Читать книгу Texas Mum - Roz Fox Denny - Страница 8
ОглавлениеThe last response Delaney had expected from Dario if ever they met again was that he’d totally and completely reject her in such a cavalier manner. She numbly registered Maria Sofia recklessly propelling the horse between Dario and the chute where two wiry men were dragging in another bellowing bull. Through her misery, Delaney saw the girl garner Dario’s attention.
“Honestly, you need to spare a minute and hear what Ms. Blair traveled so far to tell you.”
Reaching up, Dario grasped the mare’s soft leather hackamore, a bitless bridle favored by vaqueros to train horses. His sister had no fear and ignored most boundaries—it didn’t matter how many times he and his brothers lectured Maria Sofia about the dangers for a slip of a girl breaking a range horse that stood fifteen hands high. Her mother, Dario’s stepmother, had died in the accident that had maimed their father. From the moment she’d returned home from finishing school, she’d expected the predominantly male household to be lenient, Dario thought; even now she was openly challenging him.
He knew he shouldn’t let his sister manipulate him, but he gave in to curiosity. What possible reason could bring Delaney Blair to see him? Driven still by an anger he couldn’t explain for a woman he’d never been able to forget, who haunted his dreams, Dario strode up to Delaney and asked curtly, “Okay, so what do you want?”
“For us to be civil, or is that too much to ask?” Delaney wanted to lash out at Dario but knew she shouldn’t. An outburst would likely ruin her chance that he’d agree to be tested. She hated being reduced to dirt by his flint-hard eyes.
“It may be too much to ask,” he ground out. “Especially since I doubt you’ve just happened to drop by to catch up for old time’s sake.”
Their sharp exchange had drawn the attention of the men who’d apparently decided to hold back the next bull. Changing tack, Delaney softened her tone. “I’m sorry I popped in on you without warning. I expected you’d be surprised, not hostile. Be that as it may, can we have a word alone?” She flashed a hesitant look at their audience.
Dario’s first inclination was to refuse. But after glancing around, he saw how the others in the corral focused on them. Even Maria Sofia had dismounted and leaned toward them. Motioning for Delaney to follow, he turned and they walked toward the far fence.
Swallowing, Delaney whispered his name, her voice catching at the end.
“Just spit it out, Delaney.”
She hesitated again, then quickened her step to come up beside him. He’d set a booted foot on the lowest rung of the wood-railed corral, flagrantly male and heart-stoppingly good-looking. The confident, sexy stance reminded her of their brief but passionate affair and drove Delaney’s carefully crafted speech away. She couldn’t control her thoughts. “You left me pregnant,” she said and watched his body stiffen and his foot slip off the rail with a thud. She wanted to snatch back her words. Instead, she continued. “It’s true. After you left Texas, I gave birth to your son. His name is Nickolas. Right now he’s in a Lubbock hospital battling leukemia for the second time in his life.”
Dario balled and un-balled his hands, yet said nothing, so Delaney talked faster, explaining how Nick had blessedly gone into remission after weeks of treatments during his first brush with the illness. “I assumed he was cured. Everyone did. But two months ago his fevers came back. He needs a bone marrow transplant. In a quirk of fate, I’m not a match. Nor is anyone currently in the national bone marrow registry. All of my friends and many of the people I work with as a vet have been tested. The problem is that kids with mixed blood present special difficulties. We need someone of Hispanic descent, and we’ve signed up and tested as many people as we can. I brought a packet of information if you’d like to study it. Or, you can go online.” Delaney pursed her lips, wishing he would say something. “I wouldn’t have bothered you, but Nick’s doctors say he’s out of options.”
She couldn’t bring herself to say to the stone-faced man staring so coldly at her that Nickolas might die without a match. Wishing she didn’t feel so desperate, she wound down, continuing, “I’m here to ask you...beg you to be tested. The doctors in Texas can arrange for you to have blood drawn in Buenos Aires. You’d only need to fly to Texas if you are a match. Even though I don’t have the necessary blood markers, Nick’s doctors think you or someone in your family might.”
“This is all bullshit, Delaney. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull.” He threw up a hand. “We only had one night together. But something I am sure of, I used protection that night. So your kid’s not mine,” he said, slapping his hand against his chest.
