Someone To Watch Over Me (Harlequin Super Romance) (9 page)

“I’ve been reading up on sheep,” Gabe said, not wanting to sound as uninformed as he felt. “Coltrane Quinn suggested I apprentice with a local sheep man for a few months to find out what I’d be getting into before I buy a flock. John agreed. I believe he thinks you might be amenable to such a plan.” Gabe decided to quit pussyfooting around and state his objective straight off.

Benito tucked his thumbs under his overall straps. While he pondered Gabe’s proposal, the younger men circled around. The one called Louis stuck out his hand. “I’m Louis Achabal. Your name’s familiar, but I don’t think we’ve met.” He pumped Gabe’s hand.

“Were you at Colt and Summer’s wedding?” Gabe asked. “I met a lot of area ranchers there.”

“Nope. Angel’s wife went, but he couldn’t go because he coaches his son’s ball team. Their first practice was that afternoon. I had grape vines to nip.”

“I’m sure we haven’t met.” Gabe wished Benito would make up his mind one way or the other so he could let them get back to work and then leave.

Benito was no longer studying Gabe. He’d turned his attention on John Campos. “I’m sorry to be losing you,
mi amigo,
” he said, blinking back what Gabe was pretty certain were tears. “Change of any kind is difficult and better absorbed in little bits. I suggest we adjourn to Louis’s
sidrerias
where we can sit and talk.”

The others agreed so quickly and enthusiastically, Gabe had no choice but to concur. He hung back, slowing his steps to John’s slower pace. “My Spanish is
rusty and I don’t know Basque at all. What’s a
sidrerias?

“Basques were forbidden to speak Euskera, our language, for so long, it’s easy to slip into Spanish, which we were forced to use. Benito has invited us to his son-in-law’s cider house.”

Gabe nodded. A beer would suit him better, but perhaps these men didn’t drink it. He knew next to nothing about Basque history or culture. He’d have to pick up a book when he went back to the library.

Louis’s cider house turned out to be a cozy enclosure off the vat room of Achabal’s winery. It looked to Gabe as if this might be a common meeting area. Six or so straight-backed wooden chairs sat around a low, square table.

Louis had hollered to his wife as the group of men tromped past his single-story dwelling. Two border collies roused themselves and wagged their tails. A plump, brown-haired woman stepped out on the back porch, and Louis jogged over to confer with her while the others continued.

It wasn’t long before he rejoined them in the room. “Ruby sent
tapas
to celebrate John’s sale. She suggested inviting him and Mr. Poston to dinner at the main house tonight, Benito.”

“Please, call me Gabe. Mr. Poston is far too formal. But I couldn’t put your wife out on such short notice, Benito. Besides, I’m going out of town for a few days. I’ve got an early flight tomorrow.”

“Nonsense. You still have to eat.” Benito removed his beret and swiped a fat green olive and a piece of ham off the platter Louis had set on the low table. “At times, my first-born is a wise woman,” he said, spitting the olive pit into his hand.

No one paid Gabe any heed. Louis disappeared again, this time into the vat room. He wasn’t gone five minutes, and returned with a tray of water glasses, each brimming with frosty red wine. He served his father-in-law first, then John and Gabe. It was almost a ritual, Gabe mused, observing how the younger men waited for Benito to sample his wine before they relaxed or even took a sip from their tumblers.

“Ah.
Perfecto.
” Benito smacked his lips. Louis beamed. Amid much boisterous toasting of John and himself, Gabe noticed that the others found time to drink heartily. So he followed their example.

“Why is this called a cider house?” he asked after Louis had retrieved a tall wooden pitcher and topped off everyone’s glass.

“In the old country, apple harvests were plentiful. Good cider could be bartered in town for many scarce food items. Men from surrounding villages used to gather to taste from each vat. It grew into a tradition, which later extended to wines.”

Gabe bobbed his head, suddenly realizing he’d been doing a lot of that in conjunction with chuckling at the men’s bawdy jokes. “I’m no expert on wines. But, I’d say you have a winner here, Louis.” Lifting his glass in salute, Gabe drained it.

As the afternoon wore on, all the food on the plate got consumed. There had been much talk about John returning to Vizcaya, or what the men referred to as
Euskedi.
As near as Gabe could tell, it was a province in Spain where the majority of John’s family had lived and died. Evening shadows fell, and still not one word had been said concerning Gabe’s request to apprentice with Benito.

