Maddy's Oasis (12 page)

Her step slowed as she neared the group, and
she stopped in complete astonishment. Visible in one of the dry
drainage ditches was a scene she'd never expected.

Jake and Mark, both stripped
to the waist,
fighting
. Blood, sweat, and dirt streaked both of the men as they
fought. Bystanders cheered, and she saw Eric to the side, looking
lost.

Madeleine strode forward and pushed several
men aside to reach Toni. She snatched the whistle always at his
neck and blew hard once, twice, three times.

Silence fell. Mark was in a choke hold, with
Jake on top of him.

“What the hell is going on?” she demanded,
bewildered.

Jake released Mark at her voice and rolled
off him, bounding to his feet. He faced her, breathing hard. Mark
rose more slowly, his hand going to a bleeding nose.

Anger sizzled through her. She crossed her
arms and glared at both.

“Would either of you care to explain
this?”

At their silence, she turned to Toni.

“Toni, get your men to work. Their twelve
hours starts now,” she ordered. “Eric, come with me. Jake, Mark,
you’re both off my site!”

“Whoa, there, Madeleine,” Jake spoke. “I need
to give some direction before you toss me off the site.”

“You have a phone. Use it,” she tossed over
her shoulder. “Leave, or I’ll have you removed. You, too,
Mark.”

She stalked over to the office and slammed
the door open, on the verge of flinging Duke’s water dish across
the room. Did no one understand how dire their circumstances were?
Mr. Howard himself was coming to town in less than two days!

Eric eased in around her and removed his hat
while Toni waited on the step outside the door.

“We have two days until Mr. Howard arrives,”
she reminded Eric. “Signs, caterers, hotel arrangements for the
additional members of his staff. I sent you an email on it.
Go.”

She handed him the phone book from her desk.
He took it and fled. Toni entered and closed the door.

“Do
you
have anything to say about that
spectacle?” she demanded, facing him.

“Not really, ma’am,” Toni said. “Boys will be
boys.”

“So this came out of nowhere.”

“No, ma’am,” he admitted. “I think you might
be stirring up a bit of a rivalry between the two.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Nice boots,” he said. “Expensive.”

“I wouldn’t know,” she said icily. “I’m
extremely angry with Javier and Sons right now, Toni. Today is more
than enough grounds for dismissal. I’ve never seen anything so
barbaric or unprofessional!”

“Yes, ma’am."

“I’ll be calling Javier to discuss
alternatives.”

“Alternatives to what, ma’am?” Toni asked
with a frown.

“Alternatives to Jake being on site. A site
lead needs to be more responsible.”

“Jake is the best there is, ma’am. If this
project succeeds, it will be because of him.”

“Go back to work, Toni. Leave your cell on,”
she instructed. “Your funding was transferred this morning. You can
call and verify if needed.”

Toni moved deliberately to the door. Light
spilled into the office as he opened it.

“Ma’am, I was serious about what I said. Men
get real stupid fighting over a woman.”

She couldn't fathom either of the men
fighting over her. Mark had dumped her at the altar. Jake barely
managed one non-insult for every five comments.

“I don’t have time to deal with it, Toni,”
she told him, and picked up her phone.

Toni left, slamming the door behind him. She
jumped and stared after him. There was entirely too much
testosterone in the air.

Mark’s motives she discounted quickly, but
Jake’s …

Her eyes fell to the boots. They were a
perfect fit.

How would it be to have a man like Jake
interested in her? She doubted he treated his women as dismissively
as Mark did. With his laid-back manner, honesty, and quiet
intensity, he couldn't possibly be as superficial as Mark. He had,
after all, rescued her the night the thugs came. He pestered her
about staying alone at the trailer after dark, brought her coffee
in the morning, and left her Duke. He answered her phone calls
despite his apparent hate for cell phones.

On the other hand, he'd practically kicked
her out of his house. It was not the sign of a man interested in a
woman.

She glared at her boots.

