Cordero and Alexandra met 11 days ago


ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

Without accepting his hand, she headed toward the pick-up. "I'll accept a ride home, only because I forgot my purse. Don't expect me to speak to you.

He shook his head. "Of course not."

She attempted to open the pick-up door but couldn't. "Unlock the door."

"It is. You need to press the silver button."

She continued to press it. "I am. It doesn't work."

He reached around her, pressed it once, let go, and opened the door. "Like this."

She released a deep breath as she climbed in.

Cordero drove about a half a mile before he glanced at Alexandra. "You don't need to cling to the door. I'm not going to leap across the seat and molest you."

TODAY'S POST:
Chapter 7D

For a few miles Cordero drove toward the ranch, before he hit the steering wheel and then pulled off to the side of the road. "We're going to talk." He watched Alexandra's continual stare out the side window. "I'll talk. I don't know why Maggie made a scene. I'm sorry you're upset."

Alexandra faced him and her eyes appeared to shoot daggers. "You don't understand?" She tilted. "I didn't realize how much of a player you are. She's your girlfriend. Why wouldn't she be upset? You've been leading me on."

Cordero frowned. "You think Maggie's my girlfriend?"

"She said she was and accused me of hitting on you."

"She's not my girlfriend and never was." Cordero exhaled.

"Maggie must have some reason to believe you're a couple. I doubt she just made it up."

"Back in September, at that stupid auction Mom and her friends had to raise money for new band uniforms she won a dinner with me. I took her to dinner. She wanted to go dancing so I agreed. We went to the same place I took you tonight. She got drunk. I took her home, made sure she got inside safely, and left. I didn't kiss her, hug her, or mention anything about a follow-up date."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. I've never called her or led her on in anyway. When I see her in town, I'm polite. That's it. I'm her cat Howie's, vet, but have always acted professionally." He shook his head. "I have no clue what's going on."

When his eyes met hers, she said, "All this seems strange."

"In the week and half you've been here, don't you think if I had a girlfriend, you'd have heard something? Wouldn't I have called her or she'd have called me or I would've had a date or something?"

"That would make sense."

He reached over and took her hand. "The closest person I have to a girlfriend is you. I haven't been leading you on. I honestly care and have since we first met. I'm glad you're staying at the ranch so we get the opportunity to get to know each other."

After they sat in silence for a few moments, Cordero said, "It's a perfect night to see the Marfa lights. It's about twenty-five miles away. Want to go?"

"Okay."

The drive to Marfa remained silent.

Cordero backed the pick-up into a parking slot. "We'll sit in the bed. It's the best place to watch them." He went around and opened her door. Cordero led her to the back. "I can't promise we'll see them, but the conditions are perfect." He pointed. "They usually show up over there."

At the pick-up's bed, he asked, "Would you like help up?" After she nodded, he took her by the waist and set her on the tailgate. "Go to the back. We'll use the cab as a backrest."

Starting to move her legs around, she said, "Please turn around. There's no ladylike way to get to the back."

He turned. "Let me know when you're ready."

Once they were both seated against the cab, Cordero said, "I'm sure you've been driving, and the road up-a-head appeared wet. What you see is a 'heat haze' or 'heat shimmer'. It's an optical illusion. Something like that is probably what's happening in front of that mountain. Nobody really knows for sure what causes the lights or the reason for the crash before they begin."

"How long do we wait?"

"Good question."

After a few minutes of silence, Alexandra asked, "Who's Amy Harding?"

Cordero ran his hand through this short black hair. "So that's what Pat said to upset you." He faced Alexandra. "It was the summer after our senior year. Amy had been going steady with Pat. He broke it off. I'm not sure why. There were two rumors floating around."

"Did either have anything to do with you?"

He shook his head. "No. One was Pat was leaving for college and didn't want to be going steady with anybody when he left." Alexandra nodded, so he continued, "The second, and most likely, Amy was pregnant, and Pat didn't want to take the responsibility for it."

Her eyes widened. "No."

"Yes. After they broke up, I took Amy to a church ice cream social and to a rodeo. Then I left for college, and we lost contact. At the time I knew nothing about the pregnancy."

