Carpathian 15 - Dark Secret

have gone up fast with the hay in it. Why hadn't they chosen the barn?
    "Colby!" Ginny called out, her voice betraying annoyance. She desperately wanted to make a good impression. Tanya was very nice and she wanted Colby to pay her lots of attention so she would want to come back.
    Colby hurried over, ignoring Rafael's hot gaze and concentrating totally on Joclyn and Tanya. She was aware of Rafael watching her intently the entire time she gave instructions, but she forced herself to keep from looking at him. She wanted to look at him. She even needed to look at him. She could feel her mind continually reaching for his. She had felt the sensation before; now she recognized it. And he often touched her mind. Like a shadow. Almost for reassurance. The moment he touched her she could relax again, breathe. She smiled at Joclyn and talked normally. She hugged Ginny often, going through the motions of being interested and excited by her chatter. She lavished attention on Tanya, but all the while she was intensely aware of Rafael. Waiting. Watching.
    Sean handed Rafael an envelope through the truck's open window just before they left, promising Ginny they would return in a couple of days. Colby watched Rafael casually tuck it into his shirt pocket. She really looked at him then, allowing herself the luxury. His clothes were immaculate, despite the fact that he had been checking the burns on the horses in the corral and helping with the riding lesson. It seemed as if Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    even the dirt and dust of the ranch didn't dare cling to him the way it did everyone else. And he always smelled so good too.
    Rafael met her gaze over the top of Ginny's head and smiled at her. He could rob her of her breath without doing much at all. Colby ducked her head and began walking with Ginny up to the house. "So, what did you think, chickadee, did you like Tanya?"
    "She's really nice, Colby," Ginny said enthusiastically. "Paul should have at least come over to be introduced."
    "Really?" Colby's eyebrow shot up. "Did you think so? I thought he might say something awful and mortify us—you know Paul."
    Ginny thought it over, then shook her head. "Girls think he's cute. He's been talking to quite a few of them on the phone and they always call him first. He never calls them. At night when you're working he's on the phone in the kitchen."
    "Your brother talks on the phone to girls while your sister is working?" Rafael asked quietly. There was no real expression in his voice, it was soft and calm like always, yet it held a wealth of menace.
    Colby glanced at him, wondering how he could do that, not raise his voice or change his inflection, yet sound so frightening. "Paul is very young, Rafael. He's only sixteen."
    "And when Armando was in the accident and left you to run the ranch and nurse him, you were what?
    Seventeen?" His black eyes moved broodingly over her face.
    She took the back porch steps very fast, suddenly angry with him. "Paul helps out a lot, Rafael, and in any case, it isn't your business."
    He glided along beside her in his silent way, irritating her even more. His hand reached the door to the kitchen at the exact same time as hers did. Colby jerked her hand away when his fingers brushed hers.
    "Do you think coddling that boy is going to make a man out of him, Colby? Ultimately, he has to run the ranch. It was your father's dream to keep the ranch for the kids, but he wouldn't want you running yourself into the ground."
    Colby was all too aware of Ginny's wide eyes staring from one to the other of them, suddenly very grown-up. "It was my dream too." Colby sounded defiant even to her own ears. She stalked across the room to the refrigerator and stared inside.
    Rafael's smile was very gentle. He put a hand on her shoulder. I have been in your mind, pequena. I did not see such a memory.
    He had been in her body too. The unspoken words shimmered in the air. She whirled around and glared at him. "Then you darn well weren't looking for it," she snapped, hating that she knew what was in his pocket and that she would have no choice but to accept his handout. She was going to take his money and she had slept with him. "I wanted the ranch too. I did. I do."
    The memory is not there, querida, and you, more than I, know it is true. It was never there, no such memory, because you had no such desire or dream.

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