Even if he did like her, she had nothing to
give him. She couldn't leave her mother back east and wouldn't
burden anyone with her financial issues. Jake hated all things
city, and she was a walking reminder of the life he ditched. For
the first time since meeting him, she wondered which school he had
attended and what drove him back to Texas.

She dug out a business card from the pile and
dialed.

“Javier and Sons,” answered the gruff
voice.

“Javier, this is Madeleine,” she started. “I
banned Jake from the site today.”

“Something we need to discuss?” Javier
asked.

“Yes, I believe so."

“Come by for dinner.”

“No, I’m afraid I can’t. Mr. Howard comes
in-- ”

“It’ll just take a few minutes. We eat at
seven,” Javier prodded.

She hesitated, sensing Javier was as stubborn
as his nephew.

“Thank you. I’ll see you then.”

She hurried to review all the itineraries of
Mr. Howard's staff and double-check their flight and hotel
arrangements. She'd hired the only taxi company in town to cart
people from the airport. The expenses were adding up again. The
time crept close to six. She sent Eric another email with more
tasks, then closed her notebook and left for Jake's, prepared for
another confrontation.

Precisely at seven, she arrived at the
siblings’ large hacienda. The contemporary adobe dwelling was three
stories tall and sprawling, its white front smooth and simple.
Their land stretched for several hundred acres and included cattle,
horses, and Kitty’s favorite: a massive greenhouse for her herbs
and spices.

Madeleine parked and walked across the dusty
road to a shaded porch. Javier sat in a wicker chair reading a
newspaper. He folded it at her approach and stood, offering his
hand. She shook and accepted the seat beside him, waiting for him
to shift his own to face her better before beginning. His eyes
crinkled at the corners, as if were already amused.

“I hope I’m not keeping you from anything,”
she started when he'd settled.

“No, ma’am. Dinner's a bit late. Kitty’s
making last-minute adjustments. She heard you were coming.”

“She’s a fantastic cook.”

“That she is,” Javier agreed. He gazed at her
expectantly.

“I’m sure Jake told you what happened,” she
began.

“Haven’t seen him,” Javier said.
“Brawlin’?”

“Yes. He hasn’t been back?”

“Probably cooling off. He’ll be back when
he’s ready,” he replied. “Nice boots. Expensive.”

She glanced down.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’m afraid I don’t know
anything about boots.”

“Those are the good ones,” he told her.
“Fancy, like the city folk in Dallas buy.”

Madeleine looked from his dusty, worn boots
to hers. She didn't think hers overly fancy; they were black
leather with white stitching. The designs were simple and the boots
comfortable.

“How expensive?” she asked.

“Expensive enough.”

“As in, expensive enough to apologize for
kicking me out of the house and insulting me several times
over?”

“I’m sure he didn’t say anything that wasn’t
deserved. He rarely does,” Javier said.

Her face felt warm. “I take it you won't
entertain my request to remove him from the project."

“I’d be a bad businessman to ignore a
dissatisfied customer.”

“I’m not exactly dissatisfied,” she said.
“His work seems to be going well.”

“His men like him,” Javier added.

“He motivates them well. He made the
adjustments to the design without new blueprints and has worked
late a few nights.”

Javier nodded thoughtfully before saying,
“So, he improvises well, directs his men well, and is generally
meeting your expectations.”

Madeleine sighed.

“I see why you want to get rid of him,”
Javier added with a small smile.

“There is the issue of today,” she hurried
on. “He was fighting in front of his men, during work hours.”

“Did he win?”

“Does it really matter?” she asked,
surprised.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I suppose he did.”

Javier nodded again but said nothing.

“So, this doesn’t bother you?” she
prodded.

“Jake picks his fights well.”

“But on my time and in front of his men?”

“It seems to me like Jake isn’t the problem,”
he said.

She hadn’t expected resistance of any kind to
her request. Back east, Jake would have been gone before she
reached the hacienda.

“Javier-- ” she started to object.

“Seems to me like everyone out there likes
him but you.”

“This isn’t personal! I don't have to like
him, but I do want him to behave more professionally.”

“I’ll let him know,” Javier said.