At one point, Louis’s wife slipped in to hand her
husband two piping hot loaves of bread. Again the wineglasses were refilled. Gabe, thoroughly mellow by now, ceased to worry. Not about learning sheep. Not about his upcoming trip to Utah. He settled in to enjoy the simple camaraderie of men, something he sorely missed since he, Colt, Moss and Marc had scattered to the four winds.

After the men had consumed their fill of the home-baked bread, Angel cleared the table and brought out a deck of cards.

Liking poker, Gabe was disappointed to discover they intended to play a game called
mus.
“I’m told it’s like whist,” Angel whispered to him.

Attentive and good at cards, Gabe soon caught on to the spirited game. He became the focus of a lot of good-natured ribbing, though, as he lost hand after hand. He swallowed all their guff with equanimity, saying, “You guys have the advantage. You grew up playing this.”

Midway through the fifth hand, after Gabe had shelled out all the change in his pockets, Benito pounded him on the back.

“You’re a good sport. I think you’ll fit in to our village just fine.”

Pleasantly buzzed, Gabe almost missed what had happened in that subtle exchange. “Oh. Oh! Then you’ll let me tag along and learn how to raise sheep?”

The older man shared an unspoken sign of agreement with Louis and Angel. They all broke into huge grins, and one at a time rose to shake Gabe’s hand. His fingers tingled for several minutes afterward.

Pleased, Gabe assumed that would bring an end to their caucus. Wrong. The deck of cards disappeared and dominoes came out instead.

Gabe, known for his ability to add and subtract rapidly, again found himself on the short end of this highly competitive game. He slapped a hand over his glass the next time Louis poured a round. And still his companions outplayed him. As well, they kept everyone’s score in their heads.

It soon became a matter of pride for Gabe to win at least one game. The door opened as he made his private vow. Three burly newcomers trudged inside. They pretty much filled the room. Benito rose fluidly to greet the new arrivals. Gabe got up more slowly, awfully afraid he was blinking like a hoot owl as his new mentor introduced him.

“These are my sons,” Benito said proudly. “Ricardo, Joseph and Manuel, in order of their ages.”

“
Chicos,
this is Gabe. He’s going to be a neighboring sheep man. He bought John’s house and pastures.”

These men weren’t nearly so quick to welcome Gabe. As each crunched his hand in turn, it flitted through Gabe’s mind that he’d seen them somewhere. Before he could formulate the question free-floating inside his throbbing skull, Benito moved on to tell his sons about John’s upcoming departure. “Louis said Ruby is preparing a small fiesta tonight at my
caserío.
”

“Can’t come,” Joseph lamented, speaking directly to John. “Julie has a night class, and I have to take the kids to catechism. Do you need her to help with packing?”

John shook his head. “The furniture stays with the house. Everything, really, except for a Bible that’s been in the Campos family for many, many years.”

Manuel dropped down on one knee beside the old man’s chair. “Tell those sons of yours we all miss them. We’ll miss you, too, John.” Both Manny and his
brother Joe hugged John and kissed him soundly on both cheeks.

Gabe looked on, thinking how different their open display of affection was from the standard slap on the back common among the men of his acquaintance.

Benito’s youngest son rose. “I’m darned sorry, but I’ll have to skip the fiesta, too. I can’t remember what’s on our calendar, but when I left this morning Christina asked me to be home early. She’s trying to teach as long as she can because she wants to save her sick leave for when the baby’s born. But her legs swell. At night she needs to get off her feet.”

Ricardo boomed in a voice as big as himself. “Count us in. Mama’s probably already phoned Maria. If our kids don’t have after-school activities, they’ll tag along. Right now, though, I have to go home and wash up. I sprayed the orchards today.” He wrapped a large hand around the doorknob.

Benito chuckled. “You switched to growing apples because you hated dealing with sheep-dip and wet wool. Judging by how little we see of you anymore, I’d say orchards are more work than sheep.” He turned to Gabe. “Let this be a lesson,
mi amigo.
”

Louis followed his brothers-in-law to the door. “At least let me get you guys some wine to try at home. This is the first time I’ve cracked open a barrel made from the grapes I had sent over from Bayona. I’m days from bottling this batch, so I’ll be interested in your opinions.”

