. I’m okay. Right here and now. I’m okay. Thank you.”
He wasn’t sure she was as okay as she claimed. Earlier today, he had threatened her home. His plan would destroy any chance of her goal to build a safe place for her family.
Guilt and shame left a nasty taste in his mouth.
* * *
Belle studied Quinn. She should hate him, but now she wanted to get lost in his arms and hide. What if she reached up and kissed him?
She was off balance, and it was all Celia’s fault. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be seeing the strength in Quinn. He was in town for one reason, and getting to know her was just one part of it.
But now he was suddenly her only support. Quinn was the only one who was standing next to her as she faced the woman who’d given birth to her and then abandoned her. The woman she never wanted to see again was in her house, threatening everything she held dear, but pretending she was doing it for her family.
Glancing down, she studied the details of the sun-kissed skin of the man who should be her enemy but was standing with her.
Earlier, he had wanted to block the future for her children, to interfere with her ranch and life for different reasons. Now he was fighting for her.
Could she trust him, or was it all part of the act to get what he wanted? He might be more dangerous to her heart than her mother.
She heard her name and looked across the room at Celia. Her lips were moving. “That should have never happened. I never would have left you if I had known. He was always grumpy and disagreeable. But he wasn’t violent like our father.”
She approached Belle with her hands out. “I thought about you every day. The image of you and Elijah on the ranch playing, being free and going to school with friends at Port Del Mar made me happy. I wanted you to have roots in a place that you could call home. Is that so bad?”
Stepping away from Quinn, she made sure to stand on her own as she addressed her mother. “One call. One short trip home and you would have seen the truth. But you didn’t want the truth, did you? It was easier to pretend we were having a great time, so you could... I don’t even know what you were doing.”
“I was born to be a singer. I won state competitions. I had dreams that my father didn’t support. Frank laughed at me. Told me that I’d be begging for his help, but he wasn’t gonna give it. But when he married Mari, I had an ally for the first time. You can’t tell me Mari didn’t love you. She loved you and Eli like you were her very own. She wanted you and loved you better than I could.”
Her gut tightened. There had been a mother in her life, a woman she never told how much she loved her. “Yes. She was the only mother we ever had, and then she died.” Tears burned her eyes. No, she would not cry in front of this woman. Celia didn’t deserve any part of her, even the sad, messed-up parts. Mari deserved all her grief. Not this woman.
With a sudden realization, she looked at the old drugstore milkshake machine that had been Mari’s. She had been a good mother to her. The kind of mother she wanted to be for her girls. But Belle hadn’t told her she loved her, not even a thank-you.
The worst of Frank’s actions had all happened after Mari died. That was when the nonstop drinking started. But it didn’t matter. He was the adult and had needed to figure out a way to take care of them.
She looked at the woman who had abandoned them. “It doesn’t change the fact that you dumped us and ran and never looked back. Now your husband is interested in the ranch and you care about my future? I don’t buy it and I’m gonna fight any way I can to stop you from getting any part of this ranch. You’ll hand it over to him and then he’ll leave you like every other man in your life, except he’ll take our ranch.”
The man in question crossed his arms. “I’m looking after your mother’s best interests. She owns half of this ranch. That’s just the facts.”
“She has nothing to do with this ranch. She walked away years ago. And if she told you half the ranch is hers, she lied. Big surprise there.”
“Half should be mine. Just because I was a girl Dad left most of it to Frank. It wasn’t fair. I want my half.”
“Then you should have stayed and fought for it. I kept it running when Uncle Frank fell apart. I’m the one who held everything together when the boys left. My blood, sweat and tears are in the land. You will not take it from me. I’ve sacrificed too much to lose it now.”
Huge, fat tears fell from her mother’s eyes, making the color brighter. “Baby, that’s exactly why I’m here to help you. The men in this family don’t appreciate their women. To them, we don’t count. This piece of land is not worth giving up your life. Don’t you have dreams? Did you even get to leave for college? What kind of future are you giving your girls?”
