‘D’you think?’
Skirting around him, she closed the door he’d left open. When she turned back, he was facing the fire. She didn’t need to see his expression to read the tension in his back. How could she explain to a man as driven as Raffa Acosta that loyalty was as complex as love, and that Rose’s duty lay with her father because he couldn’t help himself?
He swung around abruptly. ‘Well? Would you care to explain your text?’
His unwavering stare held her in check for a moment, but she rallied fast. ‘It’s only fair to you and my colleagues to give someone else the chance to be Head Groom.’
‘What about your chance, Rose?’
‘I can look after myself.’
His expression darkened. ‘And is this what you really want?’
‘It’s not what I want,’ she tried to explain, ‘but it’s what’s possible.’
‘So, you’re determined to stay on in Ireland. And do what?’
‘Work for your sister.’
Raffa couldn’t have looked more shocked. ‘You’re going to work for Sofia?’
‘It’s the only answer,’ Rose insisted. ‘My father needs me. I must stay here. I have to earn money. How else can we live? Even if I have to stand alone on this, I’m rejecting your offer to buy the farm. I’ll find another way—talk my brothers around—’
‘Your father needs professional help,’ Raffa interrupted, ‘which will be more effective if he’s left to focus on his therapy for a while. I need you in Spain to fulfil the contract you signed—the contract I countersigned in good faith. Do you even have a plan going forward?’
‘Yes, of course I have a plan.’ She could only hope it wouldn’t shatter when she put it out there, as the warmth, trust and openness she’d shared with Raffa had. ‘I’m going to run animal therapy sessions at your sister’s retreats, beginning with the one in Ireland.’
‘Nice of you to discuss this with me first.’ Raffa’s sarcasm was more cutting than the coldness on his face. ‘Does our recent past mean nothing to you?’
‘Of course it does.’
The words were ripped from her soul, but Raffa remained unconvinced. ‘Is this you being stubborn?’ he demanded, frowning. ‘Because surely you can see that you stand to lose more than you gain.’
‘I’m not trying to gain anything,’ Rose attempted to explain. ‘I’m trying to help.’
‘You’re not getting back at me for my “buying spree” in the village, as Sofia puts it?’
‘I would never be so petty,’ she defended hotly.
Raffa exhaled slowly. ‘I need you, Rose,’ he admitted grimly. ‘My ranch needs you.’
‘You can easily find another head groom.’
‘Not like you. Your father and brothers don’t need you to oversee their every move. You’re finally free, Rose. Can’t you see that?’
‘I must see my father settled.’
‘Are you creating work for yourself? Or are you too frightened to come back to Spain?’
‘Frightened?’ Rose asked with surprise. ‘I apologise for firing off that text without proper thought, but I won’t change my mind. My father has this one chance, and, with your help and Sofia’s, I hope things will improve for him. Only then can I consider what I want to do.’
‘What do you want, Rose?’
She frowned as she thought about it. ‘The chance to be me, I suppose.’
‘You’ve got that chance now,’ Raffa said fiercely. ‘Why don’t you take it?’
Rose slowly shook her head. ‘I know I’ve hurt you, but I could never have predicted how quickly my father’s condition would descend into violence.’
