“Come,” Señor Fuentes said. “If you wish to be a part of this great familia, you must learn what it is we do.”
“Tend to cattle?” Lalo asked, praying to every saint that was what Señor Fuentes meant. But judging from the whole-chested laughter coming from the other men, Lalo knew that wasn’t what he was speaking of.
“The cattle are important, of course,” Señor Fuentes said, nodding. “But there are things more significant than making money.” He stepped closer to Lalo, his dark eyes growing serious. “Like protecting the people we love. This pueblo and all who live within it.”
“Can you even ride a horse?” Rafael asked, his chin tilted so high, he was sure to have a kink in his neck the next morning.
“I can.” Lalo raised his chin as well, higher than Rafael’s by at least a pin’s width. “I’ve won many races in my day.” He didn’t know why he said that—he hated horses and races. But he found himself wanting to outdo Rafael at every turn.
“Can you shoot, Lalo?” Jorge asked, his hand resting on the pistol slung from the holster on his belt.
Rafa chortled. “We all know he cannot.”
Lalo raised a brow. “Yet somehow I won our duel.”
“What about hand-to-hand combat?” Jorge’s father asked.
“Does brawling with Carolina count?” This brought on a riotous bout of laughter from Señor Fuentes and his family. If only they knew Lalo hadn’t been joking.
“What exactly will we be doing?” Lalo asked Señor Fuentes.
Rafael grinned and nudged Jorge in the ribs with an elbow.
Please don’t let this be about sedientos. Please don’t let this be about sedientos. Please…
“Come along, mijo. Tonight will be an adventure you won’t soon forget.”
CHAPTER 32
Carolina
“They’ve taken him where?” Carolinastood frozen in the doorway to her parents’ room.
After the tongue-lashing she received for causing a scene—multiple scenes, really—Carolina escorted her mamá inside so she could rest her feet. Her last birthing had been hard. The twins had been willful, even in the womb. It was the most frightening moment in Carolina’s life. Well, before sedientos had struck down her abuelo.
Mamá eased onto her bed, and said, “It was Rafael’s idea. Clever boy thought Lalo needed to understand our world a bit better.”
Carolina’s mind screamed at the idea of Lalo being left in the hands of Rafa and the men in her familia.
She spun on her heel. She needed to get to them before Rafasaid anything incriminating but stopped when her mamá’s voice called out, “Do not even think about it, Carolina Fuentes.”
“I don’t know what you mean, Amá.” She batted her lashes sweetly.
“Don’t act innocent with me. I can see mischief in your eyes from a thousand paces away. You will stay here, in this casa, or so help me I will…” Mamá winced and clutched her belly.
Carolina was at her side in the span of a heartbeat. “What is it? Is the baby coming?”
Mamá shook her head, her face still twisted in pain. “Just a little kick.” She took Carolina’s hand and placed it on the side of her round stomach. “Feel that?”
Squinting, Carolina waited. And then…She gasped. “That’s not just a little kick. My sibling is strong.”
Mamá’s eyes sparkled. “Sí, they are.” She squeezed Carolina’s hand. “Please, this once. Listen to me. Stay put. Tend to your little brothers. Read. Sleep. Go back into the barn and dance to your heart’s content. Do whatever you wish. Just don’t go beyond the hacienda walls.”
Worry bloomed inside Carolina for Lalo. She searched her mamá’s face for a clue that something was amiss.
“Will Lalo be safe?” she asked.
“Of course, Carolina. Lalo will be fine.” Mamá brushed a wayward hair from Carolina’s face. “It is you I worry about. You are as headstrong as your papá and I love that about you both, but it will be the ruin of me. I must sit here and fret over him every night. Every time he steps out of this room.” She sniffed. “I’ll have to fuss over your hermanos. And this baby. I cannot worry over you as well right now. It’s simply too much. Do you hear me, mija?”