Cordero hesitated. "About a month later, Dad called and said Amy went to live with her grandma in El Paso because she was four months pregnant. He wanted to know if I knew anything about it."

"Did you?"

"I did not. We never had sex. I never did anything more than kiss her cheek. That January the baby was born, and rumors continued about me being the father. I knew I wasn't but came home and volunteered a DNA test. It proved I wasn't. Pat has paid court ordered child support for nine years now. He still denies he's the father and swears he's stuck with child support for my child."

"But the DNA test proves you're innocent."

"He says the test's wrong."

"There's really bad blood between you."

"That's putting it mildly." After a long pause, Cordero said, "Pat stood at the bar and watched you. I wonder if he bought Maggie drinks, got her drunk, and set her up to verbally attack you. He doesn't want us to spend time together."

Alexandra leaned her head against his arm. "I'm here, aren't I? It didn't work."

"But it was touch and go for a while."

She swallowed. "I'm sorry I slapped you."

Cordero moved her chin so their eyes met. "Because of what your fiance did, I understand why it hurt so much being accused of being the other woman."

He put his arms around her. "Those eyes of yours get to me every time. When you're happy they sparkle and dance. When you were angry, they shoot daggers into my heart. When you're hurt or upset, they melt my heart because I want to make it better."

He released a deep breath. "When you feel I'm upset with you, your eyes show fear. Like you're afraid I'm going to hurt you." His finger caressed her cheek. "I don't know where that comes from, but I'm promising you right now, I'll never hit you. Understand?"

She nodded. "Yes."

As their lips moved closer, a clash was heard. They glanced toward the mountain and the Marfa lights shone in their full glory.

Alexandra's eyes widened. "Wow! They're beautiful."

"They are. I thought you'd be impressed."

When the light show was over, Cordero jumped off the pick-up bed. "It's late. We need to get home. Come here and I'll help you down."

As Cordero drove home, Alexandra reached over and touched his hand. "Thank you for tonight. It was close to perfect."

He glanced at her. "I'm sure you went on some really fancy dates in New York City. This is very small town."

"I was a nerd in high school, the girl who always had a book in her hand."

"I bet you were still beautiful. What about college?"

She laughed. "I think Nerd trumps looks. In college, I studied all the time. I didn't want to take a chance of not getting into Yale."

"What did you major in?"

"English and Criminal Justice. I had two majors."

"Did you take any time to date?"

"I dated some, but it always interfered with my goal."

"Now we're at the present. I'm sure, what's his name took you to some fantasy places."

"He did, but he always told me what the expected behavior was, what I'd order, when I could talk and what I was allowed to say. I was worried I'd do something wrong and never enjoyed myself." Alexandra swallowed. "Tonight, I didn't know how to line dance, but you were gracious about it and taught me how. You weren't embarrassed by me."

Cordero grinned. "It was an opportunity to cuddle."

Her eyes widened. "I see. You had an alternative motive."

He winked. "Maybe."

As Cordero pulled into his parking place at home, his phone rang. "Who could this be? It's one-thirty." He answered. "Sure Dale, I'm on my way." He faced Alexandra. "One of the foals is in danger. I need to leave." He opened his door.

"I can get inside by myself."

He jumped out and rushed to her door. "I need to ensure you get inside safely."

At the door, he said, "If I'm not back by breakfast, let Mom and Dad know what's going on. This might take a while." He jogged to his pick-up.

Alexandra watched him leave before she shut the door.


CHARACTER LIST:

Cordero Ortiz: 'Cord' runs his parents Texas ranch

Alexandra Black: 'Ali' is a New York City corporate lawyer, is junior partner in huge family law firm

Jorge and Rosa Ortiz: Cordero's parents who own a large West Texas Ranch

Jim: One of the ranch foreman's and good friend of Cordero. He takes care of the main house and surrounding ranch area.

Bob: One of the ranch foremen and good friend of Cordero. He works the entire ranch.

Pat: bank owner, possible suitor for Ali

Sam Bailey: Alpine's Sheriff.

Dale and Dorothy: ranchers who own the mare and the twin foals

Maggie:  a friend