Carpathian 15 - Dark Secret

roping. Now he's dead. Shorty won't be so understanding that the fire was deliberately set." She was rambling and she knew it. Normally she would have shielded Paul from her fears, but she needed to talk, to think aloud. To keep her mind away from the shocking night she had spent with a virtual stranger. To keep from thinking someone hated them enough to burn

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    down a stable filled with horses. To keep from dwelling on Pete's violent murder.
    "Like you always tell us: one thing at a time," he reminded her. "We got through Mom dying. And we got through Dad being confined to bed. And then we made it through when he died. We can do this too, Colby. You're just tired."
    The morning sun shone bright, holding the dark at bay for another day. She smiled a little at that, knowing ranch life continued no matter what the drama. Animals had to be fed and watered. The world didn't stop turning because Colby Jansen was weary and depressed. Not even because her little corner of the world was teetering on the brink of disaster.
    She watched the helicopter lift off until it was a small speck in the distance, then turned to stare at the smoldering ruins of her stable. It was almost too much to comprehend. Slowly Colby sank onto the porch swing, drawing her knees up, resting her arms on her legs. Who could hate them so much? Who could have done such a thing? First Pete and now this. Groaning softly she buried her face into her hands.
    She had to have a stable. A bank loan? If they borrowed the money from Rafael and the existing loan was cleared up… ?
    Paul laid a hand on her slender shoulder. "Stop sitting out here staring at it, you'll go crazy. Come in and get something to eat, or at least sleep for an hour or two. Rafael left those two men, my... " He trailed off.
    "Uncles," she inserted firmly. "We may as well take the time to get to know them." Her voice softened.
    "They do look a lot like Dad." And Rafael was gone. From her sight. Gone. Her body ached, was sore in places she hadn't known about, reminding her continually of his possession. Her heart pounded a drumbeat in her ears, in her throat. Grief welled up, a tight pressure in her chest. She wanted to believe it was grief over the burned stable, over the loss of an animal, but she feared it was her separation from Rafael De La Cruz.

    7

    Paul rubbed a hand over his face and looked at the black streaks left behind on his fingers. "I'm going to shower first. If I'm going to spend time with relatives, I'd rather do it looking halfway decent. You know how Dad was about details."
    "Never forget the little things." They both repeated the creed together, then laughed. The sound was astonishing in the midst of the smoky smell of their ruined stable.
    "Don't worry so much." Paul leaned down and unexpectedly gave her a kiss on the top of her head.
    "We'll beat this just like we do everything."
    Colby watched him disappear into the house, her heart filled with love for him. He didn't realize the implications of both incidents on the ranch. All the small annoying things like disappearing tools could be put down to petty larceny or misplaced implements. The broken gate and downed fences might have been because they were old. She could write things off as coincidence. But Pete's murder and someone Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    burning their stable to the ground could not be written off that easily. Somehow they were connected.
    And that meant that Paul and Ginny could be in danger.
    She moved down the steps, her gaze on the brothers fromBrazil. They were talking quietly to each other, still some distance away. Without Rafael's protection she could hear them clearly and she unashamedly eavesdropped. These men had come thousands of miles to claim Paul and Ginny, to take possession of the ranch. They did not believe a woman should be running such a business. She knew nothing about them, and only God knew whether they were capable of the terrible atrocities committed on her property. Both spoke in Portuguese, but Colby had learned the language from her stepfather.
    It was the one called Juan who spoke. "I have never seen him like this before. Not with anyone else.
    Nicolas and Rafael never tolerate being away from our homeland long. And he thanked me for my help.
    He put his arm around my shoulders. I do not recall a single instance when he did such a thing in my