A Lasting Love (22 page)

"Si.
I told Raul where
I was going—"

Raul interjected, "And I wanted to go with her.
But she
said no. I didn't know things were this bad,
or I would
have gone anyway. And beat the hell out of
him."

"So you went back to your home alone?" Loren
said.

Lupe
nodded. "There he was, beating on the windows
and yelling. I think he had been drinking.
I
thought we could talk. But he insisted that he was coming back home
to live, and he wanted to see the girls. I told
him no
way, he was in no condition to see the girls. And that's
when he . . ." Fresh tears started to flow.

"Where is the son of a bitch? I can't wait to
get my
hands on him!" Reid started in the direction of
the door.

"I'm going with you!" Raul barked.

Immediately
Lupe
rushed forward, grasping Reid's
arms with frantic fingers.
"Oh,
no,
Señor
Reid!
Please,
don't do that. Don't hurt him."

"What?" Reid asked incredulously. "Just look
what he
did to you,
Lupe!
There was no one to stop that!
And now,
you—"

She shook her head fiercely. "I know it. I
don't care. I
just don't want you to go," she sobbed.
“He promised he’d leave.”

"Reid." Loren's voice was steely. "That won't
solve
anything."

Reid struggled for control. "All right, we'll
call the
police and let them take over. We'll have him
arrested."

"The police?
Oh,
no,
Señor
Reid! Not that."
Lupe's voice was a plea as she continued to cry and
hold
his arms.

"Why not? He hit you,
Lupe!
He's guilty as hell of
assault!"

"No, please don't call the police I can't
explain why but I
. . . just couldn't do that. He's
still my husband. And the
father of my children." Her
voice trailed to a sad whisper.

"But,
Lupe,
I don't understand
..."
Reid sighed
heavily and lifted
his hands in a gesture of helplessness, anger, and
frustration.

"Reid," Loren rendered calmly, "it will do no good to
call the police if she won't press charges. The police
traditionally do not interfere in family squabbles unless the wife
is willing to bring charges against the husband."

"Family squabbles? This is no argument. It was
a fight!" Reid turned on Loren, his dark eyes deeply passionate.
Here was someone on whom he could vent his anger. "You're the
lawyer around here, Loren. You seem to have all the answers. What
do you suggest we do? Sit around here on our hands until this fool
decides to come back and tear the place apart, and
Lupe
and her
children along the way? Speaking of the children, where are the
girls,
Lupe?"

"They're safe with my neighbor. She usually keeps
them after school and is letting them spend the night with her.
Geraldo doesn't know her, so he wouldn't suspect where they
are."

"Well, I don't want you going back home tonight. It
just isn't safe." Reid decided.

Loren agreed. "I think that's a wise
decision,
Lupe.
You should stay here with us. And all the kids, too. We have
room, don’t we?"

Reid paced the floor, clenching his hands in
frustration. He felt stymied into doing nothing for his friend and
housekeeper. Helpless. He hated the feeling.

Loren recognized the signs of frustration and
defeat among those present. She felt them too. But she had seen too
many women in similar situations to force an immediate resolution.
Decisions made under such times of stress were usually the wrong
ones, and this situation needed careful thought and discussion. It
would take time.
Lupe
would need their patient support, for the
decisions would have to be hers.

Reid was particularly lacking in that patience.
"I don't
like being a sitting duck. And I don't
want
Lupe
to wait
around for Geraldo to return. It's
unsafe. I want to do
something now. Did you come up
with any brilliant solutions, lady lawyer?" His voice was a snarl
as he vented his
anger on the only one in the room who
didn't appear
helpless.

Loren smiled tolerantly. "Well, you can do
something,
Reid. And you too, Raul." She pushed
Lupe
gently by
the
shoulders back to her seat at the table and
pressed the ice
pack into her hands. "Take care of
that eye,
Lupe,
dear.
Raul, there are some very valuable Indian
items in the
truck. Would you please bring them in
here? I want to
show them to
Lupe.
And be very
careful."

"Sí,
señorita.
" Raul started to move, grateful to
have
something to do.

"Then, Raul, would you please fix up a bed for
Roberto
in your cabin? I'm sure he is
tired."

"
Si.
" He
motioned to the young man.
"Vamos,
Rober
to."

Loren gave Reid an appreciative smile. "Reid,
you will
be in charge of dinner. Why don't you go out
and buy a
bucket of fried chicken? That will be
adequate for to
night."

The men began to shuffle around, obeying
Loren's tact
ful demands. Reid grumbled under his
breath, but fol
lowed her orders. He left as Loren
and
Lupe
were poring over the exquisite Navajo rugs and handpainted
pots that
they had brought from Emmaline
Walker's.

By the time the men returned to gather around
the table
to eat,
Lupe
was in a much better state. She even
nibbled a little on a chicken leg and talked about calling her
girls
after dinner.

"Reid, I think it's a very good idea for
Lupe
to
spend
the night here at the ranch. In fact, she's
going to stay right here at the hacienda in one of the extra
bedrooms. I want her close tonight. And I know you do too." Loren
smiled generously at Reid. He wanted to do something. So now, here
was a plan.

Nodding, he sanctioned the arrangement. "I
agree, Loren. We want you to be safe and comfortable here,
Lupe."

