Dancing in the Moonlight (14 page)

Not that she heard much of the band, introduced as Sagebrush Serenade. She didn’t have much chance, too busy talking to everyone in town. She had been hugged more times tonight than she had in the entire dozen years since she left Pine Gulch, and she thought she had been greeted by every single person she went to school with.

She couldn’t believe all the people who turned out—people she never would have expected. Mrs. Hall—her tenth-grade English teacher whose favorite phrase on grade sheets had been ‘You’re not working up to your potential’—looked as if she hadn’t so much as changed a wrinkle in twenty years.

Pat Conners, her first date, was there with his wife and two young children.

Even Jesse Johnson, the bus driver who had picked her and the Dalton boys up as long as she could remember, was out on the dance floor, and he had to be pushing eighty by now.

More surprising was the sight of Carmela, the young pregnant woman she’d met at Jake’s clinic. When she’d
seen her in the crowd, Maggie had kept an eye on her. Carmela had started out sticking with others in the Latino community; now she was talking with two Anglo women, one of whom also looked pregnant.

Maggie probably would have found it all heartwarming, a reaffirmation of small-town values, if she hadn’t been the guest of honor.

“We couldn’t be more proud of you, young lady. You’re a credit to the whole town.”

She turned back to Charlie Bannister, the mail carrier who had been mayor of Pine Gulch as long as she could remember. She didn’t think his years of service to the town had anything to do with a particular craving for power, more that no one else wanted the job.

She smiled politely. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.”

“Purple Heart, I understand.”

“Yes sir.”

“A great honor. Yes, indeed. I’m only sorry you had to make such a sacrifice to earn it. But looks like you’re learning to adjust. Good for you. Good for you.”

She didn’t know what to do except nod and smile as the mayor went on at length about how his cousin had to have a leg amputated—“the diabetes, don’t you know”—and how he never walked again.

“You’re getting around well. I wouldn’t even know your leg was a fake if I didn’t know your story,” the mayor said.

As the mayor went on and on, Maggie spied Jake moving among the guests. Though she tried to catch his eye to send him a subliminal message to rescue her, he seemed to be as much in demand as she was.

He was the only doctor in town, she reminded herself. He probably couldn’t even walk into the little grocery store in town without being assaulted for medical advice.

“Excuse me, won’t you?” The mayor suddenly said, much to her relief. “The boss is trying to get my attention.”

She followed his gaze and found Dellarae, his dumpling-plump wife, gesturing to him.

“Of course,” she said with barely concealed relief. “It wouldn’t do to keep the boss waiting.”

The mayor gave her a grateful smile and a fatherly pat on the arm. “Knew you’d understand. You always were a sensible girl.”

Since when? she wondered. If she were sensible, she wouldn’t be here. She would have climbed back into Jake’s SUV and driven away the moment she caught sight of the row of cars out front.

No, if she were sensible, she wouldn’t have been in Jake’s SUV in the first place. A woman with common sense certainly would know better than to spend time with a man who turned her knees to mush just by looking at her out of those stunning blue eyes of his.

Would her mother ever forgive her if she ditched the party and found a ride back to the Luna? Probably not.

But then, where was her mother? she wondered. She’d seen her that first moment when they pulled up, but since then she seemed to have disappeared. Probably in the kitchen. That was usually Viviana’s favorite locale.

She spied the Elwood sisters heading in her direction, their lined faces set in matching expressions of pity and avid interest, and decided now would be a good time to check on her mother.

Shifting around so quickly she almost lost her balance, she turned and headed for the house. She discovered the back door opened into the Cold Creek kitchen, which at first glance wasn’t at all what she expected. It was large and open, painted a sunny, welcoming yellow.

Her mother wasn’t in sight—the only occupant was a young woman in a white apron who looked to be arranging food on a platter.

“Sorry,” Maggie murmured, guilt washing through her as she watched the woman work. This was all for her, she realized. Everyone throwing this party had been so kind, and all she could do was feel sorry for herself and wish she were anywhere else on earth.

“I was looking for my mother, Viviana Cruz.”

