Para Siempre

It was a beautiful day and the first one that Raul had had to himself in a long time. (At least since the Patron’s death a month ago.) The sun was hot and the water was cool as he dove in. He surfaced and floated on his back looking up at the sky. The drops on his brown skin shimmered in the morning sunlight. At 32 Raul was a fine specimen of a man with black curly hair, piercing brown eyes, and a muscular body. Although the women flocked to him, his heart belonged to another.Hacienda Florian was the top producer of Tequila in the region as well as having the most beautiful horses. As manager of the Hacienda he must oversee the work in the agave fields and tequila production as well as the training and care of the horses. His hope was that his brother Miguel would learn quickly so he could help work with the horses. Don Roberto Florian was a cruel and selfish man. He met his death in a mysterious “accident.” Some say it was the work of El Chacal but others tell a different story. Rumor had it that perhaps he had a boyfriend but nobody knows for sure.With a big sigh Raul swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out. As he put on his pants he heard a noise. He silently made his way through the bushes to see what it was. Peering through the vegetation he saw Dona Victoria. At 27 she was too young to be a widow. Her long blond hair reminded him of cornsilk and her blue eyes were more blue than even the sky above. She was the kindest, most beautiful woman Raul had ever known. She pretended to grieve for her husband but deep inside he knew she was happy. Roberto was twice her age and she never loved him. Her father arranged the marriage as a “business deal” to merge the two tequila enterprises. Soon after they married Victoria’s father “died.” Victoria made the best of the marriage. She actually tried to love Roberto but nothing she did was right. He would travel on business for days and when he did come home he was always in a foul mood. It didn’t help that his mother Olivia lived with them at the hacienda. Oliva was almost as cruel as her son. She had a vicious temper and would strike Victoria for the smallest thing. She carried a riding whip with her and whenever the servants displeased her she would strike them also. Now that Roberto was gone Olivia believed herself Queen of the Castle. However, when Victoria’s father died she inherited her father’s half of the business. There was a stipulation that she must outlive Roberto by 3 years in order to inherit the rest.Victoria was glad to escape from the Hacienda to get away from Olivia who was in a particularly foul mood today. As a means of escape Victoria told Maria (the cook) that she would like to pick the berries for the pie for dinner. Victoria was well liked by the staff because she always treated them with kindness. Maria wouldn’t usually let the Patrona pick berries but she knew it was a way to escape Dona Olivia. Victoria sat on a nearby rock to rest and gazed up into the sky. Olivia said there was an important guest coming for dinner this evening but would not tell Victoria who it was. A small tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek. She would have to find a way to cover what was left of her black eye so the guest wouldn’t see it. How did she get herself into such a mess? As another tear ran down her face she heard a noise behind her coming from the bushes…..


The German Shepherd, more black than brown and just over one hundred pounds, darted from the hedges and came at Victoria with tail wagging. “Santo--you scared me!” she scolded, but wiped her tears and broke into a smile at the sight of him. Santo rested both forepaws up on the rock, next to her lap, and nuzzled her until she scratched him behind the ears the way he’d always liked. When he started sniffing at her skirt pockets, Victoria knew just what the dog was after. Still balancing the basket of fresh berries in one hand, she reached into a pocket with the other, produced a doggie treat and held it over his head. Santo immediately backed off the rock and went to stiff attention, eyes never leaving her, waiting for the slightest command. “Sit...” His hindquarters lowered to the ground without the rest of him moving. He could have been a statue. “Good dog.” With a laugh, Victoria gave Santo his prize. He lapped it greedily--but carefully--without leaving so much as a scratch on her fingers.Santo’s appearance wouldn’t have scared her so badly, but she was on the verge of finally inheriting the birthright left by her father and she’d been getting crank phone calls lately. Someone would either listen to her breathe for a moment, or hang up without speaking.An icy chill slid up Victoria’s spine. “Better get these berries to Maria.” She was sliding off the rock when Santo’s playful mood suddenly changed. The dog stiffened, growled, then began barking as if ready to tear something--or someone--into chunks. He bounded around the flat boulder and put himself between Victoria and the tall foliage that obscured the view to the Florian swimming hole. Victoria quickly got to her feet. “Raul. Is that you?”A rich chuckle came from behind the tallest bush. “How did you know?”“You always set Santo off for some reason. I wish I knew why,” she replied, suspicious.“Patrona, call him off.”“Call him off... what?”A long pause. Men and their pride! Finally... “Call him off, please.”“Down, Santo. Quiet.”Victoria couldn’t help grinning at the hacienda manager as he slipped between the trees and sauntered over to stand in front of her. Her eyes drank him in as if he were a long, tall glass of ice water. He was that indeed, wearing only pants and no shirt, dripping wet. But Raul Vega’s good looks and strong body weren’t the only things she admired about him. The great respect for her in his expression warmed her heart. The smoldering desire for her in his dark gaze warmed her... somewhere else.“Am I in trouble for taking too long a work break?” he asked softly. “Seeing as I’m not my mother in law... no.” He wasn’t touching her, but the way he looked down at her made her swear he was. “Nice berries, ma’am.” With a start, Victoria realized she’d been clutching the fruit bowl tightly against her full breasts, right where they strained against her scoop-necked blouse. She lowered it to her waist--and blushed.“Not so nice shiner.” Seeing Victoria’s eye blackened pissed him off. Raul forced his hand to stay at his side, when all he wanted to do was soothe the injury with his fingers, perhaps take some of the hurt away. It had to be that bitch Dona Olivia again. When the woman wasn’t busy stirring her cauldron, she was laying into somebody with that damn whip, especially Victoria. “You run the hacienda flawlessly. You’re a strong woman. Why do you let Dona Olivia treat you this way?” His hand came up anyway, almost on its own, though he knew hired help had no business touching a patrona.He never got the chance. An all-terrain SUV came rolling up and skidded to a stop. Santo commenced to barking.“We pay you to work, not swim at your leisure, you damned swine!” Raul looked in Dona Olivia’s direction just as she stormed up and drove the handle of her whip into the side of his head.

