Like what you see, squirt? he whispered.
Youre a nasty boy.
I just like girls. And girls like your friend, Jet, like me back.
If you only knew.
Buttercup snorted and blew, moving skittishly to one side, thereby changing the angle of the sun, so that Ritz could finally see the conceited brutes face, or at least three-quarters of it.
Up close he looked bad and wild like the rock stars on Jets posters that hung all over her bedroom walls. But he was way more handsome. His blatantly masculine face seemed hacked from hot, sun-baked stone. A sheen of perspiration set him aglow and made him seem like a god come to life. He had a high brow, an aquiline nose, and a wide, sexy mouth. Thick, spiky black lashes shaded green eyes so bright and feral, they literally knocked the breath out of her.
For a long moment, she couldnt move or breathe a word.
He went equally still.
Nervously she pushed her glasses up. For a long second their gazes remained fixed.
Youre bad, she said.
Stupid, too? he mocked, using those eyes of his to twist her around his little finger.
Ritz stiffened.
What are you doing here? he repeated.
She didnt dare look at him again. I-Im hereto getto gett-that horse, my horse, Buttercup!
My Buttercup now. His voice deepened and roughened, bringing those little shivers again.
You have to give her back!
Make me, squirt.
Her hands balled into fists. When she lunged, Buttercup trotted off.
W-who is she, Roque? another boy cried out from the tall grasses as he ran toward her.
Ritz whirled so fast, the blond kid nearly fell.
You! Roque said. Caleb, I told you to git.
Caleb held up his hands. His smile was so engaging, Ritz smiled back, which only made his older brothers scowl darken.
It wasnt hard to see why Caleb was more popular than Roque. He was just a boy not much older than she. He had blond hair, green eyes, and sandy eyebrows and lashes. His freckled nose was almost as red and blistered as hers.
He was nice cute; not nasty cute like Roque. Not intimidating cute, either.
Dont forget, Roque jeered. Hes a hated Blackstone, too.
Im Ritz Keller, thats who, and if you and your brother will give me my horse
Youre trespassing! the younger boy whispered to Ritz, grinning at his brother to win his approval.
Well, Caleb, somebody left your gate open and Buttercup ran inside. I had to come after her. Your big brother here is riding a horse with a Triple K brand. In other words, hes a horse thief.
If shes yours, whyd she run from you? Roque demanded.
Do you know anything? Anything at all about horses? she demanded, tilting her head as imperiously as a queen.
I caught yours, didnt I?
Just give her back.
If I do thatthen youll ride away. I want to know more about your pretty friend.
Well, she doesnt like bullies or horse rustlersor stupid
You have a saying up here in Gringolandia, Señorita Smartie Pants. Finders. Keepers.
She said youre ugly naked!
Híjole! He pulled back a little on the reins and leaned down.
So, you came to see for yourself!
Youre disgusting!
Then why the blush?
She looked down, but she felt his eyes on her face and got hotter.
Go home, little girl, before you get into real trouble. Tell your friend she can swim in our pondanytime. His lilting purr sent a hot shiver through her. Tell her, Ill be waiting for her tomorrow.
Im not going without Buttercup.
All right. Holding the reins, Roque sprang lithely off Buttercup, landing so close beside her, she jumped back. Then he slapped Buttercup on the rump and sent her trotting off.
Were going to let Buttercup decide, he said, who she wants, youor me.
No
Because you know shell choose me, he jeered.
Youre very sure of yourself, she said.
Sí. Its one of my failings.
She felt her jaw go slack. Her heart raced. She thrust out her chin anyway. A Kellers way is better than a Blackstones any day.
He grinned. Youre going to be hell on wheels when you grow up, he murmured. A while ago you asked me if I knew anything about horses. What if I told you I had a way with horses, same as I do with little girls? Big girls, too?
It was getting dark. In the queer half-light, with his intense aristocratic features, he was absolutely stunningtall, muscular, graceful even. Not awkward like the other boys she knew. She remembered him dancing and how shed longed to dance, too.
You cant beat me cause Im a Keller.
Little Killer Keller, he purred. I can beat you any day.
Wanna bet?
