Nobody's Dream (21 page)

He shrugged matter-of-factly. “They removed the spot, but he did not want to worry you.”

Cassie tamped down her anger at being left out.
Papá
had a brush with what might eventually be cancer and no one had bothered to tell her? Was he afraid to find out if she would have ignored him at such a time?

Would she have? She did not know. Tears stung her eyes. Still, she could have tried to speak with him by phone at least.

“They miss you very much, Casandra. Why do not you not come back home? Just for a visit at least.”

She glanced down and shook her head. “It breaks my heart not to see
Mamá y Papá
again and to know they are hurting because of me, but this I cannot change. If only we could meet somewhere outside of the village or Lima.”

“
Papá
is too old to travel, and
Mamá
will not go without him.”

“I know. So I will have to content myself to Skyping with
Mamá
and…” Of course, he did not understand her spiritual abilities, so did not mention astral projection, the only means she had of seeing
Papá
again.

“I am sorry, Eduardo.” She stood. “All I want is to be left alone.”

“Someone has hurt you. I have to guess it was Pedro.”

She did not intend to tell him the extent to which Pedro had hurt her, but wanted to remove the shame she had carried all this time. Pedro would never again have any power over her. “Pedro is not the man
Papá
thought he was.”

He made a fist. “You know I would keep him away from you if you do not wish to see him.”

She held up her hand. “Thank you, but I still cannot go back there.”

He leaned forward. “Tell me what he did.”

She retreated and pressed her back against the chair. “It is in the past. I have let it go.” Or tried to.

“Are you sure? Did he hurt you so badly that you will shut out every other man who might want to love and cherish you?”

Yes, Pedro had hurt her, betrayed her in the vilest way, but she could not reveal to Eduardo the details for fear her brother would attempt to avenge her innocence, her honor. When Cassie began shaking uncontrollably, Eduardo stood and came toward her. He hunkered down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.

She tamped down the feeling of being smothered.

This is my brother.

“I do not wish to speak of him ever again.”

“I understand, but do not let him keep you estranged from your family. Your place is there, not here in this lonely cabin.”

“I am not lonely.”
Not anymore
.
Wait!
Clarify that thought. “I have my alpacas to keep me company now.”
And Lucas Denton.
The unbidden thought wheedled its way into her brain anyway, despite efforts to block it. “This is my home now.”

Thankfully, Lucas would be leaving soon. Her heart was growing too attached to having him around. She hated to become dependent upon someone, especially a man.

They always want more than I am willing to give.

Her meditation visions from last night came back to haunt her. What did they mean? She had no future with Lucas or any man.

The walls were closing in on her. She needed to escape right now. She tore herself away from his arms and stood. “I will see you later. Please do not harass Lucas anymore. He is a kind and gentle man who does not deserve to be treated that way.”

“If he is so wonderful, why would you not want to marry him?”

“Because he deserves someone who can love him back. I am not that woman.”

“Nonsense. You have much love to give. Besides, if you marry him, we will not have to worry about you alone in this foreign land anymore.”

She rolled her eyes. “I am twenty-six years old. Consider me a lost cause, and let me live my life as I see fit.”

“Susana and I both enjoy our time alone, too, but there is nothing more special than coming home and being greeted by someone who loves you unconditionally and gives your body, mind, and spirit a restful peace.”

She sighed. “I am glad you have found that, Eduardo. But I could obtain that from having a dog—or alpacas. Same outcome.”

“Oh, Casandra, how can you have such a low expectation of marriage when you see how our parents love each other so?”

Once more, thoughts of her parents and how she had hurt them put her on the verge of tears. Before responding or allowing him to say anything to make her feel more guilt, she excused herself and walked quickly toward the mudroom. Shrugging into her poncho, she left the cabin and made her way to the studio.

She heard the sound of the ax as Lucas split yet more wood. The man was obsessed with laying in enough wood to last her through the entire next year.

She did not veer off the path, but once inside the studio could not keep herself from going to the window to stare out at him. He had removed his coat, and sweat-soaked his denim shirt. While not built like a narcissistic bodybuilder, his muscles were strong and well-chiseled. She remembered the time she had spent in his arms, lying against his chest. Fortunately, he did not like the cold or he might have removed—

As if he heard her unformed thought, he set the ax on the woodpile and began unbuttoning his shirt.

Oh, no! He wouldn’t!

Despite knowing what he looked like naked, she could not tear her gaze away. She should go back to work but convinced herself she was only watching him for research, in case she ever wanted to sketch a man.

Not that she had ever had a desire to do so before.

He picked up the ax and went back to work. Sweat glistened on his chest. His pecs rippled with each steady movement. The man’s abdominals were distinctive and well-formed. A six-pack as Kitty would call it.

Her forehead grew damp from the temperature in here, despite the fact there was no heat on.

Be honest with yourself, Cassie.

All right, she knew exactly why she was becoming overheated. She supposed she should thank the Goddess for having such good taste in men, if indeed She had sent him to wear away her defenses. But what on earth was
Mama Quilla
thinking?

