The Montoros Dynasty

Gone up for breakfast at the main house. We all thought you needed to sleep more than eat. When you’re hungry, the housekeeper has something fixed for you in the kitchen.

A

If she’d been expecting a tender missive, she was way off base. Not by any stretch of the imagination could the words be construed as personal. And the “we all” was probably only Alex making his usual sweeping judgments, thinking he knew what was best.

Well, darn him, in this case he was right. It was almost ten-thirty and she was only now feeling halfway human and presentable. Given the late hour and the fact that lunch was not far off, she only nibbled at the beautifully prepared tray of food set out in the kitchen beneath a layer of thin linen napkins.

The kiwi and grapefruit and mangoes tempted her the most. And the pitcher of freshly squeezed juice. She did allow herself one of the small perfect cinnamon rolls, as well.

By the time she had eaten and brushed her teeth, there was still no sign of anyone coming to fetch her. Not willing to sit cooling her heels, she went outside and found that a golf cart sat waiting, key in the ignition. Mindful of Alex’s alligator warnings, she eyed the open side of the low-slung vehicle with reservation.

But boredom and curiosity won out. She only took one wrong turn and recognized it immediately, so she was justifiably proud when she made it to the Montoro house without incident. The same dignified man from yesterday answered the door when she rang the bell.

Feeling unaccountably nervous, she followed him down the hall to the salon where she and Alex had met the family. Gabriel was the first to spot her hovering in the doorway. He jumped to his feet and met her halfway as she entered the room.

His hands on her shoulders, he cocked his head and studied her face, his own gaze anxious. “How do you feel, Maria?” Gently, he brushed aside a swath of hair to see the bruises she had tried so hard to disguise.

Even his gentle fingertip on her brow made her wince. “Much better,” she said. “It’s not so bad...honestly.”

He kissed her on both cheeks in the European way and released her. “I believe you are a really bad liar.”

Bella hovered, as well, surprising Maria with a quick hug. “I worried about you last night. I know the doctor said you didn’t have a concussion, but they do make mistakes sometimes.”

Being the center of attention was not a comfortable position, particularly with the entire Montoro clan in attendance. “I’m fine, really. But I appreciate your concern.”

Rafael Montoro, the older, offered her a seat at his side. “We’ve been talking business. Alex wanted more information about our company’s plans for expansion.”

She glanced at Alex, perturbed to find his expression curiously blank. “I thought this was a social visit,” she said, smiling.

Rafael nodded. “Bella just called us out on that very subject right before you arrived. I promised her no more boring talk today. I believe you young people are in for a treat. Gabriel has arranged for an airboat tour of the Everglades.”

Maria clenched the arm of the love seat. “That’s very kind, but I’m sure all of you have been there often. No need to play tourist for us.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. He was standing near the window, one hand in his pocket. His posture was relaxed, but she knew him well enough to see the traces of tension in the way he held his mouth. “What Maria isn’t saying,” he drawled, “is that she is not fond of alligators.”

Everyone looked at her, including Isabella. The older woman seemed taken aback. “It’s entirely safe,” she said in her quavering voice. “I used to love those trips when I was younger.”

Even Rafe, Gabriel’s brother, nodded. “It’s a gorgeous day. You’ll love it. I promise.”

Juan Carlos chimed in. “Ordinarily, I’d be joining you, too, Miss Ferro. The trip will be delightful. Unfortunately, I have another commitment today. But you really have nothing to worry about.”

Maria swallowed her misgivings, realizing she had no choice in the matter. “Sounds like fun.”

Seven (#u6475eb09-1048-5d04-9160-b29e47bf3f82)

Two hours later, after a sumptuous lunch of roasted pork and summer squash, Maria found herself with Bella in the backseat of a large, luxuriously outfitted van. Up front, Gabriel sat at the wheel with his brother in the passenger seat. Alex occupied the middle row, flanked by two large coolers filled with beverages and snacks.

Maria eyed the coolers with misgivings. Exactly how long was this trip? Eventually, they pulled into a nondescript gas station and met up with their guide, who then led them in his ancient pickup truck out to the docks where the boats were tethered.

On the upside, the airboats appeared to be modern and well maintained. The padded seats, three and three, were elevated to provide the best vantage point for viewing wildlife. But there was no railing of any kind.

