Return to Mariposa

Chapter 14

Iwoke up early, took a shower, and applied the bare minimum of Bella-disguise. The only way someone was going to stop me from leaving would be to tie me up, and while I had little doubt Ian would enjoy that, he wasn’t about to admit it to either himself or me. Maldonado was nowhere to be seen, but there was coffee in a carafe, and I drank two fortifying cups before he appeared, looking vaguely harassed.

“I thought I might go for a drive today,” I said casually. “It’s been so long since I’ve been here that I thought it would be nice to visit some of the old places.”

He nodded. “I’ll check with Mr. Ian to see if he has the time to spare.”

“Oh, I don’t need a guide,” I said, my voice airy. “I’ve already taken up too much of his time. I’m happy taking one of the farm trucks if need be. Just something that’ll get me around the estate.”

“I’ll need to check with Mr. Ian,” he said stubbornly.

Well, screw that. There were other ways. I gave Maldonado a cheerful smile, then headed back to my bedroom and the brand new iPhone Bella had given me.

Cell service was spotty up at Mariposa, but I’d already found one spot near Granda’s room that had an on-again, off-again one bar of a signal, and while any phone call I’d tried to make had immediately dropped, there was a good chance if I went out on one of the upper terraces I might squeak it to two bars and success. I could always call a taxi from the house phone, but I had little doubt that something or someone would get in the way. They couldn’t keep me here, damn it.

There had to be someone who’d be willing to drive me to the airport. The Whiteheads might own everything, but I had a wad of cash that would choke a horse, thanks to Bella. Surely I could find a taker somewhere.

I was tiptoeing past Granda’s room when I heard him coughing, and I tried to close my ears and my mind to it. But the cough continued, sounding weak, and with a long-suffering sigh I shoved my telephone into my back pocket and opened the door to his bedroom.

There was no sign of his nurse, but then he had a tendency to tell her to go away, and there was just so much abuse a woman could take from a cantankerous, dying old man. He glared at me through his coughing fit, and I pulled the pillows up behind him so he could sit up better, dragging him into a half-upright position.

I was tempted to leave before the coughing stopped, but that would be the coward’s way out, and I was proving that although I was phenomenally stupid to fall for Bella’s blandishments, and incredibly na?ve to think an incognito visit would heal my wounded heart, I was definitely brave to the point of foolhardy.

For a brief moment, the memory of the stranger on the dance floor came back to me, his filthy suggestions and his murderous threats, and all my bravery vanished. I needed to get the hell out of there.

Granda finally wheezed to a stop. “Don’t just stand there like a booby, get me some water, girl.”

I’d always hated it when he called me “girl.” I was surprised to hear that Bella was tarred with the same sobriquet. I immediately brought him a glass of water, then helped him drink it.

“Where have you been all day?” he demanded weakly. “You’re supposed to be keeping a deathbed watch, aren’t you? At this rate, I’ll die and no one will find my body for days.”

“It’s not even noon yet.” I tried for a soothing voice. “Hasn’t Ian already been here?”

“He’s as bad as you are, leaving me to breathe my very last all on my own. I don’t know why you bothered to return if you didn’t care whether I lived or died.”

“I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“I heard you sneaking past my door—don’t think I didn’t. Though God knows what you expected to find up here.”

“A decent cell signal,” I replied bluntly. Granda liked to bully, but he didn’t have to win, and I wasn’t going to let him get away with being awful.

“Ha! There’s no decent cell signal in the house—the closest you can get is here in this room, and it’s not enough to make a call. If you want to use your cell phone, you’ll have to go to Pinnacle Point up past the olive groves. Not that you remember where that is.”

“Of course I do. It’s the highest point on the estate. We used to climb up there when we were kids.”

“You didn’t,” he said maliciously. “You didn’t want to ruin your pretty dresses. Ian, Marcus, and Kitty liked it up there, but you made such a fuss about being left behind that the three of them stopped trying.”

