A Willing Wife

“Oh, he is such a handsome boy,” Rosita had exclaimed again and again. “And you are so beautiful, Maggie. Oh, my dear daughter, I’ve prayed so often that you would return to us. Now, let’s get you settled in, then we’ll have coffee and talk. We have a lot to catch up on.”

Rosita rarely had the time to write long letters, and Ruben corresponded with no one. But over the years Rosita had often scribbled notes to her daughter, passing on what Rosita considered to be the most crucial information about everyone who currently lived or previously had lived, on the ranch. And, of course, there’d been the long-distance phone calls between mother and daughter.

Those notes and phone calls were the reason Maggie knew about Ryan Fortune’s divorce problems, and about his new love, Lily Cassidy, which, in fact, wasn’t a new love at all but an old love renewed. Then there was the bewildering event of baby Bryan’s kidnapping.

Over coffee or tea at the kitchen table in the evening Maggie and Rosita did most of their talking. It began the first night Maggie returned to the ranch, and was what they were doing the evening of the day that Maggie and Dallas had met again because of Travis’s disobedient behavior. With Travis tucked into bed and Ruben reading his paper in the living room, Rosita related the latest news. “Sheriff Wyatt Grayhawk is still investigating the identity of the mystery baby. Of course, as I told you before, FBI agent Devin Kincaid rescued a baby from the kidnappers who the family believed was baby Bryan. But when Claudia and Matthew saw him, they knew it wasn’t their son. They’ve kept him and named him Taylor. More mysterious still is that the child turned out to be a Fortune—he has the crown-shaped birthmark and rare blood type. Yet no Fortune has claimed him.”

Maggie sipped her coffee. “That is so odd, isn’t it?”

“Very. He has to be the son of one of the Fortune men, because if any of the Fortune women had given birth, someone would know about it.”

“But which man could it be? How will Wyatt find out?”

Rosita leaned forward. “I heard that he’s mentioned a DNA screening on every one of the Fortune males.”

“But that’s so…so personal!”

Rosita shrugged. “So is fathering a child and then pretending you know nothing about it.”

“Mama, most of the Fortune men have pretty fast reputations, but I can’t imagine any of them knowingly denying their own flesh and blood.”

“I agree, but I have this feeling—”

Ruben shouted from the living room, “Rosita, stop with the feelings!”

“Oh, hush!” she called back. “You know my premonitions are more often true than not.”

Maggie had heard the same exchange from her parents before, and she hastened to change the subject, grabbing at the first thing that entered her mind. “It’s hard to believe that Cruz is married and settled down, isn’t it? He always had so many girlfriends.”

“Ah, but things went very differently when he met Savannah. They had their ups and downs, of course. Only once in a while does true love run smoothly. But they are happy now.”

“And I’m happy for them.”

Rosita nodded. “Yes, we all are. And I’m so pleased about the child they are expecting.”

“I’m sure you are, Mama.” Maggie smiled. “You will have another grandchild to love.” Her smile faded slightly as she thought of her and Craig’s shotgun wedding. Their marriage hadn’t lasted. She hoped Cruz and Savannah’s would endure forever.

“I’m so proud of him for striking out on his own,” Maggie murmured, forcing her thoughts into a happier vein. “I can’t believe he’s finally going to have his own ranch. That piece of land he bought is breathtaking. He’s going to make something of himself, Mama, and that’s very exciting.”

“Yes, it is, but it wouldn’t have been quite so easy to do if Dallas Fortune hadn’t offered to invest in Cruz’s dream.”

Maggie frowned. “That’s true, isn’t it. Mama, for Cruz’s sake I hope his ranch and horse operation doesn’t end up being just another Fortune possession.”

“Dallas isn’t like that, Maggie. I’m positive that his investment is in Cruz, not in the ranch itself.”

“Oh, I believe that Dallas’s investment is in Cruz, too. But after Cruz works himself to death starting up the ranch and getting it in good shape and running smoothly, what is Dallas’s attitude going to be then?”

Rosita looked shocked. “Maggie, what are you thinking of? Dallas is not plotting to benefit from Cruz’s hard work.”

Maggie sighed. “I’m sorry, Mama.”

“Dallas is not going to take advantage of Cruz,” Rosita repeated. “He’s not that kind of man.”

