Conall's Legacy (20 page)

Resolve settled over Luisa. It was definitely time. When they got home today, she’d ask Cindy about seeing her shrink colleague. When Marie’s time came, Luisa wanted to be there for her. One way or another she would.

#

Cindy led the way into the waiting area of the airport as Luisa glanced around in search of caffeine--strong caffeine. A Starbucks kiosk sat at the edge of the lobby before the security area. As she made a beeline for it, Cindy spoke up.

“Do you think coffee’s a good idea right now?” she asked quietly.

Luisa simply glared at her and kept moving toward coffee.

“Okay. Marie, how about some coffee?” Cindy hooked arms with Marie and they followed Luisa to the tall bar-stool-like seats. “Sounds like a wonderful idea to me.”

“Smart woman,” Luisa said and went to place their order. Moments later, she sat with her back to the wall so she could watch everyone who came and went in their area. Her hand trembled as she sipped her double café mocha, and she was grateful for the lid that covered it.

“Luisa, I think it’s time Marie and I level with you,” Cindy said. “I know you have pieced together some stuff, but we need to talk while we’re all together like this.”

“Oh, I don’t think now’s a good time to chat, dear,” Marie said, her coffee cup clutched in white hands.

Cindy looked Marie dead on. “Now may be our last chance to be all together this way.” Marie sighed and nodded her approval.

Luisa glanced at her friend over the top of her cup and took a larger sip. “All right. What do you two need to confess?”

Cindy chuckled, obviously a bit uneasy. “I wouldn’t call it a confession ... well, all right, a confession.” She suddenly spoke in a rush. “Your mother and I have been in contact for years. From time to time she calls me to find out how you are and what you’re doing, whether you’re going anywhere that she can see you ....”

Luisa’s upheld palm stopped her confession. “Let me think.” Silence pounded between them. “Mother, you’ve been spying on me for years--with the help of my best friend. Is that right?”

“Yes, and I’d do it again.”

Luisa lifted her hand again. “Shoosh.” Shifting her gaze to Cindy. “And you’ve been talking about me to my mother behind my back.”

“Well ... yes.” Cindy looked guilty as sin.

The silence grew again, Luisa frowning at the cup in her hand for a moment before looking first at Cindy and then at her mother.

“The way I see it, I can react one of two ways. I can get mad and tell you that you invaded my privacy ...”

Marie glanced nervously at Cindy and then at Luisa.

“Or I can say thank you for caring enough to do that.” A tear came to her eye, and she lifted her cup in toast to her companions. “A woman couldn’t ask for a better friend or mother, so I’ll just say thank you.”

Sighs escaped from Marie and Cindy at the same time and they touched their paper cups to Luisa’s.

“I was going to ask you about it when we got home, Cindy, but we might as well get it all out now. Call your shrink friend. I’m ready to see him.”

“Great,” both women spoke at once.

Luisa shifted in her seat. Eager to change the subject and not dwell on all of it and what it meant, Luisa asked if they’d noticed that Drake was gone.

“I saw him about three a.m. He was getting ready to leave but said he’d be back,” Marie said.

“Didn’t he say goodbye?” Cindy sounded surprised. “I mean surely he’d let you know he was going.”

“He left a note with his sculptures. It said he had to go settle some business and then he’d be back for his things.”

“Hmm, seems to me he could have taken his things with him if he didn’t really have a special reason to come back.” Cindy smiled and wiggled her eyebrows at Luisa, making her laugh.

“We’ll see. He did do a lovely sculpture of the ranch.” She shook her head. “Quite a difference from the burned out buildings he did when he first came.”

Luisa realized that in the company of her mother and Cindy, she’d nearly forgotten where she was. She was actually somewhat relaxed in spite of the circumstances and their presence in a crowded airport.

The loud speaker clicked on and an anonymous voice announced Marie’s flight. Luisa’s contentment slipped away like stale coffee down a drain.