Not exactly true. Ian and Marcus had stopped, both beguiled by Bella’s pouts, but I would still climb up the rocky outcropping when I needed to be alone. And I needed to be alone a lot, always feeling like the odd one out, up to and including the day my mother dragged me away.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and watched as the dismal, solitary bar alternated with “no signal.” “You’re right,” I said. “I’m surprised you haven’t had some kind of booster or antenna installed.”

“Ian wanted to, but I told him no. Mariposa has survived more than one hundred years without people being tied to an electronic leash, and it can survive another hundred years.” He shifted in the bed, clearly in pain. “And don’t you roll your eyes at me, young lady. I know the moment I’m dead Ian will put in the equipment, but I prefer to keep my illusions.”

“It would help Marcus and Ian conduct business.”

“Marcus has never asked,” the old man said defensively.

“And if he had? Would you have agreed?” I don’t know why I asked. It made no difference to me if Granda preferred Marcus to Ian—I was going to be long gone. It wasn’t as if I had any faith in his ability to judge people—he’d adored Bella and found me dispensable. It only made sense that he’d undervalue Ian.

And why the hell was I feeling protective about that asshole, especially after last night? He’d kissed me as if I were the breath of life, and then shoved me away like I was poison. I wanted to get away from the lies, the deception, the threats. But most of all I wanted to get away from Ian, who threatened everything, not simply my dumbass masquerade but my emotions, for lack of a better, more precise word. I needed Mariposa behind me.

And then I looked down at the querulous old man whom I’d loved with all my heart, whom I still loved, and I knew I couldn’t leave him to die alone. It took only one hard look to see that he was barely clinging to life, despite his bravado. It wasn’t going to be long.

I was doing a terrible thing by lying to everyone, pretending to be someone I wasn’t. The least I could do was endure a few more days of discomfort to give this tired old man a peaceful death.

“I don’t really need a cell signal,” I said, taking the seat beside his bed and taking one frail hand in mine. “I’m here for as long as you need me.”

Granda sniffed dismissively. “Do what you want,” he said. But his thin hand tightened on mine.

The nurse kickedme out an hour later, and I wandered downstairs to find something for lunch. Seline and Maldonado were nowhere to be seen, and I was half afraid I would run into the cousins, or even worse, Ian. I had every intention of ignoring him. I was still furious with him about last night, about the way he’d kissed me, held me, the way he felt, the way he tasted, the way he made me feel.

I was still shaken by my nasty encounter last night, though I tried to tell myself it was nothing. Just some drunk, thinking he was being funny—no one could seriously want to harm me. Threats were one thing, but my idea of reality didn’t include cold-blooded murder. I climbed onto one of the stools in the kitchen and ate my salad, resisting the urge to look over my shoulder. At least I’d made a final peace with my deception—no more running away. All I had to do was keep Ian at a distance and I’d be fine.

I’d tell Ian and Marcus the truth after Granda died. After all, I neither wanted nor expected anything from the old man, and the two of them would be glad enough to see me gone at that point. I had no idea when Bella would decide to show up, but that would no longer be my problem. They might despise me, but in the end, their opinion didn’t matter.

I lifted my head suddenly. I had the strangest feeling that someone was watching me, and I looked around the vast, deserted kitchen. I must have let that man bother me more than I thought. I needed some exercise, some bright Spanish sun to burn away the unpleasantly slimy memory.

Rinsing my plate off in the sink, I started to slide it into the dishwasher when a movement caught my attention, and I stared out the window into the flat, black eyes of a perfect stranger.

A moment later, he had vanished, but this time I’d paid attention. He’d been a big man, with heavy shoulders, a heavy brow, and there’d been something almost eerie about the way he’d been watching me. I didn’t think he was the man from last night—that one had been shorter, thinner, with a deceptively handsome face.