“I don’t know what went wrong with our protection, but something did. You know very well you were my first, Dario. And there’s been no one since. Not since you left me without a word.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know why I left. Your dad made it very clear when he caught me sneaking downstairs from your room at dawn. He ordered me to leave the ranch and to never contact you again, and he threatened to see that Estancia Sanchez never sold another bull to the Southwestern rodeo stockmen. Which he did anyway, by spreading lies about our bulls being diseased. We had a hell of a time regaining our reputation.”
She stopped a moment. “Wh-what do you mean my dad ordered you to not contact me again, and held sway over stock contractors?” She drew back, narrowing her eyes.
“He said he’d spent a fortune on your education and you weren’t going to throw away his dream of you being a veterinarian on some oversexed foreigner. He followed me as I rounded up my crew, making sure we left the ranch. He swore if I tried to reach you, Estancia Sanchez would never sell another bull in Texas or surrounding states. That’s the bulk of our US business. I held up my end of the bargain, but he did all he could to ruin us. On top of that, we had to eat the cost of transporting home eight expensive bulls at a terrible time for my family. It’s only recently that Vicente was able to get anyone from the Southern rodeo circuit to consider our animals. If you don’t believe me, ask your father.”
Delaney massaged the suddenly icy skin of her upper arms. “I can’t ask him. The week after you left, he was out on the range, miles from the house, and his appendix ruptured. A neighbor saw buzzards circling late in the day and rode over to investigate. He found my dad on the ground, his horse watching over him. The medical examiner said gangrene had poured through Dad’s bloodstream, killing him. The weeks that followed were the worst of my life. For one thing, I had no idea he’d mortgaged the ranch to pay for my schooling. The banker said that rather than sell off land, Dad floated a second lien to buy the bulls. I didn’t even know Dad had become involved as a rodeo stockman. The bank ordered the bulls to be returned to you, not my dad. I had no home, no father and no practice to go with my new doctorate when what I thought was the flu turned out to be morning sickness.”
Dario’s eyes widened. “If what you say is true, Delaney, I’m sorry.”
“It is true. Every word,” she said huffily.
“But why didn’t you get hold of me then? Why wait so long?”
“My God, Dario, you had dropped out of my life. A woman has her pride.”
“You wait years, then spring this kind of news on me? Bah! So, who spread the word to other stockmen that our bulls were flawed?”
“I’ve no clue. Maybe my dad didn’t trust us, and called people anyway. He could see how badly I wanted to hear from you.” Delaney’s voice gave out.
Dario threw up his hands. “I tell you what, Delaney. Bring the boy to Buenos Aires. I’ll arrange for our family physician to do DNA testing. If that proves my paternity, I’ll undergo the other tests you want me to take.”
Gazing into his unyielding eyes, Delaney didn’t know where the kind, playful man she’d fallen in love with had gone. He could send off a swab to be tested. “You’re an ass, Dario Sanchez. Nickolas is too sick to travel.” Blinking back tears of frustration, she caught the eye of Dario’s sister who had ridden closer, and she beckoned to the girl. “If Maria Sofia will take me back to where I left my rental vehicle, I’ll go home and do all I can to increase the circle of potential donors. I’ll cast a wider net in the Texas Latino community.”
He met her glare for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the bull pens.
Maria Sofia barged between them on her horse. “Dayo, go to Texas to have the tests. I’ll go with you. I’m bored here at the estancia,” she said, tossing her long golden curls over one shoulder. “You all refuse to let me help with the business. While you’re at the hospital, I’ll explore Texas. We had a visiting professor from there, and I’d love to see the state. But Papa will never let me go unescorted.”
“Stay out of this, Maria Sofia.” Dario’s exasperation was evident. He ran both hands over his hair. He began to speak, excluding Delaney as if she wasn’t standing there. “Take Dr. Blair back to where you found her and get a phone number where she can be reached tonight. When I decide on a course of action, if any, someone will contact her.” He turned and walked away, dismissing Delaney completely as he called to the men lounging around the chute. “Bring in the next bull for tagging. Ahora mismo!”
Delaney’s heart sank lower. She’d failed Nickolas. She didn’t believe Dario would go through with the tests, but what more could she have said? Maybe she should have begged harder. Somehow she doubted if even crawling on her hands and knees to Dario would have made a dent. “He’s angry at me for things I had no part in doing,” Delaney said.
Maria Sofia stared after her brother. “This is so not like Dayo. Of all my brothers, he’s always the most thoughtful and reasonable. Maybe he needs time. You shocked him,” Maria Sofia said, gathering the reins and mounting her horse. She kicked out of one stirrup and offered her hand to Delaney to help her to swing up behind again.
