Speak to the Wind (18 page)

"You
lie
."

"
Honest to God, this was
my first impression of Maria Eden.
A woman with confidence.
"

"I was more than a little impressed
with you, Joe
. You had—have—a special aura; some call it charisma. Something that draws people to you. I think it's because you let people know you care. That's important when you're dealing with the public."

His hand touched her crown, caressing her hair gently. "I don't know about
caring for
the public, but
you, I care about. W
hen we're together,
I c
an't keep my hands off you." He twirled a blond strand around his finger.

"Let's try to stay on the subject, Joe."

"I thought we were talking about feelings."

"We're talking about you."

"I'd rather talk about you. How I love to make love to you."

"Joe, hush. Let's go on." She ran her finger along the page. "Where was I? Oh, yes, voice of authority. You have a very
nice resonance to your voice,
and it'll help convey that lead
ership quality you want."

"I do?"

"Y
ou know
you do. We'll talk more about modulating your tone when we prepare for the video."

"Modulating?"

"
Keeping it even and when to show emphasis
. I'll show you how to keep your voice tone steady, mainly when un
der fire. You want to appear un
flappable, even if you're excited or angry underneath. You must look and sound like you're in complete control."

"Aha! Never let them see you sweat!"

"Yes, that's it." She hesitated before proceeding. "That's the good part. Now for the zingers."

"Shoot. I can take anythin
g. As long as you're the one de
livering." He crossed his arms on his chest.

"Your body language is defensive," she observed softly.

Quickly he unfolded his arms and laced his fingers behind his head in a casual attitude. "How's this?"

"Well, it's an open stance.
Are you open to whatever I have to offer?
"

“Oh baby, am I!
"

"We'll work on that, too
. Also, we'll concentrate on in
creasing your voice strength. There'll be times when you have to make three or four speeche
s a day, do an interview and en
gage in hand-shaking sessions that require constant verbal exchanges. And then there'll be times when the
microphone doesn't work and you’ll
have
to shout your speech to the en
tire auditorium."

"Okay, I need a stronger voice. Sounds reasonable. What else?"

"Most adults don't have natural stage presence. Some kids do, but most of us are intimidated when we walk onstage and face more than ten people watching our every move."

"Yeah, I'm sure I’ll
freeze right up."

"Well, I’ll
show you how to appear relaxed and give you some tips to remember. And next is something to do with communication. I call it intercultural communication." She paused and looked up. "For y
ou, Joe, it's very important be
cause you'll be commun
icating with and interacting be
tween two cultures. Words, gestures, phrases and actions mean different things to different peoples. You need to be aware of those so you don't make a major goof in public."

"Hmm... keep the general statements innocuous?"

"Something like that." She nodded. "Last, we need to work on dealing with the media, both
print
, as in newspapers and magazines, and visual, as in TV and documentaries.
And the ever-growing social media.
"

"
All of t
hose,
quite
frankly, scare the hell out of me."

"That's why we're going to work hardest on them." She turned the page, and he could see it was barely written on. "Okay, remember we talked about your goals? Aside from what we've already discussed and what I mentioned today, do you have anything to add?"

He tugged on his lower lip
while he pondered. "I don't in
tend to be an empty-headed speaker, one who has nothing to say. An old aunt used to tell stories of a great Apache leader who spoke to the wind and it
carried his messages to the peo
ple in all the corners of the land. And when times were good, the people came together to feast and celebrate their good fortune. I'd like that to be my legacy, too."

"What beautiful imagery," she said softly. "I believe your speeches will be carried to the far reaches of
Apache
country, Joe. Maybe by the wind, but
more likely,
by the media."

He agreed solemnly. "You know, Maria, there is so much that I want to accomplish for my people." He knotted his fist and hit his thigh for emphasis. "That's why I accepted the challenge in the first place. I want to improve the quality of life on the reservation, not by changing it but by enhancing opportunities."

"I'm impressed with your ambitions, Joe. And I want to help you accomplish th
em." She had been scribbling fu
riously while he talked, then paused to gaze at him. She couldn't mask her admiration for the man, aside from her personal feelings for him. "Your future is so important for your people. I wonder if they realize what a gem they have."

"I don't know about that." He gave her a shy smile. "But I can't help feeling that I have a destiny, Maria. And I have to
rise up to
meet it." He rubbed the frown from her brow, then cupped her chin with his hand. "And you'll be a part of it."

"I wouldn't ever do any
thing to jeopardize your leader
ship, Joe." She caught her lower lip between her teeth. At some point they had to acknowledge their differences. That she wasn't an Indian and the impact of that on his leadership position would have to be faced.

He leaned forward and kiss
ed her nose, his hand still
hold
ing her face. "You won't, my blond beauty. You're going to make it all possible. I can't do a thi
ng if I don't win this elec
tion. And I don't want to ap
pear the bumbling fool in my ef
forts. I want my people to be proud of me."