I had to talk to Bella, and I couldn’t let lack of a cell signal stop me anymore. Pinnacle Point wasn’t that far, and I would be perfectly safe. I couldn’t allow myself to get spooked, but after my encounter in the taberna last night I was feeling jittery. I reminded myself that there was no reason why anyone would want to hurt me. Bella was far more likely to have enemies, and I had to find out exactly what kind of mess she’d gotten me into. She needed to know what was going on here, she needed to get her ass back. I wasn’t the one who was wanted here, I was the cuckoo in the nest. If Granda had his beloved Bella by his side, there’d no longer be a need for an interloper like me.

At least there was no sign of Ian anywhere around when I stepped out into the courtyard, and I took a deep breath of the fragrant air, the olive trees, the sun and dirt and the faint whiff of the sea in the background. It smelled like Mariposa—the hot sun baking into the dirt, the flowery scents of roses and bougainvillea playing with my heart. I didn’t belong here, but I didn’t know if I could bear to let it go.

I was feeling sorry for myself, a habit of my mother’s that I’d always particularly disliked. Stiffening my back, I started up the narrow, rutted tractor path, past the neat rows for olive trees with the gnarled branches and silvery leaves, moving steadily upward toward Pinnacle Point.

It had always been a place of refuge when things were bad—when my mother had come to take me away for good, I’d run away and hidden up there, hidden until Ian had found me and talked me into coming back down. He’d been kind then. In fact, he’d been kind on numerous occasions as I was growing up, times I’d forgotten in the ensuing years. Maybe I’d misjudged him in the past, but right now, I’d had enough of his cynical comments and hot and cold behavior.

I was moving farther and farther away from the workers, toward the high rock outcropping that had held so many picnics. Pausing to catch my breath, I looked back over the hillside, and my eyes once again fell on the man who’d been outside the kitchen window.

I stumbled, then righted myself. I was being ridiculous—there was another man off to the left of him, a smaller man, walking parallel to my path. I stared at him, but a moment later he turned away, disappearing down the hillside, leaving only the big man behind.

I hesitated for a moment. A man had threatened my life last night, and now a stranger seemed to be following me. I ought to turn back home and stay there.

But the man wasn’t looking at me, thank God. In fact, as far as anyone could tell, he was simply out there to check the olive trees. I wouldn’t be here for the harvest, and that was another sorrow. The workers would lay out mesh blankets beneath the trees to gather the fallen fruit, and they’d already started on the lower levels, where the harvest would come due sooner, and everyone would be working and happy. The man was probably just scouting out where they would lay the nets.

And I was being foolish, letting my imagination get the better of me. If I turned back now, I’d run right into him, and while I’d convinced myself he wasn’t dangerous, I wasn’t eager for a close encounter. Besides, I needed to talk to Bella.

I finally reached the base of Pinnacle Point, the narrow path plunging into the pines that grew at the high levels above Mariposa, out of sight and sound of the workers. I hadn’t thought to wear my new sneakers, but the flat sandals provided good enough traction as I scrambled up a path better made for mountain goats. It wasn’t as easy as I remembered, but when I came out at the top, I could see all around me, the olive groves in the distance, stretching toward the sea, the beautiful jewel of Mariposa seated in the center.

I sat down cross-legged on the rock and pulled out the cell phone. Sure enough, five bars, and I quickly thumbed through the numbers Bella had programmed in. I immediately pushed my old number, listening to it ring. And ring. And ring.

My automated voice mail prompt didn’t come on, just a phone ringing into silence, and for not the first time in my life, I cursed Bella before I hung up. Did she even have my old phone anymore? Somehow, I doubted it—I couldn’t see Bella making do with anything but the best. She probably dumped my faithful phone with all the numbers and photos for a shiny new one, damn her. I stared at the one she’d given me in frustration. That was one problem with cell phones—you couldn’t slam them down in frustration. Well, you could, but I couldn’t see smashing my only form of outside communication on the hard rock beneath me.

I’d tossed and turned last night, more upset about Ian than seemingly minor inconveniences like death threats, and the warm sun beating overhead, the smells that were so familiar and so dear, even the lazy humming of the bees were enough to lure me into a dreamy state. I stretched out, not minding the hard rock beneath my back, and looked up into the bright blue sky, the birds wheeling and calling overhead, and I thought back to when I was fifteen years old and I wanted a beautiful boy to come and find me and kiss me.