“What kind of man is he, Mama?”

Rosita thought a moment, then said with a saddened sigh, “He’s a lonely man, Maggie. He took the death of his wife and baby very hard.”

Maggie let that pass, for the moment, and the brief interval altered her mother’s thoughts. Rosita began to beam. “It’s so good having you home, Maggie. Promise you will never leave again.”

Maggie replied gently, “Mama, this is just a visit.” She smiled. “Granted, it’s a long visit, but eventually Travis and I will have to live someplace else.”

“No!” Rosita cried, then called to her husband, “Ruben! Maggie said this is just a visit.”

Ruben appeared in the doorway still holding the newspaper. “Why do you say such a thing and break your mama’s heart?” he asked Maggie.

“Papa, I can’t live off you and Mama indefinitely,” Maggie said weakly. She loved her father dearly, but he could be very daunting, and right now he wore an expression that made her feel like a child again.

“This is your home. You and Travis will stay,” Ruben said with a finality that brooked no further debate. He returned to his chair in the living room.

Maggie looked down at her coffee cup. Her parents were united against her in this case. There was no point in arguing with either of them. When the time came, she and Travis would simply leave. Regardless of their generous, loving spirit, she could not live off her aging, hardworking mother and father. Rosita was head housekeeper in Ryan Fortune’s huge mansion, and Ruben was a cowhand. They had already raised their family and should not have to raise Maggie’s, too.

While it was good to be home for a visit, things weren’t quite the same as they used to be. Or maybe they were exactly the same, Maggie thought, and she’d simply forgotten how deeply her mother had always involved herself in the Fortune family’s troubles, and how quickly she had defended anything they’d ever done. Maggie now saw that involvement and defensiveness from a much different perspective. As strange as it seemed, Rosita loved the Fortunes, and she worried about them as she would a second family.

Maggie became introspective. Her mother might love the Fortunes, but she certainly didn’t. Neither did she dislike them; they were simply there, rich beyond belief, and obviously bored with life, because one or more of them was forever getting into or causing trouble.

Well, she wanted no part of them. She’d come home to see her family, and to get herself back on track, not to get involved with the Fortunes.

But today’s event seemed to have worked against that philosophy, she realized, and though it would bring Dallas’s name back into their conversation, she couldn’t keep it from her mother.

Maggie related the incident as calmly as she could manage. “Travis could have been—” she couldn’t force the word killed out of her mouth “—seriously injured.”

“Well, thank God Dallas was there,” Rosita exclaimed. “I’m so glad you met him again. He’s a fine man, Maggie, but so alone. My heart goes out to him every time I see him.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t have to be alone, Mama.”

“He’s an honorable man who loved his wife,” Rosita said with defensive pride in Dallas’s lonely existence. “Mourning Sara’s death the way he’s done indicates respect for her memory. Too many people seem to forget a beloved spouse within months of their passing, which I will never understand. Do you think I could forget your father so soon if something should happen to him, God forbid? No indeed, Dallas is to be admired for holding his grief so close to his heart.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Maggie said quietly, recalling quite vividly the way Dallas had looked at her today. He hadn’t been thinking of Sara then, Maggie thought. And she knew that he would have stayed and talked to her for longer, if she had encouraged further discussion.

But what did a Fortune and a Perez have to say to each other? Oh, they might do business together, as Dallas and Cruz were doing, but Dallas breathed the rarefied air of the very wealthy, and Maggie was the daughter of a housekeeper and a cowhand. Not that she was even a tiny bit ashamed of her parents’ life-style or history. Rosita and Ruben had raised their five children in this very house, and it had been a home brimming with love and good morals.

Still, the distance between the Fortunes and the Perezes was much farther than the walk from Ryan’s southwest mansion to this cozy little house.

Strangely, knowing how far apart the two families really were didn’t seem to keep Maggie from thinking about the unique color of Dallas’s eyes or his wonderful smile. Sensible or not, she knew that he had stirred something within her today that had nothing at all to do with gratitude over his rescuing Travis.

She gave her head an almost angry shake to push Dallas from her mind. She was absolutely not going to get silly over Dallas Fortune.

“So, Mama,” she said matter-of-factly, “how did your day go?”