Cindy got to her feet first and hugged Marie. “We’ll see you in Los Angeles, Marie. Take care and call me if you need anything.” Cindy’s voice shook. “Anything at all. Luisa, I’ll wait for you out front.” She strode away, digging in her purse for what Luisa assumed was a tissue.

“Come on, Mother. I’ll walk you to the security point.”

They walked silently toward the guards, Luisa dragging her feet and trying to delay. At the barrier, she turned to Marie and took her in a gentle embrace almost afraid she’d break.

Her throat closed and she couldn’t force a single word past the constriction. Luisa kissed Marie’s cheeks, and finally stepped back.

“I love you, Luisa. Always remember everything I have ever done has been based on that.”

Luisa cleared her throat and forced her voice into submission. “I know that now. Mother, I don’t know how to say this. I want to be there for you. Don’t wait until it is too late to call me. Understand?”

Marie sniffled and wiped away a tear. “I’ll call you or have someone do it for me. I’ll see you again, dear.”

As Marie turned to go through the barrier, Luisa called out to her. “I love you.”

Marie smiled and nodded, then walked through the metal detectors. Her back was ramrod straight, and Luisa marveled at the strength her mother showed in the face of a very bleak and short future.

“Maybe I should have gotten some courage genes from her, too, Dad. Watch over her for me, will you?” she whispered.

At the corner of the passageway, Marie turned and lifted her hand in farewell, and then disappeared. Luisa prayed she’d see her at least one more time.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A few days later, Luisa sipped her morning coffee and stared at the blank computer screen. Her hapless little angel was driving her nuts. Writers were supposed to create the twists and turns, but her character had taken control of the story, leaving Luisa at a momentary loss. She huffed out her breath considering how to release control in order to set the story free. At this point, Luisa didn’t care which of them wrote the darned thing, she had a deadline to meet.

She thought of the distractions that had been in her life the past few weeks, remembering her mother’s sudden reappearance. Luisa thought about Drake being on the ranch, too, and how much she had learned since both of them had been there. Was it coincidence or the intervention of an angel? Luisa could see how her life had changed when both of them had come to her ranch haven. Definitely, an angel playing with her life, she decided. She wasn’t sure she appreciated the help.

With that thought, a new scene for her character popped into her mind and her fingers flew across the keyboard, creating an uplifting chapter for the children who would read this story. The fire breathing dragon that had tried to override her angel faded away.

When only a few pages were lovingly committed to the memory of the machine, the phone rang. Luisa was so absorbed she ignored the first three rings and kept typing. The ringing continued, and she suddenly realized it could be her mother. She hit the save command on the computer and punched the speaker button on the phone. She continued to type furiously not wanting to lose her train of thought.

“Hello.” She tried to sound normal, not impatient or rude in case it was her mother, but wasn’t sure she’d pulled it off. Then the voice on the other end broke her focus and her fingers stuttered to a stop.

“I asked how you are, Luisa.”

Drake’s voice was a caress, warm and tingly.

Luisa snatched up the receiver, as though able to get closer to him through it. “I--ah--I’m fine. Where are you?”

“Los Angeles airport. I’m coming back today and thought I’d see if you need anything from here or Tucson.”

Luisa listened to his voice. It was as breathless as hers. Was this just an excuse to call her? She decided she didn’t really give a damn. “Thanks but I’m okay. Just trying to meet my book deadline.”

“I won’t interrupt then. Oh, they’re saying something about my flight. I’d better go. I have my cell phone with me. If you need anything, just whistle. You know how to whistle don’t ya?” he quipped.

“Sure.” Luisa shook her head. Sometimes he sounded like he lived in a different world.

Drake laughed. “Guess you had to be there. Lauren Bacall in ‘To Have and Have Not’? Never mind. One of these days, I’ll show you some great old movies. How ‘bout dinner tonight?”

She hesitated. Did he mean dinner here or in town? “Sounds good. I’ll cook something for us.”

“No, you won’t. I’ll bring food with me and cook for you. You have a book to write, and technically, I’m still on vacation. See you in a few hours.”

