Blossoming Flower (Wildflowers Book 1) Page 11

  “You hungry?” Gary asks. “I’m sure your mom can scrounge up some tasty tofu and quinoa sausage patties for you.”

  Collin makes a face. “No thanks.”

  “Don’t blame you.”

  They both stare past each other, accustomed to the bouts of silence.

  His father clears his throat in a sign he’s ready to talk, and when that happens, Collin knows it’s time to listen.

  “I heard you took Flor up to Montana to deliver that mare.”

  Hearing her name reminds Collin of their kiss the night before. He places both elbows on the table and runs his hands through his hair. If his dad saw them kissing, he wouldn’t hear the end of it.

  “You said you wanted her to experience different aspects of life on the ranch,” Collin replies.

  “Son, don’t bullshit me.”

  Collin straightens his posture. “She’d become really attached to the horse. Flor’s new to training. Just seemed right for her to take her up there.”

  Gary looks out the window as if considering this idea, although Collin knows better. The old man runs a hand over his chin. “I’d warned you to keep it professional with her.”

  “And I have.” Collin shifts.

  “A road trip crossing three state lines isn’t professional when it means staying overnight. And let me guess, you two shared a room.”

  The expression on the son’s face says it all. “We didn’t have much choice. It was all above board. I let her have the bed.”

  “Uh-huh,” Gary replies, unconvinced.

  The young cowboy opens his mouth in protest, but doesn’t bother. He knows his father isn’t finished.

  “Sara called your mom this morning,” Gary says, referring to Eddie’s mom. “She went on and on about how lovely your new girlfriend is. How beautiful and smart and cultured she is.” His eyes bore into Collin’s. “Imagine your mother’s surprise when she hears Flor’s name.”

  His son begins to tap his foot. “We’re not dating, Dad. You know how that family is always trying to pair me up with someone. Flor asked me to take her out, well actually, she insisted on taking me out for my birthday. She claimed she was feeling a bit cooped up on the ranch. So I did what I thought you and mom would expect of me.” That’s not the full story, but he figures his dad is less inclined to find fault with Flor than with Collin.

  “That’s a helluva a favor. There are ways around things, Son. She’s a pretty thing, and very nice, but getting involved with her wouldn’t be right.”

  “I know, Dad,” Collin admits. “You guys explained that to me.”

  “Then why in God’s name did you take her up to Montana!” Gary bangs his thick, strong hand against the table. “We have worked hard to establish ourselves here. I cannot allow you to compromise our position with Ms. Baron. She was explicit in her instructions. The closer you get to that girl, the more you risk revealing her connection to this place.”

  Collin lets out a long exhale. He knows this to be true, but after spending time with her, he’s beginning to think it wouldn’t hurt anyone if she were to discover the truth.

  “Besides, you can only take it so far anyway,” his father grumbles.

  Collin frowns at the reminder. “But don’t you think she’s better off knowing? She sees this place as her home. Flor’s said it enough times that it reminds her of her family’s place down in Brazil.”

  “Has she really admitted to being from Brazil? Has she told you her real name?” Gary asks.

  Collin shakes his head. “No. But it’s really twisted that we know more than she does. It doesn’t seem right.”

  “No, it’s not right, but we have an agreement in place that ensures our place here. It’s a good life and one that anybody in our position would be stupid to risk.” He levels his gaze at Collin.

  “What risk, honey?” Marjorie asks, carrying two plates with slices of pie, the larger slice holding a candle.

  “Our son dating Flor de Lima.”

  She smiles at Collin. “I can’t say I blame him. She’s so sweet.” His mom clucks her tongue. “That poor girl and what her family’s put her through. Poppy explained quite a bit to me.”

  “That woman was crazy for sending her here.” Gary picks up a small fork and reaches for a plate. Marjorie slaps his hand away. “Hold on. We have to sing first.”

