House of the Blue Sea (25 page)

She could feel Alejandro looking at her before she opened her eyes. She turned her head to see him grinning at her. “Yes?” she asked.

“You are enjoying yourself.” He slowed the buckskin to a walk but she began to prance again as soon as a wave rolled under her feet.

“She doesn’t like the water on her toes.”

“She will get used to it. Remember that she is a creature of the desert. I usually bring them to the beach when they are still beside their dams, but her mother does not like the water and I didn’t want that to influence this one.”

The water was darkening as the sun fell, creating a dramatic contrast to the colouring sky. Wisps of light cloud lay in bands and the edges were beginning to glow as sunset neared. “I could stay here for my entire Baja visit.”

“But surely you would miss Casa del Mar Azul and your friends there.”

Sandra pulled her fingers through the smooth, dark hair of Tormenta’s mane. “I suppose. It’s just so peaceful here. I hate to leave, even for a couple of weeks.”

“Then something has changed at Señor Paul’s. I recall your tales of how magical a place it is, how very
peaceful
, I believe you said.”

“Your memory is too good.”

“I remember what is important, what people tell me about themselves. So what has changed—at Mar Azul?”

“It’s the same. It’s still very good. Paul is wonderful. I enjoy the pace. It’s great ... really.” Sandra’s gaze went to the sea.

“Is it now?” Alejandro’s words were tinged with laughter. “And who are you trying to convince of this, me or you?” He sat easily in his saddle as the mare’s pace quickened and eased again with each passing wave.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Sandra said.

“I think you do. You know how I always tell you to listen to the horse, even though she does not speak? It is the same with people and you are saying much more than your words.”

Sandra could feel the movement of Tormenta’s back underneath her, causing her hips to rise and fall with each step, the simple rhythm soothing.

“Tell me about your friend,” Alejandro said.

“My friend?”

“Yes, your friend Mark, who followed you here to Cabo del Este.”

“There’s not much to tell. He’s a friend of Paul’s, and we’ve spent a bit of time together. We went sailing.”

“I sense that he is much more, or would like to be.”

“That might be true of him, but not of me.”

“I disagree with that as well.” Alejandro picked up the reins and pushed Mantequilla into a jog. “I think it is time to see what this young girl can do.” He flashed his smile at Sandra before turning forward, rising up in his stirrups and galloping off ahead.

She caught up to him at the end of the beach, where the headland rose before them. The young mare was blowing hard through her flaring nostrils, excited by the environment and the run. Alejandro had eased her toward the water as she galloped, and by the end of the beach she was throwing up water with each stride.

“I told you this was a special one.” He was beaming.

“You were right about the water. After a few strides it seemed she forgot it was there.”

“And, after a few more, she was enjoying it.” He leaned to the side and his eyes went to the mare’s face. “Weren’t you,
mi amor
?"

“So I take it this one is not for sale?”

“
Ay, Dios mío!
Not even to you, amiga.” Alejandro looked west. “We had best be making our way home. Let’s see how my girl likes the waves now at a walk.”

Alejandro rode the mare in and out of the surf as they walked the length of the beach. She reacted only once, jumping sideways when a wave touched her belly. He just chuckled and urged her forward, stroking her neck to reassure her. He slowed the horse and let Sandra come up beside him. “So, you were about to tell me more about your friend Mark, before I so rudely galloped off.”

“I don’t think I was.”

He turned sideways in his saddle to face her. “So there is nothing to tell of the famous and handsome man who followed you here from San Leandro? I see. It is true this happens often, movie stars showing up without announcement. Perhaps it is the lure of the Rancho Azteca.” He made a sweeping gesture with his right arm in the direction of the ranch as he faced forward again.

Sandra continued to look at the beach between Tormenta’s ears, saying nothing.

“You do not have to talk to me about him. I am only a curious old romantic,” Alejandro said, “and I recognize
la chispa
when I see it.”

“La chispa?”

