Alex was reading some papers in the family room when the guests came in. He pretended not to be listening when Carmen announced a barbeque and hay ride for Sunday evening.
"I won't be able to do much," she confessed, "but I'll get it organized."
Rob put an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry your pretty head about it. We'll do all the grunt work."
Alex glanced up from the paperwork, giving Rob a withering look. When Rob dropped his arm and stepped back, Alex glanced at Gerald, who looked uncomfortable. None of them said a word and Alex never looked at her.
Carmen gave Rob a level look. "If I didn't think I could handle it, I wouldn't have planned it."
Rob lifted his hands, palm out in surrender. "Sorry. I was just trying to help."
Carmen turned to the door, fighting off a feeling of disappointment that Alex didn't do more. He could have said something to Rob, though at the moment anything he could have said to make the situation better eluded her. Still, his silence made her feel like he was chastising her as well. Maybe he was. Maybe he thought she was encouraging Rob again.
When Felipa came through the back door, Aaron fixed his attention on her. She smiled at him as she spoke to Carmen.
"The horses are hitched to the buggy and waiting outside."
Alex turned his head and looked at her. "I would have helped you …"
Felipa shrugged as she interrupted him. "It is a simple thing. I did not need help."
Carmen opened the front door and glanced at Alex.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?"
He nodded. "I've got to finish this stuff." He lifted the paper. "I'm a week late already."
Her accident had thrown him off schedule. He was so busy all the time - so obsessed with something.
"Could I help you?" Carmen asked.
He shook his head, not giving an explanation. Feeling rejected again, she turned and walked out the door. He didn't need her help, but he insisted that she get help. What was good for the goose wasn't necessarily good for the gander, it seemed.
As she paused at the buggy, from the corner of her eye she saw Rob approaching her. Pretending she didn't see him, she tried to scramble quickly into the wagon so that he wouldn't have an excuse to touch her. In her haste, her foot slipped on the running board causing her to fall. A strong hand gripped her arm, stopping the fall. A warm deep voice spoke behind her.