Had Lauren known his thoughts, she would have been terrified. Instead, as she lay on the bed, watching the misery radiate from every pore of his body, she knew only compassion for her husband. She sat up and timidly extended her hand toward him, an offer to soothe away the pain inflicted by whatever devil tormented him.
He recoiled. “I don’t want any part of you,” he declared unsteadily. “Do you understand?”
He whirled away from her, flung open the wardrobe door, tore a shirt from the hanger, and stamped across the room to the door. It slammed with a resounding crash when he went out.
Lauren fell back and rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face into the mattress of the bed. She sobbed brokenly, her tears absorbed by the bedspread.
Was she crying because he had kissed her so insultingly or because she had responded so wantonly? Because he had stopped kissing her? Or because of his abusive words? Was her biggest fear that he would soon grow tired of the trap he was in, pay her the twenty thousand dollars, and send her packing?
The questions tumbled in her mind. And for none of them did she have an answer.
* * *
The next morning, Lauren and Maria were returning from a ride when they heard shouting from one of the corrals. The vaqueros were gathered around the fence.
Lauren spotted the tall, lean figure of her husband. She hadn’t seen him since the day before when she had tended his wounds. After he had slammed out of the room, she had lain there for a while before restoring herself enough to go in to dinner. The Mendezes were at the table, patiently awaiting her.
Jared didn’t appear. After everyone had started eating, Rudy quietly and inconsequentially stated that Jared was needed at the bunkhouse. No one commented, and Lauren had pretended indifference to his absence.
As they dismounted and tied their horses to the hitching rail in front of the house, Lauren said to Maria, “I think I’ll stay out for a while.” Her curiosity was piqued by the commotion at the corral.
“Very well,” Maria said, smiling. “I enjoyed our ride. Ben and I used to ride early in the mornings. I’ve missed the exercise.”
“We’ll do it whenever you want.” Lauren patted the older woman’s arm before Maria climbed the steps to the front door.
Strolling in the direction of the corral, Lauren told herself she wasn’t going there to see Jared. As she approached, twenty or so vaqueros were driving a bull into a chute.
“What’s going on, Rudy?” she asked her brother-in-law as she reached the fence.
He jerked his head around to face her. “It’s… uh… we’re going to… uh… castrate this bull.”
“Oh,” Lauren replied, red-faced. She turned to go, but was blocked by the sudden appearance of her husband. He put out a restraining arm.
“Why don’t you stay and watch? Your being so interested in Keypoint and the ranching business and all, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”
“Jared—” Rudy began.
“No, Rudy. Lauren is dying to learn everything she can about the cattle and the vaqueros.”
His words were biting and harsh. Lauren wished desperately that she had followed Maria into the house. Suddenly Jared gripped her shoulders and turned her toward the corral, holding her against him with deceptive gentleness. His hands felt like iron bands around her upper arms.
“Why… why do you do that to a particular bull?”
She hoped the question would have a calming effect on him. She really didn’t care to know anything about the procedure and certainly didn’t want to watch it.
Jared drawled around his cigar, “Well, there could be any number of reasons. Better beef. Or maybe he can’t please the cows anymore. It may be only because he’s a mean sonofabitch.”
“Then maybe that’s what we should do to you,” Rudy said in a deadly voice. He wasn’t about to let Lauren witness the bloody procedure.
Jared spun around and glared at his brother. He tossed his cigar away with a negligent flick of his wrist. “Is that a fact? Well, just who in hell is going to try?”
Without preamble, Rudy lowered his head and charged into Jared’s stomach, knocking the younger man down.
Lauren gasped and cowered against the fence as they rolled in the dust, arms and legs thrashing, blood spurting from busted lips and smashed noses. They stood and circled each other warily, then Jared counterattacked and they crashed to the ground again. The vaqueros had stopped their work and stood in a wide circle around the fighting brothers. The only sounds were the thuds of landed blows and the grunts of pain and effort.
Gloria came running from the house, skirts flying. A few of the children stood in awe of the spectacle. They had seen their father and Uncle Jared fight before, but it was always playful wrestling. Their young, precocious minds perceived that this was different.
Gloria grabbed the revolver out of one of the cowboy’s holsters before he had time to react. Since she knew that the first chamber was always empty, she cocked it twice and then fired into the air.