Texas Mum. Roz Fox Denny

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ

      The last response Delaney had expected from Dario if ever they met again was that he’d totally and completely reject her in such a cavalier manner. She numbly registered Maria Sofia recklessly propelling the horse between Dario and the chute where two wiry men were dragging in another bellowing bull. Through her misery, Delaney saw the girl garner Dario’s attention.

      “Honestly, you need to spare a minute and hear what Ms. Blair traveled so far to tell you.”

      Reaching up, Dario grasped the mare’s soft leather hackamore, a bitless bridle favored by vaqueros to train horses. His sister had no fear and ignored most boundaries—it didn’t matter how many times he and his brothers lectured Maria Sofia about the dangers for a slip of a girl breaking a range horse that stood fifteen hands high. Her mother, Dario’s stepmother, had died in the accident that had maimed their father. From the moment she’d returned home from finishing school, she’d expected the predominantly male household to be lenient, Dario thought; even now she was openly challenging him.

      He knew he shouldn’t let his sister manipulate him, but he gave in to curiosity. What possible reason could bring Delaney Blair to see him? Driven still by an anger he couldn’t explain for a woman he’d never been able to forget, who haunted his dreams, Dario strode up to Delaney and asked curtly, “Okay, so what do you want?”

      “For us to be civil, or is that too much to ask?” Delaney wanted to lash out at Dario but knew she shouldn’t. An outburst would likely ruin her chance that he’d agree to be tested. She hated being reduced to dirt by his flint-hard eyes.

      “It may be too much to ask,” he ground out. “Especially since I doubt you’ve just happened to drop by to catch up for old time’s sake.”

      Their sharp exchange had drawn the attention of the men who’d apparently decided to hold back the next bull. Changing tack, Delaney softened her tone. “I’m sorry I popped in on you without warning. I expected you’d be surprised, not hostile. Be that as it may, can we have a word alone?” She flashed a hesitant look at their audience.

      Dario’s first inclination was to refuse. But after glancing around, he saw how the others in the corral focused on them. Even Maria Sofia had dismounted and leaned toward them. Motioning for Delaney to follow, he turned and they walked toward the far fence.

      Swallowing, Delaney whispered his name, her voice catching at the end.

      “Just spit it out, Delaney.”

      She hesitated again, then quickened her step to come up beside him. He’d set a booted foot on the lowest rung of the wood-railed corral, flagrantly male and heart-stoppingly good-looking. The confident, sexy stance reminded her of their brief but passionate affair and drove Delaney’s carefully crafted speech away. She couldn’t control her thoughts. “You left me pregnant,” she said and watched his body stiffen and his foot slip off the rail with a thud. She wanted to snatch back her words. Instead, she continued. “It’s true. After you left Texas, I gave birth to your son. His name is Nickolas. Right now he’s in a Lubbock hospital battling leukemia for the second time in his life.”

      Dario balled and un-balled his hands, yet said nothing, so Delaney talked faster, explaining how Nick had blessedly gone into remission after weeks of treatments during his first brush with the illness. “I assumed he was cured. Everyone did. But two months ago his fevers came back. He needs a bone marrow transplant. In a quirk of fate, I’m not a match. Nor is anyone currently in the national bone marrow registry. All of my friends and many of the people I work with as a vet have been tested. The problem is that kids with mixed blood present special difficulties. We need someone of Hispanic descent, and we’ve signed up and tested as many people as we can. I brought a packet of information if you’d like to study it. Or, you can go online.” Delaney pursed her lips, wishing he would say something. “I wouldn’t have bothered you, but Nick’s doctors say he’s out of options.”

      She couldn’t bring herself to say to the stone-faced man staring so coldly at her that Nickolas might die without a match. Wishing she didn’t feel so desperate, she wound down, continuing, “I’m here to ask you...beg you to be tested. The doctors in Texas can arrange for you to have blood drawn in Buenos Aires. You’d only need to fly to Texas if you are a match. Even though I don’t have the necessary blood markers, Nick’s doctors think you or someone in your family might.”

      “This is all bullshit, Delaney. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull.” He threw up a hand. “We only had one night together. But something I am sure of, I used protection that night. So your kid’s not mine,” he said, slapping his hand against his chest.

      “I don’t know what went wrong with our protection, but something did. You know very well you were my first, Dario. And there’s been no one since. Not since you left me without a word.”

      “Don’t pretend you don’t know why I left. Your dad made it very clear when he caught me sneaking downstairs from your room at dawn. He ordered me to leave the ranch and to never contact you again, and he threatened to see that Estancia Sanchez never sold another bull to the Southwestern rodeo stockmen. Which he did anyway, by spreading lies about our bulls being diseased. We had a hell of a time regaining our reputation.”

      She stopped a moment. “Wh-what do you mean my dad ordered you to not contact me again, and held sway over stock contractors?” She drew back, narrowing her eyes.

      “He said he’d spent a fortune on your education and you weren’t going to throw away his dream of you being a veterinarian on some oversexed foreigner. He followed me as I rounded up my crew, making sure we left the ranch. He swore if I tried to reach you, Estancia Sanchez would never sell another bull in Texas or surrounding states. That’s the bulk of our US business. I held up my end of the bargain, but he did all he could to ruin us. On top of that, we had to eat the cost of transporting home eight expensive bulls at a terrible time for my family. It’s only recently that Vicente was able to get anyone from the Southern rodeo circuit to consider our animals. If you don’t believe me, ask your father.”

      Delaney massaged the suddenly icy skin of her upper arms. “I can’t ask him. The week after you left, he was out on the range, miles from the house, and his appendix ruptured. A neighbor saw buzzards circling late in the day and rode over to investigate. He found my dad on the ground, his horse watching over him. The medical examiner said gangrene had poured through Dad’s bloodstream, killing him. The weeks that followed were the worst of my life. For one thing, I had no idea he’d mortgaged the ranch to pay for my schooling. The banker said that rather than sell off land, Dad floated a second lien to buy the bulls. I didn’t even know Dad had become involved as a rodeo stockman. The bank ordered the bulls to be returned to you, not my dad. I had no home, no father and no practice to go with my new doctorate when what I thought was the flu turned out to be morning sickness.”

      Dario’s eyes widened. “If what you say is true, Delaney, I’m sorry.”

      “It is true. Every word,” she said huffily.

      “But why didn’t you get hold of me then? Why wait so long?”

      “My God, Dario, you had dropped out of my life. A woman has her pride.”

      “You wait years, then spring this kind of news on me? Bah! So, who spread the word to other stockmen that our bulls were flawed?”

      “I’ve no clue. Maybe my dad didn’t trust us, and called people anyway. He could see how badly I wanted to hear from you.” Delaney’s voice gave out.

      Dario threw up his hands. “I tell you what, Delaney. Bring the boy to СКАЧАТЬ