Chapter Ten

Veronica had just served herself a glass of orange juice when her phone vibrated on the kitchen counter.

“Hola, Apa,” she singsonged after answering.

“Hola, Mija. How are you doing?”

“Good. How about you? How’s London?”

“London is wet and cold. I’m ready to go home already.”

She rolled her eyes. “You just got there last night. You’re just grumpy because you’re tired. Have you eaten today?”

It was their usual banter. Her dad would complain about something and Veronica would try to do what she could to fix it. And most things could be fixed with a long nap or a hearty meal.

“Yes, I had a sandwich a few hours ago. But I’m about to head to dinner with the team. And you?”

“I was just about to make myself some breakfast.”

“Que? Don’t they feed you on that ranch?”

Veronica laughed. “Yes, I usually have dinner with the family most nights. But I try to do breakfast and lunch on my own here in the cottage.”

“And what about everything else? The equipment? Takuache? Is that stable manager taking good care of him?

“His name is Tomás.”

“Who?”

“The stable manager is named Tomás. And, yes, Takuache is doing well. He has everything he needs.”

“I’m relieved to hear that. I was getting a little concerned after talking to Valeria before I left on my trip. She had said you weren’t too happy with things there.”

It shouldn’t have surprised Veronica that her sister had said something to their dad. After all, Veronica had never told her not to. And Valeria would have shared it only with the hope that maybe their father could do something to fix it.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of worry. She didn’t want Tomás or his family to have to deal with her father. Her father wasn’t known for having an easygoing nature. He also was a problem fixer. So if he ever believed that the Ortegas were a problem—a problem that could hurt his daughter’s chances of making the Olympic team—then he wouldn’t waste any time severing ties to Rancho Lindo. She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if she was responsible for hurting the family financially. Tomás—well, all of them—didn’t deserve that.

They continued chatting for a few more minutes before she heard a knock at her door.

“Apa, I’m going to let you get ready for dinner. I have a few errands to run, okay?”

She expected him to argue, but to her surprise he told her to call him the next day so they could talk more. After she hung up, Veronica opened the door to find Nora standing on the porch stairs. Today was the day they were going into town so Veronica could pick up some things. It would be nice to do a little retail therapy. More important, she was excited just to get off the ranch for a few hours.

Nora waved at Veronica. “Sorry, I’m a little early. But I finished my morning tasks sooner than I expected. Do you want me to come back later?”

Veronica shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I just need a few minutes to finish getting ready. Come on inside.”

About fifteen minutes later, they were on their way in Nora’s truck. Although she had already explained it wasn’t technically hers—it belonged to the ranch. She just happened to be the one who used it the most.

“If you ever want to take it out on your own, I’m sure the Ortegas wouldn’t mind.”

Veronica shook her head. “I don’t know about that. Tomás didn’t seem very excited about that idea.”

Nora scoffed. “That’s only because Tomás barely goes anywhere. He doesn’t understand that not everything we need is here on the ranch.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at that. It was clear that Tomás was more of a homebody than his brothers—whenever she needed to find him for whatever reason, he was either in the stable or at the main house.

“He really loves Rancho Lindo, doesn’t he?” Veronica asked, looking out the closed passenger-side window as they drove down the ranch’s main driveway onto the main road.

“We all do,” Nora answered.

She looked over at the other woman and was surprised by the emotion written all over face. “How long have you worked on the ranch?”

“Only about two years now. But I basically grew up on Rancho Lindo. My tío and tía worked here and I used to stay with them during the summer. I’ve known the Ortega boys since we were all kids.”

“Really? And were you and Gabe a couple back then too?”

That made her sputter with laughter. “God, no. We were friendly, of course. But he was too busy being a moody teenager to even notice me. I was closer to Nico and Daniel. And Tomás, too.”

“I can’t even imagine Tomás as a teenager. Did he spend every waking minute in the stable like he does now?”

“Oh, well, he was pretty much already running the stable back then even though the Ortegas had a full-time stable manager. But if he wasn’t there then he was with Mia.”

“Mia?” Veronica couldn’t hold back the surprise in her voice. She wondered who this Mia could be. Tomás had never mentioned her. Although it wasn’t like they were best friends—he didn’t have to share anything with her that didn’t have to do with the stable.

“His ex-girlfriend,” Nora explained. Veronica felt a tiny sense of relief and quickly told herself it meant nothing.

“They started dating when they were both high school freshmen and all through college. Everyone was sure they were going to get married one day.”

Out of nowhere, a little ember of annoyance sparked in her chest. She shouldn’t care that Tomás almost got married to someone she’d never heard about until that moment.

“So what happened?”

Nora pulled into a small parking lot and turned off the ignition before answering. She twisted in her seat to face Veronica, who could see the regret written all over Nora’s face. Nora was obviously very protective of Tomás. She recognized it because she was just as protective of Valeria. That’s when she realized that Nora was an older sister just like her.

“I’m sorry,” Veronica told Nora. “It’s none of my business. You don’t have to tell me anything.”

Nora shrugged. “No need to apologize. I’m the one who’s just been blabbing away. I’m normally not a gossiper. But honestly, I’ve never heard the full story—I don’t think anyone has actually. All we know is that they broke up right after Mia graduated from NYU. She still lives in New York and Tomás says they don’t keep in touch at all.”

Veronica was still thinking about what Nora had shared as they walked into Esperanza’s general store. She thought it was odd that Tomás hadn’t told his family about what had happened with his ex. She wondered if it was because he had been embarrassed or because she had broken his heart pretty bad. Something Veronica knew a lot about unfortunately.

“Tomás said you wanted to look at the jackets?” Nora’s question cut through her thoughts.