He never had, of course. And I didn’t want him now, I wanted his stupid brother, and I was every kind of idiot. But I wasn’t going to think about that. I was going to close my eyes and just absorb the sounds and the scents and the feeling, just let go. At least for a little while.

“What the helldo you think you’re doing?”

My eyes flew open to find Ian looming over me, looking thunderous. I sat up quickly, but I wasn’t going to leap to my feet like some guilty trespasser.

“Getting away from everybody,” I said succinctly. “Including you.”

“Haven’t you learned anything in the last twelve years? The world’s a dangerous place, and wandering off on your own is asking for trouble.”

“On Mariposa? Don’t be ridiculous—this is the safest place in the world.” Belatedly, I remembered the ominous presence of the big man, but I couldn’t very well ask Ian about it after I insisted how safe it was.

“We have over a hundred farmhands on the estate, twice as many seasonal workers, and I can’t vet everybody. You need to stay close to the house, not go wandering off alone.”

“The only person I know who seems to want to hurt me is you,” I said flatly.

His eyes narrowed. “You’re forgetting your dance partner. And I don’t care enough to want to hurt you,” he replied with devastating candor. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you on my watch.”

“It’s not your watch, it’s mine,” I snapped before I realized how ridiculous I sounded. “Oh, go away, Ian. Just leave me alone.”

“Fine. Once you’re back at the house, I won’t come anywhere near you.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

We were glaring at each other beneath the bright Spanish sun, two combatants waiting for the other to make the first move. I could turn and run, but I didn’t move, staring at him. We were so close I could reach out and touch him, so close...

“Do you enjoy driving me crazy?” he said in a low voice.

“Yes,” I said with complete honesty.

“We’re just going to have to do something about that.” Was it a threat? A promise?

“I’d like to see you try,” I shot back. Wanting him to try, to put his hands on me, his mouth on me.

But he took a step back with a short laugh, and the heat between us turned cold. “I’m sure you would, Bella-Beast, but I’ve never been your plaything, and I never will.”

“Except for one night,” I said, remembering his words.

His eyes darkened, and his mouth curved in an unpleasant smile. “Just one,” he agreed. “It was very effective—I’d never seen your manipulative soul so clearly. And I learned my lesson. If you lie down with a snake, prepare to get bitten.” He turned away from me. Taking a few steps down the path, he stopped and looked back at me. “Are you coming? It can be dangerous out here.”

A chill ran down my back. He was trying to scare me, and he was doing a good job of it. I thought of the big man.

“I’m coming,” I said with all the dignity I could muster. “You haven’t hired anybody new recently, have you?” Like someone hired to hurt me, I thought, then shook myself. I was being ridiculous.

“We’re always hiring. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing. Just curious.” I should tell him, I thought. A man had threatened to kill me last night, and I kept seeing an evil-looking individual dogging my footsteps. It might mean absolutely nothing. Or it might not.

He reached out his hand to help me when we got to the steep crevasse in the stone, but I ignored it, hoping my flimsy sandals would give me enough purchase on the rocks.

They didn’t, and I ended up in his arms, breathless, looking up at him, too close, too close. A light flared in his dark eyes and he was going to kiss me again, I knew it.

He didn’t. He simply moved me to flat ground and released me, so quickly I might have been the snake he’d been talking about. In fact, in his eyes I was the snake.

And I was being an idiot not to say something about the man I kept seeing. “I think a man’s been following me,” I blurted out, breaking the silence between us as we hiked down the narrow path.

“If you had your way, a thousand men would be following you. What’s the problem with that?”

I should have known he’d dismiss it. “He’s always showing up when I don’t expect him. He was trimming the rose bushes by the kitchen window, and he was watching me as I climbed up here. In fact, half the time when I look, I see him.”

“What does this mystery man look like? Is he the one from last night?”

“No. This one is big. Sinister-looking. And he’s always around.”