Before she could protest, the line went dead. A silly smile curved her lips. She had a date. A date with a handsome hunk of a cop. But what about the other woman in his life. She wondered what had happened and whether Drake was just coming back for his trailer. Luisa could not justify encouraging him to break a promise to another woman no matter how much she wanted him to.

“Borrowing trouble again, Rooster.”

She dropped the receiver onto its cradle and clapped her hands together. Rooster wiggled and whined beside her. Luisa glanced at him and reached down to absently stroke his head. “We’ve got a date, Rooster.” He jumped into her lap and tried to lick her face, but she fought him off and sent him scurrying out of the room. “Go on, now, let me get back to work.”

Luisa had just started to type again when the phone rang a second time. “Well, son of a gun.” With a huge sigh, she lifted the receiver and answered the call.

“Hey girl,” Cindy said. “What ya doin’?”

“Trying to work.”

Her voice must have given her frustration away, because Cindy asked, “And you’re not getting anywhere because ....”

“People like you keep calling me,” Luisa said. Her heart fluttered as she thought of Drake’s voice moments before. She’d be seeing him soon.

Something in her voice must have hinted at her other caller because Cindy chuckled. Luisa decided she’d known her too long. “Like me and who else?” Cindy asked.

“Drake just called.” She thought of him coming back to the ranch, of being there close by. Need curled deep in her belly.

“Oh, and what did he have to say?”

She fought to focus on Cindy’s voice. “He’s ... uh ... coming back.”

“Why?”

“To finish his vacation--cook me dinner--get his stuff.” She realized she was babbling and laughed out loud. “I don’t really care why, only that he is.” Luisa spun around in her desk chair and nearly strangled herself with the phone cord. She unwound, then continued. “Seriously though, I’m not getting my hopes up. He might be just coming for his things.”

Cindy snorted. “Right.”

“Don’t forget Rebecca.”

“Maybe she told him to jump off a bridge. We women don’t exactly like other people, especially men, deciding our futures for us, you know.”

Luisa felt hope flicker through her heart and quickly squelched it. “What do you want, Cindy? I have work to do here.” She said it with affection in her voice, knowing Cindy would understand.

“Sorry. I want to stop by for a bit. Have you got time to spare for an old friend? I’m on the cell phone and in your area. ‘Bout twenty minutes away.”

“Uh-huh. What are you up to?”

“Adriano Menendez is in town. You remember the psychiatrist you agreed to talk to?”

Luisa groaned. Here it comes, she thought. “Yes, I remember.”

“I want to bring him out to see your place.” It came out in a rush.

“And to check me out, I suppose.”

“Not really. I mean he can explain what he does, but I’m interested in him ... uh, personally, and I really want you to meet him.”

Luisa gazed at the ceiling, chewed her lip, and then gave up. “All right. I said I would. Bring him on. You know where I’ll be. It’s lunch time for the horses.” She snapped the receiver down before she could change her mind. Luisa hoped she didn’t live to regret this. So much for getting any more work done.

#

Luisa stepped out of the shadow of the barn. She’d just fed the horses their treats and vitamins. Chuckling, she thought of the new colt trying to buck and kick at his mother before falling nose first into the deep straw in his stall. He was a pistol. When he grew into a stallion, he was going to be impressive. And a handful. Luisa would keep that in mind as she mannered him over the next few weeks, making sure he was socialized while he was still relatively small.

She was contemplating the future of her newest addition when she saw a Kelly green Jag drive under the ranch sign. She shaded her eyes in an attempt to see Cindy inside, hoping another lone stranger wasn’t about to darken her door. A picture of Drake flashed across her mind. Well, maybe strangers aren’t all bad.

The car stopped in a cloud of dust, and Cindy and a man in new jeans and a western shirt got out. They walked toward Luisa, Cindy calling out a greeting and steering the man in her direction. Luisa noticed she walked close enough to the man to guide him, but didn’t touch. Hmm ... trying to stay professional, perhaps? As they neared and Luisa got a better look at him, she doubted Cindy wanted it to stay totally professional. The man was broad shouldered and narrow hipped. He walked with the charisma that said, “Here I am, and that matters.”