Johanna Lindsey - Brave the Wild Wind

“I know you’re holding your weight back. You can’t relax—”

“I’m doing just fine,” he murmured.

“Come on, you can’t sleep now, anyway. Siesta isn’t for another hour or so. There’s lunch first, and you have to meet your cousins and—”

He looked up at her, grinning. “You mean we get to come back up here today and no one will think anything of it?”

“Chase, you’re terrible!”

“Am I? It’s been forever since I’ve seen you.”

“It’s only been—”

“Forever.” He kissed her to shut her up. Then he sat up, and his mood changed. She knew he’d been dying to ask, yet afraid to. She decided to help him.

“Aren’t you going to ask about Don Carlos?”

He wouldn’t look up. An interminable time passed without a response.

Finally he mumbled, “There’s no hurry.”

“I don’t believe—”

“Leave it alone.”

“But you’ve come so far!”

He looked at her, then looked away. “Jessie, it’s been twenty years since my mother first told me about the man. That’s a hell of a long time to wonder about someone. It’s a long time to—” He paused. “Call me a coward, but I’d rather not hear it.”

She couldn’t let him falter, not after all this time.

“Chase,” Jessie said gently. “Don Carlos has been ill for a long time, and now... now he’s worse. They wouldn’t even let me see him, afraid I would upset him.”

“But he is alive? You’re sure, Jessie?” He was gripping her shoulders.

“Yes, I’m sure. I got in to see him in spite of them.”

“Is he dying, Jessie?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “They haven’t actually said, but they treat him as if he were. Nita wears mourning clothes already. She’s your cousin by the way, the one who answered the door.”

“Never mind. Tell me.”

“Well, he didn’t seem to me like a man who was dying. His voice was strong. He’s alert. He’s just weak, and, well, maybe he just doesn’t have any reason to live.”

“Leave it to a woman to come up with a diagnosis like that,” Chase said disagreeably.

“Well, it’s possible. Anyway, I intended to tell him all about you, but Rodrigo—”

“Rodrigo?”

“Don Carlos had two sisters. Nita’s mother is dead. Rodrigo is the child of the other sister. She’s still alive, traveling now. Anyway, Rodrigo was with Don Carlos last night. He made me realize that such shocking news could do Don Carlos more harm than good.”

“Has he so many children that one more would be too much of a burden to acknowledge?”

“Chase, he has no children. That’s why I had to be so determined. I thought knowing about you would please him. But I couldn’t tell him if the shock would make him worse.”

“So he doesn’t know? And now you’re telling me I’ve come all this way for nothing because I shouldn’t try to see him, either?”

She gave him a second, then announced, “If he saw you, he would understand instantly. Why do you think Nita was so surprised when she saw you? You look just like him, Chase.”

She watched his face as he took in the realization. If he looked just like Don Carlos, then Don Carlos truly was his father. He stood stock-still, staring into space. “So, one look at me and he drops dead from shock, eh?”

Jessie supposed it wouldn’t hurt to tell him about her fanciful notion.

“Actually,” she began hesitantly, “I mean, well... I can’t be sure—”

“Damn it, when did this problem expressing yourself start? You’ve never had any trouble before.”

“Don’t go taking your temper out on me, Chase Summers! If you don’t want to hear what I have to say, then I won’t say any more.”

He sat down on the bed again. “I’m sorry, Jessie. You have to understand—”

“I do,” she interrupted. “And what I wanted to tell you was that your father might just have realized for himself what I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. I can’t be sure, mind you.”

“How?” He was so bewildered, it hurt her to look at him.

“Well, I was amazed at the resemblance between you, and he saw my surprise. I admitted that he reminded me of someone I know. But”— she made herself recall all of it—“it wasn’t only that. We were talking about America, and he mentioned that he had gone back there ten years ago, looking for someone. I don’t know why I assumed it was your mother he was looking for, but I did. I also assumed he hadn’t found her, and I said so. He looked at me so strangely when I said ‘her.’ And then, when I was about to leave, he asked me right out who it was he reminded me of. I didn’t think it would hurt to admit it was my husband, so I did. I think he thanked me then, but of course I could easily have misunderstood. I was across the room and could barely hear him.”

“But it’s possible he knows and wasn’t shocked at all!”