"Oh, they will be. I'm sure of it." She grasped his hand and kissed his palm. "But we ha
ve lots of material to cover be
fore I'll feel satisfied."

He leaned back and sighed. "You're right. We've played long enough. Tomorrow we start in earnest."

She nodded.

He fondled her hand, lacin
g the fingers with his and trac
ing the lines. "Did I ever tell you how much I enjoy just being with you, Maria? I'm convinced that we were meant to be together."

"I love being with you, too, Joe. You make me happier than I've been in years. But I—"

He squeezed her hand. "What?"

"I can't help wondering what will happen to us when we leave Mexico."

"We'll figure out something. I know one thing, Maria Eden. I can't be without you for long."

"I don't want to lose you, Joe," she whispered.

"Maria, don't you realize you've got me, body and soul?" He caressed her cheek with the side of his thumb. Then he pulled her down to him.

She rested her head on hi
s chest. It was so easy,
falling in love with Joe. She had been so resistant for so long, that this seemed too easy.
Maria's feelings
were jumbled and she needed
to sort through
them
.
For the present time,
Joe Quintero had captured her heart, and that was harder
to determine. And harder to ad
mit. It had to do with love.

She still questioned the poss
ibility of loving Joe after hav
ing loved Wayne so much. Was it true
?
Was it real? How could she forget Wayne? She'd tried to long ago and hadn't been able to. Now she wa
s attempting to put Wayne in an
other part of her life, to keep him special, and letting Joe dominate the present. For dominate he did.

Her heart pounded a solemn beat that seemed to keep time with his. She couldn't help wondering about his destiny and how
she could possibly
fit into
his life
. How could their futures ever mesh, especially if they achieved their joint goal and Joe became the next Apache chairman?

Chapter Eight

As they ha
d agreed
Maria and Joe dedicated the next week to intensive study and work. The warm days were spent covering mounds of information, with an occasional break for a brief swim, but there was no more idle time lounging on a remote beach. Maria kept a determined course, which Joe followed eagerly. They both felt the
importance of his des
tiny. Soon others would be looking up to him, following his leadership. He had to be prepared.

The moonlit nights, however, were made for romance. They couldn't stay away from each other. Joe was an ardent lover, turning her on to pleasures she'd forgotten or never
realized
. Maria reveled in his constant attention and returned the affection energetically.

They'd been working steadily Thursday morning in Joe's
casita when he received a long
distance call. Maria stepped into the other room to give h
im privacy but noticed a light
hearted lilt to the conversation. Obviously it was someone with whom he was quite familiar.

When Joe hung up and sought her out, he wore a happy grin. "Little brother's coming down this weekend. His flight gets in Friday night. Maybe we should rent a boat and go deep-sea fishing on Saturday. Josh would love that."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"We plan to work on campaign strategy and goals. I wish you'd sit in on our brainstor
ming sessions. I'd like your in
put, Maria."

"Sure, if you really want me," Maria agreed, crossing her arms in an unconsciously defensive posture. "Joe, is my presence going to be
a problem
when your brother's here? I don't mind if you want to make everything seem strictly businesslike between us."

He glanced at her sharply. “What do you mean?
I don’t care if he knows we’re together.
"

"What I mean is, our whole affair has been pretty sudden, and I can understand if you'd rather keep it private for now."

"Josh is family. I don't
need to
keep anything from him. He's a big boy. He'll understand about us." Joe ambled into the kitchen and took a Coke from the refrigerator.

"So much for Josh. But what about others?"

Joe gestured with the Coke bottle. "Want something to drink? I think we have some Perrier, if you prefer."

"No, thanks."

Joe pried off the cap an
d tilted his head back for a lar
ge gulp. "Josh has his life; I have mine. We've never interfered with each other's."

She sh
ook her head. “J
oe, you're avoiding the subject."

“
Isn't that what you taught me?"

"
That won’t
work on me
, Joe
." She toyed with the corner of her notebook.

"What are we talking about here, Maria? You and me? Josh? Or the campaign? I merely asked you to sit in with us. You don't have to if you'd r
ather not be involved. I’ll under
stand if you think it isn't your business, which technically it isn't. But you have such good ideas that I feel you'd be a great addition."

"You're sidestepping again. I think you've learned the skill of doublespeak, Mr. Quintero." She paused and t
ook a seat in one of the living
room chairs. "But not from me."

He set the Coke on the table and approached her, bracing a hand on each armrest of her chair. He leaned toward her. "Let me make my meaning perfectly clear,
Ms.
Eden. Forget the election and Josh and ev
erything else except us. Person
ally, I want you all to myself.
But since we don't live on a de
serted island and must mingle with the rest of the world, I have to share you. I'm proud to have you by my side, Maria. And I'll never be ashamed of you."

"Do you really mean that, Joe
?
" she asked softly, a lump of emotion in her throat.

"Absolutely."