Speak to the Wind (8 page)

"Do you remember my telling you about Joe Quintero?"

"The handsome Apache who helped fight the fire at the cabin?
Oh, yes."

Maria nodded. "He's running for chairman of the High Meadow Apache tribe. The man has never made a public speech. And he's never been on television. He wants me to teach him
.
"

Letty beamed as she watched her young boss twirl the chair around again. It had been a long time since she'd seen Maria so happy.

The California sun sent shafts of light across
Joe
’s desk. He waved his Chief Operating Officer,
Kendra McGee
into
his office. "Come on in and have a seat.
Got some things to discuss.
"

She referred to a notebook. "Maxwell and I couldn't come to an agreement on the phone
, so we set up a meeting for to
morrow to discuss their project. I'd like you to be there
, to settle the dust and help us reach a consensus
. And your brother returned your call while you were out. He said he'd call again later."

"Josh
called
?
" Joe shook his head. "Damn!
We've bee
n missing each other all day. I’ll
call him
again in a little while. But first, you and I need to discuss some changes
afoot
, Kendra." Joe rose from behind his desk and opened a cabinet door. He brought
out a bottl
e of bourbon, usually reserved for clients, and set it on one end of the desk.

Kendra McGee looked curiously at her boss.

"I've decided," he said simply.

"I figured," she answered tightly. "I'd be lying if I didn't admit to spending my share of time worrying about this, Joe."

He got ice cubes from
a
small refrigerator in
the corner
and dropped them into two glasses. Then he sat back down and gazed distractedly at the items. "During all this
time of deliberating,
I've learned that it's very important to me. More than I realized
initially
when the tribal committee approached me to r
un
for chairman. I want you to understand, Kendra, that to me it's serious business. At least now, at this point in my life, it is. Maybe at another time I wouldn't be willing or able to spend four years on such a project."

Kendra tugged at the hem of her skirt. "I'm not making any judgments, Joe. This is your heritage and your business, and I respect both."

"Thanks. Means a lot to have your support." He looked steadily at her. "I know this probably sounds crazy, Kendra, but I've decided to take their offer and go back. I'm going to run for the office of chairman of the High Meadow Apache."

“
I’
m not surprised," she said with a little smile. "But, Joe, what
about
the company? Four years is a long time and
we
having
twenty-five employees dependent on Quintero Engineering."

"That's why I called you in today. I'm not going to throw away all I've—we've—worked for here. But I want you to understand what I'm doing and why. And I want you to run the company until my term of office
with the tribe
is finished."

Kendra gave a little gasp of surprise. "You... you mean it, Joe?"

He nodded confidently. "I'm positive. I've thought about this long and hard, just as I've thought about my decision to return to Arizona. I've worked with you for five years now, and I've watched you carefully. I like the way you manage, the way you handle crises. I think you'll do a fine job.
I will remain available to you, at any time.
" He stood and splashed a little bourbon over the melting ice, and handed one glass to her. "
This is a
challenge
, but
I know you can handle it.
You will be my Acting Chief
Executive Officer .
"

"I don't know what to say, Joe."

"Say yes."

She nodded. "Of course, yes
. All right, yes!
"

He
shook her hand firmly
and clicked his glass to hers. "Here's to our challenges, Kendra. Yours and mine."

Kendra stood and retur
ned Joe's toast.
“
I
think you're wise, Joe. And I like your decisions."

“This is a celebration,” he said
and directed her to the small conference table in the corner. "Let's figure out how we'll manage this, Kendra. I won't be completely inaccessible. I'd like to be a part of the ma
jor decisions. For instance, I’ll arrange to at
tend monthly meetings...."

The two put their heads together to work out a plan, and when Kendra left, it was al
most dark. But they had a satis
factory strategy for handling the business.

Joe looked at the notes scattered on the table, the charts, the new schedules. He knew this whole endeavor was risky. His future was unpredictable. That alone was scary. But also exciting.
Challenging. He liked that.

Stuffing his hands into hi
s pockets, he walked to the win
dow. His view included proo
f of affluence and signs of fur
ther expansion stretching endlessly over the southern California hills. In either dir
ection were fields of newly con
structed office complexes, condos, town homes, high-rise apartments. The growth was inevitable and
almost
out of control.

After two weeks in th
e remote White Mountains of Ari
zona, Joe felt
somewhat
t
rapped in California's civiliza
tion. He wanted open spaces and lofty mountains thick with timber. He wanted to see the eagles flying free and feel the wind's power in his face.
He wanted to
kiss
Maria again.
The phone interrupted his thoughts, and he reached for it.

"Quintero Engineering."

"Hey, Joe! How's it going, bro? I got your message to call, but hell, you're never there
.
"

"
That’s what cell phones are for,
Josh
.
" Joe smiled at the sound of his brother's voice. "It's about time we connected. How are things in Oklahoma?"