“Yes.”

There was silence, and then Chase said, “Let’s go. Let’s go see... my father.”

THEY hurried for nothing. Don Carlos was sleeping. They got no more than a foot into his room before the old servant sitting guard just inside his door stopped them. Chase had no choice but to wait a little longer.

They joined their young hosts for lunch. Introductions were strained. Rather than use Jessie as interpreter, the two men chose to ignore each other. Nita, contrarily, wouldn’t leave Chase alone. She fawned all over him, and what her halting English wouldn’t convey, her eyes did. Jessie was disgusted.

She would have made nothing of it if Chase had been only politely tolerant, but he seemed to be basking in the blonde’s overexuberance. No doubt he thought he’d made another conquest. And right before his wife’s eyes.

Before the second course was served, Jessie left the table, mumbling some excuse. Chase caught up with her at the bottom of the stairs, an amused expression on his face.

“Not hungry anymore?”

“I’ve had my fill!”

He grinned. “I thought my little performance wouldn’t escape your notice.”

“Liar!” Jessie hissed, “If you expect me to believe that disgusting exhibition was for my benefit—”

“But of course it was. It’s lunchtime, Jessie, and they have to feed Don Carlos. Hell be awake now.”

“Oh, sure. You can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy Nita dribbling all over you. She’d like nothing better than to win you from me because she knows who you are. She’s after your father’s fortune, and you’re a threat to the inheritance.”

“Jealous, sweetheart?”

“Of that... that Spanish hussy? Don’t flatter yourself. I was simply disgusted.”

“Come on, Jessie. She’s my cousin.”

“That doesn’t matter to her. But I warn you, Chase—”

“I know, I know,” He cut her off with a teasing grin. “If I so much as look at another woman, you will shoot off some part of my anatomy. One that’s quite dear to me. Correct?”

“Make light of it,” she replied stiffly. “But that happens to be the reason I didn’t want to marry you in the first place. You can’t be trusted to be faithful.”

“Give me a little more credit than that, Jessie,” he said seriously. “I never had reason to be faithful before. But I married you. I made the decision. And I happen to take this marriage seriously, even if you don’t. It wasn’t my idea to live separate lives. That was your idea. I was ready to settle down the moment we walked out of the church. Why do you think I stuck around after I was well enough to leave the ranch? I—”

“Señora Summers, Don Carlos is asking for you.”

They both looked up. The old servant was at the top of the stairs, looking at them sternly.

Don Carlos was sitting in bed, a mountain of pillows propping him up. A half-empty tray of food was beside the bed. The servant came in only long enough to take out the tray. The curtains were open, Jessie was glad to see, and the room was flooded with light. She was glad Chase was waiting outside in the hallway. Seeing Chase without any warning might have shocked Don Carlos badly.

Jessie stepped to the foot of the bed, but Don Carlos motioned her closer. “I feared I had overtaxed you last night,” she began.

“Nonsense.” He smiled, putting her at ease. “I have not felt so good in months.”

“I’m so glad.”

“Your husband has come.”

“They told you?”

“No one had to tell me, my dear. You have a glow about you.”

Jessie was embarrassed. She was more likely glowing because she and Chase had been arguing. But she couldn’t very well tell Don Carlos that.

“I, ah, suppose I am glad to see him,” she hedged.

“You do not have to be shy with me. It is well that you love your husband. That is as it should be. What kind of man is he? I suppose I should not ask. Is he... ?”

He let the sentence trail away and Jessie could see how nervous he was.

“So you know?” Jessie said simply.

“I have searched for my child for many years, Jessica. With no luck. I could only hope that the child would find me. Every stranger I meet, I hope. It was easy to hear what I wanted to hear in your words. I even thought it was you at first—until you said I reminded you of someone. You see, resemblance is strong in the male line of my family. I look like my father, my grandfather, and it has been the same for centuries. Eye and hair coloring change, but Silvela features remarkably appear in every generation.”

Jessie smiled. “Now you’ve found your son— and you will also be a grandfather soon.”

His eyes widened, and he reached for Jessie’s hand. “Thank you, my dear. You have breathed life into me.”

“Good, because you must recover, Don Carlos. I never knew my grandparents, and I want my child to know his. But right now, Chase is waiting.”