The Tuscan Tycoon’s Wife

CHAPTER THREE

NOW that her fear for Elliot had been eased Selena was growing more relaxed, exuding an air of taking life as it came that Leo guessed was more normal with her.

‘Have you and Elliot been together long?’ he asked.

‘Five years. I got some work doing odd jobs about the rodeos, and bought him cheap from a guy who owed me money. He reckoned Elliot’s career was over, but I thought he still had good things in him if he was treated right. And I do treat him right.’

‘I guess he appreciates that,’ Leo said as she rose and went to fondle Elliot’s nose. The horse pressed forward to her.

He rose too and began to stroll along the stalls, looking in at the animals, who gazed back, peaceful, beautiful, almost seeming to glow in the dim light.

‘You know about horses,’ Selena asked, joining him. ‘I could tell.’

‘I breed a few, back home.’

‘Where’s home?’

‘Italy.’

‘Then you really are a foreigner.’

He grinned. ‘Couldn’t you tell by my “funny accent”?’

She gave a sudden blazing grin. ‘It’s not as funny as some I’ve heard.’

It was as though the sun had come up with her smile. Wanting to make her laugh, Leo went into a clowning version of Italian. Seizing her hand he kissed the back and crooned theatrically,

‘Bella signorina, letta me tell you abouta my country. In Eeetaly we know ’ow to appreciate a beautiful lai-ee-dy.’

She stared, more flabbergasted than impressed.

‘You talk like that in Italy?’

‘No, of course not,’ he said, reverting to his normal voice. ‘But when we’re abroad it’s how we’re expected to talk.’

‘Only by folk who need their heads examined.’

‘Well, I meet a lot of them. Most people’s ideas about Italians come straight out of cliché. We’re not all bottom pinchers.’

‘No, you just wink at women on the highway.’

‘Who does?’

‘You do. Did. When Mr Hanworth’s car passed me, I saw you looking at me, and you winked.’

‘Only because you winked first.’

‘I did not,’ she said, up in arms.

‘You did.’

‘I did not.’

‘I saw you.’

‘It was a trick of the light. I do not wink at strange men.’

‘And I don’t wink at strange women-unless they wink at me first.’

Suddenly she began to laugh, just as he’d wanted her to, and the sun came out again. He took her hand and led her back to the bale where they’d been sitting, and they clinked beer cans.

‘Tell me about your home,’ she said. ‘Where in Italy?’

‘Tuscany, the northern part, near the coast. I have a farm, breed some horses, grow some grapes. Ride in the rodeo.’

‘Rodeo? In Italy? You’re kidding me.’

‘No way! We have a little town called Grosseto, which has a rodeo every year, complete with a parade through the town. There’s a building there with walls covered with photos of the local “cowboys”. Until I was six I thought all cowboys were Italian. When my cousin Marco told me they came from the States I called him a liar. We had to be separated by our parents.’

He paused, for she was choking with laughter.

‘In the end,’ he said, ‘I had to come and see the real thing.’

‘Got any family, apart from your cousin?’

‘Some. Not a wife. I live alone except for Gina.’

‘She’s a live-in girlfriend?’

‘No, she’s over fifty. She cooks and cleans and makes dire predictions about how I’ll never find a wife because no younger woman will put up with that draughty building.’

‘Are the draughts really bad?’

‘They are in winter. Thick stone walls and flagstones to walk on.’

‘Sounds really primitive.’

‘I guess it is. It was built eight hundred years ago and as soon as I finish one repair it seems I have to start another. But in summer it’s beautiful. That’s when you appreciate the stone keeping you cool. And when you go out in the early morning and look down the valley, there’s a soft light that you see at no other time. But you have to be there at exactly the right moment, because it only lasts a few minutes. Then the light changes, becomes harsher, and if you want to see the magic again you have to go back next morning.’

He stopped, slightly surprised at himself for using so many words, and for the almost poetic strain of feeling that had come through them. He realised that she was looking at him with gentle interest.

‘Tell me more,’ she said. ‘I like listening to people talk about what they love.’