Dona Olivia was fast but Raul was faster. He snatched the whip from her hand and threw it into the bushes. The look in his eye was so fierce that Olivia took a couple of steps backwards, tripped over a rock and fell hard. Recovering her composure she said, “Get back to work. Come along Victoria.” Victoria said stifling a laugh, “I rode Misterio. I will be there shortly.” Dona Olivia stomped back to the SUV in a huff. “You were justified in what you did but you know she will make your life hell,” said Victoria. “I can handle her,” said Raul. “But I better get dressed and get back to the house.” She took one last look at his beautiful body and thought to herself, “Que lastima.” When she looked at his face she saw something in his eyes that she had never seen before. “I will be watching you, Victoria. Never fear,” he said as he walked away. “Well Santo, what do you think of that?” Victoria said as she gathered up her berries and headed for her horse. “Come on Santo let’s go.”

When she reached the stables Miguel was there to take her horse. “Have you seen my good for nothing brother,”he said. “Oh yes, I “saw” him,” said Victoria. Did he have a run-in with Dona Olivia?” “You could say that,” said Victoria. “Well, then that would explain the mood she was in when she came roaring in, shouting orders even before she got out of the car.” He said with a chuckle. “Thank you Miguel, I must get these berries to Maria.” Victoria turned and walked toward the Hacienda. “Ah, Santo, what did my brother do now?” Miguel said with a laugh. Santo looked up at Miguel with a doggie smile on his face, “You should have been there!” he thought with a doggie chuckle.

After dropping off the berries in the kitchen Victoria went up to her room to change for lunch. She sat at her dressing table looking at herself in the mirror. She still had the black eye which was unfortunate but she would be able to hide it. She gave a big sigh and took out one contact lens. Again she looked at herself in the mirror. One blue eye and one brown eye. With another sigh she took out the other lens. Now two brown eyes stared back at her from the mirror. “How long must I keep up this charade,” she thought. “This wig is hot and I want to be myself.” It’s amazing that she had gone this long with nobody (except Roberto) seeing her jet black hair and brown eyes. Roberto did not like women with dark hair and eyes. One of the conditions of their marriage was that she have blue eyes and blond hair. Now that he was dead she didn’t know why she should continue this farce but she would know when the time was right and would reveal all. As she was putting her contacts back in there was a knock at the door….

The man stood up finally after crouching in the underbrush for what seemed like hours. “I was right behind him. I was so close. I almost had him.” He snarled. That damn dog. What am I going to do about the dog?” Raul Vega had slipped through his hands again. He could have shot him but that would have drawn too much attention. His boss wanted it quick, quiet and clean. And then there was Dona Victoria to deal with. Apparently she was not easily frightened. The phone calls didn’t seem to be working. She was edgy, sure, but not frightened. “We will have to see about that.” He said as he brushed off his jeans and headed down the road to where he had hidden his jeep.

Miguel was brushing Victoria’s horse when his brother walked in.

“I heard you had a run-in with La Bruja.” Miguel said with a snicker.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Said Raul

“What happened?”

“Let’s just say she needs a new whip!

“What’s that in your hand?” Asked Miguel

“It’s a curious thing… I found it in the grass close to the waterfall. I don’t know how it got there.” Said Raul.

Santo trotted over to Raul and dropped a stick at his feet as if to say he was sorry for the way he behaved earlier. He sniffed the object that Raul held in his hand.

“I’ve smelled that before.” Thought Santo. His hackles rose and he began barking and growling again. Miguel and Raul just stared at the dog mystified. “And I thought he was always barking at me.” Said Raul. “Very interesting.”

“I noticed Victoria had a black eye again.” Said Miguel. He saw his brother tense and dropped the subject.

“We are really having a hard time with the new stallion.” Miguel said. “We might have to bring in an expert in the field. Even I can’t get him to settle down.”

Raul pondered this information. “I know who to call but he isn’t cheap.”

The only man he knew that could possibly help them was a man named Jose Alonzo Cesar King. He was also known as “El Rey” or as his friends called him, Jack. He was the expert in animal behavior especially horses. Raul headed for his office at the back of the stables and checked the website for Jack’s number. He sat heavily in his chair and dialed the number…