'A month or so. I'll want you to take him to your ranch.'
'Sure, give me a call. Paul makes the appointments so if I'm not around leave a message with him or with Ginny.'
'Thanks, Colby.' Lance leaned over to kiss her cheek before nodding at Joclyn as he left.
'You know everyone,' Joclyn commented.
'It's a small town and this particular group is all ranch. I grew up with most of them,' Colby explained, smiling her thanks at the waitress who was putting a tall glass in front of her.
Joclyn laughed softly. 'I ordered a beer because I was certain you'd drink beer but I can see I made another mistake.'
'Seven-Up. Sometimes I get really brave and have them put orange juice in it.' Colby laughed. 'They all give me a bad time about it.'
Joclyn's dark eyes were suddenly serious. 'I know you felt it was an insult for Rafael to ask you to teach my daughter to ride. And then I found out it wasn't Rafael who asked, it was Louise in her usual endearing manner. Please don't apologize-I understand. You work very hard, and you take a great deal of pride in what you do. Rafael didn't want us to ask you. He said you would be far too busy.'
'More likely he made a few cracks about me trying to fill a man's boots,' Colby said. 'He's a male chauvinist.'
Joclyn didn't bother to deny it. There was something very cold about the De La Cruz brothers that bothered her, but she wasn't about to discuss her husband's business associates. 'I had to ask you anyway. Since my husband and I moved here, all I've heard is 'Colby's the best tracker, the best trainer, guide, anything to do with horses.' They say you have a gift.'
Colby's grin was positively devilish. 'I hope all this has been said in the presence of the De La Cruz brothers, especially Rafael.'
'Invariably,' Joclyn laughed.
Colby wanted to be strictly fair and give the devil his due. 'I did hear that Rafael and his brother, Nicolas, were excellent with horses.'
Joclyn nodded slowly, thoughtfully. 'That's true, I've seen them. They keep odd hours for ranchers, though. They're night owls. I think they live pretty well in Brazil. But I watched Rafael walk right up to a severely injured horse and calm it with a touch of his hands. It was amazing.' She shook her head as if to clear the memory. 'But they aren't very good with people. At least not with children. I don't think either one of them has even looked at my daughter. Maybe her physical disability puts them off. Some people are like that. Tanya was struck by a car two years ago and must use braces to walk. The children at the school she was attending were very cruel and she's become withdrawn from us and quiet.'
Joclyn fiddled with her glass, avoiding Colby's disconcerting steady gaze. 'I know it would take a great deal of time, time you'd be using to train horses. We're willing to pay you whatever you would normally get for training a horse; that way you wouldn't lose anything.' She was speaking very quickly, afraid of Colby's reaction. 'It's so important to her, the first thing she's expressed interest in…'
'Wait a minute, hold up.' Colby reached out to pat Joclyn's hand soothingly, her natural compassion for the little girl already aroused. 'It's not a question of money so much as time. She would need to work at her own pace, not feel rushed by my time schedule. Perhaps Ginny could help us. She's been riding horses since she was two. I could start the lesson, then let Ginny take over and just oversee it a bit. What about you? Do you ride?'
Joclyn ducked her head, flushing. 'I'm terrified of horses,' she admitted. 'I'm a total city girl. When Sean suggested we move out here and buy a ranch I nearly died of fright. But I didn't like Tanya being in a boarding school and we traveled so much we had no choice. At least it was an opportunity for us to be together.'
'I've never really known any other way of life,' Colby mused. 'My earliest memories are of my father putting me in front of him on his horse and riding all over the ranch. It's amazing to think all these years I've taken it for granted. I'd be lost in a city.'
'And I'm lost here,' Joclyn attempted a little laugh that didn't fool either of them.
'Don't worry, I wouldn't throw you on the back of just any horse. I have a couple of wonderful, very steady animals. You may as well take lessons with Tanya; that is, if Tanya would like to ride once she actually meets me.' Colby made her commitment, trying not to think about what Paul was going to say.
