Renegade Moon (CupidKey) (8 page)

“Eric told me his birth parents died when he was very young.”

Sighing sadly, Estrella shook her head. “His poor
madre
. Ah, she was a big and healthy woman, full-blood Apache, as was his papa, and it was so unexpected when she sickened.” Again a sad sigh. “But
Señor
Carlos, he remembered the kindnesses of Red McDavis to his father, and cared for our little Eric.” Laughing suddenly, she clapped her chubby hands together. “You should have seen Martin. Such the big brother he was, and he was just a baby himself. So sad that . . .”

Estrella emerged from her reverie. “More lemonade?”

“Oh, no thank you.” Darn. So sad,
what?
What was so sad? She heard the sound of a vehicle and glanced out the front door to see the tan pickup top the rise and go around the side of the house. Well. That settled the question of whether or not she should leave before Eric returned. In a moment, he entered through the back door.

“Hello,” he said, targeting Destiny. “What are you doing here?”

“Eric George!” Estrella scolded. “You take that back.”

“It’s a legitimate question, but I’ll reword it. What brings you here?” He never took his eyes from Destiny’s face.

She boldly met his stare. “I’m returning some items we used on the picnic. Martin didn’t have time, as he left for home immediately afterward. And I’ll be going now.”

“Why rush?” Eric said, his gaze still locked on her. “It’s nearly lunchtime.”

“I must be heading home.” She rose, but Estrella seized her by the arm and glaring at Eric, said, “You will stay and have lunch. Eric George insists.” Her expression stated in no uncertain terms that she’d love to turn him over her lap and spank him soundly. “Do you not?” she snapped.

“I insist,” he said with a hooded expression.

“Very well,” Destiny replied, trying to match his stony expression with one of her own. Estrella, who had been standing by as guard, patted Destiny’s arm and went into the kitchen. Another car engine drew Destiny’s attention. Lee Duncan’s sea-green Mercedes topped the rise and pulled up to the house. Joby and Muddog roared over to meet it. Eric stepped out to call them off. Destiny watched from inside the house as Lee got out, then the other door opened and Iris Blake Rampton emerged.

Destiny wanted to sink through the floor. She was becoming thoroughly sick of finding Iris everywhere she went, with her fawning, possessive behavior toward Eric. The first thing Iris did when she walked up onto the porch was take Eric’s arm. Destiny noticed Iris peering at the screen door, trying to see inside. She smiled to herself, imagining what Iris must have thought when she saw the Mustang. The happy trio entered. Well, two looked happy, but the third?

“ . . . to go over these topo maps with you, Eric,” Lee was saying. “There might be more sites than we’ve uncovered.” He smiled at Destiny. “Hi, there.”

“Hello, Lee, Iris,” Destiny responded, deliberately speaking to Iris. She received a sardonic little smile for her trouble.

Estrella greeted them with an invitation to stay for lunch. She reminded Destiny of her grandmother, always wanting to feed people. Getting acceptances, Estrella rushed back to her cooking.

While Estrella was busy in the kitchen, Lee took out several topographical maps and spread them on the table. Eric and Iris came over to see. Iris rested her hand on Eric’s shoulder.

Destiny smothered the urge to slap the hand away. What in the world was wrong with her, anyway? She had no right to feel jealous about Eric! But she felt it just the same.

Estrella fixed a delicious meal of enchiladas, beans, and fresh tortillas, but Destiny couldn’t do it justice. Sitting at the table with Iris and Eric made eating torture. Eric seemed unperturbed as he put away a hearty meal. That made Destiny even madder.

“
Niña
, are you not hungry?” Estrella asked.

“I ate a late breakfast. This is delicious, really.”

Iris pushed her plate away, leaned back in the chair, lifted her platinum hair with one hand, and fanned her neck with the other. “I don’t know why you refuse to have air-conditioning.”

In answer, Eric reached around and slid back the patio door that opened out into the courtyard. A breeze swirled through the house, fluttering napkins on the table.

“Good grief!” Iris snapped, slapping one to keep it from flying away. “A windstorm is not air-conditioning.”

