Texas Proud (Vincente 2) by Constance O'Banyon Page B

Rachel admitted
grudgingly. "Do you think he did it?"

    Winna Mae straightened and fluffed Rachel's
pillows. "No. I never thought he killed your father,
and I know he didn't shoot you either."
    "No. He couldn't have shot me. But I am still
not wholly convinced that he didn't kill my father."
    "His gun beside your father's body was damning, I'll admit, but I'd stake my life on the fact that
other hands put the gun there to make it appear
as if Noble Vincente did the deed."
    "Is that the only reason you believe in his innocence? If so, your reasoning isn't sound."
    "I use my eyes and ears and not my voice,"
Winna Mae stated calmly. "That way I see and
hear things."
    "Such as?"
    "All I'll say at the moment is that there are those
who envied the Vincente family. Noble is the kind
of man many want to be but never can be. There
are those who were too eager to put a noose
around his neck. I am glad for people like Sheriff
Crenshaw, who is a wise and sensible man."
    Rachel lay back against the pillow while doubts
played in her mind. "I wish I were as certain as
you are."
    "Do you think Noble is a half-wit?" Winna Mae
asked, her eyes boring into Rachel's.
    "Hardly that."
    "Then why would he commit a murder and
leave his gun to be found?"
    Delia had given Rachel the same argument and Rachel had dismissed it. But coming from sensible, reliable Winna Mae, it sounded believable.
"Perhaps Noble had not planned to kill my father,
and when it happened, he panicked and ran
away."

    "Noble is a coward, then?"
    Rachel pressed her fingers against her throbbing temples. "No. Of course not. But why didn't
you say any of this to me before now?"
    "You never asked me. It's not my habit to offer
my opinion unless invited to do so."
    "If he's innocent, why did he run away? Where
has he been all these years? He fathered a child
by Delia and then left her to face the shame alone.
He had no way of knowing that Whit would save
Delia from disgrace by marrying her."
    Winna Mae picked up the water pitcher and
moved to the door. "Why don't you ask Noble
what happened?" She paused in the doorway.
"And while you're at it, why not ask your sister
some questions?"
    Noble walked through the stable, looking into the
stalls, unconsciously counting the six horses that
made up his entire herd. He had no aversion to
hard work. Already this morning he'd cleaned the
stalls and tossed fresh hay to the horses. Without
money and men, how would he keep up with all
the repairs? Without rain, how long could he hope
to keep Casa del Sol?
    His jaw settled into a formidable line. He would never turn away from the heritage his father had
entrusted to him. A Vincente did not surrender
when life got hard. A Vincente fought to win.

    He blotted sweat from his face with his sleeve.
The weather had grown even hotter, and it was
stifling inside the brick structure. He rolled up his
sleeves and walked out of the stable to stand beneath the spreading branches of a tall oak tree.
One thing that could be said about West Texas: if
you stood beneath a tree, and the wind was
blowing-which it always was you could cool
down. His gaze went to the cloudless sky. If only
it would rain to break the heat and end the
drought, he thought wearily.
    Noble narrowed his eyes against the glare of the
sun, gazing at a dust cloud that indicated several
riders were approaching. His hand automatically
went to his holster, and he realized he'd left his
gun at the hacienda. With grim determination he
waited for the horsemen. When they were near
enough for him to make out their number, he
counted fifteen, sixteen, twenty-three men.
    Alejandro had gone into town that morning,
and his sons had ridden to the river to check its
depth. Noble would have to face the trespassers
alone and unarmed. He stood his ground and
waited for them to approach.
    He was puzzled when he heard shouting in
Spanish and saw the riders waving. When they
were near enough for him to