Chapter Six

L
uke hadn’t slept well on the floor in front of the fire, but he’d given Eduardo use of Cassie’s bed last night, hoping a good night’s sleep would make the man less ornery.

His thoughts had turned to Cassie throughout the night. In fact, he’d taken a walk to blow off some frustration and heard an unusual chanting. Curious, he rounded the studio to find a very naked Cassie rising from the water of an oval hot tub. He didn’t think he stared long, but the image of her with her arms outstretched to the heavens, her already high breasts even higher, and her delightful curves had been seared onto his brain forever.

What was with her insane obsession with the cold? Not only was she naked with air temperatures in the teens, but she was soaking wet. The steam rising from the pool of water probably warmed her instantly when she sat back down, but in the interim…

Hell, the last thing he expected was to find an uptight woman like Cassie skinny-dipping in her hot tub.

When he’d returned to the cabin to stretch out by the fire, he found himself hotter than a firecracker. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Cassie naked and standing in that hot tub. No sleep to be had last night.

In an effort to expend some pent-up energy, he’d risen long before dawn and spent a few hours mucking out the stalls. Four o’clock wasn’t all that much earlier than when he went to work on his ranch. He spent some time with the alpacas, surprisingly intelligent, affectionate animals. He’d never really thought about alpacas before, not having not been around them. After brushing out the girls, he gave Millie a little extra attention. Nothing like newborn babies to make everything seem possible.

Man, as much as he missed his horses, he hated to think about leaving here. He had bonded with Cassie forever over the birth of Millie whether the woman liked it or not. Being there to bring her back from the brink of death made him feel on top of the world, too.

Back at the cabin by dawn, he grabbed a quick breakfast and had a civil chat with her brother, who seemed more intent on a report he was reading than making small talk. With energy to burn, Luke went outside again to chop firewood, hoping the exertion would help him sleep tonight. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to rid his mind of Cassie’s image from last night, which only served to work him up even more. He’d never painted water nymphs, but had studied John William Waterhouse. The artist’s innocent, yet sensual, creatures had nothing on his vision of Cassie López in that hot tub.

I’m going to miss that girl something fierce when I go home.

He’d miss this place, too. And the alpacas.

A rapid movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to glance up and catch Cassie running across the yard from either the cabin or shed, heading back to her studio. The distress on her face upset him. Another run-in with her brother?

They needed to discuss why her brother kept trying to strong-arm them into admitting wrongdoing they hadn’t done. Should he go to her now? No. Cassie was a proud woman and didn’t like to show any sign of weakness.

He wielded the ax a few more times, and once again, his thoughts strayed to the way she had looked in the moonlight last night. The more he thought about the beauty, the hotter he became. He removed his shirt. The air took the place of a cold shower until he could take one tonight.

Later, he would stack the logs neatly near the alpaca shed and restock the bin in the mudroom. Cassie could enjoy fires as late as she wanted this spring. Hell, it was probably chilly enough in the summer at twelve thousand feet to have a fire going every night. If he lived up here, he would.

By midday, the temperatures had reached the upper thirties. His next job would be to attack the snowpack while the sun made it nice and slushy. When the temps fell overnight, it would be hard ice again.

Worn out from chopping wood, at least he’d be able to sit in the Tahoe’s cab. Setting down the ax, he picked up his shirt and put it on. While he buttoned it, he glanced over at the studio and saw a blur in one of the windows. Cassie? Had she been watching him?

He grinned. While he was only half-naked, he didn’t feel as bad for happening upon her last night. She must have been embarrassed being caught spying if she ducked out of the window so fast. What thoughts simmered beneath the surface with her?

He’d probably never find out. He climbed into the SUV and tackled the slowly melting snowpack. He figured a couple more days, and he’d meet up with where the Giardanos were working on the other side.

After an hour or so, he put the plow in park and looked out at the mountain range. The views up here were spectacular. The avalanche had cleared out a number of spruce trees, opening up an even greater vista he supposed than what had been here before.

No wonder Cassie loved it up here. He wondered what the view from that hot tub must be like and grinned. The V in the mountains would be directly in front of her. She also enjoyed that spectacular view from her studio.

Speaking of which, he needed to check on her. Seeing how upset she’d been earlier, he decided it was better to reach out to her in her studio without Eduardo around.

Hoping he wouldn’t catch her in the middle of something, he made his way down the path to her studio. At the door, he knocked, but there was no response.

“Cassie, darlin’, do you have a minute?”

Another pause. She surprised him eventually, though. Good thing he had patience. “Coming.”

Even through the door, her voice sounded thick, as if she’d been crying. Why did Eduardo keep badgering her? He and Cassie hadn’t done anything he had accused them of doing. The woman wouldn’t let Luke anywhere near her, although she didn’t give Eduardo that look of fear she sometimes gave him.

Give her time.
Someone had hurt the girl badly.

Look how much her guard had come down in the past two weeks. Not that he had that much more time with her. The thought of not being able to see her day in and day out left him with a crushing weight on his chest. He’d probably have the road cleared in two days, and she’d send him on his way soon after.