Speak to the Wind (21 page)

"I take offense to green!"

"Brown, then."

"And damned proud of it! Especially when my big bro gets to be the big cheese on the reservation."

"Gotta win the election first,
bud
. And that's where you come in. We'll see if you're worth all those times I bailed you out of trouble and helped you limp through freshman English."

"Okay, guys. Enough! I'l
l take the back seat," Maria of
fered and tucked Josh's bag beneath her feet on the floor. "You two can squeeze into the front."

"Squeeze is right," Josh grumbled good-naturedly. "Now I know how a sardine feels."

The tiny car set the stage for more joking, and they drove to the beachfront villa in hig
h spirits. Joe had made arrange
ments for Josh to stay in his casita. Maria knew it was the logical thing to do, but it meant they
probably
wouldn't be sleeping together while Josh was here. She admitted the two brothers had a lot of business to discuss and only one short weekend to do it. Somehow, though, it seemed like a very long time to Maria.

After dinner they sat in Joe's living room, chatting and drinking Corona beer. Sometimes the joy of being together erupted into a teasing wrestling match between the brothers, other times in an exchange of bawdy jokes. But all of it made Maria feel like a part of the family. Joe's family. It was a good feeling.

At one point Josh even brought up his pending divorce, and Maria knew she was accepted and trusted to be drawn into such a personal matter.

"You probably know I'm
in the process of getting a di
vorce," Josh commented to Maria.

She nodded. "Joe mentioned it." She didn't want Josh to think they'd spent any lengt
h of time discussing him. In ac
tuality, they hadn't.

“
The lawyers are getting
rich on this one." Josh had be
come tight-lipped and joking stopped. "I think it'll be drawn out because of the custody battle."

"How's Mick?"

"My four-year-old," Josh explained to Maria. "He's fine, I hope."

"He's with Judith?" Joe asked.

"On my lawyer's advice. I call frequently
,
but sure do miss the kid." Signs of pain tinged Josh's dark eyes when he spoke of the broken marriage and his young son. "I'll be
so
glad when it's over and
settled. Just hope I don’t lose my relationship with Mick.”

Maria suspected this personal crisis was one reason Joe had asked Josh to be his campaign manager. It would certainly keep him busy during a difficult time.

Finally the conversation got around to the business of the election. Josh named th
e remote places around the thou
sands of acres of the Apache reservation he'd set for Joe to speak. "Most of those are in school auditoriums. One is prior to an art show in March. Also there are several media events in Albuquerque, Tucson and Phoenix."

"What media events?" Joe sat upright, mumbling, "I knew this was coming."

"TV appearances. You're going to be impressed with your
new
campaign manager, Joe," Josh boasted with a proud smile. "With virtually no publicity we're already getting calls to schedule an appearance by the opposing candidate. We're going to keep you busy right up until the election, Joe."

“
These are Anglo TV stations. Why do they want me?"

"Heck, this is the best way to reach more people, Joe. I've been working on this press release. See what you think." Josh drew a folded, wrinkled shee
t from his pocket. It was well
worn and frayed.

Joe took the paper from Josh. "Innovative ideas... progressive programs... cultural renaissance." He looked at Josh.

"You fill in the blanks."

Joe ran his hand over his fa
ce and stared into space, think
ing. "Okay,
okay,
we'll work on it tomorrow."

"Sounds pretty good to me," Maria commented, reading over Joe's shoulder.

"Thank you, Maria," Josh said. "At least someone values my brilliance and expertise."

"Hell, Josh, it's
really
great." Joe focused on the paper again. "
This i
s exactly the format I want to state my platform. And I do have ideas about employment, education, enlarging recreational areas and hiring staff to oversee it—"

"Hold it, Joe." Josh grabbed a pen. "Maybe I should be writing some of this down."

"I like this part." Maria pointed to a line in bold print. "Joe Quintero, Apache, leader, man for the people."

Joe squinted at her
. "Don't you think that's a lit
tle... overdone
?
"

Josh folded his arms over his chest. "Can you think of a better slogan?"

"No, but I haven't tried."

"Mmm-hmm. Well, we'll see what you come up with."

"Maybe Maria has some ideas." Joe turned to her.

She shrugged. "You are a man for the people, aren't you? Most of the programs you w
ant to initiate are for the peo
ple."

Joe rubbed his chin. "Yes."

"Then why not say it?" Josh asked.
“
Tell them right up front what makes you d
ifferent from your opponent. Al
ready there's a great deal of outside interest in this election. The idea of the beloved incumbent, Ben Cartaro, versus the
innovative businessman, J
oe Quintero, has generated curi
osity among the news
people."

"Or they see a good, healthy conflict," Maria added.

"But can TV exposure affect my voters, the people I really care to reach?"

"The way I see it, the more exposure you get, the better." Josh leaned forward, elbows on his knees. His expression was earnest. "I think it's time to let everyone know what you're about, Joe. To increase respect
for yourself and your people
. To
teach the world
how the Apache are taking care of themselves. To bring attention to some of the problem areas where we need extra assistance. And to show that we're not the vicious sav
ages they've
seen
i
n
old western movie
s."