“Dinner!” Kitty sang from just inside the
door.

“I’m glad you don’t
dis
like him,” Javier
stated as he rose. “A man doesn’t send a woman boots like that
unless he has his eye on her
.
”

“Javier-- ”

“C’mon. You win. I already told you I’d tell
him to behave more professionally.”

He walked into the house. She followed,
confused.

“But about him being at the site at all, I--
”

“We already agreed he does good work and is
an asset to you,” Javier said. “You don't hate him, his men like
him, he likes you. I see no need to prevent him from working.”

She didn’t know when she lost control of the
conversation; it wasn't a normal occurrence for her.

“Siddown, city-girl,” Javier ordered. “Kitty
made something just for you.”

Kitty beamed a smile at his words and darted
out of the room. Javier leaned forward to whisper, “Don’t eat the
beans. Don’t know what she does to ’em, but they’ll tear up your
stomach.”

Madeleine smiled despite herself, genuinely
glad to be sitting down to a real meal. She liked both Kitty and
Javier and could imagine a simpler life sitting down on weekends
with them eating Kitty's creations. The thought made her ache to be
with her mother, who deserved so much more than she was getting
with all her surgeries and the nursing home.

She sighed, exhausted, and
sat back to watch. From the moment Kitty put the beans on the
table, she and Javier began their tug-of-war. Kitty pushed hard for
the older man to eat her beans while Javier tried even harder to
avoid them. Madeleine listened to their sparring, entertained. She
fed her own beans to one of the several dogs that looked like Duke
when Kitty left the room. Javier gave her a thumbs up. It was not
long before she realized his
few
minutes
for dinner turned into two
hours.

She was about to excuse herself to leave at
around nine when Jake strode into the dining room. He snagged a
roll from the bread basket and was at the kitchen entrance before
he stopped and turned. He pinned her with a glare and leaned
against the doorway, crossing his arms.

“Here to fire me?” he challenged.

“Whoa,
mi hijo
. Heard you were in a fight
today,” Javier said.

“Yeah,” Jake agreed.

“Heard you won.”

“Yeah.”

Madeleine held his gaze. She assessed him
assessing her and wondered what it was about their relationship
that held them at each other’s throats.

“Madeleine wants you to behave more
professional-like,” Javier said. “Take your fights elsewhere.”

Jake’s eyes slid to his uncle.

“All right,” he agreed.

“That was easy,” Javier said in satisfaction
as he stood. “Kit, help me clear the table.”

Madeleine rose as well, about to excuse
herself once more. Jake remained in the doorway, waiting.

“Go for a walk?” he asked as the two left the
room.

“Where?”

“Does everything need a purpose?”

She sensed the anger beneath his calm
surface. His voice was soft and low, his arms still crossed. He
pushed himself away from the door frame and opened the door,
holding it open for her. She obliged and waited for him on the
porch. He pushed his hands in his pockets and trotted down the
stairs. They walked toward a fence line behind the main house. She
cleared her throat, seeking a safe subject to break the awkward
quiet.

“Thank you for the boots,” she said. He
glanced at her.

“What makes you think it was me?”

“It’s not that hard to figure out, Jake,” she
said, amused. “I’ve been told they’re nice boots. I’m sorry I don’t
know more about them, but I do appreciate you buying them.”

“No problem.”

They lapsed into silence again, and her
thoughts strayed to the fight and the assertion of Jake's family
there was more to it than two idiots brawling.

“Good to see you wearin’ normal clothes,”
Jake said as they reached the fence. “You look rested today.”

“I slept in. Shouldn’t have. Will have to
work late tonight, but it felt good.”

“If you ever take a day off, you can come out
here and go riding or play in the weed garden with Kitty,” he
offered.

She wanted to decline under the guise of work
but suspected Jake would take offense. But agreeing with so much at
stake was out of the question.

“Thanks,” she said.

The sound of puppy yaps drew her attention,
and she leaned against the fence, peering into the night. The land
was rolling, the rocky ground scattered with small bushes. She saw
movement in the near distance and squinted.