‘Yes, I suppose I do love it,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘I love the whole life, even though it’s demanding, and sometimes rough and uncomfortable. At harvest you get up at dawn and go to bed when you’re in a state of collapse, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.’

‘You got brothers, sisters?’

‘I’ve got a younger brother-’ Leo grinned ‘-although technically Guido is the elder. In fact, legally I barely exist because it turned out my parents weren’t married, only nobody knew at the time.’

She made a quick, alert movement. ‘You mean you’re a bastard too?’

‘Yes, I guess I am.’

‘Do you care?’

‘Not in the slightest.’

‘Me neither,’ she said contentedly. ‘It sort of leaves you free. You can go where you want and do what you want, be who you want. Do you find it’s like that?’

Receiving no answer she turned to look at Leo and found him leaned right back, his eyes closed, his body stretched out in an attitude of abandon. Jet lag wouldn’t be fought off any longer.

Selena reached out to nudge him awake, but stopped with her hand an inch away, and watched him. The day’s turbulent events had left her no chance to consider him at leisure. He’d been the rescuer who’d caught up with Elliot, when she herself might not have done so in time, and whose gentle hands and voice had calmed the animal. If her beloved Elliot accepted him then she must too.

In the bathroom he’d saved her from nasty injury. Beyond that she hadn’t allowed herself to think. But she could think about it now, how it had felt to be held tightly against him, the soft scratching of the hairs on his chest against her bare breasts. She could remember, too, the bold way he’d grasped her behind with his big hand, hauling her to safety and removing his hand at once.

A gentleman, she thought. Even at that moment.

Everything about him pleased her, starting with the broad sweep of his forehead, half hidden now by a lock of hair that had fallen over it, and the heavy brows, and the dark-brown eyes beneath them. She liked the straight nose and the slightly heavy curved mouth that could smile in a way that hinted at delight to come for a woman with a brave spirit.

She wondered just how brave her own spirit was. In the ring she would take any risk, dare any fall, chance any unfamiliar horse, and laugh. But folk were different, harder to understand than horses. They were awkward and they could hurt you more than any tumble.

And yet she wanted to see Leo’s smile again, and follow the tempting hints to their conclusion.

She liked his foreignness, his faint Italian accent, his way of pronouncing certain words in a way that was strange to her, but delightful. She wanted to know him better, to discover more about the big, generously proportioned body, and to realise the promise implicit in those broad shoulders and lean, hard torso. As if drawn by a magnet her eyes fell on his hands, and memories sprang alive in her flesh. Those long fingers, touching her nakedness as he lifted her out of the bath. They seemed to be touching her now, this minute. She could feel them…

Hell, who did she think she was kidding? Everyone knew that Italians liked curvy females, with hour-glass figures.

And I don’t have any in-and-out, she reminded herself sorrowfully. Just ‘in.’ And he’s seen me now, so there’s no way to fool him.

Life was very hard!

Elliot whinnied softly, and the sound was enough to awaken Leo. He opened his eyes while her face was still close to his, and smiled.

‘I’ve died and gone to heaven,’ he said. ‘And you’re an angel.’

‘I don’t think they’ll be sending me to heaven. Not unless someone’s changed the rules.’

They both laughed, and she went to Elliot, who had whinnied again.

‘He’s just jealous because you’re giving me so much attention,’ Leo said.

‘He’s got nothing to be jealous about, and he knows it,’ Selena said. ‘He’s my family.’

‘Where do you live?’

‘Wherever Elliot and I happen to be.’

‘But you must have some sort of home base, where you stay when you’re not travelling?’

‘Nope.’

‘You mean, you’re travelling all the time?’

‘Yup.’

‘With no home to go to?’ he asked, aghast.

‘I’ve got a place where I’m registered for paying taxes. But I don’t live there. I live with Elliot. He’s my home as well as my family. And he always will be.’

‘It can’t be “always”,’ he pointed out. ‘I don’t know how old he is, but-’

‘He’s not old,’ Selena said quickly. ‘He looks older than he is because he’s a bit battered, but that’s all.’

‘Yes, I’m sure,’ Leo said gently. ‘But just how old is he?’