3
A warm gust of air stirred Ritzs golden curls and ruffled Buttercups tail. Sighing in exasperation, Ritz scowled at her mare.
So, well let Buttercup decide who she wants? Roque repeated.
She put her hands on her hips. I dont have to play your silly game. This stubborn, mulish, black-tailed idiot is mine.
Careful how you talk to her, or she wont choose you.
Ritz tossed her head and wouldve spun away, but he grabbed her arm.
Ouch. Youre hurting me.
Okay. Okay. Instantly the long brown fingers loosened. His dark face was grim. So, you dont have to play my game or prove anything. Maybe I just want to teach you something.
You left marks. She rubbed her elbow.
The long shadows made his face darker, crueler. But when he fixed his bold green eyes on her, his expression softened. Okay. Im sorry. I dont ever like hurting anybody, especially not somebody smaller ora girl. I have two big sisters.
Down in Mexico?
Instead of answering, he blurted, Im not a bully! Not like my father!
His hot gaze and the pain in his voice stripped her soul and demanded intimacies she didnt understand and wasnt ready to share. His wild eyes slid from her face to the red place above her elbow. I could show you marks! He began unfastening his shirt, but when she shrank from him, misreading his intent, he sucked in a hard breath.
Híjole! His brilliant eyes devoured her flat chest and then her skinny, sunburned legs as he cursed low in Spanish.
She blanched at his rough language.
Tú hablas. he whispered when he realized he was scaring her even more.
She nodded and then stared at his scarred boots and at her own pigeon-toed feet. Por supuesto.
Lo siento, he muttered in apology.
Spanish was the working language on the Triple K. She was a Keller. Everybody spoke Spanish. Everybody except Jet. But Jet was a natural at music and was learning it fast. She had a gift for imitating sounds, same as she had a gift for boys. Ritz wished she had Jets gifts. But other than being a Keller, she was plain and ordinaryas Roque had just so cruelly pointed out.
He gave her skinny body another of those insolent sideways glances that sent her heart rushing in stilted, painful beats.
He gave her skinny body another of those insolent sideways glances that sent her heart rushing in stilted, painful beats.
Quit looking at me, he whispered in a raw tone, with those big blue eyes that eat me alive. Andand I didnt meant to scare youor hurt your feelings.
You just cant help yourself.
What are youthirteento my eighteen?
Fourteen!
Youre too damn young to be hanging around me.
So, give me my horse and Ill
Youre skinny and not even pretty.
Tears pricked. You said that already!
And youve got spots.
Freckles! Ritz shouted. Whats wrong with freckles?
Same thing thats wrong with your last name and all that metal in your mouth. I dont like them.
Just when she was feeling weird and sad and hurt, his low tone gentled. Youve got pretty hair, though. Mexicans have a thing for yellow hair. At least I do even though I dont see colors like other people. Yours is really something. Who knowsin another year or twomaybe youll be even prettier than your friend. Youve got somethingshe doesnt. Im not sure what it is exactly. His voice had gone smooth.
She felt a strange, powerful pull to move toward him. I dont care what you think! Just give me my horse! But she put her hand over her lips to hide the beginnings of a smile.
Your horse? he began in a teasing vein that made her blush again. Well see whose horse she is. Well both call her. Well see who she chooses. Ill even let you go first, guera, he offered magnanimously, eyeing her yellow hair.
Guera was slang in Mexico for blonde.
When she shook her head, causing her hair to bounce on her shoulders, he laughed. Scaredy-cat. Go on. Call her. If she comes. Shes yours.
Its a trick! Ritz muttered, catching a breath and then cupping her hands to the sides of her mouth and calling out, Buttercup!
Munching grass, Buttercup didnt even raise her head or prick her ears. When Ritz called her again, the obstinate beast chewed lazily.
I need an apple, Ritz said.
Give? her foe taunted.
Buttercup! Ritz cried, her voice tinged with desperation.
Thats no way to coax a pretty lady, Roque said smugly, directing his brilliant gaze to the mare. He swaggered toward the beast, his brown hands outstretched.