“Yeah, I need something a little thicker,” Veronica replied, not sure how she felt about Tomás instructing Nora on her behalf. “I also want to get some warmer pajamas.”

“Clothing is upstairs. Then I can meet you down here to get the rest of the things you need. I’m going to go across the street to pick up my supply order. Unless you want me to stick around?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Veronica said. “Go do what you need to do.”

Nora gave her a smile and a quick wave before heading out the store’s front door.

Veronica walked upstairs and was met right away with a round wooden table covered in folded sweaters. She picked up a hunter-green turtleneck and a pretty white one with black stripes. She wandered over to the other side of the table and a heather-gray men’s waterfowl sweater caught her eye. Veronica thumbed through the stack and held up one she thought might fit Tomás. It was a good-quality sweater and she knew the color would look nice on him.

What on earth am I doing?

The thought hit her so hard that she dropped the sweater back onto the table. She had no business buying Tomás a sweater or any other type of gift.

After folding the sweater and placing it gently back on the stack, Veronica moved on to the racks of winter coats located in the center of the room. She picked through the hangers until she came across a black insulated one that looked nice.

“All our jackets are twenty-five percent off.”

She looked up and noticed a small older woman with salt-and-pepper hair standing across the rack from her. “Oh. Great. Do you know if this one is water-repellent?”

“Yes, ma’am. All of those on that side are. How long are you in town for? Are you sure you don’t need something heavier?”

Veronica smiled. “Is it that obvious that I don’t belong here?”

The woman shrugged. “Sweetie, I know every person in Esperanza. And since I don’t know you, then I figured you’re just visiting. Question is, though, who are you visiting?”

“Me. She’s visiting me. Veronica is a friend from high school.”

Before Veronica could say anything, Nora was at her side.

“Miss Nora!” the woman exclaimed. Her whole face lit up and she put her hands on her hips. “Well, you should’ve said so, sweetheart. Any friend of Nora is a friend of mine. I’ll give you thirty percent off that coat if you want it.”

Luckily, another customer walked over to ask the woman a question and she eventually went back downstairs, leaving Veronica and Nora on their own.

“Sorry about Frances,” Nora told her. “I love her but she’s the town’s biggest gossip. I hope you don’t mind pretending that we’re friends.”

Veronica couldn’t help but smile. “Well, we are friends. But I do appreciate you saying I was visiting you instead of telling her the real reason why I’m staying at Rancho Lindo.”

Nora shook her head vigorously “Gabe and Tomás are adamant about making sure we protect your privacy. And if Frances knew the truth, then the whole town would, too, by dinnertime.”

Knowing that Tomás and his family were continuing to keep her stay a secret made her trust in them grow even more. Veronica felt safe and at ease.

“I really appreciate that, Nora. Thank you.”

She reached out and squeezed Nora’s hand to show that she meant what she had said. Nora squeezed back.

“You’re welcome,” she told Veronica. “Now, let’s do some shopping!”

Veronica ended up buying four bags’ worth of merchandise from the general store. They hadn’t found everything on her list though, so Nora promised to take her into Santa Barbara on the weekend. For the first time in weeks, Veronica felt light and even giddy. It had felt wonderful to go shopping, but also just to hang out doing something other than training. It was almost as if she was drunk on happiness. That was the only reason why, after loading her bags into Nora’s truck, she went back into the store for one more thing.

When they arrived back at Veronica’s cottage about fifteen minutes later, they weren’t alone. Tomás and Gabe were waiting for them on the porch.

“Did you clean out the store or what?” Tomás teased as he helped carry her shopping bags into the house.

“Of course not. I left the tools section perfectly intact,” Veronica replied. They put the bags on the couch while Nora stayed outside with Gabe.

“Well, I have a feeling you made Frances’s day,” Tomás said.

“Speaking of Frances, she asked where I was staying and Nora told her that I was her friend from high school.”

“Are you saying Nora actually lied to someone? And they believed her? Because she has the worst poker face in the world.”

Veronica playfully slapped his arm. “Don’t say it like that. Now I feel bad that I put her in that position.”

“I’m teasing, Veronica,” Tomás said and took a step closer. “You don’t have to feel bad. I guess we never really discussed what we should say about why you were here. Although I don’t see why anyone would question it—well, besides nosy Frances.”

“I told Nora that I appreciated all of you making the effort to protect my privacy. I really am grateful to you—to all of you.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything right away. So they stood there just staring at each other for a few seconds. Tomás seemed to be studying her in those moments. It was as if he was trying to figure something out. Or rather, it looked like he was trying to figure her out.

Then whatever it was that was hanging in the air moved on.

“All righty then,” he said, finally. “Did you get my text? Gabe is going to haul away all of that dead brush on the side of the cottage. And I’m going to fix the screen on the bedroom window. It’s getting colder so I don’t imagine you’ll need to leave the window open much, but just in case. Although I don’t recommend it. We can’t have you catching a cold now, can we?”

Why did him not wanting her to be cold make her warm?

“No, we can’t.” Veronica looked over at the bags sitting on the couch. “Listen, Tomás. I really meant it when I said I hope you know how much I appreciate you—and your family.”

She walked over and reached in to pull out the sweater she’d bought for him.

“I’m glad to hear you say that, but it’s really just part of the job. We want to make sure all our customers are happy.”

Customers.

Of course. That’s all she was to him after all. He’d only been nice to her these past few weeks because she was his customer. Veronica shoved the sweater back in the bag.

“Well, that’s what I am. Happy.”

He tipped his hat at her and told her he was going to go get the new screen out of the golf cart parked outside.

Suddenly, the euphoria from before was gone. The bags on the couch didn’t elicit any feelings from her at all. She left them where they were.