She sighed. ‘I’m not sure. But he’s not finished yet.’ She laid her cheek against Elliot’s nose. ‘They don’t know you like I do,’ she whispered, and turned her head away so that he couldn’t see the anguish that swamped her.

But he did see it, and his heart ached for her. That raw-boned animal, past his best, was all she had in the world to love.

Suddenly her strength seemed to drain away. Leo quickly took hold of her.

‘That’s it, you’re going to bed. Don’t argue because I won’t take no for an answer.’

He kept his arm firmly fixed about her waist in case she had any other ideas, but she was too weary to argue, and let him lead her away to the house and up the stairs to her room.

‘Goodnight,’ he said at her door. ‘Sleep well.’

‘Leo, you don’t understand,’ she confided in a low voice. ‘I can’t sleep in that bed. It’s too soft. Every time I move it bounces.’

His lips twitched. ‘They’re supposed to. Still, I know what you mean. If it’s not what you’re used to it can be worse than stones. You’ll just have to try to put up with all this comfort. You’ll get used to it.’

‘Not me,’ she said with conviction, and slipped into her room.

He stood looking at the closed door, a prey to unfamiliar feelings that confused him. He wanted to follow her into her bedroom, not to have his evil way, but to ask her to lay her problems on him, and promise to make everything right for her.

Having his evil way could come later. When he’d earned the right.

It was almost dawn when the last guest drove away, waving an arm out of the window and yodelling, ‘See ya!’ Bleary eyed and cheerful, the household drifted off to bed.

Leo sat down on his bed with a feeling of pleasant vagueness. The evening had contained much bourbon and rye, especially the last part, after he’d said goodnight to Selena and returned to the festivities. Now he was at peace with the world.

But he didn’t miss the sound of footsteps that stopped outside Selena’s bedroom door. A pause, then a soft creak as the door was opened. That was enough to make Leo’s tipsy haze pass, and send him out into the corridor in time to catch Paulie halfway through Selena’s door.

‘Why, isn’t this nice?’ he said in a voice that made Paulie jump. ‘Both of us so concerned about Selena that we couldn’t sleep until we knew she was fine.’

Paulie gave him a glassy smile. ‘Can’t neglect a guest.’

‘Paulie, you’re an example to us all.’

Leo was moving into the room as he spoke, switching on the light. Then both men stopped, taken aback by the sight of the empty bed.

‘That tomfool female has gone back to the stables,’ Leo muttered.

‘No I haven’t,’ came from a heap on the floor.

Leo switched on the bedside light and saw the heap separate itself into its various parts, which included a blanket, a pillow, and one tomfool female whose red hair stood up on her head in a shock.

‘What is it?’ she asked, sitting up. ‘Has something happened?’

‘No, Paulie and I were concerned for you, so we came to see how you were.’

‘That’s very kind,’ she said, guessing the truth at once. ‘I’m fine.’

‘She’s fine, Paulie. You can go to bed now, and sleep tight.’ Leo sat down on the floor beside Selena with the air of a man taking root.

‘Er-well, I just-’

‘Goodnight, Paulie.’ They spoke as one.

Forced to accept defeat, Paulie backed himself out of the door. The last thing they saw was his scowl.

‘I could have coped, you know,’ Selena said.

‘When you’re well, I’m sure you could,’ Leo said tactfully. ‘But let’s wait until then. Underneath Paulie’s flabby exterior there’s a very ugly customer waiting to get out.’

‘I reckoned that. But that’s three times in one day you’ve come galloping to my rescue. I just don’t want you to think I’m a wimp.’

‘After the day you’ve had, aren’t you entitled to be just a bit of a wimp?’

‘Nobody is entitled to be a wimp.’

‘Sorry!’

‘No, I’m sorry,’ she said contritely. ‘I didn’t mean to be rude. I know you were trying to be kind, but all this rescuing is getting to be a bad habit.’

‘I promise not to do it again. Next time I’ll abandon you to your fate, I swear.’

‘Do that.’

‘Are you all right on the floor?’

‘I put up with the bed as long as I could,’ she complained, ‘but it’s insane. Every time I turned over I went six feet in the air. This is much better.’