“The spark, the energy, the life that is between two people who share a connection. It is not so different from the energy between horse and human, and what I use to pair my students with their mounts. It does not come from attraction on the side of one or the other, only when it is mutual. Just because I think this mare is the most beautiful horse I have raised does not mean she will work with me. But, this time I am fortunate.” His hand trailed along the crest of Mantequilla’s neck, his fingers lifting the mane from its resting place like a curtain being drawn aside.

“And you sense this energy, between Mark and me?”

His gaze fixed on her and he was no longer smiling. “From the moment he arrived; even though I also sensed your anger with him.” His smile returned. “I have not seen you so chilly toward anyone before. I knew he must be special. It is why I invited him to stay.”

“So that’s what gave me away was it, my giving him the cold shoulder?”

“Ah, so you admit it then!”

“No, I don’t. I admit I feel some attraction to him, but he frustrates me, scares me actually. I often feel very uncomfortable around him.”

Alejandro laughed. “It sounds like love, then.”

“Love? What kind of love makes you want to run away from someone. He’s the reason I came here in the first place.”

“I assumed so.”

“You did? When I came?”

“Sí. I did not know what you were running from, but I knew there was something. And when I saw his car roll into the yard ...”

Sandra let out a long sigh and looked to the sea, even darker now against the pink sky. “I didn’t know what to do. I felt like he wouldn’t let me be and I couldn’t seem to say no.”

“Or did not want to?”

“No, I did want to ... I think I wanted to.”

“Ah, and there is the question. Were you running from Mark or from something else, perhaps?”

“But there was nothing else, just Mar Azul, my painting, my friends there ...”

“And yourself?”

Was that it? Was she running from her own feelings? She hadn’t felt inclined to run since her first unplanned visit here to Baja four years ago. She thought she’d put that behind her.

“Do you
always
feel uncomfortable in his presence? Because, now and then, I saw a light from you that I have not seen before. A little flash.”

“Sometimes I enjoy being with him. He makes me laugh. He can be quite kind. And last night after dinner he seemed more down-to-earth than he has before, warmer somehow, and deeper.”

“He is a troubled man, that I sense, but never would I think him shallow, and certainly not cold.”

“So you think he’s a good person?”

Alejandro cocked his head, a serious expression on his face. “I would never want to influence anyone’s decision in matters of the heart for they are such personal affairs; but, yes, I think your Mark is one of the special ones.” He glanced down at Mantequilla and then back to Sandra. “Of course, I am just an old horseman. What do I know of love?”

***

S
andra traced the cactus pattern with her thumb, the mug warm in her hands. She could hear the horses moving about in the darkness, scouring the earth for the final remnants of the night feeding. It felt good to sit in the quiet, alone. She drank in the scents of Azteca—the horses, the desert and the sea drifting in from Cortez. Tomorrow she’d be back at Mar Azul, her Baja home, and, although she was happy to return to her painting and the beach, she felt some anxiety, about Mark of course. She thought back to the night before, when she sat in this same chair, but with a glass of wine in her hand and Mark sitting across from her. He’d looked so inviting in the lamplight, his tanned face and neck dark above his white shirt, his eyes like pools of ink. She wondered if he was at Pablo’s tonight. She could picture him sitting at the bar, laughing with Paul, talking with Arturo. Now why was she thinking of him when she finally had some time to herself?

“You look very deep in your thoughts,” Alejandro said from behind the screen door.

Sandra could barely make out his shape in the low light. He pushed open the door and came to stand next to the table. “You are still out here,” he said.

“Just finishing my tea, enjoying the evening. I thought you’d gone to bed.”

“I am missing my Martina tonight so I am too restless for sleep just yet. May I interrupt your enjoyment of the evening?” Alejandro asked, nodding toward the closest chair.

“Of course, join me. I believe this is your deck.”

Alejandro pulled out the chair and sat down. He sighed as he leaned back. “So, where were your thoughts taking you this night? Any place an old romantic might find interesting?”

Sandra lifted her eyes from her mug and furrowed her brow. “So now you can read minds?”

“I have always been good at reading the minds of horses so I thought I might try humans. They are such interesting creatures; much more complicated and less predictable than horses.”