Bella took her arm. “We’ll give you the seat in the middle.”

That was some small comfort. Maria had assumed Alex might want to sit beside her, but he joined Rafael in the other row. Leaving Gabriel to flank her opposite Bella.

When the guide handed out headphones to block the noise of the motor, Maria eyed her set askance, deciding that she’d rather be deaf than have that thing pressing on her injured head. Gabriel fished out a plastic-wrapped pair of earbuds from his pocket. “You may not need any of this. It’s up to you. But I brought you these, just in case.”

“That was sweet of you.”

He shook his head ruefully. “Merely my guilty conscience at work.”

As it turned out, the airboat was noisy, but not incredibly so. The pilot scudded rapidly through the waterways until they reached the Everglades proper. Now he slowed the pace, sliding over the surface of the water as they entered the grasslands. Birds flew everywhere. One of the first varieties of wildlife they spotted in the water was not an alligator at all, but actually a banded snake that turned out to be very rare.

In the midst of the beauty and wonder of it all, Maria forgot to be afraid. Almost. The vegetation was lush and the heat oppressive. Before starting out, she had pulled her hair into a high ponytail and donned a hat and dark sunglasses. Even so, the saunalike atmosphere was sweltering. Soon they were deep in a mangrove swamp. The creek they traversed narrowed in spots until there was barely room for the boat.

All the while she was conscious of Alex sitting behind her. What was he thinking? Maybe not about her at all. Perhaps last night meant nothing more to him than a bit of fooling around. The thought left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. And the taste of shame.

It was one thing to initiate something that might be serious, but another entirely to think that Alex saw her as an easy mark.

When Gabriel touched her arm, pointing out a bald eagle, she forced herself to ignore Alex completely. The Everglades were fascinating, 4,300 square miles, a river of grass...unlike anything she had ever seen.

Again, she asked herself why the Montoros would choose to go home to Alma. For the generation sitting in the boat today, Alma was no more home than it was to Maria. She had chosen to move there so she could keep her job when the Ramons relocated their oil business. But for Bella and Rafael and Gabriel, there was nothing but the history in dry books to tie them to the island nation. Who could expect them to tear up roots and make a new home four thousand miles away?

After they had been touring for an hour and a half, the captain steered the boat to a halt and tied it to an outcropping of bushes. Maria looked around with a frown. “Why are we stopping?”

Rafael spoke up. “We like to explore the island. You can get a feel for what it was like before humans came.”

“Um, no thanks. I’ll wait for you here.”

The other four and the grizzled captain stared at her.

She shrugged. “I looked up fatal alligator attacks on humans on the internet yesterday afternoon. I’ll be fine right here. I promise.”

The captain chewed a toothpick in the side of his mouth. “Reckon you’ll be safer on land. No gator’s gonna go after six adults together. But one might take a notion to climb into an empty airboat.”

Maria scrambled onto shore without another word, enduring the laughter that followed her. The men set up a folding table and some deck chairs. Their guide started opening the coolers and pulling out packets of boiled shrimp and French bread.

The meal had a surreal feel to it. Though Alex still avoided her, she found a quiet pleasure in the day. This trip to the States might be her last chance to travel for many years. Her position paid well as such jobs went, but if she planned to help her mother retire early, there would be little extra money, certainly not for worldwide jaunts.

The negatives facing her had piled up; the negotiations in particular were not going well. Alex was giving her the cold shoulder. She had a bruise the size of a small country around her eye, with a headache to match. But even so, she couldn’t be sorry about today. The Montoros were fun and interesting people. She was seeing an ecosystem that was both fragile and starkly beautiful.

When the meal was finished, the Montoro siblings squabbled about how to pack up the leftovers. The guide headed back to the boat. For a moment, Maria and Alex were isolated in a bubble of silence a few yards away from the others. She summoned her courage and spoke her mind. “Are you angry with me, Alex?”

She saw a muscle in his throat work. “No. Of course not.”

“You’ve barely looked at me all day. I can’t help thinking the change in you is about last night.”

Beneath his tan he was pale. He glanced around, perhaps hoping for rescue, but the Montoros were oblivious. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said.