‘I’d better leave before I fall asleep.’ Suddenly he found himself vague. ‘Where am I? Is the party over?’

‘Must be.’ She smiled, fully understanding. ‘Was the whisky very good?’

‘Barton’s whisky is always good. And I should know. I had plenty of it.’

‘Shall I help you back to your room?’

‘I think I can make it. Lock your door when I’m gone. I wouldn’t put it past Delia’s little boy to try again.’

But then he remembered that the door it didn’t lock. He sighed. There was only one thing for it.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked as he returned to the bed and scooped up a blanket and pillow.

‘What does it look as if I’m doing?’ he said, dropping to the floor and stretching out across the door. ‘If he can open this door now he’s a better man than I take him for.’

‘You promised to leave me to my fate next time,’ she reminded him indignantly.

‘I know, but you can’t trust a word I say.’

Blessed sleep was overtaking him. His last coherent thought was that he’d be made to suffer for this in the morning.

But at least she would be safe.

He awoke feeling better than he had any right to after what he recalled of the barbecue. Already he could sense the house stirring about him, and reckoned it was safe to leave her.

It was better to be gone before she awoke. He wouldn’t have known what to say to her. Inside him he was jeering at himself for going into what he ironically called ‘chivalrous mode’.

That was something he’d never done before in his life. The women whose company he sought were cut from the same cloth as himself, and after much the same things. Fun, laughter, uncomplicated pleasure, a good time had by all, and no hearts broken. It had always worked beautifully.

Until now.

Now, suddenly, he found himself acting like a knight in shining armour, and it worried him.

Chivalry or no, he dropped gently down beside her sleeping form, and studied her face. Her colour had improved since last night and he could see that she slept, as he always did himself, dead to the world, like a contented animal.

She’d removed her dressing, so that the cut and bruise on her forehead showed up starkly against her pallor. She had a funny little face, he thought, right now looking as vulnerable as child’s, with the caution and worldly wisdom smoothed from it by sleep.

He reflected on the story she’d told him the night before, and guessed that she’d learned too much of the world in one way, and not enough in another.

He had an almost overmastering desire to lean down and kiss her, but the next moment he was glad he hadn’t, because she opened her eyes. They were wonderful eyes, large and sea deep, and they made the child vanish.

‘Hi,’ he said. ‘I’m off now. When I’ve showered I’ll go downstairs, trying to look like a man who slept in his own room. Perhaps you should try to look as if you slept in this bed, for Delia’s sake.’

‘You think she’d be offended?’

‘No, I think she’d be afraid the bed wasn’t soft enough, and heaven knows what you’d find on it tonight.’

They laughed, and he helped her up. She was wearing a man’s shirt that came down almost to her knees.

‘How are you feeling this morning?’ he asked.

‘Great. I just had the most comfortable night of my life.’

‘On the floor?’

‘This carpet is inches thick. Perfect.’

‘Cross your fingers that I don’t get seen leaving here.’

‘I’ll check the corridor for you.’

She looked and gave him the thumbs up. It took just a brief moment to dash back to his own room, and safety. True, he thought he heard the girls giggling again, but that was probably just paranoia.

He showered and dressed in a mood that was unusually thoughtful, for him, because he was uneasily aware that he didn’t have a completely clear conscience. Without actually saying anything untrue he’d left Selena with the impression that he was almost as poor as herself. She’d seen him in worn clothing, heard him talk about living rough, and taken on board the fact that he was illegitimate.

But he’d neglected to mention that his uncle was Count Calvani, with a palace in Venice, and his family were millionaires. What he had casually referred to as his farm was a rich-man’s estate, and if he helped out with the rough work it was because he preferred it that way.

He hadn’t made these things clear because of a deep, instinctive conviction that they would have made her think badly of him.

He remembered her words, just after the accident.

‘You’re all the same. You rush around in your flash cars as though you owned the road.’

His car back home was a heavy duty, four-wheel drive, suitable for the hills of Tuscany. A working man’s car, but a rich working man, who’d bought the best because he never bought anything else. In that he was a true Calvani, and now his sense of self-preservation was telling him that this would be fatal in Selena’s eyes.