"Wow, what a speech. You're really getting into this, aren't you, bro?"

"He's right, Joe," Maria agreed. "Maybe it's time to tell the world what you're about and how you plan to help your people. Anyway, if Ben Cartaro has been around awhile, everybody on the reservation know
s him. But you're a vir
tual stranger to most. You need to be seen and heard to be understood. Do they all have TV sets, even in the remote areas?"

"Most do," Joe said. "Or some family member does."

Josh chuckled. "Or they c
ould gather at the nearest trad
ing post."

"The point is," Maria explained, "to let the voters know when and what station you'll b
e on, even if it's only a five
minute spot. Publicize your schedule everywhere—at the trading posts, in the papers, at every public function
, and on the radio
. That way the people you really
want to reach will have the op
portunity to see and hear you."

Joe had been nodding all along as she talked. "
Okay.
Sounds good."

"And think how convenient this will be." Josh framed Joe's face with his hands
as a camera
. "One trip to a radio or TV station and you'll reach thousands. By the magic of the tube, you'll be carried to the far corners of the land."

Joe and Maria exchanged smiles at Josh's reference to the old tale. "I told you you'd be speaking to the wind," she said softly.

"Have you been telling he
r Apache stories by camp
fires
at night
, Joe?" Josh teased.

Joe reached for her hand and sandwiched it affectionately between his. "Afraid she knows all my secrets."

"And she's still around?" Josh gave her a big grin. "You're a brave lady."

"Like you. Josh, I believe in what Joe's doing. And I'll do everything I can to help."

"You're a smart lady, too. You've made some good points tonight, and I think Joe's on his way to winning an election. Now if only we could get the damned McAndrew project out of the way—"

"What do you mean?" Joe demanded.

"McAndrew has gone public with their condo proposal, claiming they're negotiating now with the Apache."

"Dammit!" Joe exploded and sprang off the sofa. "How could they do that
?
It's a lie!"

“
They've just stretched the truth a bit, Joe. It's a technique to bring pressure on you and the tribe to make a d
ecision, and to make it public
," Maria said.

"I'll bet the tribal council is furious." Joe paced to the door, then whirled around. "Do they think I had anything to do with this?"

“
They aren't terribly hap
py with the situation," Josh ad
mitted. "You'll just have to let them know the
truth that
you've had nothing to do with McAndrew."

There was a moment of silence before Joe spoke. "The truth is they were here last night."

"Who? The council?"

"McAndrew and his sidekick. They tried to bribe me."

"The hell you say!
" Josh leaned forward, encouraging Joe to continue.

"They tried to get me to
agree to use my considerable in
fluence to sway the council in exchange for a sizable
cam
paign donation."

"What'd you say?"

“
Told them to go to hell!
Only in nicer language.
"

“
They must have gone s
traight from here to the newspa
per," Maria said.

"My, my." Josh clicked his
tongue against his teeth. "Pol
itics is such a dirty business.
"

"This just emphasizes the importance of getting as much media coverage as you ca
n, Joe," Maria said with convic
tion. "The people need to see and hear you
, get to know you,
in order to trust you."

Joe finally calmed down enough to take a seat beside her again. "I guess I do need to speak to the wind."

Maria laid her hand on his. "We have our work cut out for us, Joe."

Joe looked at her. "Yeah, we do."

An hour later he walked her back to her casita. "You're sure you don't want to go deep-sea fishing with us tomorrow?"

"No. You need to be alone with Josh.
Have some fun. Get closer. Besides,
I have no desire to spend my time catching fish."

"It's fun just to go out in the boat. You can relax in the sun and watch us fish. Water's clear and beautiful."

“I’ll
stick close to the beach this time."

"Looking for perfect whelks?"

"Yes, maybe." She sighed. "Maybe I'll find one this time. You never know."

He took her in his arms. "Josh likes you. He doesn't accept just anybody, you know. In fact, with his personal life so screwed up, he's been pretty miserable. Tonight he was more like his old rambunctious self."

"Well, with me there every second, he didn't have much choice except to like me."

"He's an honest man. It runs in the family."

She smiled. "You're lucky to have him so willing to help with your campaign. Now you two need some time together without me."

"I’
ll
miss you." He kissed her deeply for a long time.

"I'll miss you, too," she whispered and finally slipped into her casita alone. This was r
idiculous. She and Joe were act
ing as though they couldn't bear to be apart one day and a couple of nights. Yet soon they'd be leaving Mexico and each other. What would they do then
?
Just w
hat would they do?

When Joe returned to his casita, Josh was gathering the beer bottles that had accumulated on the table. "She's a real beauty, Joe."

“
Yep."

"And a smart
one
."

"Agreed."

"I'm not blind. It looks serious between you two."

"About as serious as it gets
in a week
."

"Great. Talk about complicating your life..."

"I know."

Maria
spent
much of the following two days planning the next Speechcraft sessions she
and
Joe
would work on next
. Occasionally she walked the beach alone, looking for shells, thinking.