“I suppose. I’m not sure how I would react if our positions were reversed,” Delaney said, wanting to look back as the girl clucked to the palomino and they trotted off. But she didn’t. Instead she wondered whether her father had gone to the lengths Dario claimed. Perhaps. He’d raised her alone from the age of three after her mother had drowned. She and Dario had loss in common. He’d told her his mother had died of a pulmonary embolism shortly after his youngest brother was born. And now his stepmother—killed in a car accident. They’d all suffered. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Nickolas.
* * *
IGNORING THE PAWING, snorting bull his two helpers dragged toward him, Dario tracked the retreating women. He wasn’t proud of the way he’d acted. He should call them back. Too late. Distracted by the amount of leg Delaney was showing, he’d let them get too great a head start.
The bull lashed out, one of his back hooves grazing Dario’s thigh. The handlers wrestled the animal into submission long enough for Dario to clip a brand pin through the bull’s ear. The men rattled off apologies, asking Dario in Spanish if he needed to have his leg looked at.
He shook his head. In spite of limping, he motioned for them to bring in the next bull. As he waited for them, his mind wandered. A son. Had he really fathered a child? The very notion sent warmth curling through his chest.
It wasn’t until he’d pinned three more bulls that he allowed himself to think about Delaney again. Five years had done nothing to dull the attributes he’d found so appealing when they’d met. Her red hair blazed like a wildfire. No less spunky, for sure, but maybe now she was thinner. He had noticed a change in her eyes. Still clear aqua in color, the bubbly spark had dimmed, replaced by a weariness he feared he’d had a part in causing. Undoubtedly he bore some blame. Maybe her dad hadn’t told her he’d kicked them off his ranch. His own Papa would do that if he caught someone sneaking out of Maria Sofia’s bedroom.
What a mess. Delaney’s life had certainly been altered forever. Not just having borne a child alone, but dealing with the abrupt death of her father. He could sure relate to that. And if, as she’d indicated, Mr. Blair’s demise had left her without the only home she’d ever known, well, it’d be a high hurdle to overcome. He had thought his family had weathered too much in the accident that took his stepmother’s life and paralyzed his dad from the waist down. Always stalwart, strong and larger than life, Arturo Sanchez had been left crotchety and bitter. Hell on wheels was how Vicente put it. Add to that their business problems, and their family dynamics had been transformed, leaving all of them short-tempered. Maybe losing their share of the US bull market wasn’t Delaney’s fault. She’d acted surprised. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to excuse the fact she’d waited five years to inform him he had a son—if indeed he did.
* * *
MARIA SOFIA RAISED her voice as she chattered nonstop on the ride back to Delaney’s SUV. Much of her conversation blew away on the wind.
As she reined to a halt by the automobile, she said, “Instead of leaving and going back to Buenos Aires, you need to stay. I know, why don’t you share our evening meal? If you like steak.” She wrinkled her nose in apparent distaste. “Consuelo is an excellent cook. She always prepares enough for a half dozen guests.”
“I can’t barge in on a meal. It’s clear I’m persona non grata with the bulk of your family,” Delaney said with panic, as she dismounted and shook down her dress. “With luck I may be able to have the hotel concierge arrange an earlier flight back to Texas for me. I’ve hit a brick wall here. I shouldn’t have come, but I had to take the chance, don’t you see?”
Leaning out of the saddle, Maria Sofia squeezed Delaney’s shoulder. “Don’t give up hope. Have faith that Dayo will think this over and do the right thing.”
The girl looked so earnest, Delaney’s dispirited heart gave one tiny lurch of hope. “I appreciate all you’ve done, Maria Sofia.” She slipped out from under the girl’s touch and opened her driver’s door. Taking her purse out from under the seat, she dug out the ignition key and slid beneath the wheel.
“Wait,” Maria Sofia called, dismounting in a leap. “Dayo said for me to get your phone number. And I’ll give you mine so you can let me know if you’re able to get a seat on an earlier flight.” She tugged a phone from her jeans pocket and hit a few keys before turning an expectant gaze on Delaney.
Delaney rattled off a string of numbers, then retrieved her cell and keyed in Maria Sofia’s contact information even though she was nowhere near as optimistic as Maria Sofia that Dario would have a change of heart. She managed a smile and a wave while sparing a last look at the walled estancia as she drove off.