"I know,
Señor
Reid,"
Lupe
admitted humbly. "I am
so lucky to have you and
Señorita
Loren, who care so
much.
Gracias.
"

"Don't mention it,
Lupe.
It's the very least we can do.
Actually it's not enough for me. I would like to punch
him."

Loren placed her hand on his arm. "For tonight, this
is enough," she interrupted quietly.

Reid's eyes met hers and he understood. He
didn't like it, but he understood. Patience was what her silent
pleas requested. "Uh,
Lupe,
while I was out to pick up the chicken,
I stopped by the hospital to check on Dad."

"Oh, yes? How is he?" Lupe's expression changed to
concern and interest.

"Well"—Reid chuckled—"when the nurses met me in the
hall, I figured something was up. It seems that Dad hadn't taken a
nap all day, and had been driving them absolutely crazy. He can be
such a jackass, you know. He had just fallen asleep and the nurses
begged me not to awaken him."

Lupe
smiled at the story. "I know exactly what they
mean."

Everyone laughed at her admission.

Reid then announced more satisfying news. "There's
even talk of letting him come home, perhaps by next week."

The announcement was met with definite joy that
overpowered the gloom of Lupe's situation. They all talked about
the delight of having the old man home again and what needed to be
done before that could happen.

"As long as we're talking about plans and changes, we
may as well discuss some of the new ones right now while we're all
together," Loren instructed, raising her hands to quiet the happy
furor.

"What plans?" Reid looked at her curiously.

"Well, if your dad is coming home soon, he will
need quality care. Someone close. Someone like
Lupe,
who knows his quirks as
well as the routine of the ranch."

"We will be hiring a home-care nurse, you know.
I don't want
Lupe
to feel overburdened or be responsible for more than she can
handle," Reid assured them.

"Good. But
Lupe
will still be quite busy with the
increased duties. And it would be much easier if she lived here at
the ranch, don't you think?" Loren posed the question with her head
nodding affirmatively.

"Well, sure, but—"

Loren interrupted. "I have persuaded
Lupe and her family
to move here to the ranch. At least temporarily. She has
agreed that she would like that very much. However, she has three
children who depend on her."

Reid picked up the suggestion enthusiastically.
"They're no problem at all,
Lupe.
Bring them all along. There's plenty of
room for them. In fact, we all would love to have the sounds of
kids around the ranch." His warm smile canceled any doubts
Lupe
was
harboring.

"Actually you would all be much safer if you
lived here,
Lupe,"
Loren urged. "Reid, isn't there an
empty guest house?"

"Oh, hell, yes. You'll be perfectly safe
here,
Lupe.
Everyone at the ranch will be informed, and you can be
assured that Geraldo will not be allowed on this property. As for
the empty guest house, it's probably a mess. It's been sitting
unused for years."

"Why don't we take a look at it tomorrow? Perhaps,
with a little work, we could make it livable," Loren suggested.

He shrugged. "Sure. It may take some
remodeling, but we can arrange that. It would be perfect for
you,
Lupe."

"Great. We'll work on that tomorrow," Loren
stated decisively. "Meantime Raul can go down to Bisbee, haul that
furniture up to Window Rock, and beat it back here in time to help
move
Lupe
to the hacienda. We need to get settled before your father
gets home, Reid. And there's so much to do. What's wrong? Didn't
you tell Raul about Emmaline Walker and her daughters who need his
help?" Loren laughed at the startled expressions around her. She
stood and began gathering up the chicken refuse, piling it in the
bucket. "Well, Reid, you explain the situation to Raul, and I'm
sure he'll be more than happy to help them. They need your help so
badly, Raul." She smiled reassuringly at the dark-skinned man, who
didn't dare question her.

Reid watched with amusement as she bustled
around the kitchen. They all nodded in agreement because there was
no opposing Loren's rationale. It was too reasonable. The solution
for
Lupe
made sense. And the plan for the Navajo women only needed to
be expedited. With a chuckle Reid spread his hands. "Well, I asked
for brilliant solutions from our lady lawyer. Looks like we have
them. And our work cut out for us."

"I'm glad you agree. Now, I'm going to see
that
Lupe
gets a good hot bath, and a safe bed for the night." She
draped her arm around the older woman's shoulders and led her down
the hall.

"Oh,
no,
Señorita
Loren. You’re our guest,"
Lupe
protested.

However, she met with the same obstinacy that
the men had. "Nonsense,
Lupe.
You took care of me last night, didn't
you? Tonight it's my turn. It's only fair. This is something I want
to do. A hot bath will make you feel so much better." Their voices
dwindled down the hall and the two men and young boy looked at each
other for a moment. Then Reid followed orders and proceeded to
explain to Raul about Emmaline Walker and the family of women who
needed him.

Later, as Loren rummaged through the hall
closet for another blanket for
Lupe,
Reid stepped outside his guest bedroom.
"Loren, how's
Lupe?"

"She's a little chilled. I think it's probably shock
after such a traumatic day. This has been quite an unpleasant,
frightening experience for her."

"For all of us. Uh, I want to apologize for the way I
talked to you earlier in the evening, Loren. I was just so upset, I
couldn't think straight. I know I was too harsh, and I don't even
know why."