And why risk a falling out when he would only be here a couple of weeks, and then they would never see each other again?

In the end he did the only thing a sensible man could possibly do.

Pushed it to the back of his mind and hoped for the best.

He spent the day with Barton, riding his friend’s acres. Barton reared cattle for money and horses for love; he bred and trained them for the rodeo.

Leo’s eye was taken by a chestnut. He was a quarter horse, short, muscular, bred for speed over a quarter mile, the perfect barrel racer.

‘Beautiful, isn’t he?’ Barton said as they looked him over. ‘He came from here originally, bought by the wife of a friend of mine. I bought him back when she gave up the rodeo to have kids.’

‘Can we take him back with us, and put him in the stable?’ Leo asked thoughtfully.

Barton nodded, but as they rode home he mused, ‘My friend, you are getting in over your head.’

‘C’mon Barton, you know what the insurance guys are going to say. They’ll take one look at Elliot and one at the van, and when they’ve stopped laughing they’ll offer her ten cents.’

‘And what’s it to you? None of it was your fault.’

‘She’s going to lose everything.’

‘Yes, but what’s it to you?’

Leo ground his teeth. ‘Can we just get home?’

Barton grinned.

They arrived to find a mood of gloom. Selena was sitting on the step of her van, staring at the ground while the two girls tried to comfort her, and Paulie hovered, clucking.

‘The vet says Elliot won’t be well enough for her to ride next week,’ Carrie said. ‘If she tries, it could really injure him.’

‘Of course I won’t do that,’ Selena said at once. ‘But now I’ll have no chance to win anything, and I must owe you so much-’

‘Now, now, none of that,’ Barton said. ‘The insurance-’

‘The insurance will just about buy me a wheelbarrow and a donkey,’ Selena said with a wry smile. She pointed to her forehead. ‘I’m over this now. I can face the truth.’

‘We won’t know the truth until you’ve ridden a couple of races,’ Barton declared.

‘On what?’ With a faint attempt at comedy she added, ‘I don’t have the donkey yet.’

‘No, but you can do me a favour.’ Barton indicated the quarter horse. ‘His name’s Jeepers. I’ve got a buyer interested, and if he wins a barrel race or two I can up the price. So you ride him, show him off, and that’ll more than repay me.’

‘He’s beautiful,’ Selena breathed, running her hands lovingly over the animal. ‘Not as beautiful as Elliot of course,’ she added quickly.

‘Of course not,’ Leo said gently.

‘He’s well trained,’ Barton told her. He explained the story of the previous owner and Selena was scandalised.

‘She gave up the rodeo to stay in one place and have babies?’

‘Some women are funny like that,’ Leo observed, grinning.

Selena’s look showed him what she thought of such an idea. ‘Can I put my saddle on him now?’

‘Good idea.’

While Selena got to work Leo drew Barton aside.

‘So tell me about this mysterious buyer,’ he said.

Barton looked him full in the eye.

‘You know who’s gonna buy that horse, as well as I do,’ he said.

The whole family turned out to watch Selena try out Jeepers in Barton’s testing ring. The three barrels were set up in a triangle, with one side of ninety feet, and the other two sides one hundred and five feet each. Selena and Jeepers came flying across the starting line, into the triangle, turned sharply right around the first barrel, back into the triangle, around the second barrel, turned left and headed up the centre for the last barrel.

Each turn was a tight forty-five degrees, testing a horse’s balance and agility as well as speed. Jeepers was swift yet steady as a rock, and Selena controlled him with light, strong hands. Even Leo, no expert in barrel racing, could see that they were a match made in heaven.

After the final turn they headed back down the centre of the triangle, and out, to the cheers of the family and the hands.

‘Eighteen seconds,’ Barton called.

Selena’s eyes were shining. ‘We took it slow the first time. Wait till we get going. It’ll be fourteen in no time.’

She let out a joyous ‘Yahoooo!’ up to the sky and everyone joined her.

Leo, watching her face, thought he’d never seen any human being look so totally happy.