Rio Grande Wedding Part 13

Molly shook her head. "You, neither, huh?"

"Sorry." He accepted the gla.s.s of tea she offered him and took a long swallow. "Lynette wants to know if you can have dinner with us Sat.u.r.day night." He lifted an eyebrow. "If you're feeling all right by then."

He knew something. What? She made a show of looking at her work schedule on the wall.

"I'd love to, especially if she makes her greenchile . I could live on herchile ."

"She knows. She bought a bushel from Wiley this morning. Said she thought she saw your car up there, but she didn't see you anywhere."

Uh-oh. Molly decided to stick with the truth as much as possible. "I was checking to see if he might have seen that little girl."

"For somebody who had to miss work and get some heavy-duty antibiotics, you sure were busy today."

The pharmacist. Of course. She could just imagine how it had gone, too. "Is there a point to all this, Josh? I feel like a suspect or something."

"No point." He crossed his ankle on his knee. "You just seemed a little weird last night, kind of nervous or something. Then I hear you've got some bad sore throat, and you don't go to work, and then you're up at Wiley's asking questions, if it's innocent, there's nothing to worry about, is there? If you've got a guilty conscience, it's my business to find out what you're hiding."

She struggled to keep her features even, but the words made her cold, and she realized she'd underestimated her brother's deep, wide knowledge of her.

And then, with a cat's superior timing, Leonardo came trotting down the hall with a sock in his mouth. A very large white tube sock with a blue stripe around the top. It trailed between his legs, making it hard for him to walk, and he dropped it once, then picked it up again and headed for the dining room.

Frozen, Molly couldn't decide whether to ignore her cat or make a production of him.

She aimed for something in between. Rolling her eyes, she grimaced. "Who would I be hiding? Some desperado? Some drug dealer?"

"I don't know. Interesting, though, that you thought immediately of a person. I didn't say who, I said what."

d.a.m.n. She was really not cut out for lying. She forced herself not to look at Leo, who

now tossed the incriminating sock up in the air. Unable to think of a single thing to answer her brother with, she shrugged.

Just then, he let go of the deputy sheriff mask and his whole body eased with the reappearance of Josh-the-brother. "Look, Moll, I know you. You've always got some cause, and don't think I haven't paid attention to your feelings on this whole illegal- immigrant issue. I know we're on opposite sides of the line, and I just keep quiet about it for that reason. But if you've done something you want to tell me about, I'm here as your brother." He picked up his hat. "This time."

"Okay, Joe Friday. I'll be sure and let you know if I see any suspicious characters lurking in my alleys."

"Moll-"

She raised a hand. "I'm just kidding. When did you get so d.a.m.ned serious, anyway? I remember the wild child."

"I grew up fast when Mom and Dad were killed. Didn't seem right to give you the trouble I gave them."

"Honey, it was real sad, but that was more than a decade ago." She touched his bony shoulder. "You can loosen up now. Have some fun, huh?"

He nodded noncommittally, and Molly dropped her hand. "Thanks for your concern," she said, walking him to the door. "I'll see you on Sat.u.r.day night."

On the porch, he put his hat back on and paused. "Be careful, Molly."

Molly laughed, hoping it sounded free instead of nervous. "I will."

He gave the house and surrounding lands one last, sweeping search with his eyes, then lifted a hand in farewell. She forced herself to stand there, ostensibly admiring the view of ragged mountains against a nearly dark sky, until he was out of sight.

Then she let go of a shaky breath and went inside, first going to the corner to retrieve the white tube sock from Leo's stash. He blinked when she wrested the sock

from him, and settled on top of the others as if to protect them. "You're one strange cat, Leo."

She knocked on the back bedroom door. Alejandro called out, and she opened the door to find him sitting on the bed, his boots on beneath the sweats, looking glumly at the combination. "Missing something?" she said, holding the stolen socks.

"Oh, yes. Thank you."

"Leonardo that's my cat steals socks. He gave me a heart attack just now, dragging this one out in front of my brother."

"Senora, I am sorry to have caused you so much trouble." With a grunt, he managed to get his right leg into position to take off the boot, and struggled with it.

Molly knelt and grabbed the heel. "Pull." The boot came off, revealing his naked foot.

She was annoyed with herself for liking the strong, long bones across the high arch. "I guess you heard all that, huh?"

He nodded, and busied himself with putting on the sock. "Your husband did he have jeans?" One side of his mouth lifted in distaste. "This does not look right."

"He did." Molly perched in the mama chair, hiding a smile that he could be vain enough to worry about his outfit when he was gun-shot, rib-broke and wanted by the law. "I'm not turning you out, though."

He raised large black eyes to her face and echoed, "Turning me out?"

"You don't have to leave."

He took a breath. "I do. I heard what he said, Molly." His tongue caressed the word, making it longer, lingering: Mol-leee. "He will be very angry when he learns you have hidden me here."

"If," she corrected calmly. "And yes, he'll be furious, but he'll be furious no matter if you stay a day or three. The damage is done."

"They might arrest you." His mouth was serious. "Deport me."

She nodded. Then, without consciously deciding to do it, she leaned over her knees and in a gesture that felt wholly natural, took his loose hands into her own. "SenorSosa, please listen." She met his eyes earnestly. "My brother worries too much about me."

"If you were my sister, I, too, would worry. It is only luck that I am not a drug dealer, as you say."

"Maybe." She lifted a shoulder. "But the fact remains you aren't. And you feel better tonight, but if you leave now, you'll be sick and cold and weak by morning. You won't be any use to Josefina like that."

He looked at the clasp of her hands, and suddenly turned his over, enfolding her fingers in his. "You listen, now,senora ," he said, and leaned closer still, so their faces were only a foot apart. A soft hitch of desire touched her heart as she looked at his mouth, into his eyes, and she wanted, very much, to simply close that gap and press her mouth to his.

And as if the same thought crossed his mind, his gaze flickered to her mouth, then away. His jaw tightened. "I am very grateful to you. You have saved my life. And you have taken good care of me. I do not wish to bring trouble on you. Maybe Wiley would take me in, eh? It's not so far, I could walk there."

A pang stabbed through her. Wiley probably would take him in, but that would mean this stolen time was over. Just another day. Maybetwo, that was all she asked. A little s.p.a.ce of time that was different from all the other days in her life. "Maybe," she said quietly.

It was her turn to look at the tangle of their hands. She turned his over to look at the palms, seeing calluses along the tips of his long fingers. She touched the thickened skin lightly. "Do you play guitar?"

"Yes." For a moment, he allowed her touch,then abruptly drew away. "Molly, will you bring me the jeans from your husband?"

"Sure." She stood up, pasting a bright, phony smile on her face as she stood up. "I'll be right back."

Before she turned away, however, he stood and caught her hand. It was the first time she realized how very tall and lean and powerful his body was. She raised her face to meet his liquid gaze, waiting, unable to hide the disappointment she felt, no matter how irrational it was.