The woman’s smile was as warm as the room. “You must be the guest of honor, aren’t you? I’m Caroline, Wade Dalton’s wife. What a pleasure to meet you! I tried to talk to you earlier but you were surrounded by well-wishers. I’m so pleased to have a chance to say hello and welcome you back to town.”

Maggie blinked, unsure how to respond to this woman. She tried to drum up her usual antipathy toward anyone related to the Daltons, but this woman seemed so nice and genuinely friendly, it was hard to feel anything but warmth.

“Um, thank you,” she finally said. “Thank you for opening your home. I’m sure it wasn’t easy throwing a party for a stranger.”

“You’re only a stranger to me, not the rest of the family. When Marjorie and Viv came up with the idea
for a party, we knew the Cold Creek was the ideal place for it. We’ve got the room here for parking and for dancing, so when Jake suggested it, it just made sense. Wade insisted.”

Wade? Jake’s older brother barely knew her. Why would he want all these people wandering through his house, their vehicles ripping up a perfectly good pasture?

“Still, I’m sorry you had to go to so much bother.”

“It was no trouble, I promise. Your mother and Marjorie did most of the work, with a little help from Quinn.”

“Quinn?”

“My father. Marjorie’s husband. He loves a good party.”

“Right. I’m sorry, I forgot his name.”

Her mother had told her the story of Majorie Dalton’s elopement with a man she had an e-mail romance with—a man whose daughter had come to the ranch in search of the newlyweds and ended up falling for Jake’s widowed older brother and his three young children.

“I believe I met him shortly after we arrived. Tall, handsome, charming smile.”

“That’s my dad,” Caroline said ruefully. Her gaze sharpened suddenly, and Maggie had the odd sensation this woman could see into her deepest secrets.

“This all must be very uncomfortable for you.”

She almost equivocated, gave some polite denial, but something in the woman’s expression compelled her to honesty. “Yes. A bit. I’m not really crazy about being the center of attention.”

“Jake warned Viv and Marjorie you might not be ready for a big party, that they should start with something small and intimate with just close friends if they
insisted on celebrating, but I’m afraid things spiraled a little out of control. I must say you’re handling it all very graciously.”

Maggie made a face. “Not really. Why do you think I came in here to hide out?”

Caroline laughed, and Maggie felt an instant connection with this woman with the kind eyes. The other woman’s laughter slid away after a moment, and her eyes filled with a quiet concern.

“I’m sure you’ve had all the counseling you could stand at the Army hospital, but if you ever need to talk to someone here, I hope you know I’m always willing to listen.”

Maggie suddenly remembered her mother telling her Wade Dalton’s new wife was a therapist who had become an author and life coach, focused on helping people find more joy in their lives.

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Listen, I need to run this tray out. I’ll be back for more in a moment. You are more than welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.”

She suddenly remembered the ostensible reason for her escape from the party. “I actually stepped in here looking for my mother.”

“That’s right. Viviana was in here a few moments before you came in but then I thought I heard her go out the front door. You could try the porch out there,” Caroline suggested.

“Thank you,” Maggie murmured as the other woman headed back out to the party.

The band had shifted to something slow and
romantic. For a few moments, she stood alone in the kitchen, listening to the music and swaying a little.

She pressed a hand to her chest, to the little ache in her heart there, for all the slow dances she would have to sit out the rest of her life.

Enough self-pity, she told herself sternly, and went off in search of her mother.

She walked through the ranch house, surprised by how warm and comfortable the place seemed. A family lived here, she thought. Not the den of vipers she’d always wanted to imagine. A family that loved each other, at least judging by the photos lining the walls of the hallway from the kitchen to the main living area of the house.

She moved slowly past the gallery, seeing Daltons in all kinds of situations.

She saw Seth in one, handsome and compelling, with one arm slung around Marjorie and the other around Quinn Montgomery.

In another, she saw Wade and Caroline caught in a candid pose as they leaned on a fence railing overlooking some of the ranch horses. She paused at that one, struck by the tenderness in Wade’s harsh features as he looked at his lovely wife.

