body tightened and heated in response. She managed to smile her reassurance at Ginny even while she tried to build the wall in her mind to keep Rafael out. 'Clinton Daniels always seems to find the time to gossip about everyone, doesn't he? I think that man needs a full-time job to keep him occupied.' She hugged Ginny to her. 'You are a legal citizen of this country, honey. The courts aren't just going to turn you over to someone you don't even know. It will never come to that. Daniels was just trying to get a rise out of you. These people will go back to Brazil and everything will be back to normal.' They had to go back to Brazil and Rafael had to go back with them. Soon. Immediately.
'Yeah,' Paul added, digging at his sister's ribs, 'the normal thing, hard work, more hard work, working from early morning until late at night. Getting up in the middle of the night and working more.'
'Don't we all wish you did that,' Colby teased. 'Seriously, you two, forget this problem with the De La Cruz brothers. They don't like me any more than I like them. Those men are positively archaic. I can see them as some kind of dungeon masters in the fourteenth century, where women were owned by their fathers and husbands.'
'Really?' Ginny looked dreamy for a minute. 'I picture them as kings in a castle, great lords or something like that. They're good-looking.'
Colby wrinkled her nose. 'Do you think? I hadn't noticed.' She managed to keep a straight face for all of three seconds before she dissolved into gales of laughter along with her younger sister while Paul looked on in complete exasperated disgust.
2
Ginny knocked on Colby's bedroom door a few minutes after she heard the shower shut off. Colby had put in so much time with the cattle and out in the garden and the hay field that Ginny was afraid she might have forgotten the appointment with Joclyn Everett.
Colby was towel-drying her long hair and smiled at Ginny as she peeked through the door. 'Got everything set up for barrel racing?'
Eagerly Ginny bounded into the small bedroom, seating herself on the bed. 'Did you send in my entry fee for the Redbluff Rodeo?' she asked hopefully.
'I told you when you were twelve you could travel a bit. The local rodeo's enough until then.'
'There's an eleven-year-old girl barrel racing already,' Ginny protested. 'She's making enough money for her college education.' Shrewdly she pulled out a magazine and read quickly from the article, determined to prove her point.
'Shelve it, chickadee, I'm tired and in a hurry. As it is I'm going to be very late meeting with Mrs. Everett. What do you think? Should we take on the daughter?'
'I wouldn't mind if she was nice,' Ginny admitted. 'It would be cool to have a friend. Maybe sometimes I could go to her house. Paul told me Mr. Everett is really just a business associate of the De La Cruz family; they aren't like really close friends or anything. Maybe if I was friends with Mr. Everett's daughter and Mr. De La Cruz wants to do business with him, he'll start being nicer to you.'
Colby didn't want Rafael De La Cruz to be nice to her. She didn't want him near her. 'Don't count on it, honey.' Colby grinned impishly. 'I have this strong feeling the De La Cruz brothers would rather give up their business ties with Everett in a minute than be nice to me. They don't like independent women.' It was strange how Colby thought Nicolas was so cold, the coldest man she had ever met, yet she found Rafael just the opposite, a seething cauldron of dangerous emotions, intense and darkly erotic. Rafael De La Cruz was a truly sensual man and he scared the hell out of her. If she never saw him again, it would be too soon.
Ginny scowled darkly. 'You aren't ever serious, Colby,' she reprimanded.
'I wouldn't say that.' Colby pulled on a long-sleeved cotton shirt to cover the white marks marring her tanned skin.
'Did you notice how good-looking Rafael was? He's a hunk,' Ginny pointed out solemnly. 'His brother is a hunk too. And they're stinking rich, Colby. You're missing a great chance.'
Snorting inelegantly, Colby stamped her foot down into her worn boots. 'Have you ever noticed the type of women who flock around those men?' Throwing her hips forward, shoulders back, she batted her eyelashes. 'Dawling,' she purred, mimicking Louise's voice perfectly, 'you're just soooo strong! My little old heart just flutters whenever I lay eyes on you.' Dramatically clutching her heart, Colby fell onto her bed.
Ginny, giggling, gave up her matchmaking. 'All right, all right,' she surrendered. 'But it wouldn't be bad having a niece or nephew to play with. I'll be an old lady by the time Paul gets roped.'
'So I'm to be the sacrifice. No thank you, young lady.' Colby wrinkled her nose. 'I'm perfectly happy being an old maid. Gotta get out of here or I'll never get there in time.' She glanced down at her watch. 'It's already past time.'
Ginny clutched at her hand, eyes serious. 'I really would like to have a friend, Colby. I get lonesome in the summer-time. We're so far from everybody…' She trailed off, hating to complain when Colby worked so hard.
Colby gave her a quick hug. 'I know, honey. Paul and I get so busy we forget you're here by yourself doing all the cooking and cleaning. I'll see what I can do.'
'Thanks.' Ginny hugged her tightly. 'You look great tonight. Is Joe going to be there?' There was a hopeful note in her voice.
'Joe? Joe Vargas? Ginny, don't you dare try to saddle that poor man with me. He'd be lost.' Laughing, Colby caught up her purse and hurried out to the pickup truck.
Paul was there to open the rusty, dented door. 'Drive carefully, Colby, the tires are completely bald,' he cautioned. 'Gone. Totally worn out.'
'Everything is,' she commented as again and again she tried to coax the truck into starting. When it finally turned over they both cheered. 'Good old truck, still hanging in there.' She patted the dash in appreciation and, waving at Paul and Ginny, took off in a cloud of dust. Bouncing high with every rut and hole, springs protesting, she cranked up the radio and happily sang all the way into town.
She found a parking space in the side lot and slid out of the battered cab. It was pushing close to nine. Chances were good Joclyn Everett would think she'd been stood up. Colby was simply too tired to care. With a sigh and a hasty prayer De La Cruz wouldn't be in the bar with his multitude of female groupies, Colby pushed open the door. It wasn't hard to spot Joclyn in spite of the crowd. Her simple white dress shouted money, her makeup and hair were perfection. In a group of cowhands she stuck out like a sore thumb and she was looking distinctly uncomfortable. Colby could imagine the hard time she'd been given, the joshing, the come-ons, the snide catty remarks only women make to one another. Colby made up for it the only way she knew how. 'Joclyn!' She waved across the room. 'I was hoping you'd wait for me. Joe, get out of my way, will you?' she added as a tall dark-haired man swept her up in a bear hug.
'Ah, Colby, when are you going to marry me?' he complained, kissing her soundly as he held her dangling with her feet several inches from the floor.
She slugged him good-naturedly. 'One of these times I'm going to drag a preacher in here and you'll head for the hills.' As he put her down, she wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. 'And stop kissing me in public.'
'You want to go somewhere more private?' he offered, waggling his eyebrows.
Everyone in the bar laughed at Joe's antics and greeted her as she pushed past the cowhand to weave her way through the mass of people. 'Sorry I'm so late.' Colby flung herself into a chair.
'I was afraid you weren't coming after Louise admitted how rude she'd been,' Joclyn ventured, looking more uncomfortable than ever.
'Colby!' Another man swept off his hat as he dropped into the chair beside her. 'You're a hard woman to track down.'
'Hi, Lance. This is Joclyn Everett, Sean's wife. Joclyn, Lance Ryker. Lance, we're in the middle of a business discussion, or,' Colby corrected with a rueful grin, 'at the beginning.'
'I bought Diablo-I finally swung the deal. You promised me you'd help me train him.' His words tumbled out. 'I made the deal based on that promise.'
'When will he be here?' Colby inquired with a small, apologetic smile at Joclyn.
