“I told him no. When I left, I said that it never happened.”
Elena lowered her head and glanced up from under her lashes with a slow grin. “But it did. And you liked it.”
Mercy set the brush on the nightstand. “Yeah. I liked it. I liked it a lot. Way too much. And that’s why it can’t ever happen again.”
Elena scowled. “That’s stupid. You like him. I can see it in your eyes. In the way your face goes all soft when you talk about him.”
“He’s a Bravo. His grandfather stole our land, tore down our home and killed our grandfather. Then he murdered our uncle. And his father caused our father to leave our mother.”
“James Bravo didn’t steal our land. His horse beat grandfather’s horse in a race. James Bravo bet money. And grandfather bet La Joya because he wanted that money and the rancho was all he had by then. And then grandfather died on a Bravo oil rig, working to support his family, since he’d foolishly gambled his home away.”
Mercy had her mouth hanging open by then. “What’s the matter with you? Now you’re defending the Bravos?”
“It’s a stupid feud. We both know it. James Bravo killed Uncle Emilio in self-defense.”
“That’s what the Bravos said. And the Anglo sheriff went along with his lies…”
“And Papi shouldn’t have been such a jerk when Mami took that job with the Bravo company.”
“How can you know that, Elena? You weren’t even born then.”
“I know Papi left Mami until Davis Bravo fired her and made him feel justified again for hating anyone with the last name of Bravo. I love Dad. But he shouldn’t have done that. All she did was get a job. This is America. A woman has rights, too.”
Mercy put her hands against her cheeks, assumed a stunned expression, and teased, “I am shocked, Elena. Shocked.”
“Joke about it all you want. You know I’m right. It’s time to put an end to this feud. Time peace was made. And if you like Luke Bravo, I don’t see why you can’t go out with him.”
Mercy made a low sound of disbelief. “Seriously. It’s a bad idea and it would only make trouble—and I have to say, since you got back from California, you’ve turned into a real hothead.” Elena had recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a major in American history and an education minor. She would take her first teaching job in the fall.
“I do see things differently now,” she said. “I see that Mami’s gotten rich selling houses and condos. And Papi’s doing just fine with Cabrera Construction.” Elena was right. Luz and Javier had started with nothing and built their very own American dream. Even with the housing downturn and the various crises in the mortgage industry, the Cabreras had the reputations and client base to stay afloat in tough times. “They need to put their old prejudices behind them. It’s not like they’re all downtrodden and suffering anymore. The old animosities just hold them back.”
“Maybe so. But they still wouldn’t like it if I went out with Luke. I don’t want to hurt them. I couldn’t stand to do that.”
“If they’re hurt, that’s their choice. They could choose otherwise. And they don’t get to be the deciders on your life. They just don’t. Es su vida. Your life, not theirs. You have to stand up, Mercy mine. Stand up—and I will stand with you.”
Mercy reached out and guided a thick coil of brown hair back over her sister’s slim shoulder. “My sister, the firebrand,” she said fondly.
“And proud of it,” Elena replied, a certain determined gleam in her eyes. Mercy knew that gleam. It meant trouble. She would trust her sister with her very life. But she should never have been so stupid as to tell Elena about kissing Luke—and liking it. “I have an idea,” Elena announced. “And don’t look at me like that. It’s a killer idea. Saturday night. You and me. We’re going to Armadillo Rose. And we are going to dance and do us a few shooters and have a fine time.”
Armadillo Rose was a great local bar in Southtown, a few miles north of where Mercy lived. They had live music on the weekends and the bartenders were all female and expected to be outgoing, willing to jump up and dance on the bar. It was owned and run by Corrine Lonnigan—which was why Elena had that gleam in her eye. Luke’s brother, Matt, was the father of Corrine’s only child. From what Mercy had heard, Matt and Corrine got along great, though they had never married. And Matt’s brothers and sisters were always welcome at Corrine’s bar.
“Oh, no,” said Mercy.
“Oh, yes,” said Elena. “Don’t give me any arguments. We are going.”
“If you have plans to hook me up with Luke, you’re destined for disappointment.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Come on. What’s the chance he shows up there the same night we do? Very small.”
“See? Nothing to worry about, then. We’ll have a good time and you won’t have to make a choice between what you want to do and what Mami and Papi expect of you.”
Luke kept thinking of Mercy.
Of the taste of her soft lips, the smell of her skin. It was damn distracting when he had a horse ranch to run and an estate to manage. More than once in the days right after that night in the barn, he would find himself staring into space when he should have been going over the oil leases or concentrating on the early training of a valuable foal. He checked on Candyman often, watching that stitched-up ear real close. Once or twice, he half-wished that ear would get infected so he would have to call Mercy back before her scheduled visit the following week. A man was in big trouble when he wished his prize stallion ill.
He knew he needed to get her off his mind, needed to get out and get himself some feminine companionship. Someone pretty and sweet and not a Cabrera.
His brother Caleb dropped by Saturday evening. Caleb was a salesman by nature and profession, the top producer at the family company, BravoCorp. He could sell a homeless man a bedroom set. Their dad was always offering him a management position. Caleb didn’t want to manage anything. He thrived on sales. He had a moody Balkan housekeeper named Irina and a new girlfriend every night.
The brothers had dinner together in the main dining room at the long mahogany table that could seat the whole family during holiday celebrations.
“It’s lonely in here with the just the two of us.” Caleb glanced around at the heavy, carved furniture, the three crystal chandeliers dangling from the twelve-foot ceiling and the striped silk wallpaper. “We should have eaten in the kitchen or out in the sunroom.”
Luke shrugged and sipped his wine and ordered the image of a just-kissed Mercy to get the hell out of his head. “It’s fine.”
His brother looked at him sideways. “You seem distracted. Something on your mind?”
“Not a thing.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Then Caleb set down his fork. “It’s too damn quiet. Let’s go out.”
Maybe