Gabe studied the men’s retreating backs. It struck him how much he’d missed growing up without family. This was the life he’d want for any children he might have. Yes, he’d be sure to tell Marley he’d made a good decision, settling in this valley.

Louis wandered back in, and the domino game was picked up where they’d left off. Gabe won by a thin margin because all the others had to draw and he was able to play everything left in his hand. Delighted for him, those who stayed toasted him again, after Louis had topped off their glasses.

Gabe stared into the burgundy liquid. “You guys amaze me. I thought I’d met some men in the Marines who could put away a lot of booze without showing any effects. But compared to you…” He grinned sloppily. “I’ve gotta tell you, I’m feeling light-headed.”

“No wonder,” Angel yelped, wagging his watch under Benito’s nose. “We’ve dithered away the afternoon. If we don’t want the wives coming down here and yanking us out by our ears, we’d better wash up and head for your
caserío.
”

They all agreed it was later than anyone had realized.

Because John, the most senior of the group, stumbled as they trudged through the deepening shadows, Angel and Louis made a chair for him of their sturdy arms. Someone started to sing. Gabe didn’t know the song, which was in Euskera, but that didn’t stop him from adding his lusty baritone to the chorus.

Later he would think they must have looked and sounded like drunken sailors as they tripped up the steps and into the kitchen of the two-story house he’d passed by hours before.

The shocked expression on Isabella Navarro’s face as she spun toward the door drove home with sobering clarity exactly what kind of ass he must appear. His presence stopped her cold in the act of removing her jacket. Obviously she’d shown up only moments before the men made their grand entrance.

It took Gabe several minutes of suffering through
introductions to actually figure out that Benito, who up to this point had not given his last name, was in fact Isabella’s father. Luisa, her mother, along with Ruby, her eldest sister, had pulled together this impromptu fiesta.

Now Gabe knew why the men who’d stopped in at the cider house seemed familiar. They were Isabella’s brothers. The ones he’d seen carrying Summer and Colt’s wedding cake from the white van.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, trying not to speak loudly enough for the others to hear.

“Probably the same thing you are. I was invited to John’s going-away party.”

“But I live here!”

“No shit? Uh…no kidding?” he scrambled to say. “Well, whaddya know. I just bought the property across the road. Your dad’s going to teach me everything I need to know about sheep.”

“You did this on purpose. You found out where I lived and…and…and…”

“And I arm-wrestled an old man out of his property? Hardly. I paid John top dollar for his land. So, how far away from here do you live?”

“I
said
I live here.” She lowered her voice even more, for by now their heated exchange had drawn the attention of others. Even Rick’s teenagers muted the TV and strained an ear to hear what had upset their aunt.

Isabella swallowed. “I…uh…moved home after…after…”

“That’s okay. I think you may have said that, actually. But I swear I didn’t know you were a neighbor of John’s when I made the deal. Listen, I’m beginning to get the message that you’d like me to stay out of
your life. Fine. I’ll do that. But for the sake of the others, shouldn’t we make the best of it tonight? Your sister arranged this celebration for John. I’d hate our petty squabbles to ruin it for the old guy.”

“This morning, at the bank, you deliberately acted as if you didn’t know John Campos. That was very sneaky and underhanded.”

“Sneaky how? You asked if he’d sideswiped my SUV, and I said he didn’t.”

“It was obvious I knew him well. Did you tell me you’d bought his ranch? No. That’s what I call sneaky.” Her voice rose.

Gabe remembered he’d sidestepped her pointed query because he’d thought it best to let John reveal his own decision to sell. Gabe’s guilt must have shown on his face. Isabella crossed her arms and arched a smug brow.

Luisa Navarro, a tall woman whose slightly graying hair was tightly braided and wrapped around her head, broke away from the others. “Bella,
caro?
Is something wrong?”

Now it was Isabella’s turn to act guilty. “Everything’s fine, Mama. I’m very tired tonight. It got so warm in the bakery kitchen today, I had to frost Estrella Aguirre’s wedding cake in the cooler. The frosting kept hardening in the tube, so I had to dash in and out of the cold. So maybe I caught a cold. I ache all over. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go on up to my room.”