The one that had her stop stock-still was of Jake roughhousing with three children who must be Wade’s from his first marriage. He had one little boy on his shoulders, another younger one in one arm and a pretty little dark-haired girl hanging on the other arm, and he was grinning as if he would rather be right there with those children than anywhere else on earth.

She gazed at it for a long time, unable to tear her gaze away as an odd, terrifying sensation tugged at her insides.

She reached a hand out to touch that smiling face that had become so impossibly dear to her, then jerked her hand back when she realized what she was about to do.

Breathing hard, her thoughts twirling with dismay, she forced herself to move away as fast as she dared toward the front door.

Even though it was rude, she decided she would find her mother quickly, then do anything she could to escape, to deal with the wild shock of discovering she had feelings for Jake she couldn’t even bear to acknowledge.

Her pulse pounding, she yanked open the door, then had her second shock in as many moments.

Her mother was there, all right.

Wrapped tightly in the arms of Guillermo, Viviana was sharing a passionate kiss with the man she had thrown off her ranch.

W
ith every single fiber of her soul, she wanted to be With every single fiber of her soul, she wanted to be able to slip away and leave them to it, if only so she could start the effort of purging this image from her mind, as well as the one she had just seen of Jake finding such joy in his niece and nephews.

She started to ease back into the house, but the door squeaked as she tried to close it, and the two figures on the porch jerked apart as if spring-loaded.

Her mother—usually so perfectly groomed—looked as if her lipstick had been devoured, and her hair was as tousled and disheveled as if she’d been standing in a wind tunnel.

Tío Guillermo wasn’t much better. Most of her mother’s lipstick appeared to be smeared on him, and
even though they were standing several feet apart now, he still couldn’t seem to look away from Viviana, his eyes hot and hungry.

Her mother raised trembling hands to her cheeks and looked miserably horrified. “Lena! Oh, Lena.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” she mumbled. For the life of her, she couldn’t think of anything else to say, and for a few seconds the three of them stood there in a painfully awkward tableau.

“We were just, um, just…” Viviana’s voice trailed off.

“I think it’s safe to say I can figure out what you were doing, Mama,” she said quickly.

Guillermo wore a stiff kind of dignity that seemed a little out of place on a man with lipstick on his jaw and a collar that looked as though it had been twisted in a hundred different directions.

“You are not to think less of your mother for this. I alone am responsible,” her beloved uncle said, his voice stern, then he bowed slightly and headed down the steps with one last heated look at Viviana.

Maggie drew a breath, feeling as if
she
were the one caught in a wind tunnel, as if one of the last few solid things she had to hang on to had just been tossed to the heavens.

In that single look, her calm, easygoing uncle appeared tormented, wretched. A man thoroughly, miserably in love.

After he left, her mother dropped her hands from her cheeks and faced Maggie, her eyes just as miserable.

“I am sorry you saw that.” Her mother spoke in agitated Spanish. “I do not know what to say. It was…we were…”

“Mama, is that what you and Tío Guillermo have been fighting about?” she asked gently. She didn’t want to think about how much compassion she had for her mother’s turmoil or how closely it paralleled her own.

“He is so stubborn.” Her mother sank down into one of the rocking chairs on the porch that overlooked the ranch.

Maggie sat in the chair next to her and waited for the words she could see forming in her mother’s dark eyes.

“I did not mean for this to happen. I did
not!
I wanted things to go on as they have since Abel died. But things have changed. I did not expect it but somehow they have.

“Guillermo wants to marry me, he says he has wanted it forever. Never did he say anything until…until the last few months, when I started to see I cared for him.”

She let out a breath, gazing out at the ranch. “Before you came home, he tells me I must make a decision or he will quit. I tell him it is not fair to press me on this now, and ask him to wait a while longer, but he said he tires of waiting. He does not want to go on as we have, he says. I would not bend on this just because Guillermo he tells me I must.”

“So he quit.”

“No, I fire him,” she insisted.

“He seems miserable, Mama,” she observed quietly. “So do you. What’s the big conflict?”