Buttercup jerked her head out of the grass and flicked her nose out at him. She snorted, her nostrils flaring. Her black tail lifted and seemed to float in the wind like an inky banner.
When he had her full attention, he splayed his long fingers open like claws.
Ritz sprang in front of Roque and called again. Buttercup! Come here, sweetheart!
Cheater, he purred. He stood so close she could feel the heat of his breath against her neck.
The sun was gone. The tall grasses and big sky were aflame, the horizons ringed in pink.
Buttercup, Ritz pleaded, truly scared now.
Buttercup nibbled, her nose low to the ground. Roque strutted toward the horse, squared his body to hers and stared directly at her.
The mare bolted.
My turn, Roque said jauntily.
You made her run away just when I was trying to call her.
I can make her come back, too.
I hate you!
You sure about that? He laughed and began clucking to Buttercup.
The mare stopped running. Roque squared his shoulders and stared fixedly at her again. Again, Buttercup ran from him.
She doesnt want you, either.
Shell change her mind after I court her a little. All the girls, big and little, want Roque Moya. Just you watch.
You are disgusting.
Your sexy friend doesnt think so. Maybe somedaywhen you grow up and I court you, youll change your mind, too.
Was he flirting with her?
No way.
But if he was, it was a heady game to play with a bad wild boy like him, a Blackstone.
Watch me, Four Eyes, he said softly. Shell come to me.
And the mare did. In less than twenty minutes. He didnt even have to call her. Buttercup just stopped running and started watching everything he did as if hypnotized. Soon the mares head dropped, and she walked slowly toward him, licking and chewing. Only she didnt have any grass in her mouth. Roque kept his body at a forty-five degree angle to the horse, avoiding eye contact as she approached.
Sensing some baffling, silent chemistry between Roque and her horse, Ritz held her breath. Furious as she was, she felt a strange thrill when Buttercup walked up to the fiend and held her nose less than an inch from his broad shoulder.
Ritz wanted to shout, Shes mine! Mine!
But what hed done was so fantastic, she didnt want to break the spell.
When Roque turned and walked away from Ritz, Buttercup followed. They walked in a circle before returning. Finally Roque faced the horse and lifted his hand, stroking Buttercup between the eyes. Then he stared at Ritz and grinned.
Ritz was stunned.
He can talk to horses. Calebs eyes shone.
Ritz had forgotten Caleb was even there. How?
Not in words, but Roque says horses talk just the same. Hes going to teach me their language.
Their language?
Horse. He read about it in a book and taught it to himself, and he can hardly read.
It was obvious the younger Blackstone was much in awe of his older brother. Even though she didnt want to admit it, he wasnt stupid like people said he was. He was smart and differentspecial.
I can, too, read! Roque blurted, stung.
I want to learn horse, too! The words just popped out of her mouth.
Do you want to start now?
She scowled at Roque when he flung himself to the ground and began yanking his scuffed black boots off. He pulled off his socks, too, and wiggled his long, naked toes.
Why was watching him do the most ordinary things so fascinating? The keen sweetness of hay being cut somewhere made her heart ache. Or was it just him, balling his dirty socks and stuffing them into his boots that made her feel so strange?
If Ritz had thought more about boys before last night and this afternoon than shed ever admit, she felt possessed now. Roques dark sensual male beauty made her long to be older and prettierdesirable.
Theres sticker burrs, she said lamely when he finally stood up.
So?
She tried not to look at his gorgeous black head when he turned. But his bold green eyes claimed her somehow, holding her with that same, mysterious force she hadnt understood last night.
Im not going to walk, he said. Im going to fly. Do you want to learn to fly, princesa?
He extended his brown hand just as he had last night, inviting her to put hers inside it. She stared at those long, tapered fingers and then at the purple-black grasses that curled away from them in endless waves. With a shiver, she shook her head.
Scaredy-cat. He laughed. As she gasped, he sprang up on Buttercups back, urging the mare forward with his toes into a springing trot.
Get off her, she whispered.
I won, remember.
Soon he had Buttercup cantering round and round in a perfect circle. They were so beautiful, Roque with his black hair and Buttercup with her black mane streaming in the wind as they danced in that sea of tall grasses.