Untamed Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

Cabrillo.”
    Rafael’s brow shot up and his nostrils
flared. She was appeasing him and that irritated him. Why? Did he
prefer her to argue with him?
    “Rafael.” The soft voice sounded as if it
drifted into the room.
    “Mother,” Rafael returned with
tenderness.
    Gaby whirled around and her smile quickly
faded. She caught her reaction almost immediately and forced a
smile. She couldn’t believe that a large, vibrant man like Rafael
could have such a small, frail mother. It just didn’t seem
possible.
    Rafael walked to his mother’s side and bent
down on one knee so he’d be even with the wheelchair. “How are you
feeling?”
    “Tired. Always tired,” she sighed as if life
was too much for her to bear.
    Gaby watched the odd exchange between them.
She was stunned that a son would allow his mother to live in such
self-pity. Dona Maria was an attractive woman. Small in stature and
not a trace of gray hair in her lustrous dark waves, she looked no
more than fifty. Yet lack of color to her complexion made her
appear in ill health, and Gaby didn’t think that was the case. She
was probably like many of the hacienda wives, who when their
domineering husbands died, they thought their lives over and
useless. After all, they had been so used to obeying how did they
possibly live without someone telling them what to do?
    Rafael continued to speak to his mother,
feeding her sorrows with sympathy.
    It annoyed Gaby. There probably wasn’t any
reason for her to be in that wheelchair in the first place and that
black dress she wore made her even paler, not to mention how hot
and uncomfortable it must be.
    “Perhaps a blanket over your legs would
help, Mother,” Rafael said and directed Lupe to get one.
    Gaby couldn’t believe her ears. A blanket in
this weather? What was he trying to do, suffocate her?
    Rafael stood. “Mother, I want you to meet
your new companion.”
    Dona Maria produced a weak smile as she
extended her hands to Gaby. “Come, child, let me get a better look
at you.”
    Gaby knelt before her. The woman took hold
of her hands and Gaby gave a squeeze. The older woman returned a
firm squeeze. Dona Maria wasn’t as frail as she appeared.
    “It will be good to have someone keep me
company throughout the day.”
    “There is much we can do,” Gaby offered. “I
will read to you. We can talk, take walks and pick flowers and
perhaps even go on a picnic and —”
    “No!” Rafael’s voice boomed throughout the
room.
    The smile that had been noticeably growing
on Dona Maria’s face quickly faded.
    “Mother isn’t well enough for such strenuous
activities.”
    “Why?” Gaby asked.
    “Because her health prohibits it,” he
said.
    “And what is this health problem that stops
her from living? I must know if I am to look after her.”
    “Her strength isn’t what it used to be and
she tires easily. The doctor has ordered rest. And you shall see
that she gets it.”
    Gaby nodded. “I shall see she gets exactly
what she needs.”
    “Good,” Rafael said, leaning casually
against the large desk in the center of the room.
    “Shall we pick one of the books from this
vast library to read?” Gaby asked Dona Maria, pointing toward the
stacked bookcases that ran from floor to ceiling along two
walls.
    “I think not,” Rafael said.
    “Why?”
    He answered her with annoyed impatience.
“Mother only reads the Bible. And who taught you to read?”
    “Perhaps your mother should read something
else for a change and Padre Jose taught me at my insistence.”
    Rafael couldn’t help but grin at her
tenacity. First it was wild flowers and now books. What was
next?
    “The blanket,” Lupe said entering the
room.
    Gaby took it from Lupe and placed it on the
back of the heavy wooden chair near the desk. “Dona Maria won’t
need it. It’s hot enough without that awful thing covering her
lap.”
    Lupe’s eyes popped wide and Dona Maria’s
mouth parted in surprise.
    Rafael stood away from the desk and sternly
ordered,