* * *
DARIO LIMPED IN late to the evening meal. He’d finished tagging the entire crop of young bulls, separating out a good number to be made steers at a later date. He hadn’t been surprised to find his leg turning purple where he’d been kicked by the bull. He was bloody where the sharp hoof had split his skin.
“You’ve kept us waiting almost fifteen minutes,” Arturo Sanchez groused from his seat at the head of the large dining table. His wheelchair was within reach, but the family patriarch refused to remain in the chair at mealtimes.
“You didn’t have to wait on me,” Dario said, sitting next to Vicente. The whole family knew their father was a stickler for dinner being served at nine on the dot, as did most Argentinians.
Their cook, Consuelo Martinez, who’d been hired by Maria Sofia’s mother, bustled into the room bearing a large metal platter filled with sizzling bife de lomo, sirloin steaks grilled to each man’s preference. Arturo insisted his meat be muy jugoso—very rare. Vicente took his jugoso—not so rare. Dario and Lorenzo liked theirs a punto, or medium. Maria Sofia didn’t like meat, and so Consuelo served her a crisp ensalada before she set the family-sized salad bowl in front of Arturo, along with a newly opened bottle of red wine. The old man tasted the wine, approved of it, then passed the bottle to Vicente to pour for the others. Each night, Arturo’s sour expression showed his anger that the accident had left him unable to walk around the table to fill everyone else’s glass. No one spoke until after their father offered up a short prayer to the Blessed Virgin. Since the accident, mealtime discussions had become restrained.
But this evening everyone quit eating when, seconds after the prayer, Dario picked up his glass of wine and casually announced, “I banded all the bulls today. Tomorrow Marcus and Jesus will start castrating the animals we culled out. Then I’ll be going to America for a week or so to take care of some private business.”
Maria Sofia clapped her hands and squealed. “I knew you’d do what’s right. And I’m going with you, Dayo,” she said in English.
Their father’s head shot up, and his upper body stiffened. “What is this nonsense? You can’t go anywhere during calving.” His Spanish was precise.
Vicente let his fork clatter against his plate. “How did the woman find you? I ordered her to leave the property when she buzzed at the gate.”
“Who buzzed?” their younger brother Lorenzo asked. “What woman? Are you holding out on us, Dayo?” he added with a laugh.
“It’s the Blair woman from Texas,” Vicente spat. “The one whose father screwed us over and cost us a bundle in money and prestige the month Papa had his accident.”
“Oh. Her.” Lorenzo scowled at Dario.
“I repeat, how did she find you?” Vicente sneered as he shoved aside his plate.
“I took her to see him,” Maria Sofia said lightly. “She had good reason to be here. And Dayo has good reason to make this trip. Tell them,” she said. “Papa, you won’t let me sell bulls, so I’ll go have a look at Texas.”
Arturo pounded his fist on the table. “Enough,” he roared. “There is nothing the Blair woman could possibly say or do to warrant Dario going to see her. If she’s come sniffing around, she’s probably discovered that you’re now a full partner in the estancia, son. And Maria Sofia, you only just got home from London. You need to enroll in a dance class and volunteer at the museum. I already spoke to the curator on your behalf. We’ll stop this talk and everyone will eat the flan Consuelo prepared.”
Anger simmering, Dario wadded his napkin and dropped it on his plate. For some reason he didn’t like his family tearing into Delaney. “I don’t recall asking permission to take a week off, Papa. I’m going, and my business with Dr. Blair is personal.”
“I’ll say,” Maria Sofia purred. “Delaney Blair claims she has a four-year-old son, and Dayo’s the boy’s father.”
Everyone’s utensils clattered against their china. Stunned silence hung in the air. Suddenly, Arturo swore in rapid-fire Spanish, and Vicente and Lorenzo shouted questions in Spanglish—which wasn’t uncommon as they frequently switched from one language to the other for business.
“Why now?” Vicente’s voice rose above the others.
“I told you,” Arturo snapped, “she’s somehow learned that I divided the estate between you three boys, which makes Dario a wealthy catch.”
“Stop it,” Dario shouted, rising from his seat. “You’re all bad-mouthing Delaney, and none of you know what you’re talking about. None of you know her.”
“I met her,” Maria Sofia chimed in. “I think she’s nice. Her son is sick. Dayo needs to take a test of some kind for him.”
“A paternity test, I hope,” Vicente said.