'It's all she's talked about, learning to ride, I mean.' The relief on Joclyn's face was so apparent Colby had to look away. As she did so, she encountered a pair of coal black eyes, an eyebrow raised in a kind of mocking male amusement.
At once her heart slammed hard against her chest and her mouth went dry. She could actually hear her heart pounding overloud in alarm. 'Why didn't you tell me he was here?' Colby couldn't look away from those unblinking eyes. She had seen many predators, both bear and mountain lion. Rafael De La Cruz had the same uncanny stare. Her internal warning system had failed to let her know he was watching her, yet now it had kicked in and was working overtime so that every nerve ending was shrieking in trepidation.
'Rafael? I'm sorry, Colby, I know it must be difficult for you when you feel as if the Chevez family is trying to take your brother and sister away, but Sean has to entertain them somehow. They are business associates. Rafael insisted he come along tonight and Sean didn't have a good enough reason to deny his request.'
With tremendous willpower, Colby tore her gaze from Rafael's mesmerizing one. He could hypnotize the entire room with his glittering black eyes, she decided as she stood up and shoved ineffectually at the unruly hair spilling around her face. 'Three o'clock on Wednesday sound okay?' Even her voice was shaking. Colby knew when to cut her losses and run. Rafael De La Cruz was more than she could handle.
'Thank you, Colby.' Joclyn was sincere, intuitively not attempting to detain her any longer. Whatever was between Colby and Rafael put Colby visibly on edge.
Colby had made it nearly to the door when Rafael's vise-like fingers circled her upper arm. He had moved with all the silence and stealth of a hunter, swiftly, unerringly, bringing his prey to ground. 'Dance or a scene, you have your choice.' His voice whispered over her skin like a velvet glove, tempting, taunting, a sinful male enticement when his words were so at odds with the seduction of his voice. He didn't care if she struggled, if every man in the bar leapt to her defense; he was not going to relinquish his hold on her. She knew it instinctively. People-her friends-would get hurt if they tried to interfere.
There was an edge to Rafael tonight, a distinct warning in the very way he held her. His body was as hard as a rock, his skin hot. There was raw possession in the depths of his eyes, in the enormous strength of his arms. Colby was used to men who were ranchers, strong men who thought nothing of tossing hay bales around. Rafael De La Cruz was deceptive in his looks. Long and lean, steel ran through his blood and bones. As soon as Colby felt the heat of his chest through the thin silk of his shirt where her cheek brushed his body, she knew dancing with him was a big mistake. Her heart gave a crazy lurch and she stiffened, tried to hold herself away from him.
Rafael simply pulled her that much closer, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath against her temple. Felt the hard thick thrust of his arousal pressed against her. Honestly.
Casually. As if it didn't matter in the least that she knew the urgency of his body's demand for hers. His fingers curled around her wrist, held her hand tight against his heart. 'Sssh,' he cautioned, his accent very deep, his voice so husky her entire body trembled with need. 'You would not want these men to rush to your rescue.'
'They would, too.' She forced the words out of her mouth. For one terrible moment she thought her vocal cords were paralyzed. He was too potent up close like this. She had never seen such a sensual man. But it was more than his good looks. More than his raw sex appeal. There was a dangerous untamed aura clinging to him. She smelled it on him, felt it up close to him. Like an animal, a wild marauder. He was very dangerous, not only to her, but also to others. The knowledge was deep inside her, elemental, certain. She didn't know where it came from, but she trusted her instincts.
He leaned his dark head toward hers while the music beat through their bodies and rushed through their bloodstream. 'What if I told you I could read your mind?' He whispered the words, his lips against the pulse beating so frantically in her neck. Little flames began licking along her neck and shoulder.
Colby closed her eyes. The music surrounded them, encasing them like satin sheets so that she burned with need. They burned together, she felt it in his body. Dancing with him was a kind of sexual torment. She could hear her blood pounding in her ears and her body felt molten with liquid fire. 'I would have to call you a liar, Mr. De La Cruz. If there is one thing I know for certain, you can't read my mind.' And for that she was eternally grateful. Because she wanted him with every cell in her body. She wanted to feel that perfectly sculpted mouth crushing