“I don’t like air-conditioning,” Eric stated flatly.

“Well, if you had electricity you could use coolers and fans. Just think about being able to turn on lights without a match, and you could have a modern refrigerator instead of that old propane beast.” She flung a hand toward the ‘beast.’

“I’m having the solar power system completely rebuilt. Meanwhile, that so-called beast serves us just fine.” Eric’s voice grew deadly. He shoved back from the table. “We’ll complete our business so you can leave this primitive dump.”

“Fly off the handle, why don’t you?” Iris sniffed. “You’re just being stubborn. You can easily afford to bring in
real
electrical power.”

His hands rested on the table as if he would spring into action any moment. “How would you know I can afford it?”

“You’re a Montoya.”

“Am I now!” he snapped, slamming both hands down on the table. Dishes clinked and rattled.

Destiny jumped. She saw Estrella turn from the sink and take a quick look, then, just as quickly, turn back to her suds. Lee just sat there, staring at his plate.

Iris’s alabaster face paled to chalky white and her eyes widened into pools of violet. Her gaze locked with Eric’s as the air between them practically crackled.

“I’m sorry,” Iris whispered.

“Let’s drop it.” Eric turned away from her. “Lee, what else do you need to know about that area?”

“Uh, just a couple of things . . .” Grabbing the maps, Lee bumbled into the living room to the coffee table. Eric followed. Iris rose and walked behind Eric. Destiny got up, gathered the remaining dishes, and took them to Estrella.

Estrella was humming softly under her breath as she swished water in the sink. Taking that as a sign she didn’t intend to comment, Destiny bid her goodbye. Estrella extracted a promise to return, and Destiny moved toward the trio grouped about the coffee table in the living room. Iris was not touching Eric now. She stood to one side, her expression clearly unhappy.
Something
had triggered that outburst, and Destiny doubted that merely calling Eric a Montoya caused it. Oh, he might have corrected her by saying he wasn’t really a Montoya, just as he had with Destiny. But explode? What smoldered beneath his reaction?

“Eric, I have to leave,” she said softly.

“I’ll see you out.” He immediately turned away from Lee and Iris.

“Bye, Lee. Bye, Iris,” she called as Eric escorted her out the door.

“Enjoy the picnic?” Eric asked as they descended the steps. Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

Destiny glanced up at him. “Yes. Very much. Your brother is an interesting person.”

“Is that a fact.” The remark was not a question.

They walked to the car in silence. He opened the door for her, she slid in, and without a word or wave or nod, he closed the door firmly and walked back to the house.

Infuriated, Destiny sped away.
Crunch, bump
, protested the little Mustang as she crossed the ridge. Trembling with anger, she forced her foot off the gas pedal. But the whole time his hateful behavior blazed through her mind, her body yearned toward him with an unruly passion. He was driving her totally insane! And she didn’t know what to do about it.

Eric stepped onto the porch and took a deep breath before turning to watch Destiny drive away.
Everything’s happening at once, and at the wrong time.
People he didn’t want here kept arriving, that gorgeous girl turned up, and to top it all off, Cupid.

Emotions boiled up within him he didn’t need to deal with right now. Iris brought back memories he preferred to remain buried, and he found himself reacting to her in all the wrong ways. If he became distracted, danger would cascade down upon them all. And it would be his fault for not paying attention to important details. The last thing he wanted was to bring harm to anyone. Especially Destiny.
Especially
Destiny.

Destiny carefully focused her telescopic lens on the activity at the airstrip. This aircraft appeared different from the first one she’d seen here. Another twin-engine, but larger. She couldn’t quite read the words painted on the side of the airplane. She guessed it to be a name. Even from this angle and with the telescopic lens, she still couldn’t see the registration numbers. The camera clicked.

Men moved back and forth between two pickups and the airplane, carrying crates and boxes. They were off-loading cargo from the plane into trucks, and loading contents of the trucks into the plane. And, yes, some of the boxes and crates bore the Rampton Foundation logo.