“I know. I think I prefer horses.”

Alejandro laughed, a rumble that rolled up from his abdomen like distant thunder. “Ah, but you cannot share a wonderful meal, or a fine glass of wine with your horse ...” his voice became playful, “or your bed.”

“Alejandro!”

“What? You are too pure for such things, amiga?”

“No, it’s just not something I want to discuss with
you
.”

He laughed again. “I am only trying to lighten what seems to be a burdensome subject for you.” He pushed his chair onto its back legs and placed his hands behind his head.

His eyes continued to meet hers, not challenging, not questioning, only waiting. The sound of a horse blowing through its nostrils echoed in the darkness behind her. “What did you mean at the beach, when you said that Mark was one of the special ones? How do you mean, special?”

Alejandro sat quietly for a time before speaking. “When I first met Caliente, he had been labelled a dangerous animal. He had changed hands many times, for he was incredibly striking, and each new owner was going to make him into a magnificent horse for the show ring and then the breeding pen. By the time I first saw him he was eight, and offered to me for one of my expo demonstrations. It is possible the person who offered him was trying to set me up for failure, but it didn’t matter, when I looked into his eyes I saw the years of confusion and pain deep within them. The others had seen his handsome exterior. I saw what was inside, even buried as it was beneath so much hurt. I knew in an instant that he had what I would call that
special
something. Perhaps it is a gift, perhaps a willingness to look, but I see it in people also, even when it tries to hide itself. I see it in you, which is why I invited you to come and spend some time with me last year, and why you’re here now.”

“And you see this in Mark?”

“Sí. It is perhaps what has made him successful as an actor, that quality within that people are drawn to without knowing what it is. He is handsome, yes, but if you look beyond that, there is more, much more I think.”

“So how did you fix Caliente?”

Alejandro snorted. “By not fixing him at all. I simply gave attention to all that was good and ignored all that was bad. Very soon, only the good remained.”

“It’s hard to imagine him being dangerous.”

“That is because he was never dangerous, only afraid.”

“Is that what you think about Mark, that he’s afraid?”

“Terrified.”

“But of what? What does someone like him have to be afraid of?”

“And what did big, powerful Caliente have to be afraid of? Everything that threatened him, or seemed to threaten him, even me at first.”

Sandra traced the ceramic cactus again, exploring its engraved lines. She looked up at Alejandro and tried to smile. “So what do I do now?”

“It is simple, and yet so very difficult. You ignore what is in here.” He tapped his head. “And listen to what is here,” he said, placing his hand across the left side of his chest. “Your heart will not lead you wrong.” He reached across the table and laid his hand on her wrist. “I see the hurt deep in your eyes also. It has eased since you first came to Azteca, but still it is there. Do not let it determine your path in this life.”

M
ark took the steps down to the beach level and followed the lighted path to Pablo’s entrance. Its warm light poured out onto the sand and the sounds of music and conversation blended with the ever-present rumble of the sea. He smoothed the front of his shirt and pulled one hand through his hair before entering. The place was full, mostly with couples seated at tables of two, the flickering candle flames lighting their faces. He looked to the bar and there she was, sitting sideways on a stool, her back to him, her fair hair loose and covering her neck with waves and ringlets. She was talking to Arturo and he was laughing as he mixed a trio of drinks.

Mark had expected to find her here the previous night following her return from the ranch, so he’d arrived early and stayed until almost closing. Just before he left, Paul finally saw fit to announce that, by the way, Sandra had ordered room service around seven o’clock, in case he was interested. Bastard. He’d thought about knocking on her door, inviting her down for a drink, but didn’t want to risk another icy reception. She did like her privacy and he felt he was making some progress, even though he hadn’t completely divulged his reasons for following her to Alejandro’s. He’d never been very good at expressing himself, unless the lines were printed on the page in front of him. When they had to come from his own head and heart they just weren’t there, and borrowing from one of his movies would be far too tacky. That, and the risk that she’d seen the film and would recognize the dialogue.