A Rodeo Man's Promise. Marin Thomas

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СКАЧАТЬ “I’d go to college if the school was next to topless dancers and casinos,” Cruz said.

       “I was too busy rodeoing to gamble.” Riley winked at Maria and darned if her heart didn’t pound harder. She strangled the steering wheel and focused on the dirt road leading to the highway.

       “What do you guys do with your spare time?” Riley shifted in his seat. “Are you into sports or clubs?”

       “Yeah, we’re into clubs.” Cruz snorted.

       Maria caught Alonso watching her in the rearview mirror. The teen held a special place in her heart—he reminded her of her brother, Juan. Desperate to fit in, he was a follower not a leader. Alonso had much to offer others and she hoped to convince him to attend college after he earned his GED.

       “What clubs are you involved in?” Riley asked.

       “What do you think?” Cruz said. “We’re going to join the Los Locos.” The teen acted too tough for his own good.

       “Gangs are for losers. Most of those guys land in prison or they get shot dead on the street.”

       “Gangs are cool,” Victor said.

       “Then how come all they do is break the law, sell drugs, use drugs and shoot people?” Riley countered.

       Maria decided to intervene before the boys went ballistic. “A few of the gangs in the area have unusual talents.” She took the on-ramp to the highway. “Members of the Los Locos gang are accomplished artists.”

       “If they’re that good, why aren’t they in art school? Or a college program where they can put their creativity to good use?” Riley asked.

       “The kids come from disadvantaged backgrounds and—”

       “Disadvantaged means poor,” Victor interrupted.

       “The families can’t afford to send their son or daughter to a special school let alone an art camp during the summer months.” Maria merged with traffic and headed toward civilization. “Do you know where you want to stay for the night?” she asked Riley.

       “Take him to the Lamplight Inn down the block from our house,” Victor said. “My sister works there. She’ll show you a good time for one of those hundred-dollar bills you got in your wallet.”

       Riley ignored Victor’s comment. “Any motel is fine.”

      Motel? Maria doubted this cowboy had ever slept in a motel. She’d have to go out of her way and drop off Riley downtown at the Hyatt Regency.

       The remainder of the trip was made in silence—the gang wannabes brooding in the backseat and Riley staring at the Sandia Mountains off to the east. When they entered the Five Points neighborhood, Riley tensed. Maria was used to the rough-and-tumble areas in the South Valley, but this Kentucky-bluegrass cowboy had probably never seen urban decay the likes of what he viewed now.

       Maria’s parents lived in Artrisco, not far from the Five Points, and she’d moved in with them a year ago after ending her relationship with her fiancé, Fernando. Living with her folks was to have been temporary but Maria delayed finding her own place because she felt responsible for her mother’s continued decline in health. She turned off of Isleta Boulevard and parked in front of Cruz’s home.

       The yard was strewn with broken furniture and garbage. The plaster on the outer walls of the house had peeled away and several clay roof tiles were broken or missing. Good thing Albuquerque received less than nine inches of rain per year. Maria unsnapped her belt.

       “I don’t need an escort,” Cruz said.

       “I want to speak with your mother.”

       Cruz hopped out of the car. “You know my mom won’t be in any shape to talk.”

       Sadly, the teen’s mother was a methamphetamine addict—all the more reason to make sure Cruz stayed away from gangs and earned his GED. “Promise you’ll attend class on Monday.”

       “Yeah, okay.”

       “Cruz,” Maria called after him.

       “What?”

       “Be a man of your word.”

       After Cruz entered the house Maria spoke to Victor and Alonso. “I want you guys to keep your distance from the Los Locos. And both of you had better be ready to take that quiz on Monday.”

       The boys didn’t register a protest as Maria drove them home—two blocks from Cruz’s house.

       “Thanks for the ride,” Alonso said when he got out of the car.

       “See ya.” Victor followed Alonso into his house.

       Maria left the Five Points and made her way toward the river. She drove across Bridge Boulevard then turned on Eight Street. “The Hyatt Regency is on the other side of the Rio Grande.”

       “Do you do this all the time?” Riley asked.

       “Do what?”

       “Drive through questionable neighborhoods?”

       “Yep. Comes with the job.” She also lived in one of those questionable neighborhoods Riley referred to. She turned on Tijeras Avenue then stopped in front of the hotel.

       Riley faced her, his mouth curving. Maria swore she’d have to ingest a dozen bottles of antacid medicine before her stomach recovered from her run-in with the flying cowboy.

       “Let me buy you dinner as a thank you for helping me today,” he said.

      Dinner…as in a date? It had been months since she’d sat across the table from a man, never mind that Riley Fitzpatrick wasn’t just any man. He was a sexy young cowboy…man.

       “How old are you?” She winced when the question slipped out of her mouth.

       “Twenty-five. Does age matter if we’re only having dinner?”

      Oh, God. Maria’s face flamed. Had he guessed she’d been thinking about sex? She really needed to get laid. “Dinner would be nice, but I’m not dressed for the Hyatt. How do you feel about Mexican food?”

       “Love it.”

       “I know just the place.” Maria drove back to the other side of the Rio Grande and parked in front of a narrow brick-faced storefront with Abuela’s Cocina on the sign, sandwiched between a Laundromat and a liquor store. “‘Grandmother’s Kitchen,’” Maria said. “Consuelo makes great enchiladas.”

       “Is it safe?” Riley asked, eyeing the car filled with gangbangers at the corner. The guy in the driver’s seat glared at them.

       “No riskier than the wild horses you ride.” Rodeo could be violent at times, but at least the horses and bulls didn’t shoot at the cowboys who rode on their backs.

       They made it as far as the restaurant door when a gunshot went off. In a move so quick it snatched the air from Maria’s lungs Riley opened the café door СКАЧАТЬ