"Looks like my team is heading for a losing season. Doesn't bode well for the coach."

“
Too bad. And you thought they had potential last spring. How are things with you and Judith?"

"Funny you should ask. She, uh, left
last week. This time I think it’
s for good."

Joe sighed. His brother's marriage had been on the verge of collapse for
more than a year
. "What about Mick?"

"I will fight not to lose custody of my son; surely you know that."

"I don't blame you, Josh."

"What's going on out there on the high-tech coast? Have you decided?"

"Yep. I'm going to do it."

"You have my admiration, Joe. Not many men would dump a successful business
to go live on a
remote
In
dian reservation. Even if it was for a good cause."

“
I’
m not dumping anything. Kendra is taking over. I've seen the way she works, and I trust her. She can handle Quintero Engineering as well as anyone.
She’s my new CEO.
"

"Sounds like you have it all worked out."

"Not quite. I need a campaign manager. One I can trust."

"Are you offering me
a
job?"

"Who else? A coach with a losing season and a marriage on the rocks should get
the hell
out of town."

"Hell, Joe. I don't k
now anything about election cam
paigns."

"But you know me. And you understand our heritage. And I trust you."

“I’
m choking up."

Joe laughed. "Well, they're looking for new blood, new ideas."

"New blood, huh?" Josh chuckled. "Well, I guess that's
us
."

"All right! Look, we need to get together to make some plans. Why don't you fly out
here
next weekend?"

Joe finished the conversation with his brother and hung up with a satisfied sigh. Things were beginning to fall into place. He was convinced that with thorough planning it could work. He needed Josh as
his right
hand man, needed some
one who understood this quest. He wanted someone who
wouldn't question his mot
ives but who would
understand
that re
turning to the White Mountains was something he had to do.

Inevitably Joe's thoughts turned to Maria Eden. She, too,
c
ould help him achieve his goals. But would she understand his motives? He clenched his fist. That didn't matter. She would teach him the skills he needed. He told himself that her personal feelings were unimportant.

He recalled her beauty, pale and delicate. Her blond hair, floating freely in the wind; her smile, tempting; her brown eyes, alluring. The touch of her lips had jolted him to the core, and remembering made him long to feel them again. He could hardly wait for their rendezvous in Mexico. Just this morn
ing he'd received a call confirming her acceptance.

Joe smiled. It had taken
some persuasion, but he had con
vinced the election committee that he needed her. And he
really
did. He'd never felt more
sure about a woman in his life
.

Chapter Four

Her plane was late.

Joe paced in front of the spacious windows of the small Mexican airport, occasionally checking th
e thick, low
hanging layer of cl
ouds. He approached the ticket counter for the third time in twenty mi
nutes, unable to mask his uneas
iness. "Excuse me, sir. Can you give me any information on
Flight 1482
from Phoenix?"

The ticket agent didn't even look up from his newspaper. "She is late, senor."

"I can see that. Do you have any idea when it will arrive?"

"She is storming everywhere. Very bad."

"Has the plane taken off from Phoenix?"

"I do not know, senor."

Joe's frustration mounted with e
ach of the agent's seem
ingly indifferent remarks. "Well, what the hell do you know?"

The man shrugged and rattled the paper as he turned the page. "She is raining, senor."

"She sure is." Joe muttered and stalked away. He stood by the window, one hand stuf
fed in his pocket, the other im
patiently twirling a yellow rose. Rain pelted the runway, making tiny pockmarks in the sheet of water that covered it.

He'd arrived yesterday, before the weather fell apart, to a warm, sunny Mexico. Dammit, why couldn't the weather be nice for Maria's arrival?
He thought of her, a
woman who'd captured his imagi
nation from the beginning. What would she be like as he got
to know her? Would the spark they'd both felt last month in the mountains still be there?

It was another hour and a half before the local airport staff began moving about, indicating on a crude bulletin board
the arrival of Flight 1482
originating in Phoenix. Joe felt some degree of anxiety as he watched the
plane emerge from the low ceil
ing of gray-white clouds and splash down
o
nto the sheet of water
covering the runway
. It was with great reli
ef that he recognized Maria mak
ing her way down the steep metal air stairs. She dashed across the tarmac through the pou
ring rain.

Standing in the customs line with the other passengers, she threw back the hood of her
beige
raincoat. Her blond hair had been neatly tucked into a knot, but several tendrils had worked loose and hung in soft waves around her face. She was beautiful
as ever
, and he felt more than sparks as he waited for her. It was all Joe could do to
stay on the far side of the bar
rier, away from her.

Maria spotted Joe and ga
ve him a little wave of recogni
tion. She could hardly wait to get out of the tiny terminal and be with him. It was a long
anticipated moment that was de
layed even longer for passport checks. Now, after running through the rain, she was wet and cold.