A black and silver Escalade arrived on the scene, its windows darkened with solar film. Miles Jard and Stoker got out and walked over to one of the men. Destiny kept her camera clicking as she squinted at the man they spoke to . . .
yes!
Glen King, the man Eric had talked to at the dance.

What is going on here?
She watched from her hiding place, staying a good distance from the airstrip. The rock formation shielding her offered no shade as the midday sun bore down upon her without mercy. The concealing rocks actually felt hot to the touch. But she’d have to stay until the men finished what they were doing and left. It had taken some fancy cross-country driving to reach this observation post while avoiding the road where they’d travel. The men formed a cluster and passed around a water jug, momentarily ignoring the crates still piled beside the airplane.

Destiny snapped a few more pictures, making sure she had one of Jard, Stoker, and Glen King together, then sat down with her back to the rocks. But they felt so hot she jumped away. She was wearing a gold and blue striped tank top, jeans, and boots. Feeling the burn from her reddening arms and shoulders, she decided to get a long-sleeved shirt from the car.

Everything she had was in the car, as that morning she’d had to vacate her cabin. She’d believed by now that she would have completed the assignment, ready to return to Austin, but these mysterious activities had delayed and fascinated her. She wanted to continue renting the cabin, but it was reserved, and the new renters were due that very day. No other cabins were available. However, one would be vacant in a week. The cabins turned out to be more in demand than she first thought. Meanwhile, she planned to stay at the motel which, fortunately, did have a vacancy.

With a careful peek around the rocks, she moved quietly to her car. Sound acted so funny out here. At times a shout would be swallowed and muffled and couldn’t be heard past a few feet distant. And other times noise amplified and carried, making the smallest racket detectable for miles. She preferred not to take chances. Thank goodness she’d left the window down so she didn’t have to open the door.

Oh
,
no
! Dismayed, she knelt beside the flat tire adorning the left rear wheel. It was easy to see what had caused the flat, a large cut right in the sidewall. She’d probably gotten it while doing her little off-road stint. Well, now she must wait until her photography subjects departed, then try to change it. Darn, too bad she couldn’t march down there and say,
Excuse me. I’ve been spying on you fellows and seem to have developed a flat. Care to change it for me?

She grinned ruefully at her own humor and moved back to her observation post, pulling on her blue and yellow plaid shirt. Next time she’d wear camouflage. Crouching behind the rocks, she watched as the men completed loading and closed up the airplane. It taxied out and took off in a cloud of dust.
Heavens!
It roared right over her. Maybe,
maybe,
they didn’t see her! Or her bright reflective car. She watched the ground crew, expecting them to thunder up to her hiding place, guns drawn. But they all drove away over the same road they’d used the first time, and disappeared from view.

Destiny crossed to her car. Terrific. She was hot, dusty, and terribly thirsty.
Smart girl. Ignore everybody.
“Carry water, Destiny,” they’d advised. And did she
? No-o-o-o-o-o.

A blast of hot air whooshed out as she opened the trunk.
Great.
A broiling desert and a flat tire. And
hours
till sundown. The sun rode in the bleached sky, sending down great waves of white-hot heat. She got out the jack and equipment, dragged out the spare, then pried off the wheel cover. Before jacking the car up, she’d loosen the lug nuts.

She got absolutely nowhere. The nuts undoubtedly had been put on by King Kong with a giant impact wrench. She finally loosened one, but the others didn’t budge.

“I don’t believe this,” she muttered darkly. Placing the lug wrench just so, she braced her hands against the car and jumped on the wrench handle. All she succeeded in doing was to burn her hands on the hot car. She pounded the wrench with a rock. She jumped on it again. The nuts simply refused to yield to her will. Or to her mighty hundred and ten pounds. She’d have to walk out.

Replacing the jack and spare, she carefully buried her camera under clothes, rolled up her windows to within a half-inch, locked her car, and pocketed her keys. When she regained the road, she followed it without worrying about those men crossing her path. They were long gone. Sitting somewhere in the shade drinking cold drinks.
Lemonade? Ice water? Oh, for something to drink!
The sun pounded her relentlessly. She put her hands on top of her head and had to snatch them down, her hair felt so hot. Another minor detail she’d overlooked. A hat.