Her mother said nothing for a long moment, gazing out at the night. “I loved your father so much. And I have grieved for him every day since his death.”

“I know that, Mama. But isn’t there room in your heart for another love?”

To her dismay, her mother buried her face in her
hands, her shoulders trembling. “Yes. Oh yes. I have somehow made room for Guillermo, too. But I am so afraid. What if I lose him, too? I could not bear it.”

“You’re losing him now,” Maggie pointed out. “You’re pushing him away. Tío Guillermo is a proud man, just like Papa was. How long do you expect him to wait for you to make up your mind?”

Her mother dropped her hands to look at her, and Maggie pressed her point.

“It seems to me that you should consider yourself one lucky woman, Mama. How many women have been blessed to be able to say they have been loved by two such good, decent men? Instead of worrying about some distant future pain that may never come, you should take your chance for happiness now while you still can.”

Viviana gave her a searching look. “You do not mind this?”

Maggie thought of her first instant of shock at finding them together then pushed it away. In the few moments she’d had to adjust to the idea, the thought of her mother and Guillermo as a couple seemed so natural she couldn’t believe she hadn’t picked up on it earlier.

“Why would you think I mind? I love you both and can’t imagine two people better suited for each other. You’ve been working the ranch together for years. That certainly seems like a long enough courtship to me.”

Viviana sat for another moment absorbing her words, then a bright hope leaped into her gaze, though she still looked as if she were afraid to trust in it. “You do not
think people will talk if I…if I were to marry the other Cruz brother?”

“Who cares? Let them talk. You’re Viviana Cruz of Rancho de la Luna. They should envy you! You have nothing to be ashamed about for loving a good, honorable man.”

Her mother let out a laugh that sounded like a half sob, then she stood and rushed to Maggie, hugging her hard. “How did a foolish woman like me raise such a smart daughter?”

She almost snorted.
Wrong, Mama. If I were smart, I would have hobbled as fast as my gimpy leg would take me away from Jake Dalton that first night he showed up to change my flat tire.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked, to distract herself from pointless thoughts of Jake. “Don’t you think you should go after Guillermo and put the poor man out of his misery?”

“I will but not now, during my daughter’s party. I will find him later.” Her mother’s gaze sharpened suddenly. “Now, why are you out here with me instead of talking to all the people who have come to see you?”

“I was looking for you. And I needed a little break.”

“It is too much for you, then? I worried you would be angry. Jacob said you might not want a big crowd.”

How had he possibly come to know her so well in such a short time? She wasn’t sure she wanted him to have the ability of seeing so deeply into her psyche.

She shook her head. “I wasn’t angry. A little uncomfortable but not mad.”

“Everyone wanted to come, to show you of their
concern and support, and Marjorie and I could not say no. I did not want to say no. I wanted everyone to know how proud I am of my daughter.”

She shifted her leg, searching around for another topic. With the ranch spread out before them, she said the first thing that came to her mind. “It was…surprising of the Daltons to open up the Cold Creek for the party.”

“Marjorie insisted and so did Wade,” Viviana said. “It is a good place for a fiesta, yes?”

Maggie had no ready answer to that so she didn’t even try. Instead, something about the night and the setting prompted her to ask some of the questions that had haunted her for years.

“Mama.”

She chewed her lip, not sure where to start, then she blurted the rest out. “How could you…that is, why did you remain on good terms with Marjorie and her sons. Why did you never blame them?”

Her mother’s lovely, serene features shifted into a frown. “Oh, Magdalena.”

“Hank Dalton was a bastard! He was the one who stole our water rights. He cheated Papa out of all his hard work—he stole the ranch’s future. If not for him, Papa would never have had to work that second job in Idaho Falls. Hank was to blame for that, but the rest of them…” She clenched her hands together. “After Hank died, they never tried to make things right. They’re just as responsible.”

Viviana shook her head, her eyes full of sorrow. “There is much you do not know, Lena. I should have explained things to you long ago. I am sorry I did not.”

“Explained what?”