Dario glowered. “I’m not a fool. That’s one thing I insisted on. All of you are no more shocked than I was. I thought it was impossible at first, but I need to know the truth. I’m going to do this,” he finished, clutching the back of his chair.
“I took down her phone number,” Maria Sofia said, holding up her cell phone. She scrolled through a list of numbers, stopped on one and offered the phone to Dario. “I can go along as your chaperone,” she said cheekily. “To stop you in case you’re tempted to take up where you two left off.”
“Maria Sofia, you must start acting like a lady!” Arturo thundered.
Glaring at her, Dario snatched the phone out of her hand and turned away, pressing the send icon, ignoring his brothers and father telling him to ignore Delaney.
* * *
BY TEN THAT NIGHT, Delaney gave up hope that she might hear from Dario.
While she’d waited, she had phoned Nickolas. He was such a perceptive kid. One of the first things he’d asked was, “Why are you sad, Mommy?” She’d tried to cover, telling him she was happy that she was coming home early and would see him the next day. She hadn’t talked long after that, because of course she felt sad and her voice conveyed it.
She decided to pack so she’d be ready to check out at first light. She was half in the closet with clothes draped over her arm when her phone rang. Panic raced through her at the late hour, and her first thought was that something had happened to Nick. She dropped the clothes and raced to the bedside table. The number on her phone display wasn’t from Texas, thank heaven. But her speeding heart didn’t slow. Maybe it was the airline calling to say there was a change or worse, a cancellation of her flight.
“He...llo,” she managed. Her hand shook so much she was in danger of dropping the phone.
“Did I wake you?” a deep male voice inquired.
Delaney heard an explosion of other men talking in the background, some in Spanish, some English. “Excuse me?”
“Delaney? Don’t hang up. It’s Dayo.”
She gripped the phone more tightly, listening more closely to the background comments. Dario was catching heck from his family. She flinched when one man’s derisive tone rose above the others in clear English, saying, “Dayo, you are a fool to drop everything and dance to the tune of a woman who didn’t have the decency to tell you before this that you might be a father.”
Delaney thought it sounded like Vicente, the man who’d answered the intercom.
A gruffer man broke in angrily in mixed language. “I’m ordering you to stay here, Dario. That woman hurt our family. Can’t you see she’s la maliciosa?”
Delaney didn’t know the term, but she was willing to bet it wasn’t good.
Dario shouted, masking the others. “I need a few days to wind down projects on the estancia, then I’ll fly to Texas. You mentioned Lubbock. Is that where you’re living now?”
“I’m staying near the hospital there. Nick is waiting for a slot to open up in a study in San Antonio. So you’re really going to be tested?”
“First, I want DNA checked. Tell your doctor to order that. The next step depends on the results.”
“It’s an extra step, but okay, if that’s what it takes,” she said—but, what did he mean by seeing where to go from there? “DNA results take a week or more. A second cheek swab done at the same time would get you on the national registry. Why not do both?”
“Don’t push me, Delaney. I’m getting enough flak from my family.”
“I can hear that. But my concern is for Nickolas.” She sighed. “Do you want to call me after you land, so I can come to the airport and pick you up?”
He hesitated several seconds, and Delaney thought he was going to hang up without answering. But he finally said a bit less curtly, “I’ll arrange for a hotel cab at the airport. Give me the name of the hospital.”
Tired and a bit sick at heart for the changes five years had wrought in the man she still had feelings for, Delaney gave Dario the information he had requested. He didn’t say goodbye. She held her phone for quite a while, a range of emotions battering her. Some anger, yes, but more sorrow. When at last she put down the phone, her most fervent prayer was that he’d follow through on his travel plans.
It wasn’t until she’d finished packing and had crawled into bed that Delaney began to suffer a new set of worries. While it stood to reason that Dario would be curious about Nickolas and would want to see him, how on earth would she introduce them? She had put off mentioning Dario to Nick. She couldn’t very well say, “Hey, Nick, my little cowboy, this stranger barging into your room is your father.” No, she couldn’t say that. Even after DNA proved paternity, even if Dario went ahead with the blood screenings, even if luck was on their side—and that was a big if—when all was said and done Dario would return to his life in Argentina. She and Nickolas would go home to La Mesa. She couldn’t risk letting Nick get his heart broken if he got attached.
She barely slept. Once she got on the plane, however, she convinced herself that all she could do was to face each hurdle as it came up. She needed to place all her hopes on Dario Sanchez being the perfect match.