No
water
.
Is
that
music
?
Ringing
ears
. Spots bobbed before her eyes like misshapen, fuzzy balloons. She blinked and focused on the ground. It seemed a long way off, as if she’d levitated. Now she was descending, only head first! She threw out her hands to catch herself and then she was on the burning ground unable to move and it was spinning . . . spinning . . .

Eric shaded his eyes and squinted at the brightly colored bundle in the road ahead of him. Had someone dropped something? He nudged Pinto forward then, realizing the bundle was human, urged the big horse into a gallop. He slid from the saddle and knelt beside the small form lying there. Gently he lifted and turned her. Destiny’s eyes were half-closed, her lips parted, and for one gut-wrenching moment, Eric thought she was dead.
No! She mustn’t be dead! Must not!
His fingers quickly sought her wrist and his unspoken demand was answered by a weak and fluttery pulse.

Gathering her up, he shielded her as well as he could with his body. “Destiny?” What was she doing out here on foot! “Destiny!” She gave a faint sigh. Lifting her easily in his arms, he swung back onto Pinto and raced desperately for the house.

Kicking the front door open, he carried her down the hall to his bedroom and deposited her onto the king-sized bed. Then he slid back the patio door that opened out into the courtyard, hoping to catch cross-ventilation. He dashed back to Destiny’s side.

If he had wheels, he’d take her to the EMS station, but Estrella and Domingo had driven the truck into Albuquerque that morning. It was impractical to take her on Pinto–several twisting miles to the highway and then more miles to Las Nubes, so . . . no. He must take care of this himself. Even if he called EMS, too much time would pass before they got here.

He took off her shirt, exposing her reddened skin. She had reached the danger point. He must cool her off, and quickly. There was only one thing to do: remove the rest of her clothes. He stripped her to her lacy beige bra and bikini panties, lifted her as though she were a doll, and carried her into the adjoining bath to the big old clawfoot tub there. He’d found that tub at a flea market, all stained and chipped, and now it was white and gleaming, restored to its original beauty.

Eric filled the tub with cool water, and eased Destiny down into it. She murmured and stirred, gazing up at him.

“Thirsty.”

Quickly, he filled the bathroom glass with tap water and held it to her parched lips. She sipped, then turned away with a whimper.

“Drink some more, babe,” he urged softly.

“No. Sick.”

“Okay. Just relax. It’s all right.” One big hand braced the back of her head while he scooped water with the other one to trickle over her cooling body. Her wet hair swirled around her face and shoulders in dark golden ringlets. He inhaled her sweet scent.
What a female.
So small, so defenseless, that Eric’s heart twisted inside him. He knew what the sun and heat could do to the unwary out here. Sure, she’d received plenty of warnings, but outsiders just didn’t grasp the true danger of this country. He couldn’t imagine why she’d been wandering in the rugged desert flats alone and on foot. Had he not ridden out to check on stray cattle, among other things . . . his mind skidded away from the unthinkable.

Her dark fringe of lashes fluttered. She gazed up at him, focusing on him for the first time. “Eric?” she whispered. “What?”

He let the water out of the tub. “Hold on, babe.” Her arms obediently encircled his neck and he lifted her, enfolding her in a fluffy towel. Picking up another towel to place under her wet head, he carried her back to his bed.

“Destiny, can you talk now?” He smoothed her hair off her forehead.

Taking a deep breath, she blinked and glanced around. She was lying on a king-sized bed with a cool breeze passing over her towel-wrapped body. Her gaze returned to Eric.

“You’re at my place,” he replied to her silent question. “I found you lying on the road several miles from here. You’re badly dehydrated. Will you be all right for a few minutes while I get you something to drink?”

She put her hand to her forehead. “Yes. Yes, of course.” He rose and exited the room, as she looked around again. A woven, Native American patterned rug covered most of a Mexican tile floor, and a sliding glass door fronted the enclosed courtyard. She checked herself. She was clad only in her underwear, wrapped in a large towel.

