No One to Trust - Iris Johansen [33]
“Come on, young man. Time for bed.” Dominic stood up from the table. “Your face is going to fall into that chocolate mousse if you don’t stop nodding.”
“Tired …” Barry stood up, yawning. “I stirred the chocolate, you know.”
“It’s been called to our attention,” Dominic said. “Several times.” He turned to Galen. “A great meal. I’ve never had better, even in the finest restaurants in Miami.”
“Of course not,” Galen said. “I told you I was a master.”
Judd Morgan snorted. “It’s getting thick in here. I need some air.”
“And leave me with the dishes?”
“I’ll help,” Barry said.
Galen shook his head. “I believe in specialized labor. You’ve done your bit. I have you scheduled for omelette duty at breakfast tomorrow.”
He yawned again. “Okay.”
“Let’s go,” Dominic said. “You’re about to fall asleep, and you’re getting too big for me to carry up those stairs.”
Elena watched Dominic and Barry leave the dining room before she rose to her feet. “I’ll wash the dishes.”
Morgan shook his head. “My job. Galen cooks. I clean up.” He started to stack the dishes. “Though if he didn’t have a great dishwasher, I’d take you up on it.”
“Then I’ll help,” Elena said.
“No, you won’t. I like to work alone.” He carried the dishes into the kitchen.
“He’s not rejecting you. He’s telling the truth. He likes to do everything alone,” Galen said as he stood up. “That’s why he likes staying here at the ranch. You can’t imagine a more solitary existence. I guess it’s his artistic temperament.”
“He’s an artist?”
He nodded. “There’s an oil painting of his in the library that’s remarkable.”
“I would never have guessed.”
“Well, I grant you that he doesn’t look the part. What would you think he does for a living?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the same thing that you do.”
He smiled. “Close. But Judd was more specialized.”
“You appear to get along very well.”
“We understand each other. In many ways we’re a lot alike.”
She shook her head. “You’re nothing alike.”
“You don’t think I’m the artistic, solitary type?”
“I don’t know what type of person you are.” She studied him. His expression was slightly mocking, but his dark eyes were sparkling. “Do you?”
“I know exactly who I am. I just dislike sharing it with all and sundry. Do you want to see Judd’s painting? Or maybe you’ve had a look around already?”
“No, just the upstairs.” She followed him from the room. “This is quite a place. I’d think you’d use it more often.”
“I get restless.” He opened a paneled door. “This is the library. It’s the one room Judd totally approves of.”
Books. Books everywhere. “So do I.” She went into the room and caressingly touched the leather spine of a book on the shelf closest to the door. “You couldn’t get a room with this many books wrong.”
“You like to read?”
“I love it.” She went around looking at titles. Everything from classics to how-to manuals. “When I was a kid, there was no way I had access to TV or movies, but my father managed to get me thousands of paperback books over the years. That’s all I needed.”
“No, that’s not all you needed. Tell me, were you on the reward system? Shoot a sniper, read a book?”
She flinched. “You don’t understand. My father wasn’t a heartless monster. He came to Colombia as a mercenary with the rebels and he stayed as a patriot. He met my mother and he learned to love her and her country. He wanted to change things. He believed in what he was doing.”
“Did you believe in what he was doing?”
“I believed in him.”
“Would you let your son be taught the things he taught you?”
She didn’t answer for a moment. “My father did the best he could. After my mother was killed by government troops, he became obsessed with the cause. Defeating them was worth any sacrifice. He couldn’t give it up, and he was left with me and Luis to raise.