“Sorry, but I think you’re just looking for attention,” he scoffed. “There’s no one around here who’s out to get you.”

“Except you,” I shot back.

He halted, and I stopped too. “I don’t like liars, I don’t like teases, and I most certainly don’t like you.” The heat in his eyes belied every word, I wanted to throw them back in his teeth. They hurt, because they applied to me just as much as Bella, at least in the liar department.

What Would Bella Do? I summoned my most seductive smile, my sexiest drawl as I gave him Bella’s sultry look. “Sure you don’t.”

I thought he would touch me then, though I wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss me or hit me. Probably both, but Ian would never hit someone smaller than he was, and he towered over me. A moment later, that flash of emotion was gone, and he gave a shaky laugh. “You do like living on the edge, don’t you?” he said. “Someday you’re going to go too far.”

“You’d never hurt me,” I shot back, sure of it.

“Darling,” he drawled, “I would break your fucking heart.”

I froze, mesmerized. I knew it was the truth, not that he could break Bella’s ice-encapsulated heart, but Katherine Whitehead was a different matter. Because I knew the devastating truth. In the midst of this charade, with enemies all around and people threatening to kill me and not an ally in sight, I had fallen in love with the least loveable creature of all. I’d fallen in love with Ian the Wretch, with the heat that burned between us, with the years when he’d been a better friend than a lovelorn Podge recognized. I’d been so besotted with Marcus that I hadn’t even noticed that all my good memories involved Ian.

And now he hated me, with good reason. I was lying to him, even though he didn’t know it, lying to Granda and Marcus and Maldonado, and it seemed I might have returned to Mariposa with Bella’s enemies on my trail.

I wanted to burst into tears. I wanted to tell him the truth, get it all out in the open. He’d really despise me then, but I knew he would help me. Ian was all bark, at least where I was concerned.

Instead, I simply smiled up at him. “You can but try,” I said, and walked past him, down to the great house, shoulders straight.

“Who have you been wrestling with?”Mary Alice greeted me from the kitchen, the last person I wanted to see.

I glanced down at my rumpled self and shrugged. “I climbed to Pinnacle Point.”

Mary Alice looked at me oddly. “You’ve always despised going up there,” she said. “It’s not like you.”

I recovered quickly. “I wanted to see if anything had changed.”

“In rock? Not likely.” She peered more closely at me. “You’re the one who’s changed.”

Danger, Will Robinson. “Everyone changes, Mary Alice,” I said lightly.

“I don’t.”

Unfortunately, I could agree with that. To my relief, Mary Alice lost interest in my anomalies. “Valerie and I are having dinner with Granda tonight, so you’ll have to fend for yourself. You’ve been hogging him for far too long, and tonight’s our turn.”

I raised an eyebrow. “He’s willing to eat at the ungodly hour of seven-thirty?”

“We’ll push it till eight for his sake, though I consider it terrible for the digestion. You can manage to entertain both Ian and Marcus, can’t you? If some of the stories I’ve heard are true, you’d be quite adept at it,” she sneered.

“I wouldn’t touch Ian with a ten-foot pole.”

“No one ever faulted your taste.” Mary Alice sniffed.

So, the cousins preferred Marcus to Ian. Another point in Ian’s favor, even though I wished him at the bottom of a cliff. There was no need to check Valerie’s opinion—she always echoed Mary Alice.

Which meant Ian was on his own in this checkered household, with Granda and Maldonado on his side. At least, I assumed Granda was on his side. With the irascible old man, it was hard to tell.

I could see Ian approaching the kitchen door, and I’d had enough. “I’ll eat in my room,” I said hastily, heading for the back stairway that led up from the kitchen.

Granda was asleep when I dropped by, and I tiptoed away without bothering him. I could go down and find something for dinner later on, once Mary Alice and Valerie were closeted with Granda. I had no idea if Marcus was returning today, and I didn’t particularly care, as long as I didn’t have to deal with him or anyone else. I pushed open my windows to the soft summer breeze and curled up with my book, happy to turn the outside world off for at least a brief time.