Gabriella’s sigh of relief carried over the phone line. “I’m glad you believe it.”
“Will you promise to keep my secret a little longer, Gabriella? I know it’s asking a lot of you, but...I’m not ready to—”
“I understand. When I lost faith in Chance, I didn’t know where to turn or what to do. Time will help you decide. We will keep your secret. Chance and I... We will not betray you.”
That made her the only del Toro who wouldn’t. Cara didn’t hold Gabriella’s bloodlines against her though.
“And remember, I am here, whenever you need me.”
“Thank you, Gabriella.”
The conversation ended, and Cara clicked off her phone. Tonight, Alex had revealed to her that he’d regained most of his memory and, on the drive home, he’d asked for her promise to keep it a secret. If he believed it would help him clear Chance’s name and find out who’d had him kidnapped, Cara wasn’t going to stand in his way.
It was one more secret to keep.
A quiet sigh blew from her lips. If only she’d fallen head over heels in love with Chance McDaniel. Life with him was easier. He was a good, honest, simple man.
Unfortunately, only Alex del Toro put butterflies in her stomach. Among other things. It was getting crowded in there. Butterflies and babies.
Cara laid her hand over her plank-board belly where a little strawberry grew.
And a teeny-weeny smile emerged.
* * *
“You know, your sister is a much better rider than you are,” Chance McDaniel said over his shoulder.
Alex nudged his horse, and the mare caught up to Chance’s mount as they traveled the McDaniel land, far into the hills. “That’s because while she was out learning French and English and taking riding lessons on our land with only the best horsemen in all of Mexico, I was busy learning the family business.”
Chance lowered the brim of his hat to the morning sun. “Yeah, well, look where that got you. Cara is barely speaking to you. You’re in hot water at the Cattleman’s Club and you’re still not sure if the people who kidnapped you are planning a second course with you on their menu.”
Dios! Chance was right. And Alex hated to stand corrected. Alex adjusted his black Stetson on his head and blew out a sigh. “There’s nothing better than having a morning ride with my friend to clear my head. Gracias, McDaniel. You are overly kind.”
A smirk spread wide across Chance’s face. “I’ve been told that before. By your sister.”
Alex laughed. “She’s the kind one. My sister has a heart of gold. If you ask me, you got damn lucky the day Gabriella came into your life. And if you ever forget that...”
Chance gave a slow nod of his head. The right side of his mouth cocked. “Nope, never gonna forget that. Your little sis gave me a run for my money. If she’d made it all the way back to Mexico, I would’ve tracked her down and brought her home, where she belongs. I know what I’m getting with that woman.”
Alex believed him. Chance was crazy about Gabriella. And his little sis loved Chance enough to defy their father. In some ways, Gabriella had been smarter and stronger than he’d been. Pleasing bullheaded, powerful and ruthless Rodrigo del Toro had become an obsession for Alex. He’d wanted to make his father proud. To prove himself worthy of taking over Del Toro Oil one day. Coming to America, posing as Alex Santiago and living the life he’d always wanted was too big a temptation to refuse. Alex hadn’t thought too much about the repercussions of that decision. He hadn’t thought about hurting the friends he’d made here. And he certainly hadn’t thought he’d fall in love with the daughter of his rival, the heir to the very company Del Toro Oil hoped to buy out.
Alex swiveled his head from one end of the range to the other. Rolling hills covered with budding wildflowers and prairie grass lay across the land. No one was in sight. “Listen, Chance. I asked to ride out here with you for two reasons. I think you know what I’m going to say, but let’s get out of the sun.”
“Fine by me.”
Alex pulled up on his reins and his mare halted under a mesquite tree. He dismounted first and ground tethered his palomino. Chance did the same. Under the umbrella of long outreaching branches, checkered light filtered down and partially blocked the sunlight. The two of them sat down on a blanket of coarse grass. Alex leaned back against the tree and yanked a blade of grass from its root as he stared out onto McDaniel land.
“I’ve told you before, I will clear your name of any wrongdoing in my kidnapping.”
“Crock of crap as it is.”
“I never thought it was you. Not your style.”
“What in hell does that mean?”
His face cracked into a small smile. “You’d try to punch my lights out in a fistfight. You’d challenge me to a duel. You’d kick my ass if you thought you had cause. You’re no coward. You’d face me head-on. Only a coward would have me run off the road and shanghaied, left to rot in a Mexican town.”
“Glad you have such a high opinion of me.”
“You and me, we’ll be family soon. I hope our friendship is strong enough to survive this.”
“I’m hoping so, too. Didn’t much like it when Cara fell in love with you. I thought she and I had a future together. We fit. We came from the same background. But I stepped aside so that she could be happy. And look how you’ve hurt her.”
Alex drew a deep breath. “I know. Believe me, I’m trying to make up for that. But it’s trickier than you might imagine. For the past few weeks, since my memory has returned, I keep rehashing the details. I’ve got people poking around behind the scenes, trying to tie it all together, trying to figure out the mystery. And only one name keeps cropping up. It all makes sense. It’s the only person with something to gain by having me kidnapped. I think Paul Windsor got wind of my real identity. He never liked me. He never wanted me with Cara. After we got engaged, I think he hired those thugs to come after me. They roughed me up and dumped me across the border.”
“You think he figured out who you were? Didn’t want to see his daughter tangled up with you and decided to get rid of you?”
Alex began nodding his head. “Yeah. I’m almost certain it was him.”
“You got any proof?”
“Some. But what I do have is motive. If he knew what I was up to with Windsor Energy and that I planned on marrying his daughter—”
“He’d want you out of the picture.”
“That’s right.”
“Okay, let me know if I can help with that. Even though Cara’s old man never gave me any trouble when we were dating, if he’s guilty of this crime he needs to be off the streets. It’s hard thinking anyone in the club could do something this criminal. I guess you never know about people.”
Alex nodded.
Chance looked him up and down, with warmth vacant from his eyes. “Of course, you had me fooled, too. You succeeded in deceiving me and everyone who called themselves your friend. Once, I thought you could do no wrong.”
Alex tossed the blade of grass down. A breeze picked it up and it landed ten feet away. His eyes homed in on the sliver of grass and his mouth quirked. If only he could do that, get from point A to point B that quickly. He knew where he wanted to be, back in everyone’s good graces. He’d had the world by the tail and he’d let it slip through his fingers. He might never live