the dark. He didn’t believe she was capable enough. But she was. She’d show him.
Josh drove out of the lot and around the front of the bank to pick her up. He could see by the set of her shoulders how angry she was, but he didn’t care. It was better to endure her resentment than to lie awake all night wondering if she’d made it back to Palomar. He reached across to fasten her seat belt. His arm grazed the tips of her breasts. He heard the sharp intake of her breath. Suddenly he thought of the music and the vibrations from the instruments humming in the night air and the feeling of her hand in his, and he wished he hadn’t spoiled the mood. But he’d had no choice. He could tell by her icy silence that he’d convinced her that his first concern was the truck. Now if only he could convince himself of that.
Where had he gone wrong? When had this ceased to be a business transaction and become a personal matter? Was it the first day at the farm riding behind her on the horse with the warm sun shining on her hair? No, it was before that. It was that day in the market when he stood in front of her and paid too much for the mangoes. Since the first moment he’d seen her she’d had that effect on him. Of undermining his better judgment.
If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have made this risky loan. His dream of finding the silver mine would have remained a dream. His private dream. There was something about her that caused him to do things he had no business doing. What was it? Her earthy sensuality? Her idealism? Her relentless optimism?
He glanced sideways at her profile. The purity of the outline of her cheek touched him somewhere deep within himself and resolutely he turned his attention back to the road ahead. From now on he would keep his dreams to himself, his loans to a minimum and his mind on his work.
An evening like this, of music and vibrations and the nearness of Catherine, was enough to pull him off course, to distract him from his goals. He was here to do a job, to help this country and to help himself rise to the top of his profession. He wouldn’t be led astray as his father was by romantic dreams of riches buried in the ground. There were riches to be had, yes, but they came from years of hard work.
Catherine didn’t sleep on the way home. It hurt to realize how little confidence Josh had in her, both in her ability to drive and her ability to pay back the loan. Well, she’d show him. They’d work so hard they’d pay off the loan in five years. Of course, she wouldn’t be around in five years, but she’d be sure they were well on their way by the time she left. If it was the last thing she did. It just might be.
When they reached her little house, she gave him a curt goodbye and a reminder they’d be in Thursday for the truck. Catherine felt guilty for treating him rudely, but her pride wouldn’t let her relent.
The next day she told the women about the truck. They were excited, but not as excited as they were about Doña Blanca’s daughter’s engagement to Jacinda’s youngest son. The young man had come home from the mines over the weekend with a month’s salary in one hand and a ring in the other. Jacinda was pleased with the dowry and quickly gave her blessing, perhaps partly because the bride was already three months pregnant.
“Yes,” she said to Catherine as she lingered in the doorway to Catherine’s kitchen the next morning. “I am well pleased. Not as pleased as I will be when we celebrate your wedding, but pleased all the same.”
Catherine looked up over the pot of boiling water she was sterilizing jam jars in and gave Jacinda a stern look. “I know you consider me an old maid, and I suppose you’re not the only one. But there are other things to do in this day and age besides getting married. For myself I’ve chosen to use my knowledge to help people like yourself improve their farming methods. After I leave Palomar at the end of the two years, I’ll go on to another country, another valley, another farm. Surely you can see there’s no