Eric reentered the room carrying a tall, frosty glass. “Diluted orange juice,” he said, sitting down on the side of the bed. As she tried to push herself into a sitting position, he reached around to assist. Amazed, she discovered she actually needed his help. She felt so weak! She sipped the icy sweet juice.

“Oh, that’s good,” she breathed. He held her until she finished her drink, then eased her back down. “Eric, how did I get here?”

“I found you in the road. What were you doing out there? Babe, where’s your car?”

She was so exhausted she couldn’t think. Placing her hand over her eyes, she lay back against the pillows. Her stomach did a slow flip-flop and she swallowed convulsively. “Oh, Eric, I might be sick . . .”

He quickly fetched a moistened cloth to press to her head and throat. “Take it easy. Just relax. You’ll feel better in a minute.”

Obeying, she breathed deeply as the cool cloth soothed away her nausea. “You’re right, it passed. Thank you. Oh, my car! It’s still out there.”

“Out where? When I found you, I didn’t see the car anywhere.”

“I’d already walked three miles or so. I had a flat.”

A dark brow arched. “And no spare?”

“Oh, yes. I had a spare and jack and everything. I just couldn’t get the lug nuts off. Eric, I jumped on them and beat them with a rock and they wouldn’t budge. So I didn’t know what else to do but hike out.”

He sighed, examining her pink face. “I don’t suppose you had any water with you.” She averted her eyes and he continued. “You should have remained in the car and out of the sun. Waited until later before walking, when the sun wasn’t so hot.” His voice rose with each word. “But no! Off you charge like some stupid dude with no water and no hat, and I know you never got a hat!”

“I
am
a stupid dude,” she wailed, tears sparkling in her eyes.

“Oh, babe, I’m sorry.” He gathered her into his arms, rocking her. “I didn’t mean to sound like such a jerk. But you scared me so bad. I thought you were dead when I found you.” He held her away and caught her face between his hands. “Too near it for sure.” His words stopped as his mouth covered hers and he pulled her against him. “I can’t let you out of my sight,” he murmured against her lips. Straightening, he frowned at her. “What
were
you doing out there?”

The total truth stuck in her throat. If he had any idea she’d been spying on what she believed was an illegal operation, he’d have a fit. “Just taking pictures.” Faintness ebbed over her again. She didn’t know if her condition triggered it or being held, nearly nude, in his arms. “Eric, where are my clothes?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “At the foot of the bed on the floor.”

“How did they get there?” She felt her face flame beneath her sunburn.

“I put them there. Don’t worry. I was too concerned to . . . take advantage of the situation. Besides, I’m really a gentleman.”
Though at the moment, he didn’t feel very gentlemanly.
He laid her back onto the pillows again. Holding her like that after all his heart-pounding fright was becoming too much for him. He rearranged the towel around her small form.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to accuse you. I’m really so grateful to you for finding me and rescuing me. It was so hot! I touched the top of my head and it burned my hands.”

Nodding, he rose and went into the bath, returning with a bottle. “I tried to warn you about our high desert sun. It may sound silly, but at this altitude, you’re closer to it, and the air is thinner. Here’s some aloe vera lotion. You are one burned girl.” Tipping some lotion onto his fingertips, he deftly smoothed it over Destiny’s parched face. She closed her eyes and sighed with pleased relief. He smoothed the lotion down her neck and across her shoulders. She watched him through slitted eyes. He kept his face impassive, but couldn’t hide the telltale pulse that beat at his temple.

“Turn over.” She obeyed, feeling his big hands gently spreading the cooling lotion on her back. They lingered a moment, then he moved them abruptly from her.

“At least you put on a long-sleeved shirt before taking off.” He recapped the bottle and set it on the bedside table. “Can you drink some more juice?”

“Ice water would be the answer to my fondest dreams.”

“Whatever your little heart desires.” He strode quickly from the room without glancing back.

The atmosphere felt charged, electric. The wisps of lace she wore hardly served to cover her, yet she was quite decently wrapped in the large towel. A moment later, Eric returned bearing her water, which she sipped gratefully. He sat down on the bed again, but kept his distance. Obviously, she wasn’t the only one sensitive to the situation.