  Collin forces a smile to humor his parents, appreciating the fact that he still has both in his life unlike Eddie. After he blows out his candle, he passes the larger slice to his father. “You only live once,” he says to him.

  Gary points a fork at his wife. “That’s what I keep telling her.”

  “Why is Flor here if everyone is so opposed to it?” Collin asks.

  “Poppy felt obliged to help her. It upset her to see the poor girl struggling. She doesn’t have much money. You know she pays her college tuition herself?” Marjorie shakes her head in sympathy.

  “In any case,” Gary says between bites of peach pie, “I’m assuming you haven’t told her everything about you.”

  “Oh honey, must you bring that up?” Marjorie interjects.

  “Why not? He wants us to start going around revealing people’s secrets, what about his?” He sets down his fork and pushes away the remainder of his pie with a look of regret. “You can’t start preaching to us about the value of honesty when you’re not quite waving the banner of truth either.”

  Marjorie puts a hand over both of theirs. “He has his reasons, dear.” Then looking to Collin she raises her eyebrows. “Am I right?” She asks hopefully, seeking his reassurance. No reason was good enough for his parents, but she’d always believed her son wanted to do the right thing. At the time she could understand, but now? It’s been almost three years.

  He looks down at the table. He had believed that once, but meeting Flor has challenged that. Maybe it’s time . . . .

  “I bet if you tell her your secret you’ll have a pretty good idea of how she’d handle it if you told her about how Belo Horizonte came to be.” Gary says, pronouncing Horizonte correctly in Portuguese. He tosses his son a set of keys.

  Collin holds them up. “What are these for?”

  “I need you to go pick up a horse.” His father slides a piece of paper across the table.

  Collin glances down at it. “Woodland is over four hours from here. Why don’t you send Luis?”

  “Well, I figured since you’re so big on deliveries lately, this would be a good errand for you.”

  Collin narrows his gaze at his father. He’s never appreciated his sarcasm. “I’ve got a lot going on here.”

  “I bet you do, Son. But I think this is a bit more important right now.”

  “So that’s it. You send me away whenever you think it’s best. I’m a person, Dad. Why do you presume you can just control my life?”

  Gary folds his hands in front of him. He stares at his son for a few minutes. At last he clears his throat again. “The first time, it was for you. You needed to go to school and experience life outside of this ranch. You had never taken the opportunity, and your mother and I were afraid that one day you’d regret it.”

  “You never believed me when I told you that this is the only place I want to be.”

  His father nods. “I believe it now. Just like I believe that you’re risking what you want for a girl. Seems you have a pattern, Son.”

  “I know Flor better than you think.” Collin looks to his mother for support.

  She brings her hand to his cheek. “I want you to know what it’s like to truly love someone.” Then looking at Gary she continues, “Your father is merely being protective. He wants what’s best for everyone, including you.”

  “Right now, I’m thinking about all the workers who have families to support. They have a community here. If this places closes down, they’ll be forced to uproot to find jobs, which won’t be easy since some of them are undocumented. Ranches that pay as well as ours are hard to come by. We were fortunate to be able to make our home here. Gustavo Sr.
was loyal like that. I highly doubt Flor’s father cares about maintaining the integrity of this place.”

  From all that he’s read and heard, Collin can’t disagree with him. He has few memories of Gustavo Sr., Flor’s grandfather. From what he’s able to recall, Gustavo Sr. was kind and patient, always patting him on the head or giving him candy. His son, the flashy, former billionaire Gustavo Jr., didn’t seem to inherit any of his father’s positive attributes. They seemed to have skipped a generation. Flor is everything her father is not.

  “The truck has a full tank of gas,” Gary says.

  Collin sighs, resigned. “I’ll stop by the stable then.”

  “No need, the trailer’s hitched and ready to go. Your mom packed you a lunch.”

  “You’re really anxious to get me out of here.” Collin stands and heads toward the door. He grabs his hat off the rack. What am I going to tell Flor? He wonders.

