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“Don’t worry. They won’t go to waste.” He nodded his head over toward the water where he’d set a pot in the shadowed shallows. “The eggs with chilis are part of our lunch. But you don’t have to eat them. There’s beans and bread, too.”
“Still, why trick her instead of just asking her to make eggs without chilis?”
He walked the horses to where they could graze. “My mother can be loco at times. It is better not to get her angry.”
“Loco, you said this means crazy?” She shivered a little even though the day was approaching hot.
“Yes.” Daniel looked off toward the mountains. “As long as you’re on her good side, she’s not too bad.” He’d never been on that side of her very long, but then she never made any secret of how much she’d despised his father. Rafael’s father had been the man she wanted, but he’d gotten away. “But what can I say? She’s my mother.”
Anna gave a short nod. “I’m glad you’ve finally told me the truth.”
She turned and stalked through the trees.
Yes, not so much the truth, but at least she seemed to believe this story. Why wouldn’t she? The pieces fit. Rafael could have gotten drunk in frustration, and maybe she believed he’d gone out searching during the night, stayed out all day and all night, which would explain his exhaustion. Daniel let out the breath he’d half been holding.
It was getting harder and harder to continue to lie to her, but he had to keep on. She considered Rafael’s actions unforgivable. At least he knew where they stood on that score. She couldn’t ever know that Rafe was the one who had stopped the stage. And he hoped he’d abated her relentless curiosity for a few days. By then Rafe had better be well enough to deal with her. The idea of turning her over to his brother ripped at him. When he wasn’t hurting her with another lie, he kind of enjoyed her company. Even though she was too inquisitive and pushy.
Chapter Twelve
Yes, the land of milk and honey is an appropriate description. The honeybees are thick when the fruit trees are in bloom, and we always have a cow or two available for milk, although I am told other breeds produce richer milk.
Anna walked around the orange trees, running her fingers through the flat oval leaves. Tiny little green oranges no bigger than grapes dotted the branches. None of the trees were very tall, but much about California was like stepping into another world.
She tried to sort out what Daniel had said to her. It seemed to fit. If Rafael had been searching nonstop since the horses were stolen, it could explain his exhaustion last night. And perhaps he’d been avoiding her because he didn’t want to tell her that he could lose the ranch if the government didn’t let him keep the title.
Tendrils of dread snaked in the pit of her stomach at the thought of his losing the ranch. If marrying him would help, if the Spanish in California were treated the same way the Irish were back east, she had no choice. She had to marry him.
She cast a glance back toward where Daniel was staking the horses so that they could drink from the river. He looked up and met her eyes, watching her steadily. Her breath caught. It was as if he knew the instant her gaze was upon him. He must be watching her meandering path through the grove. She’d needed a minute to calm down after learning about the deception they’d perpetrated. She understood their fear, but that didn’t mean she liked being deceived.
“Daniel,” she called. She walked toward him. “What would you do if you found out the robbers were your hands or your cousins?”
He rubbed his chin. “Depends.” His gaze slid down her body and then back up.
A wash of heat flowed over her. He’d probably dropped his eyes to gather his thoughts. It wasn’t a sensual gesture to turn her thoughts lascivious. But when his brother had given her one of those kinds of looks deliberately, nothing had stirred in her.
“If you got that man good with your shot, I might consider that punishment enough.”
And there was the barb in his appraisal. Still, it didn’t pack much of a sting. By now he knew what she was and didn’t seem to mind. “But I only shot one of them.”
“Leave it to Rafael.”
She tilted her head, looking at Daniel. At this distance something about him seemed similar to the robber. Her heart gave an irregular thump. What if it had been his cousin?
“Do your cousins look like you?” she asked as she walked nearer.
“Don’t know. I haven’t seen them in years.” He turned around and lifted a saddle from the horse she’d ridden.
Which she supposed was his signal that he didn’t want to talk about the holdup any longer. Talking about it any longer wouldn’t serve any purpose.
But she knew what she had to do. She had to find a way to get into town and tell the sheriff. It was only right. Daniel wasn’t there. He didn’t know the carnage the robbers had wrought. Clearly, the brothers were loyal to family and friends, but a crime had been committed.
“Do you think Rafael would mind if I bought some material? Since your mother doesn’t let me do anything at the house, I’d like to sew a new dress.”
“There’s nothing wrong with what you’re wearing,” he said without turning around.
Except she’d owned this gown since she was sixteen, and it had faded considerably since then. The seams were frayed, and it was too short and too tight. “Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing how Selina is getting along.”
He jerked at the straps of the second saddle. She watched his shoulders move under his shirt. Something tickled low in her belly.
“We’ll have to wait until Rafe gets back. Then I’m sure he won’t mind taking you.”
Somehow that solution disappointed her, because she’d rather go with Daniel.
“I have letters to mail.”
He turned around and looked at her. “Who is using trickery now?”
Her face heated. Drawing her hands behind her, she took a step back. “I’m not.”
He removed the second saddle and set it on the ground. Then he stepped toward her. “Anna.” His tone contained a warning and a berating combined.
She felt pinned like a misbehaving child, but she’d be damned before she retreated.
He drew off his gloves and took another step toward her at the same time as she stepped forward.
Her breasts brushed his chest and a burst of fireworks went off inside her, stunning her into standing like a statue. His nostrils flared, and he looked down into her eyes as if he’d experienced the same trailing sparks and pings. He sucked in a deep breath and repeated, “Anna.”
His tone was softer, soothing, seductive. Her knees wobbled, and she grabbed his upper arms to steady herself. He felt so strong, his muscles bunching under her fingers. His scent was a mix of the clean salty sweat of labor and something infinitely more earthy, more him, and it fogged her senses until she just wanted to lean in and breathe him in.
He reached around her and pulled her against him, and the sensation rocketed through her. She wanted to push her breasts into him.
His fingers slid along her jaw, tilting her chin up, and he whispered, “Anna,” across her lips.
A delicious shiver slipped down her spine. It seemed to her she had been waiting forever for this first kiss. For three thousand miles she had anticipated this, and now it was going to happen.
His lips touched hers, warm and firm. For a second they stayed just like that, their lips clinging to each other’s. Then his tongue delved into the juncture, changing the kiss from a sweet thing to a wicked assault on her senses.
She slid her hands up his arms and around his neck, hanging on and straining up on her tiptoes to better join them together.
The kiss swirled on and on. She never wanted it to end. His arm tightened around her, and sensation after sensation rocked through her. Everywhere their bodies were in contact tingled, and the private place between her legs began to ache with need. She shifted closer.
He slid his hand from her jaw to trail down her throat, over her shoulder and down the side of her back until he reached her hip. His fingers pressed into the small of her back, urging her hips to tilt into him.
Her breathing turned ragged, but she didn’t want to end the dance of their tongues.
A horse whinnied.
Daniel jerked back. What was he doing?
He groaned. Anna wiggled closer, sending desire coursing through his veins.
He had to stop. She was Rafael’s bride, not his.
It took every ounce of willpower he had to push her shoulders back and break the contact between their bodies.
She stared up at him, her green eyes dewy, her parted lips slightly swollen. More than anything, he wanted to pull her back into him or better yet carry her over to the blanket and make her his.
The horse whinnying again shot alarm through him. God forbid anyone had witnessed him kissing his brother’s intended. Only a riderless horse pranced along the opposite riverbank. Thank God for the horse’s appearance just when he was on the verge of pulling her hips against his erection.