“I suppose I hoped you would come to see the truth on your own, that you would put aside this foolish anger. And I suppose I did not want you to ever think less of your father.”

Her mother touched her arm. “And with a mother’s folly, I did not want to see how strongly you have held on to your anger all these years.”

“I miss him, Mama.”

“As do I,
niña
. As do I. But Marjorie and her sons are not to blame for the foolishness of Abel Cruz.”

She thought of her strong, beloved father. He had been gone from her life for so long, much longer than just the years since his death. He had worked so hard those last few years trying to save the ranch he loved that she had only a handful of good memories from her adolescence, a time when she had dearly needed a father.

“Why?” she asked her mother again.

Viviana gave a heavy sigh. “Your father was a good man. A strong, honorable man. But he was stubborn and had much of pride.”

She remembered a man who had loved his ranch, what he had built with his own hands, who had adored his wife and daughter, and who had always been proud of his heritage, that he was descended from Spanish nobles who had migrated to Argentina.

“Hank Dalton died when you were young, only twelve, no?” Viviana went on.

Maggie nodded.

“The week after he was buried, Marjorie and Wade came to see your father. With them, they carried all the
loan papers between our two ranches and wanted to return them to Abel.”

She stared, trying to comprehend what her mother was telling her. “They tried to forgive the loan?”

Viviana nodded tightly. “Marjorie wanted to tear them up right there, but Abel would not allow it. He threw them back at them. ‘I will not take Dalton charity’ he said in a cold, proud voice. He said he would continue to pay as he had been until the debt was cleared.”

“He insisted?”

“Marjorie, she tried to change the loan to a better, more honest rate than Hank charged. Many times she tried. But Abel and his pride would not allow it, even as he had to work harder and harder to pay the interest.”

Her mother’s delicate features tightened with sorrow and no small amount of anger. “He did not have to work those two jobs,
niña
. He chose the road he traveled. No one else did that. Not Hank Dalton, not Marjorie or her sons. Only your father.”

Maggie’s head whirled, and she couldn’t seem to take it in. Everything she had believed for twenty years was evaporating like a heat mirage in front of her eyes. She was glad to be sitting down because she was fairly certain the shock would have knocked her on her rear end.

“After Abel died,” Viviana went on, “Marjorie and Wade, they came to me with a check for all the money your father paid them over the years, keeping out only enough to cover the original debt.”

“And you took it?”

Her mother lifted her chin. “Yes. I used it to help pay
for my beautiful daughter to attend college and become the nurse she had dreamed of for many years.”

She pressed a hand to her stomach, feeling shaky and almost nauseous. During all those years of hatred, the Daltons had been paying to support her. They had put her through nursing school. Everything she had, everything she had
become,
she owed to Jake and his family, a family she had treated with nothing but scorn and anger.

No, she thought. Her father had given his life to pay that debt. Perhaps she shouldn’t look at it as blood money from the Daltons but as her one enduring legacy from her father.

“You should have told me, Mama.”

Viviana sighed. “Perhaps. But I did not wish you to think poorly of your father. He was a good man who acted as he thought best for his family and for his conscience.”

“All for nothing! He should have let them make things right.”

“I think by then he was so angry he couldn’t see what was right.” Viviana paused. “But while he hated their father, Abel never blamed Hank Dalton’s sons for their father’s actions. He knew, as I know, that those three boys suffered much from growing up with a cold, harsh man. Even with a father such as that, they grew into good, decent men who love their families and this town. None of them deserves your anger, Lena.”

Everything she believed, everything she thought she had known, had just been shaken and tossed into the air like a handful of dry leaves, and she didn’t know what to think.

Her mother touched a warm hand to her cheek. “Jacob, he is a good man and he has much caring for you.”

Maggie shook her head. “We’re friends. That’s all.”

Viviana made a sound of dismissal in her throat. “A mother can see these things. You care for him, as well. Do not be so stubborn and foolish and full of pride as your father. And your mother, come to that.”

She had been, she realized. She had let her anger for the past and her fears for the future interfere in something that could be wonderful. Perhaps it was time to live in the present for a moment.