Quinn walked over to Belle and gently took her shaking hand in his. He stood next to her but stared at the crying woman across from them. “This is Belle’s home. You said you left her here so that she would have a place to belong. Now you’re telling her it’s not worth it. Make up your mind.”
Belle squeezed his hand. “We’re done. I’ve said everything I wanted to say.” She hadn’t even realized until now how much she had wanted to scream at her for leaving them. So much resentment she had buried and denied. She let it go. Her shoulders relaxed; the weight lifted.
Her life was right where she wanted it and she wasn’t going to allow the past to take anything from her future.
“Give me your number and I’ll call you so we can meet with everyone. From now on, if you want to talk to me, you do it with Elijah, Xavier and Damian, as well. Where are you staying?”
With a frown, Celia tilted her head. “We’re staying here.”
“No. You can stay in Port Del Mar, or across the bridge.” She slid a pad of sticky notes and a pen across the table. “Write down your number and one of the boys will call.”
“I’m not ready to leave.”
Belle went to the door and opened it.
Randy took her mother’s hand and led her to the porch.
Celia stopped and looked at her. “I could go with you to meet the gir—”
“No.” She stared her down. “You need to leave. I don’t want you on the ranch unless you’re invited.”
Quinn joined her on the edge of the porch. They stood in silence, watching until the car was out of sight. She hated that she drew comfort knowing he was near.
She looked at her phone to check the time. She should call Elijah, but she was too tired. If she talked to him now, she would do something stupid, like sob.
What she really wanted to do was curl up under the quilt Mari had made and pretend she was in her arms while she cried like a baby. She missed Mari so much. She was her mom.
But she wasn’t here and there was no time for that weakness. Too many problems to fix.
A gentle touch on the center of her back caused her to jump.
“Quinn.” Her hand went to her chest.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No.” Her breath caught and her chest tightened. She was losing everything.
“I never wanted you to lose the ranch. That wouldn’t solve anyone’s problems.” He looked away. “I’m not sure I’ve ever met someone so completely out for herself at the expense of everyone and everything else.”
“That’s human nature. We all have agendas and are working to get what we each want. I understand.” She didn’t, but it was what she had learned to expect.
“Really? We’ll have to agree to disagree because the last thing you need right now is another argument. Okay. Change of subject. Do you want alone time, or do you
need your family?”
“Family always comes first.” The words were harsh and angry, but she was too tired to play nice.
“That’s true, but to take care of your family, you need to be at full strength. That means taking care of yourself. What do you need?” He stood in front of her, blocking the view of her ranch. His eyes challenged her to speak the truth and not hide. It was so much easier for her if he didn’t see the real Belle.
She was tired of being the one who had to solve all the problems. For once, she wanted someone to take over, someone to tell her that it would all be fine.
His hand came up but then dropped. The longing to lean into him and let those strong arms hold her startled her and ran so deep that it scared her.
There was no time to curl up in a ball and hide. The problems had to be dealt with head-on. Unfortunately, Quinn Sinclair was one of those problems.
His fingers brushed a strand of hair back from her face, the tips barely grazing her skin, but the warmth shot to her toes.
“My gut tells me—” his voice was soft and soothing against her battered heart “—that you need a little bit of alone time to regroup. I’ll keep the kids and tell Elijah that you’ll call him when you’re ready.”
She sighed with relief. That was what she needed—a chance to recharge without anyone looking at her, expecting her to have all the answers.
Right now, she didn’t have any. She was empty. “An hour would be good. Thank you.”
His lips brushed her cheek. On instinct, she turned and found his lips. She craved to be connected in a way that she had denied herself for so long. He stiffened for a moment, and the muscles in his upper arms tightened as if he was going to pull back. She had made a mistake.
Then he relaxed. His lips moved over hers in full possession. His fingertips touched each side of her jaw, holding her in place with a gentle control. All the anxiety and confusion slipped away from her as she moved closer into his warmth. Never in her life had someone cherished her like Quinn was in this one kiss.
The Texan's Promise Page 10
