‘Liar. You saw me at the wedding in a bridesmaid’s dress.’
‘Which trailed around your ankles.’ He tipped the neck of his bottle of beer in Danny’s direction.
She shook her head. ‘It did not trail.’ And then she said, ‘Shall we drink a toast to your grandfather?’
‘My grandfather? I’m surprised you’re even thinking about him.’
‘Why wouldn’t I? We wouldn’t be here without him,’ she pointed out.
His lips pressed down with amusement as he shook his head. She was right. His grandfather might have done a lot of things he disagreed with, but he had given Tiago the chance to change his life.
Easing onto one hip, he told her a little more about his history. ‘I never imagined my grandfather would deny me full ownership of the ranch, but he was cunning, and he never liked my playboy antics. He said it reminded him too much of my mother—the feckless socialite, as he called her. That’s why he constructed his will as he did. He knew how much I loved this place. He knew I wouldn’t let the people down.’
‘Whatever it took?’ Danny observed dryly.
‘Whatever it took,’ he agreed, meeting her stare head-on. The one thing he would never do was lie to her.
‘To your grandfather,’ she said softly, chinking her glass against his bottle. ‘Manuelo told me your parents were never around, and that when they were they only came here to beg for money from your grandfather. Once they got that, he said they left—sometimes without even seeing you. So what’s the sequel to this story, Tiago? I know there must be one, because Manuelo thinks the world of you—as does everyone else on this ranch.’
He was reluctant to get into it, but from the look in her eyes Danny wasn’t giving up. ‘My grandfather bailed me out of a juvenile correctional facility—said he’d give me a trial on the ranch. He said I could live with him if I worked for the privilege.’
‘And you fought him every step of the way?’ she guessed.
He didn’t deny it. ‘I didn’t want to work for anyone except myself. And when I saw this place in the middle of nowhere—’ He grimaced. ‘I didn’t feel as I do now about it, that’s for sure. It held no appeal for my teenage self.’
‘But you stayed?’ she pressed, her eyes filled with concern.
‘Yes, because I came to love the people. And now you’ve met them I’m sure you understand why.’
‘I do.’ She spoke softly and touched his arm.
He had to pause and hold himself in check for a moment, or he would have responded for sure.
‘I try never to be away from them for long,’ he went on then. ‘Because they and my grandfather opened my eyes to a different way of life—their way of life. And I could relate to it—to them. The passion they have for the country and their animals is the same as mine, and as soon as the gauchos discovered I had a way with horses, that was it—I was one of them. It was enough for me for a time, and then—like everyone else when they’re growing up—I had to get away. I was desperate to expand my horizons—to explore that other side of me, bequeathed to me by my mother.’
He laughed as he thought about it.
‘And then?’ Danny asked.
‘My grandfather was wise enough to back off and leave me to it.’
‘Where did you go?’
‘I hitched my wagon to whichever polo player was fashionable at the time.’ He shrugged. ‘By watching and learning I somehow managed to save up enough from my wages to buy my first pony. She was an old girl, on the point of retirement, but I was eager to try the game myself, and I made a passable polo pony out of her. Thanks to that mare I could take part in at least one chukka during amateur matches, where not every rider owned a string of ponies and we all did the best we could.’
‘Which brought your riding skills to the attention of those that mattered?’
‘Correct.’
She was standing close enough to touch, and that distracted him for another few moments.
‘Eventually I was entrusted with training a few medium-grade ponies.’ He cast his mind back to those uncertain days. ‘Then my grandfather became ill, but I was having too much of a good time to come home. I should have come. I owe everything I have to him. I just couldn’t see it at the time. Now do you understand why I am so committed to this place?’
‘Yes,’ she said quietly. ‘It explains a lot about you.’