  Gary pats him on the back. “A little distance can be good. If it is love, it won’t disappear over night.”

  “She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met.”

  Gary places the address into his son’s shirt pocket. “Then I think it’s best you take a nice long drive and consider the consequences. Carefully.”

  Chapter 32

  “Where is she?” Collin asks Gecimar in Portuñol. Collin only speaks Spanish in front of Flor. He didn’t want to risk drawing any attention to just how Brazilian the ranch is. Growing up at Belo Horizonte, Portuguese was his second language. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to communicate with any of the vaqueiros. A number of the original vaquieros returned to Brazil years ago and were replaced by a handful of Chilenos, a few gauchos from Argentina and some vaqueros from northern Mexico.

  “Who?” The old man replies.

  Collin looks at him. “You know who.”

  “Checking on a few horses with João Vitor, I suppose. They left about ten minutes ago.

  Of course they did.

  “My father planned this perfectly,” he mutters under his breath.

  “Que disse?”

  “You heard me,” Collin says more clearly.

  Gecimar shouts for a few of his men to leave the stable. As soon as they’re gone he says, “What do you want with her?” His voice is even and calm. He regards him like a son, since he had left his so long ago to follow Gustavo Sr. on his dream.

  The cowboy leans against the wall of a stall and scowls.

  “You should leave her alone.”

  “You’ve been talking to my father.”

  The old man places his gnarled fingers on Collin’s shoulder. “Her grandfather kept this place a secret for a reason. We must respect his wishes.”

  “Flor deserves to know. She belongs here.” With me, he wants to add.

  “It’s not for you to decide what’s right for anyone else.”

  “Isn’t that what we’re doing by not telling her?”

  Gecimar shakes his head. “Her father has always wanted Belo Horizonte for himself. You don’t think he’d use his own daughter to get it?”

  “She wouldn’t allow herself to be used by him.” Collin sounds more confident than he actually is. Flor has trust issues, but he doesn’t know how far they extend. Perhaps she would want to help her father.

  “Children don’t often recognize when a parent is acting selfishly until after the fact. Maybe when she’s older . . . .”

  “By then it might be too late.” Collin pushes himself off the wall.

  “For you or for her?” The old man asks. Without waiting for a response, he reaches up and pats the cowboy on the side of his face. “Boa viagem.”

  Chapter 33

  “You know your way around the ranch quite well,” Gary praises Flor as he leads her over a rock bank. She keeps up with his quick pace, admiring how agile he is despite his health issues and age.

  “I’m trying,” she replies. “I knew it would be exhausting, but you don’t quite know until you do it yourself.”

  “And Gecimar mentioned you’re holding your own, I’m pleased to hear.”

  Flor smiles proudly to herself. She’s been at Belo Horizonte almost six weeks now, and it’s been the toughest but most fun summer she’s had. Not once had she ever considered ranch work as something she’d enjoy.

  Gary stops unexpectedly and sets down his tackle box and poles. “This will do perfectly today.” He points upstream. “You can tell by the way it’s flowing and that bend up there. Makes for the perfect water depth right here.”

  The young woman nods, taking his word for it. She watches quietly as he wades about seven feet out into the creek. “Been a long time since I’ve been out here,” he says. A light, gentle breeze picks up, almost taking his words with him.

  “How long?”

  “Too long,” he quips, returning to the edge of the creek.

  He begins to bait the hooks at the end of the poles, not bothering to explain how or why he chooses what to use. Flor’s almost intimidated by the way he commands silence, but realizes there’s benefit to the quiet. Neither one feels compelled to fill a perceived void with mindless chatter. Finally, Gary hands her a pole and motions for her to move a bit downstream to his right. They wade into the creek a few feet. In two swift moves, his line is cast. Flor makes a few rough attempts until Gary gives her a thumbs-up sign.

