Virgin Seduction

tears that she had blinked hastily away. Because she understood that she had interrupted a moment of special intimacy between these two long-married people-she knew because she had encountered such moments between her own parents, many times before. There was such ease between them. She could hear it in their voices-trust and understanding, respect and friendship. It was, she thought, just what a marriage should be like. It was what she wanted her marriage to be like.

But…what of her marriage? Would she and Cade ever know that kind of ease? Right now such a thing seemed impossible.

Hopelessness settled over her, more oppressive than the midday heat. She'd managed to keep it at bay the past two days, spending most of her time in the stables with Rueben, working with the new foal. Oh, and she'd been riding, too, and was getting more and more comfortable with Western-style saddles. At night she watched old movies on television until she fell asleep on the sofa.

But now, lying on her stomach beside the swimming pool with the sun like a hot anvil between her shoulders and her forehead resting on her hands, she could not stop the tears from seeping between her eyelids. She had never, even as a child in those first wretched months of boarding school, been so lonely.

Because today was Sunday, Rueben and Betsy had the day off. Rueben had come early to feed the horses and then had gone off to his home on the other side of the pasture, taking the dogs with him. Betsy had left fruit salad and cinnamon rolls for Leila's breakfast, and deviled eggs and sliced ham and tomatoes stuffed with tuna salad and sliced strawberries to eat with ice cream for later. She would be cooking at home today, she had told Leila, because her kids were coming over. According to Betsy, she was going to have a 'houseful.' You should come on down, she had said to Leila. You should come and join us.

But Leila had not wanted to intrude on their day off, on their family's time together.

Now she thought that she had been very foolish to say no. Proud and foolish. Because of course she would not have been intruding at all. If there was one thing she had learned in these past few days, it was that Rueben and Betsy Flores had hearts as big as the wide-open spaces Leila had come to Texas expecting to find. They would welcome her with open arms, she was sure of it. And if she was feeling lonely and sorry for herself right now, then she had only herself to blame.

She could hear them down there now, on the other side of the pasture. If she stilled her own breath she could hear distant music-sometimes Mexican music and sometimes American country and western music. She could hear shouts and laughter.

Finally she could stand it no longer. She rolled over and sat up. A particularly loud burst of laughter at that 1 moment settled her resolve; she would not play this role she despised-the pitiful abandoned bride. She was Princess Leila of Tamir. She had been invited to a party, and she would go.

She was in America, now. She could do whatever she pleased.

She rose and dressed quickly, putting on a brightly colored wraparound skirt and a loose-fitting T-shirt over her modest one-piece bathing suit. She had braided her hair for swimming, one long braid that hung straight down her back. It would do fine as it was, although she did dip her hands in the pool and smooth back the loose wisps of hair around her face. Then she slipped into her sandals and set out.

She walked briskly, following the well-trodden path she had seen Rueben use, past the stable, along the paddock fences, then through a gate and straight across the pasture. Almost at once she could feel her spirits lift; it was not Leila's nature to be gloomy for long. And it was not so humid today. There had been a little rain in the night, and this morning some leftover mist and fog, but that had blown away in a light cool breeze and now the sky was a bright blue patterned with a few billowy clouds. The pasture was spotted with little yellow flowers, and white butterflies fluttered dizzily among them as if they had been sipping fermented honey. Once a bird flashed by in front of her, a stunning streak of blue that made her gasp in wonderment.

The pasture sloped gently downhill. Soon, in the little valley just beyond the lower fence, Leila could see trees, and the pale gray roof of a long, low house made of red bricks. Near the house, in the shady spaces between the trees, she saw a volleyball net, a metal stove for cooking outdoors and long tables laden with food. And people. People seemed to be everywhere, gathered around the stove and the tables or sitting in chairs under the trees. Some held babies, or watched indulgently while small children played on the grass near their feet. Older children darted here and there among the adults, and a few were hitting a ball back and forth across the net.

All four dogs bounded out to greet Leila as she came through the gate from the pasture. Then someone else noticed her and called out, 'Ma-you got company!'

A door to a screened porch opened and Betsy came out, wiping her hands on a huge apron. When she saw Leila she threw her hands up in the air and gave a squeal of welcome. 'Oh, good-you changed your mind. I'm glad you came. Come here-come and meet my kids. Hey, everyone, look who's here-it's Cade's new wife! Everybody-this is Leila.'

There were squeals of amazement and surprise: ' What? Cade got married? When did that happen? I don't believe it!'

Shouts of welcome: 'Hey, Leila-you're just in time, food's almost ready. Hey, Leila, come on down! Hi, Leila, hope you like chili…'

Betsy began to point to people left and right and call out names. A few of the children she got wrong, which made her clap a hand to her forehead while everyone laughed and teased her about losing her memory. Leila's head was spinning. How many children did Rueben and Betsy have? She had lost track of who was married to who, and she knew she would never remember anyone's name, but it did not seem to matter. She knew nobody really expected that she would.

A brown, stocky boy of about ten, wearing only a pair of blue jeans that had been cut off above the knee, came running up just then, yelling, 'Gramma-Gramma-can we go swimming?' He was flushed and sweaty from playing volleyball and wore an expression of extreme pain on his face as he pleaded, 'Please?'

Betsy gave him a stern look, which it was clear no one believed. She called across the yard to where Rueben and several younger men were gathered around the metal cook stove. 'Hey, guys-how soon is dinner gonna be ready?'

Somebody lifted the lid of the stove, peered into it then yelled back, ' 'Bout half an hour…maybe little bit more.'

Betsy put a heavy hand on the boy's head and glared at him. 'Okay, but just a quick one, you hear me? If your momma says okay…'

The boy was already dashing off across the grass, yelling at the top of his lungs, 'Mom-Gramma says it's okay! Hey, you guys, did you hear that? We can go swimming!'

'Where do they swim?' Leila had not seen a pool. Perhaps she should invite the children to swim in Cade's-in her pool.

But Betsy waved a hand toward a thick, dark bank of trees. 'Oh, there's a place down at the creek where they like to go. Been there a long time.'

'That's where I learned to swim,' said one of Betsy's daughters, and another chimed in, 'Yeah, I think we all did.'

Leila gazed at them with a combination of fascination and doubt. She and her sisters had enjoyed swimming in the sea, in a secluded cove near the palace, but she could not imagine how one would swim in a murky creek, among all those trees. 'May I…see this place?' she asked, both hesitant and eager.

'Oh, sure! Yeah, go on-it's nice!' several voices immediately responded, and Betsy added, with another wave of her hand, 'Go right on down-the kids'll show you. Just follow all the hollering.'

Leila hesitated only a moment more, her lower lip caught between her teeth and her breath quickening. Then she set off after the disappearing children, and after the first few steps broke into a light, skipping run.

Following shrieks and shouts of glee, she made her way along a well-worn pathway across the lawn and into the trees, and soon came to a place where the creek widened into a small pond, where large rocks and very old trees fought each other for space along the mossy banks and sunlight sparkled on the dark surface of the water. Leila caught her breath and laughter bubbled up in her throat as she watched children of all shapes and sizes hurl themselves into the water from the rocks and low-hanging branches, arms waving, legs pumping, smooth brown bodies gleaming in the sun. Entranced and envious, she crouched down on one of the rocks with her skirt over her knees and her arms wrapped around them and watched the children surface, slick and agile as otters, blowing and wiping water from their faces, laughing and splashing one another.