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“And that’s all that matters to you, Diego? Don’t you want a wife who will love you? One who will admire and esteem you? What about the woman you tricked into thinking you had married her? There must have been something about her that made you want to be with her.”
“I only wanted her for the good times we could have together. I didn’t want a wife or a son.”
“But you got them nevertheless.”
“It wasn’t a legal bond,” he protested, not sure how they had gotten back on this subject.
“But it should have been. You have a son, Diego. A son who needs a father to love him.”
He frowned. “I had no father to love me. He was always much too busy with my brothers or his horses.”
“Yes, and look at how miserable you are—how you are now facing criminal charges and prison. If you get the money as you hope, I want you to take it to wherever that woman and your son can be found. Marry her genuinely and raise your son with love.”
“Once they know it was me, they will hunt me down unless we are married.” Diego settled his nerves and memories. “You and I will leave here as soon as we get the money, and we’ll be married first thing. Then you can tell them how it was just a romantic gesture—something I did to show you how much I wanted to marry you.”
“Everyone from here to Albuquerque and El Paso willknow what happened by now. No one is going to marry us. There is no hope of taking the train to escape, and we would probably die trying to navigate the desert. Besides, I don’t want to marry you anymore. I’m in love with someone else.”
“That Bailey fellow?”
“Yes. Aaron and I are in love and plan to marry. I’m sorry. I realized that my feelings for you were just girlish infatuation. There was no real foundation for love.”
“But I love you.”
“I think you love my money, Diego, but you hardly know me well enough to love me.” She shook her head and went to him. “Diego, this is quite hopeless unless you give up. I will speak on your behalf and tell them what a troubled soul you are. I’ll even assure them that you didn’t kill my aunt, because I honestly believe you. I don’t think you are a killer, Diego.”
“They won’t believe you.”
“I think they will.”
Diego tried to sort through her words, but his head was beginning to hurt. “Stay here. I have to check for the boys. Don’t attempt to leave. I know this area quite well and will easily find you. Besides, I’ll have this place in my sight line the whole time.”
Aaron and Jim walked along the road, looking for any sign of Isabella. Aaron supposed it was too much to hope that she could have left them a sign. The man or men who took her probably had her tied up.
“There’s been so many horses and people stomping around that tracking anything is impossible,” Jim said, shaking his head. “I’m sure sorry.”
“She has to be here. Surely someone would have seen themif they managed to jump the freight train. They might be able to ride it to San Marcial or Socorro without being seen, but surely one of those stops would have had someone checking the cars. There’s no way they could have gotten all the way to Albuquerque.”
“Probably not, but if they went by horse, it could be otherwise. If it’s Morales like you figure, he probably hired someone who knows the area to help him. There are all sorts of hiding places around here, and you know that full well.”
“Yeah, I suppose I do.” Aaron pushed back his hat and looked across the Garcia property to the valley below. “I feel like I’ve failed her. I’ve failed Daniel. I promised I’d keep her safe.”
“It won’t do any good to ponder your actions at this point. You didn’t do anything frivolous or dangerous. You weren’t out playing around and ignoring the risk. They took her right out of town in the middle of a party.”
“I know.”
Jim continued to walk, leading his horse. Aaron caught up with him after a few minutes.
“So when did your feelings for Isabella change?” Jim asked.
“To be honest, I think it started when I picked her up in California. I don’t know what it was about her. She was still as self-focused as ever, but there was an attraction I couldn’t deny. I don’t know if it was the same for her. And I did my best to ignore it.” He looked at Jim and smiled. “I kept telling myself I hated her, but I didn’t.”
“Hate and love walk a fine line together.”
“I suppose they do. Plus, Daniel was always there, encouraging me to join him—to take care of her and his wife. Even then I knew that was where I was going to end up. I tried to fight it. I tried to convince him and myself that my place waswith the Santa Fe. I wish I’d given in sooner. I would have had more time with him to learn everything.”
“It was time enough, Aaron. It’s all God’s timing. We need to learn that. We don’t control things down here. If we’re living a life yielded to God, then we don’t need to worry about those kinds of things. God will direct us to the places He chooses. It seems to me that when we fight against it, it never works out well for us.”
“Maybe that’s why Isabella has been taken. Maybe she was taken so I’d realize just how much she means to me.”