  Flor focuses intently on the stream, the only sounds coming from the water flowing around her and the light rustling of oak trees. It’s more than peaceful, it’s a meditation being out there. Her mind empties of all thoughts. Before this moment, all she could think about was Collin. Collin and that kiss. Oh and that dinner. And the trip she took with him.

  For the past few weeks, everything has revolved around Collin. Until now. Now, he’s been pushed out of the center of her thoughts into the periphery, and it feels oddly good to her. Thinking of him constantly became a warm blanket to her that evoked a sense of comfort. But it also occupied Flor to the point of being unable to think about much else for very long.

  Amazing how one person can become your world in a flash. She takes a deep breath. Yet Flor had occupied an entirely different world before arriving at Belo Horizonte and before that, a different one. Each place she’s been has created a new opportunity, a new experience, a new way of being, and now Flor is just beginning to understand how those worlds collide to expand who she is. No, it doesn’t have to do with one person. It has to do with a multitude of people. Collin is just one of them. One of the sexiest ones for sure. And that kiss . . . .

  Without warning, Flor is dragged out of her thoughts by a strong tug on her line. She responds by pulling back on the pole. She looks to Gary nervously. He smiles and mimes turning the reel backward. The fish continues to struggle and pull down on the line. Flor adjusts her stance to get more power from her legs. Gary stands and watches, not offering or moving to help, which is just as well since she doesn’t want any.

  The push/pull is exhilarating. Like riding, it forces you into the moment with little time or space to consider anything else. Finally, the resistance lightens as she draws the line up out of the water. Gary comes over and pats Flor on the back. She follows him back to the rocks where he unhooks the fish and holds it up for her. He whistles. “I’d say it’s about eight pounds. Not the biggest to ever get fished out of this creek but not the smallest either.”

  The old man tries to hand it to Flor, who waves a hand. “Not sure if I can touch it. Shouldn’t we just throw it back in?” She asks, feeling responsible for its impending doom.

  “Would be a shame to waste a perfectly fine trout. I promised Marjorie a fish for tonight.”

  “In that case . . . ,” Flor pauses, feeling bad at the notion of denying the nice couple anything. “I’m not sure if I want to disturb the cycle of life anymore today.” She sits down on the outcropping rocks. “But please don’t let me stop you. It’s really nice out here.”

  Gary places his pole between a few rocks to allow his line to drift a bit while he joins her. “T
old you there’s no place like it.”

  Flor nods, remembering his words when they first met. “It’s as if time stands still here. I have to remind myself that I only have a few more weeks left.”

  “Bet you miss being in school though, having friends to hang out with. If you decide to leave early, we can help you make the necessary arrangements. It’s what we’re here for.” Gary attempts to mask the eagerness in his voice. The sooner she leaves, the better as far as he’s concerned. He’s grown fond of Flor, yet he knows the longer she stays, the more trouble her presence can cause.

  She looks out into the distance. “I’m changing schools. I start at Smith in the Fall. Then it’s onto grad school, I hope. Being here makes it all seem so far away. I think I’m okay putting it off a bit longer.”

  “When you’re young, time is insignificant because it appears infinite. Then when you get older, you realize it was one of the greatest lies of your youth. Time is finite, Flor. So you have to make the most of it everyday.”

  “Funny, my dad says something similar.” The young woman turns her face to the left to look over at Gary.

  “It’s a realization we all come to as we age, I’m sure.” Gary stops and clears his throat. “You get along with your father?”

  Flor turns her attention back to the water. “About as well as can be expected considering . . . .”

  “Considering?” It’s unlike Gary to probe, but he doesn’t want to help himself this time.

  “At some point, parent/child relationships shift, right? I mean, you come to see them for who they are as opposed to who you think they should be because of some role they’re supposed to fill.” Flor can feel the emotions crawl back up into her chest, which is beginning to feel heavy. The young woman takes a deep breath. “I think it’s easier to pretend and fool those who love you because they don’t expect to see anything else. Maybe that’s one of the other great lies from our youth.”

  “That’s a tough realization to come to when you’re young.”