Jared darted a glance at Lauren and muttered under his breath, “Yes… well, thank you.”
Rudy came in and Gloria carried the last platter from the kitchen and placed it on the table. The meal began. It was a loud, confusing time, but Lauren enjoyed it immensely after all of the lonely meals at her father’s house, the stuffy, dull dinners at the Prathers’, and the silent, tense meals at Olivia’s table.
Everyone chattered, relating things of great importance or no importance. Rudy told them about the incident of the “gunfight.” As the children laughed at Lauren’s mistake, Gloria and Maria chided the men on their recklessness.
The table was crowded despite its length, and Gloria had assigned Lauren and Jared side-by-side places. Their elbows were constantly touching as one or the other lifted their cutlery or glasses. Several times, their knees or thighs would press together under the table. If anyone noticed two forks suspended motionless en route to two surprised mouths, they didn’t mention it.
Rudy noticed, and chuckled each time. They were fighting it, all right. It was going to be interesting to watch this—the downfall of Jared the Great—at the hands of a slip of a girl who barely reached his shoulder.
When the meal was over, the men left to attend to the never-ending work of running a ranch. Lauren watched as they strolled companionably toward one of the corrals. They were dressed almost identically and walked with the same graceful swagger. Each sported broad shoulders, a narrowness of hip, and long, lean legs. Each had buckled on flopping chamois chaps and pulled on leather gloves. “They look alike from the back,” Lauren mused aloud.
Gloria was standing at her shoulder. “Yes, I think anyone could tell they are brothers.”
Lauren whirled her head around to Gloria in astonishment. “Brothers?” she gasped.
Gloria was nonplussed. “Why, yes. I thought you knew that Rudy is your brother-in-law.” She was amazed that Jared hadn’t told his wife of the kinship.
“Mrs. Mendez and…” whispered Lauren, still trying to fit the puzzle together.
“Maria and Ben,” Gloria finished for her. At Lauren’s shattered look, Gloria’s features closed coldly and she said, “Don’t judge them too harshly. They loved each other very much. Maria has lived here with Ben for almost forty years.”
“But… but Olivia was his wife,” Lauren protested weakly. Ben had lived in adultery? Her Ben?
“You’ve been with Olivia,” Gloria was saying. “You know what kind of woman she is. Ever since Ben brought her here from New Orleans, she made his life miserable. She insisted on living in Coronado and refused to have anything to do with Keypoint. She assumed the responsibility of the bank. Maria was the daughter of one of the first vaqueros Ben hired to help him run the ranch. He fell in love with her on sight, and she with him.”
Yes. Lauren could see how that could be. The gentle, serene Maria and the robust, virile Ben. They would have complemented each other. He had given her loving protection and she had given him comfort and a son. Happiness. Where one can find it. Was that wrong? A few weeks ago, Lauren would have been scandalized to hear of such a sordid arrangement, but somehow, now…
Was this land to rob her of her convictions, too?
“The two sons of Ben Lockett have a deep affection for each other,” Gloria said, glancing out the window as the brothers rode away together. “Rudy accepts the fact that he cannot bear the family name, and that he is not the legal heir. Ben loved him and he knew that. Ben’s will made it clear that as long as there is a Keypoint, the sons of Rudolfo Mendez will share an equal partnership with the sons of Jared Lockett.
“It’s sad, isn’t it?” she went on when Lauren remained silent, watching the two men on horseback disappear over the horizon. “Maria could not even go to Ben’s funeral. Nor could his first son. But Ben came to the ranch just a few days before he died. He spoke of you, Lauren, and promised to bring you to us as soon as possible. That was the last night he spent with Maria. I hope they made love all night long. He had been gone for over a month, so if I know old Ben, they did.”
“I… I’m sure they did,” Lauren said, blushing.
Gloria took her bowed head as a sign of fatigue. “You should have stopped my ramblings. You’re probably tired. Why don’t you take a nap?”
“I am a little tired,” Lauren confessed. “But thank you for telling me the circumstances. I understand things better now.” Gloria’s face softened and she leaned forward to kiss Lauren lightly on the cheek.
Lauren went into the bedroom that belonged to Jared. It did belong to him. His ownership was stamped on everything. As she moved about the room, Lauren could feel his presence like a palpable force. Disrobing slowly, she almost felt as if she were stripping before the man himself.
She stretched out on the bed, having the strangest sensation that Jared was on the bed, too. She moved her hand over the heavy spread and wondered how many nights he had lain in this exact spot. It was an unsettling thought. Her eyes closed and she dropped off into a deep sleep, imagining that amber eyes were watching her.
Chapter 11
Lauren took a bath just before dinner. Gloria told her Ben had piped in water from a cistern several years ago, so the kitchen and two bathrooms had running water. There was, however, no water heater. A small brazier was stationed in a corner of each bathroom, with a large copper kettle kept constantly simmering.
“The only rule,” Gloria said, smiling, “is that when you empty the kettle, you refill it for the next person. Oh, and Jared asked me to give you this,” she added as she handed Lauren a brown bottle.
“What is it?” Lauren asked.
“Liniment,” was Gloria’s amused reply.
Pepe had arrived earlier and deposited her luggage in the bedroom. Jared’s bags stood beside hers. One of them, she noticed, had been opened. What would she do if he followed her into the room tonight? Apparently the Mendezes expected him to. She calmed her nerves, and went into the dining area.
Strangely, and in contrast to the noon meal, everything was quiet. The table was candlelit and set with china and crystal, replacing the pottery which had been used at the earlier meal.
“Where are the children?” Lauren inquired as she brought in a tray laden with serving dishes.